24 goals from Emile Sinclair and 23 from Roy Davis saw that we were promoted with style, and losing just 4 league games all season whilst winning 31 of the 46; we were most definitely a formidable force to be reckoned with.
Here's how the final League One table looked:
Five new signings became first team favourites, and three of them were signed from our former parent club Leeds. Leeds decided to cut the tie when we entered the same league, and with the board having failed to find a suitable feeder club we therefore no longer have one; even without loan players from a higher level parent team I feel that we’ll do well in the Championship though, and our pre-season results suggest that we may even have a shot at promotion.
In pre-season we beat Watford 2-0, Leeds United 1-0, and even achieved a 2-1 victory over last year’s Championship winners Reading. Reading won the league by a clear margin of 15 points last season, and although I somewhat doubt that we too will achieve such success; I do feel that we’ve got a good chance in the league, and that a play-off place could well be a possibility.
Despite the positives, it wasn’t all fun and games last season though; we lost to Derby County in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final, and I therefore failed in my aim to do as I did with Huddersfield in winning the trophy twice. Still; we reached Wembley for the second time in three seasons, and although we didn’t win the cup, we did win the league, and did so incredibly comfortably too.
I have strong hope for life in the Championship, but am well aware of the fact that when I managed Huddersfield Town at this level, I started the season well only to fall away to a 19th place finish. Life in the Championship isn’t going to be easy, and we’ve only signed one new player; he’s a proven Championship goalscorer though, and should complement our current squad members well.
Several Oxford old timers have now found new clubs, and both Eddie Johnson and Luke Foster have now been let go to impress for their respective clubs in League One/Two. I could have held onto them and given them bit parts in my first season in the Championship with Oxford; I wanted more for them than that though, and therefore thought it best to find them new clubs, and allow them the first team experience that they so richly deserve. Both players served me well, and for that I thanked them by allowing them to move on and settle down elsewhere for increased first team opportunities. Jamie Guy was another that I found a new club, providing him with a move to Blackpool to continue his footballing life in League One.
It’s a time of great change as Oxford moves onwards and upwards, and although Rudi Skacel remains; the majority of our older players have now moved on, and a more youthful Oxford team will now look to conquer all in the Championship.
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