Oxford United Is Coming Back

Manchester United overcame the Tottenham Hotspurs this past weekend to lift the Carling Cup, a title that Oxford United lifted 23 years ago with the likes of John Aldridge, Peter Rhoades-Browne, and Dean Saunders.

Since then, Oxford has not been back in the top flight despite winning promotion from the second division in the 1990s.

Ever since the 3-0 triumph at the old Wembley Stadium, the U's have fallen down the tables and are now sitting in eighth place in the Blue Square Premier (the fifth tier of English football).

This is Oxford’s third season in the league. The first ended in a playoff semifinal heartache and last season the team finished just outside the playoffs.

So how did they get there? Well it all started in the 1999-2000 season where Oxford shipped over 100 goals in a season and were relegated from what is now League One. After spending five years in League Two, the U's were relegated on the last day of the season losing 3-2 at home to Leyton Orient.

This was arguably the darkest day in the history of the club with legendary manager Jim Smith unable to save the U's and defender Chris Willmott being sent off despite scoring a vital goal.

Since playing in the Blue Square, us Oxford fans have experienced a mixture of fortunes. In 2006-2007 despite leading the league for the majority of the season, Oxford slipped towards the end, finishing second.

This meant the U’s had to go through the playoffs. They didn't start off too bad as their on-loan Manchester United player Danny Rose gave them a 1-0 victory in the first leg against Exeter.

However, at home despite taking the lead, they then conceded twice and lost on penalties as Billy Turley, the goalkeeper, missed his penalty shot.

The following season, Smith was sacked after losing 5-0 to Rushden & Diamonds. His replacement was Darren Patterson who took Oxford on a magnificent run to the end of the season where they finished just outside the playoffs.

Patterson though was sacked at the end of 2008 after a string of poor results away from home. Since then, the Chris Wilder revolution has started and the U's currently sit just six points out of a playoff spot.

Could this be the year Oxford gets themselves back into the Football League