Prediction League Game 4; Oxford Utd (away)

Div3North · 19-08-2010, 23:45

Oxford United

V

AccringtonStanley

Prediction League – Game 4; v Oxford Utd (away)

(Sorry this is so early and overlaps week 3, but I go away later today for a week, so it's either now, or next Friday tea-time!)

Promoted back to League Two after four years’ absence on 16th May, when they won the Play-off Final beating York 3-1, Oxford hold the dubious distinction of being the only team ever to have won one of the major cup competitions and also to have been relegated from the Football League. The oldsters amongst us will remember that Oxford won the League Cup (then known as the “Milk Cup”) on 20th April 1986, beating QPR 3-0 at Wembley with goals from Trevor Hebberd, Ray Houghton and Jeremy Charles (remember them?); they would have qualified for the UEFA Cup but for the ban on English teams following the Heysel Stadium disaster.

Over the past summer they released half a dozen players, including Billy Turley and Kevin Sandwith; to compensate for that, they signed 12 (yes, twelve!), best known amongst whom are perhaps Simon Heslop, who came on a free from Barnsley, Asa Hall, also a free signing from Luton, and Richie Baker (ex Man U Youth player and PNE trainee) from Bury. Their danger man is undoubtedly skipper James Constable, who signed from Shrewsbury two years ago and scored 25 goals in 45 games in 08/09 and 26 in 40 last season

As I suspect everyone knows, we’ve never played each other (unless Accrington FC played Headington Utd back in the middle ages); they came into the League in 1962 as winners of the Southern League, replacing us following our resignation. They subsequently hit the heights of Division 1 (so did Swansea, Northampton et al), but lost their top tier status in 1988 after 3 years; they yo-yo’d a little between the 2nd and 3rd divisions, but in 2006 – as we came back up – they went down to the Conference, losing their League status after 44 years

Their season started with a goalless draw at Burton Albion, followed by an impressive drubbing of League One Bristol Rovers 6-1 in the Carling Cup (goals by Heslop (2), Constable (2), Midson and Green, including 4 in the first half hour); they came down to earth with a bump in week 2, though, losing at home 2-1 to Bury, Jack Midson scoring their single goal. Since this thread starts before their week 3 game, I’ll leave the update on their form to you. By the way, the win over Bristol Rovers has earned them a Carling Cup second round tie away at West Ham (not as glamorous as Newcastle!)

The deadline for entries is, as ever, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3pm on Saturday 28th August. So ; here’s one where the bragging rights are up for grabs! Big win? Thumping loss? 6-6 thriller? Your guess ……………

Good luck to everyone ………… and thanks for playing!