24 Facts About Oxford United

Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England.

However, Oxford was unable thereby to enter the 1987 UEFA Cup because of the UEFA ban on English clubs in European competitions.

Oxford United moved to the stadium in 2001 after leaving the Manor Ground, their home for 76 years.

Oxford United were formed as Headington in 1893, adding the suffix United in 1911 after merging with Headington Quarry.

In 1899, six years after their formation, Headington United joined the Oxfordshire District League Second Division, where they competed until the outbreak of the First World War; the Second Division was renamed the Oxfordshire Junior League after the resumption of football in 1919.

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Oxford United spent two seasons in the Spartan League in 1947 and 1948, finishing fifth and fourth respectively.

Oxford United played its first season in the Southern League in 1949, the same year they turned professional.

In 1950, Headington Oxford United became the first professional club in Britain to install floodlights, and used them on 18 December against Banbury Spencer.

In 1982, as a Third Division side, Oxford United faced closure because of the club's inability to service the debts owed to Barclays Bank, but were rescued when businessman Robert Maxwell took over the club.

Oxford United remained in charge until September 1993, when he moved to Manchester City in the recently formed FA Premier League.

Oxford United began the next season with a new manager and a new stadium, with the relocation to the Kassam Stadium completed after six years of speculation.

Wright's successor, Ian Atkins, was unable to make an immediate impact and Oxford United finished in 21st position in the league, at the time their lowest-ever league position.

Oxford United replaced him with Argentine Ramon Diaz, who managed the team to a mid-table finish.

Coincidentally, Accrington Stanley, the club whose bankruptcy in 1962 allowed Oxford United to be elected into the League, was one of the two clubs promoted to replace them.

Oxford United finished outside the play-offs for the third consecutive season, but manager Chris Wilder was given a further one-year contract in April 2013.

Under Lewis and Waddock, Oxford United slipped out of the play-off places in the final few weeks of the season, finishing a disappointing eighth in the table, nine points off the last playoff place.

Waddock's surprise sacking ensured he had the worst record of any Oxford United manager, winning only once and losing seven times in his eight games in charge of the club.

Oxford United had no regular home until 1913, switching between the Quarry Recreation Ground, Wootten's Field, Sandy Lane and the Britannia Field, all in Headington.

The all-seater stadium has a capacity of 12,500 and has only three stands instead of the usual four; when first planned in 1995 it was originally going to have a 16,000-seat capacity, but by the time the stadium opened Oxford United was playing in a lower division, so the smaller capacity was deemed adequate.

In July 2015, Oxford United announced a three-season deal with investment management company Liontrust Asset Management covering both home and away shirts.

Oxford United was replaced by Arthur Turner in 1958, who would become the longest-serving manager in the club's history, serving more than a decade in charge.

Jim Smith returned as manager in 2006, the year that Oxford United were relegated to the Football Conference after 44 years in the Football League.

The largest amount of money Oxford have received by selling a player was an estimated £3,000,000 for Kemar Roofe's transfer to Leeds United in July 2016.

Oxford United are the only team in history to have been promoted consecutively from Division Three to the First Division as Champions.