The week unwrapped

Where are we? Does anyone really know? A fractured club? Or just one battling through the fog of war against the odds? Maybe it’s just what the Championship does to a team like Oxford. 

After a frustrating 2-0 defeat to Swansea City on Saturday, we were back in action three days later against Blackburn Rovers. After taking the lead through Ciaron Brown on the stroke of half-time, they snatched a point with a penalty 12 minutes from time. 

The point has kept us out of the relegation zone at least, but many thought we should have won, and maybe we should, but equally any point on the road at this level has to be a good thing. The only way to figure out where we’re at, is to take another step forward.

Northenderfacts

After a decade as a Championship makeweight, this season Preston North End seem to have found their mojo. Or have they? To paraphrase the great Martine McCutchen, is this their moment? Or is it just that the division is incredibly even this season; after all, despite sitting in the play-off spots, they’re only two points off 10th and seven from 16th.

Solidity seems to have been the key to their success; signings have been unremarkable, suggesting they’ve continued to invest steadily over time, waiting for a season like this one, maybe. 

Despite their lofty position, their recent form has been the same as ours with one win and three draws in their last six games. What’s more, that win came at Sheffield Wednesday, and then only after coming back from being two-down after ten minutes.

So, it’s a game which is daunting and hopeful at the same time. Looking at many of the teams above us, stringing together a couple of wins will help us reach Christmas in a more comfortable position than we are now. We’ve got to start somewhere.

Football friend | Ryan Ledson

The arrival of Michael Appleton in 2014 brought about a revolution at Oxford United. It wasn’t just a change to their playing style or training; it was a material shift in how the club operated as a business. 

The vision was devastatingly simple; the club would mine the academies of the Premier League for young players unable to bridge the gap from the youth set up to the first team. By making Oxford an attractive stepping stone to a sustainable career, we could benefit from their talents and, with a bit of luck, generate revenue along the way.

The first wave was fabulously successful; John Lundstram and Kemar Roofe arrived from Everton and West Brom while George Baldock and Jonjoe Kenny both enjoyed highly productive loan spells. Promotion in 2016 and the sale of Roofe to Leeds brought about the second wave. 

Ryan Ledson arrived from Everton while Joe Rothwell joined after turning down a new contract at Manchester United. Ledson, capped by England at every level from Under 16 to Under 20, was an instant hit. It wasn’t just his neat link-up play that endeared him to fans, his enthusiasm for the game and the club was infectious. 

He was never prolific, his most memorable goal coming in the dramatic 3-2 win over Charlton in 2017, a timely and important victory as the club navigated the transition from Pep Clotet to Karl Robinson.

At the end of the 2017/18 season he swept the board at the end of season awards, but with his contract up, his departure to something better looked inevitable. Like others before him, he took the step up to the Championship and joined Preston North End where he stayed until the end of last season when he left to join Huddersfield Town. 

The game | Oxford United 1 Preston North End 2 (1964)

Two weeks after Oxford had disposed of Blackburn in the FA Cup in 1964, they were drawn to face Second Division Preston North End at The Manor in the 6^th Round. The draw delighted manager Arthur Turner; a home tie against one of the lesser teams in the competition represented a great chance to progress into the semi-finals.

Although the win over Blackburn had been celebrated as a major shock, not everyone was enamoured by Oxford’s approach. Skipper Ron Atkinson had set up a players’ pool to capitalise on their newfound fame, selling the match ball to a local hairdresser so he could share the cash around the squad. 

Preparations were fevered, while Oxford director Fred Fish supplied the team with, well, fish to get their strength up, Turner dreamed out loud at his preference for Villa Park as a venue for the semi-final, a presumption that didn’t go down well with the press.

Competition for tickets was as fierce as it had been for the Blackburn game, 10,000 were sold in the first two hours when they went on sale before a reserve game against Woodford. The club worried that forgeries would start to circulate, so Oxford’s club secretary climbed a floodlight pylon to take an exclusive picture of The Manor which was printed on legitimate tickets.

Despite heavy rain on the morning of the game, Preston made light of the raucous record crowd of over 22,000 and the heavy pitch, taking the lead through Alex Dawson after just seven minutes. Oxford fought back, but eventually conceded a second three minutes before half-time from Brian Godfrey.

On the hour Oxford were rewarded for their persistence when Tony Jones scored, but despite constant pressure to find an equaliser and force a replay, they were unable to find their way back. Oxford’s glorious run in the FA Cup was over and Preston would go on to make the final, after beating Swansea Town, before losing 3-2 to West Ham. It would be another 20 years before they got this close to Wembley again.