andy peake

On 27/04/2026 at 07:31, Nolucklcfc said:

Probably at any other club he would have had an impact. But such is the cloud that’s hanging over the club, it’s difficult for any manager to come in and have an effect. 
 

I don’t really judge Rowett too harshly to be honest. He’s shown in his career he’s a decent manager at this level but our players are just beyond help. 
 

Players let him down too. Stoke away (Thomas chance) Watford away (Daka) QPR (Nelson threw the game away). That said, his late subs and persistence with the same formation was annoying. 
 

I don’t think even if we had stayed up he’d have been given the job. 
 

 

I know a few Oxford fans and I can assure you they are saying the same things about players missing sitters, conceding late goals, poor refereeing decisions etc. and what might have been. The difference is that Oxford went down having tried their best under a manager who was able to motivate them, they just needed a bit more quality. Rowett is an ok manager, no more than that, but the players showed absolutely no commitment and your right, we would never have stayed up whoever the manager was.

On 19/04/2026 at 11:27, filthyfox said:

But....  WE FINISHED FIFTH!!!!

 

We have been in League 1, you ungrateful little toad!

 

All this is shit i have had thrown at ME for the last 3 years- now you can have some!!!

Easy big boy. It’s not that we finished 5th it’s the direction of travel since and the fact that everything was thrown at Champions League qualification and it didn’t work out. I realise we’ve been the third tier, I’ve supported this club since 1968 and I’ve seen more ups and downs than you’ve had hot dinners mate. Don’t be such a complete t*t.

23rd May 2021. Lost 4-2 to Spurs. Had just won the FA cup but again finished 5th in the Premier League and again just missed out on the Champions League. We’ve been going slowly downhill ever since.

We relegate.

We need to keep anyone capable of putting in some sort of performance when we’re getting pulled apart away at Bromley.

14 minutes ago, moore_94 said:

Just out of curiosity if he keeps us up would people want him to get the job permanently?

 

Or even if he takes us down but we do improve week on week but we just brought him in too late?

Yes I’d keep him if assuming things continued progressing well. It takes two managers in succession to turn a team around. The first one a builder, like Pearson followed by a second to take things on, like Ranieri. Puel for all his faults was a builder, Rodgers (for a time) developed the team. It’s rare for one manager to do it all on their own. And Rowett could be a builder.

Looking better but need to get some key injured players back like James and  Leschelles. it would also give more options to have Aaron Ramsey and dare I say Vestergaard back. Good start from Rowett but we really need more options. 

23 minutes ago, Dan said:

That's not a good weekend for us.

 

Portsmouth won a harder game.

Charlton drew a harder game.

 

Blackburn won a harder game.

 

Oxford drew a harder game.

 

West Brom the only loser, but to top of the league.

 

Our chances of dropping increased this weekend.

Yes, overall another crap weekend. Rowett is going to have to get them hitting the sort of form that would normally be expected for the play off spots. Too many better players are injured as well. Need to get them back asap and the defence must be tightened up quickly. It’s not impossible to escape relegation but a change in mindset is needed urgently. As an earlier poster said, maybe they do need less slating and an arm round the shoulder from the manager and fans because their confidence needs lifting very quickly. We all know the problems in the club but that will just have to be put to one side for the time being because the players don’t respond well to the negativity.

I saw Oxford under Rowett a number of times last season. They were well organised and efficient although not particularly exciting to watch. I saw them defeat Sunderland and Sheffield United at home. No mean feat at that time. Here’s an article about his early time there. Not saying it will work for us but I think it’s a reasonable appointment given the lack of options available.

https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/sport/24867801.gary-rowett-changed-fortunes-oxford-united/

24,782

Definitely McLintock. Followed by Taylor, although from memory we were amazingly top of the First Division under Taylor for a short time not long after he took over.

1x French (Claude Puel).

One for the boomers….Alan Woolett.

Joe Waters. Two goals in FA cup 6th round away at QPR in 1974. Then? Nothing.

12 hours ago, surrifox said:

Almost certainly will be this club’s only ever WC winner .

While at the club, yes. After leaving the club N’golo Kante in 2018. 
Agree that Banks, Shilton and Schmeichel probably the best. Flowers was also great. Poole not quite in that class but I’ll never forget his amazing save in the first leg of the play offs against Stoke in 1996. 

On 18/04/2025 at 22:40, andy peake said:

I’ve seen Nelson a few times for Oxford this season, both before and after his injury. He does look very assured on the ball,  can play a pass and has good positioning. But he doesn’t seem anything special in the air and doesn’t have a particular physical presence. All in all a younger version of Vestergaard. He’s good but perhaps not quite as good as people are hoping I’m afraid.

I take it all back. Saw Oxford vs Sunderland this afternoon and he had a great game. Scored with a great header, looked very assured and was awarded man of the match. Looks a great prospect. Oxford fans already fed up he’ll be leaving. 

32 minutes ago, The Year Of The Fox said:

What does an astronaut know about CB’s?

I guess you didn’t watch us in the 70s. 😊

48 minutes ago, Bilo said:

I'm not sure Nelson would bring much in. He's a young CB who has had one good season in a relegation threatened Championship team. It would make much more sense to tie him to a decently paid three year contract with a fvck-off release clause. 

I’ve seen Nelson a few times for Oxford this season, both before and after his injury. He does look very assured on the ball,  can play a pass and has good positioning. But he doesn’t seem anything special in the air and doesn’t have a particular physical presence. All in all a younger version of Vestergaard. He’s good but perhaps not quite as good as people are hoping I’m afraid.

As a 67 year old supporting them since 1968 and attending a handful of games each season since I agree with davieG. It’s the poor decision making and lack of vision that’s killing the club. I’ve not renewed my membership this season and haven’t been. Can’t say I’ve particularly missed it but I still look on here hoping, just hoping, that some forward thinking news might emerge but it very rarely does. So it’s not just an age thing. Older supporters are also looking for positive change and a brighter future too.

23rd May 2021. Leicester 2 vs Tottenham 4. We’d just won the FA cup for the first time and it was paraded around the ground to the reduced covid distanced crowd. This couldn’t distract from the fact that we’d managed to just miss out on the European Champions League for the second season running by messing up at the very end. Up to then Brendan was taking us to our full potential. After that we started falling apart and it has been downhill ever since.

12 hours ago, jonthefox said:

The board of directors should be forced to read this thread. Fantastic dedication from some of you. I salute you all.

The board of directors should be forced to read it just to get an idea of how many people have either stopped, including myself, or intend to stop going. Then they might start to get an idea of the level of disillusionment with the current situation.

West Heartforshire.

Seems such a random result. Proves we are probably a good championship quality team. But means very little in terms of our ability to avoid relegation. A good day out for some but the quality to stay up just isn’t there. 

Isn’t it about time Ruud got a couple of decent and experienced backroom staff in?
It seems he doesn’t want a big team of people along side him but how about getting rid of the two Cooper hangers on and bringing in a decent defensive coach and a quality assistant at least. He can’t do it all on his own. Surely his Man Utd connections could help with this.

6 hours ago, JonesLCFC said:

Have we ever had a player so good at scuffing their shots? From memory, there were two scuffs at Southampton and the excellent scuff to Vardy at the back post against Brighton. He’ll go down as an all-time great in his field.

Steve Claridge?