The week unwrapped

Highway to the relegation zone! That’s it, we’re all in. Ironically, our drop into the bottom three happened after an unbeaten week. Saturday saw a very encouraging 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough and then on Tuesday we had to rely on a last minute Filip Krastev goal to snatch a point at Norwich. With Sheffield United winning twice against Sheffield Wednesday and Portsmouth, we’ve slipped to 22nd, a point shy of safety.

And breathe.

Nobody really expected The Blades to be at the bottom of the table, especially with the return of Chris Wilder. Now they’re showing some form, what’s emerging is a more realistic picture. There could be more to come; both Portsmouth and Swansea are in worse form than us so we can still suck them into a dogfight. That said, with Norwich being a good example of a missed opportunity, we need to start causing some surprises to pick up points.

Why not start on Friday? It’s a big game; they were amongst the favourites for promotion, it’s live on Sky and we all get to take part in the Baxi Light Show on our smartphones. Given the number of Nokia 3310s amongst the geriatrics in the South Stand Upper, it’s going to be… interested.

Ipswo Facto

After relegation from the Premier League last season, a lot of people assumed Ipswich would be a class above and amongst the favourites for a swift return. But, after back-to-back promotions in 2023 and 2024, such rapid ascents can result in equally rapid descents, so perhaps their confidence should be tempered a little.

After a moderate start to the season their form has been solid enough to see the climb to fifth, but with the division so compressed, they’re also only three points off 15th. Consistency is an issue, although unbeaten in six, they haven’t strung two wins together over that time.

Still, the mismatches are evident, having sold over £75m worth of talent in the summer, they’ve spent over £40m of that on their squad this season with £17.5m on Sindre Walle Egell and £11m on Kasey McAteer. This is, quite conceivably, more money than we’ve spent on players in our entire history. That all sounds fine, doesn’t it?

Football friend | Jim Magilton

Two decisions in Jim Magilton’s life. 

9^th February 1994, Magilton’s three-year Oxford United career has reached its pinnacle. Having thrown away a two-goal lead in the last minute against Leeds United in the FA Cup, Magilton breaks clear 5 minutes into the second half of extra-time to dig out a delicate wedge chip over Mark Beeney into the Leeds net. Ten minutes later, have Oxford knocked out the Premier League side in a major shock. 

Magilton is the talk of the town as attention turned to Oxford’s next opponents Chelsea, but unbeknownst to most, a final jigsaw puzzle has fallen into place. Magilton, out of contract at the end of the season, has rejected a new deal and the club risked losing out if any transfer ended up in the hands of a tribunal. In the stands at Elland Road is new Southampton manager Alan Ball. Magilton’s performance and goal confirms to Ball that he’s able to handle the rigours of the Premier League.

Magilton wants to move while Oxford need money, so a bid of £600,000 is quickly accepted. It’s less than 48 hours after the final whistle at Elland Road, a turnaround so quick that newspapers are simultaneously reporting the move alongside Magilton talking about his ambitions for beating Chelsea in the next round.

14 March 2006, Brian Talbot has dragged Oxford towards the foot of League 2 leaving them on the verge of relegation from the Football League. Owner Firoz Kassam is already lining up his replacement; Jim Magilton, whose playing career is winding down after seven years at Ipswich Town.

Kassam appoints Darren Patterson as interim manager for a home game against Bristol Rovers. As Magilton prepares to head for Oxford to finalise arrangements with his agent, he hears of Patterson’s appointment and changes his mind.

At the Rovers game, fans protest against Kassam’s reign and Oxford’s failures, angrily storming the South Stand’s executive boxes in protest. Days later Kassam sells up to Nick Merry and Jim Smith while Magilton finishes his career at Portman Road and is appointed Ipswich manager the following June.

From the archive | Oxford United 4 Ipswich Town 3 (1985)

John Aldridge is not just the greatest goalscorer Oxford United has ever had, he’s one of the greatest strikers English football has ever seen; the sixth highest goalscorer in the history of the domestic game. Higher than Alan Shearer, Ian Rush and Harry Kane.

Unlike the others, who were all teenagers when they made their top flight debut, Aldridge was didn’t arrive on the big stage until he was 27. His first season, 1985/86, got off to a stuttering start, he was sent-off in a pre-season friendly against Brighton and missed two of the opening three games. His first goal, against Birmingham, came after four games.

He continued to score at a moderate pace but could easily have been written off as not being good enough for the top division. He was suffering from the loss of his strike partner Billy Hamilton who was struggling with an injury which would eventually end his career. Not only was Aldridge adjusting to a new division, he was also having to develop new dimensions to his game.

At the end of November, Ipswich Town arrived at The Manor in what was beginning to look like a crucial relegation six-pointer.

Ipswich attacked the London Road and opened the scoring after 24 minutes when Kevin Wilson got on the end of a move between Trevor Putney and Jason Dozzell. Ian Cranson hit the bar minutes later and Aldridge had goal ruled out for offside, then Trevor Hebberd brought down Wilson in the box and Mark Brennan converted for 2-0.

It had been a dismal first half, after the break, Aldridge went close before Putney crossed to Mich D’Avray who knocked the ball down to Dozzell to volley in number three after 53 minutes. Survival in the top division was always likely to be based around Oxford’s form at The Manor, with over half-an-hour to go, they were facing their third home defeat of the season.

Oxford were in defensive turmoil and looked like conceding more, centre-backs Malcolm Shotton and Gary Briggs were amongst the fiercest in the game, but that masked a deep frailty.

Facing the London Road, they turned to their best defensive strategy – all-out attack. 

Ipswich, who’d surrendered a three-goal lead to lose 4-3 the previous week were wilting. Eight minutes after the first Oxford goal, Town’s keeper Jon Hallworth dropped a cross at the feet of Aldridge who poked in poke in the equaliser and his first top flight hat-trick.

Oxford now had half-an-hour to find a winner, they surged forward, urged on by the raging sea that was the London Road. The inevitable breakthrough finally came with ten minutes left when Ray Houghton’s corner dropped to Neil Slatter for 4-3.

It was a stunning, thrilling come back and a statement that Oxford weren’t simply there to make up the numbers. For John Aldridge, the hat-trick announced his arrival on the scene which would propel him to 31 goals that season and then onto the biggest stages in the game.