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Ahead of our return to the Sky Bet Championship, learn more about all 23 of our opponents

2024-07-10T08:00:00.000Z

IN FOCUS: OXFORD UNITED

Ahead of our return to the Sky Bet Championship, learn more about all 23 of our opponents

2024-07-10T08:00:00.000Z

Ahead of our return to the Sky Bet Championship, learn more about all 23 of our opponents

Oxford United was originally formed as an amateur village team known as Headington in 1893.

After merging with nearby Headington Quarry and re-branding to Headington United, the Club turned semi-professional in 1949.

Whilst still a non-league club, ‘Headington United’ reached the fourth round of the FA Cup in 1954 and, after changing their name to Oxford United in 1960, the U’s were elected to the fourth tier of the Football League in 1962.

That kick-started a rise up the footballing pyramid and Oxford were in what is now known as the Championship by 1968.

1985/86 was the most successful season in the club’s history, with the Yellows competing in Division 1 for the first time and winning the League Cup with a 3-0 victory over Queen’s Park Rangers.

Then came 15 years of flittering between the first and second tiers of English football before a steady decline saw them drop to the National League.

Oxford spent the 2010s competing in League Two and later League One, with a handful of unsuccessful shots at promotion via the play-offs.

However, they finally made the step up to the Championship at the back end of 2023/24, beating Bolton Wanderers in the League One Play-Off Final at Wembley Stadium.

More than 70,000 fans were in attendance as former Newcastle United man Josh Murphy scored a first-half brace against the Whites.

Stadium: Kassam Stadium (12,500) – Grenoble Road, Oxford, OX4 OXP

Nickname(s): The U’s, Yellows

Manager: Des Buckingham

2023/24 finishing position: 5th in Sky Bet League One (promoted via the play-offs)

2023/24 top scorer (all competitions): Mark Harris (19)

Played for both:

Ashley Barnes – Barnes spent time on loan at Oxford, then a National League side, whilst at Plymouth Argyle in his early career. He made three league appearance for the U’s in 2007 before leaving Plymouth permanently in 2010 to join Brighton & Hove Albion. It was from there that he moved to Burnley in the January of 2014, with Sean Dyche bringing him in to help with the 2013/14 promotion push. Later that season, Barnes established himself as a Clarets icon, scoring in the famous 2-1 win at home to Wigan Athletic and securing a then-unlikely return to the Premier League. Overall, he spent nine years at Turf Moor and scored 55 goals in all competitions, with 42 coming in England’s top-flight.

Alex MacDonald – MacDonald signed a two-year Clarets scholarship in 2006 and would go on to be voted as Youth Team Player of the Year in the 2007-08 season. This led to him signing a professional deal in 2008, before making his senior debut as a replacement for Wade Elliott in a Championship game against Cardiff that year. The winger would make 11 appearances for Burnley, with much of his time at Turf Moor being spent on-loan. He eventually left the Club for Burton Albion in 2013, later joining Oxford in February 2015. MacDonald spent two years with the Yellows and made 97 total appearances for the club, scoring 12 goals.

Arthur Gnohere – Stan Ternent signed Gnohere from French side Caen in 2001 and the centre-back went on to spend three seasons with Burnley, making 86 appearances in all competitions. During his time at the Club, he became a fan-favourite and was affectionately nicknamed ‘King Arthur’ after a string of dominant displays. His most memorable match was arguably a 3-2 victory over Preston North End in December 2001, a game in which he scored a brace. The Ivorian later spent three months Oxford in the 2007-08 season, making eight appearances before being released.