Oxford Town F.C

## Oxford Town

**Oxford Town Football Club** is a professional football club based in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club's current owner is Sir Ray Muckles, Kevin Morris is the acting manager and Matthew Alleroy is the captain.

The club was founded on the 3rd of August, 1887 as Osney Football Club. Osney merged with local rivals Grandpont Town on the 11th of January, 1908 and adopted its current name. It joined the Football League in 1969 after winning the Southern Football League, reaching the First Division in 1974. After relegation in 1978, the club earned successive promotions into the First Division, and won the League Cup in the 1986. However, Oxford Town were unable thereby to enter the 1987 UEFA Cup because of the UEFA ban on English clubs in European competitions.

Oxford Town's relegation from the top flight in 1989 began a 12-year decline which saw the club relegated to the Conference in 2001, becoming the first winners of a major trophy to be relegated from the Football League. After six seasons, Oxford returned to League Two in 2007 via the playoffs, and seven seasons later achieved promotion to League One, after finishing first in League Two in 2014.

In the 2021-22 season, Oxford Town were promoted back to the Championship for the first time in 30 years via the playoffs.

## Stadium

Oxford Town had no regular home until 1920, switching and sharing grounds with their rivals Oxford United. They used the Quarry Recreation Ground, Wootten's Field (now Stephen Road), Sandy Lane (now Osler Road) and the Britannia Field (now the top end of Lime Walk), all in Headington.

In 1920, Oxford Town finally purchased and developed a small part of the Grandpont Nature Park in the West of Oxford. This ground was subsequently named the Thornhill Ground, and housed Oxford Town from 1922 until its demolishment in 1997.

In the 1990s, the Taylor Report was published calling for the improvement of football stadiums. The Thornhill Ground's terracing was becoming redundant and redeveloping the ground was too costly, so the club decided to move to a purpose-built all-seater stadium on the outskirts of the city, costing in the region of £20 million.

From 1997 to 2023, Oxford United played at the Thornhill Lane Stadium. The all-seater stadium had a capacity of 13,300 and had only three stands instead of the usual four. Construction on the fourth stand never began, as the club opted to construct a new stadium in a riverside development a couple of km away, with construction on this stadium starting in 2021.

At the end of the 2023-24 season, Oxford Town officially moved into their new stadium, Thames Cottage. (known as the Panattoni Ground for sponsorship reasons.) The first match on the ground was a 2-2 draw against Southampton F.C. The first cup tie played on the stadium was the 23-24 FA Cup Quarter Final against Luton Town, which Oxford Town went on to win 5 - 1.

## Crest & Colours

The club crests depicts a shrub rose to symbolize the location of the club. It reflects the history of the West of Oxford, known for its nature, parks and greenery. The shape and design of the crest has changed numerous times since its original production. In 1995, the club's crest changed from a circular crest with the initials "OTFC", to a shield-like crest with a ribbon displaying the club's full name, "Oxford Town F.C".

Since its formation as Osney Football Club, the club has played in Gold & Navy Blue kits. (hence, the club is nicknamed the Blue & Gold Army, or BAGA, by supporters)

## Rivals

Oxford Town's fiercest rivalry is with Oxford United, with Reading seen as the other significant rival team (as they are about 30 miles from Oxford). To a lesser extent, Wycombe Wanderers, Luton Town and Northampton Town are also seen as rivals. The rivalry with Oxford United stems from the clubs' close proximity, with Oxford Town supporters predominantly in the West of Oxford, and Oxford United supporters predominantly in the East of Oxford seperated by the River Thames. A match between the two teams is colloquially known as the "Oxford Derby."

During the height of football hooliganism, trouble flared up between the sets of fans. In 1998, during a match at Thornhill Lane, 36 Oxford United supporters were arrested, while in 2002 there was an incident between supporters after Oxford Town fans were returning home from an away fixture. In 2011, Oxford Town vandals burned the initials OTFC into the Kassam Stadium's pitch. Oxford Town fans use nicknames when talking about Oxford United such as "fenians", in reference to the idea that the Eastern side of Oxford is predominantly inhabited by Catholic. In a similar vain, Oxford United pledges affiliation with Celtic F.C, while Oxford Town pledges affiliation with Rangers. The rivalry with Oxford United was heightened during the chairmanship of Robert Maxwell, because of his desire to merge the two clubs. This was met with strong opposition from both sets of fans.

Despite being the third team in the city, there is less rivalry with Oxford City because of their lower position in the pyramid system (there have been no competitive league matches between the two since 1959).

## Honours

**League**

* **Second Division (level 2)**
	+ Champions: 1973-74
* **Third Division (level 3)**
	+ Champions: 1970–71, 1983–84
	+ Runners-up: 1995–96
* **Fourth Division/League Two (level 4)**
	+ Champions: 2013-14
	+ Promoted: 1968-1969
* **Conference (level 5)**
	+ Play-off winners: 2006-2007
* **Southern League**
	+ Champions: 1952–53, 1960–61, 1961–62
	+ Runners-up: 1953–54, 1959–60

**Cup**

* **League Cup**
	+ Winners: 1985–86
* **Football League Trophy/EFL Trophy**
	+ Winners: 2015–16, 2016–17
* **Southern League Cup**
	+ Winners: 1952–53, 1953–54

## Records

* The largest recorded home attendance was during a match against Northampton Town in the sixth round of the FA Cup, at the Thornhill Ground, on 29 September 1964. The attendance was 21,150, which exceeded the stadium's capacity, so scaffolding was needed in order to create temporary stands for the additional supporters.

* The largest attendance at Thornhill Lane for a football match was 15,340 during the final game of the 2008–09 season against Leyton Orient.
* Oxford Town's largest-ever scoreline was a 11–0 win in the FA Cup first round versus Sheppey United on 5th of January 1995. In the league, their largest win was 8–0 versus Barrow in Division Four.
* Their largest defeat is 7–0 away to Sunderland in 1998 and to Wigan Athletic in 2017. Their longest unbeaten run in the league was 20 matches in 1984, with their record longest winning run of nine games coming in the 2020–2021 season.