Oxford united FC
Cult hero Andy Whing relives chaotic life at Oxford United
Whing was out of work at the time but his next opportunity, the managerial role at nearby Brackley Town, was only days away from being confirmed.
The former U’s defender was doing his best to keep busy after being relieved of his duties at League Two side Barrow in December, but it was clear coaching was where his heart lay.
And it all began in OX4.
“I retired quite early and the last two years I was really plagued with about three or four operations in the last two years at Oxford and it got to me a little bit. So it took me a while to get over that, and I didn’t really know what I wanted to do.”
The former right back raised the volume of his voice to eclipse the chatter of the café.
“If you’d have said I’d be a League Two manager up until recently five or six years ago, I’d have said ‘absolutely no chance’. I was working in a sofa factory, didn’t know what I was doing with myself, and from there it’s just gone upwards.
“I never really looked into coaching because I didn’t really think it was that close…it kind of just fell into my lap.”
Whing had been in OX4 for four years prior to earning the coaching job and was a firm fan favourite, but it was not always smooth sailing for the Brackley boss.
“I don’t know why, the fans hated me at first,” he recalled.
“Chris Wilder brought me in. It was a slow start, I think we lost to Rotherham at home. I was brought in as a right back but Damian Batt was there, I played a few games in midfield, played at right back.
“We beat Swindon early away from home which helped. But, I think the second Swindon game, I played centre half with Michael Duberry. I was a bit like Sam Long now; he plays right back and centre half, a bit of a stalwart who can play anywhere.
“I worked my b******s off, basically, and I think the supporters enjoyed that. That decent person, good personality as well. I think that’s why I stayed coaching for two-and-a-half years because [Michael Appleton] wanted to keep me around. I had a good rapport with the supporters, so it was a really good fit for me.
“I think I got fans’ player of the season that year (2014/15) as well. Obviously, personal accolades are great but, ultimately, we wanted to get the team promoted.
“And we should’ve the next season. I think I blame Chris Wilder for that for leaving us. We were unbelievable until Christmas. Appleton came in and we finally got promoted the year I left.
“I always played, and that was my downfall because I played [taking] tablets, I played through injections. I had some crazy things done to me just to get me through games and I think, eventually, I broke down.
“But I think for Wilder at the time, I was that important…I just had to play all the time even though I wasn’t ready. My groins were hanging off; my hip was hanging off and it kind of killed me down the line. It made me retire early.
“At the time, I wanted to play. I wanted to play for him, for the club. I wanted to get promoted. I enjoyed playing but it just killed me further down the line. I remember going out for warm-ups and taking tablets to get through the game.
“There was one on Boxing Day against Wimbledon away – I played centre half in that game – I literally couldn’t warm up. You know when we side-step, I couldn’t do it. I just had to run in a straight line and back.”
Under Wilder, the entire U’s squad was put through their paces, none more so than Whing.
His obvious desire to play for the club meant the former Coventry City and Brighton & Hove Albion man suffered in the long run, and the strenuous pre-season ventures from the manager only added to the hardship.
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Chris Wilder’s gruelling pre-season army camp
“The season that we were top of the league by Christmas and Wilder left, that pre-season we had an army camp. It was brutal. James Constable and Sam Long ended up on a drip because of exhaustion. I think it was in Wigan at a marine army camp.
“When I got home [from the army camp] I couldn’t lift to get my trainers and socks off. I was on the bed, and my wife was taking my socks and my trainers off, it was that bad.
“There was running, carrying weights and passing them on, bear-crawling through a field into a lake, running up hills, pushing minibuses in.
“We were locked in a dark room with this horrible screaming horror movie music at three o’clock in the morning to mess with your head. And then this geezer started pulling people out one by one.
“We went to some gym session at two or three in the morning. We woke up every hour. You had to put your wet gear back on and if you had dry gear, you had to jump in the lake.
“Honestly, it was brutal. I think they wanted to do more, but they just broke us. Afterwards, it was the best thing we’d ever done, it was unbelievable.
“By November and December, we were top of the league and we were flying. I think that made us brilliant. That pre-season made us really good, and it’s just a shame that Wilder left.
“I don’t know what happened with bringing the new manager in and bringing new players in but we literally just fell by the wayside. The wrong appointments and all that and just couldn’t stay up there unfortunately.
“I got injured, a couple of others got injured. It was gutting that we couldn’t get up that season. But that summer was probably one of the main highlights and that six months when we were top of the league.
“We weren’t great – we were pretty terrible, to be fair – but we had men, people that just knew how to win.
“We had a good time as well. We used to sit having cups of tea for two or three hours every afternoon with the lads because we were just a close-knit group.
“We also went to Boston twice…It was like two stag dos. We worked hard, by the way.
“There was a pub next to the hotel, and we could have whatever we wanted. It was supposed to be pre-season but there was Coca-Cola, burgers, chips.
“We were playing darts, training, and then back into this pub playing whatever we were playing, eating crap.”
As much as there was fun under Wilder, the expectations were clear.
“The first time we played Swindon, we won at their place for the first time in God knows how many years, he just took us straight to the pub and brought us all a beer. He was really good at going, ‘you can work hard, but you can play hard as well’.
“If you weren’t very good on the pitch, you’d have that taken away from you.
“Chris Wilder was brilliant. Not everyone’s cup of tea, he would rub people up the wrong way, but, even though he kind of shortened my career because he played me too much, people like him.”
Over Whing’s 13-year senior career, he enjoyed good spells wherever he went, but it is clear Oxford holds a special place in the former Yellow man’s heart.
“I spent six-and-a-half years at Oxford so, apart from Coventry as a kid, it was the most time I spent at a football club so obviously loved it.
“Loved the people. Loved the people at the ground, the training ground. It was a real close-knit club. I still speak to the old analysts; I still speak to the old physios. I don’t really speak to them from any other club, but I do from Oxford.”
Aaron Ramsey’s Yellows won all four of their summer friendlies, rounding off with a 2-0 victory over Premier League club Ipswich Town.
The U’s were hit with a temporary transfer embargo last month meaning they are unable to register any new players until they prove their compliance with the EFL’s Squad Cost Management Protocol (SCMP) regulations.
This means opportunity has risen even further for youngsters and players previously considered on the fringes and competition for places has risen.
Goalkeeper
Jamie Cumming is firmly the number one choice in between the sticks, with veteran Simon Eastwood the only senior alternative.
The 37-year-old did perform particularly well against Barnet, however, reassuring fans that, if worse comes to worst, he would be able to step in relatively comfortably.
Defence
Against Ipswich, Sam Long and Ciaron started together for the first time in pre-season and played for the majority to secure a first friendly clean sheet.
Young centre back James Golding has looked mature whilst the experienced Michal Helik has been solid; Ramsey may prefer the slightly better ball playing of Long and Brown.
Jack Currie and Brodie Spencer will almost definitely be the first-choice full backs, but Greg Leigh has looked back to his best, particularly against Crawley Town, and Peter Kioso has not looked out of place.
Midfield
With Vaulks gone and Brian De Keersmaecker yet to appear since his surgery in February, competition is rife in midfield.
Captain Cameron Brannagan will start, with tough-tackling Jamie McDonnell next to him last time out.
Louie Sibley offers an alternative, but McDonnell has impressed more recently at a higher level than Sibley who struggled both with Oxford and on loan last season.
The real chance comes for young Harrison Bradney who has impressed with his energy and composure; he could stake a real claim for a consistent place on the U’s bench this year.
Star man Stan Mills will play on the right, whilst Aidomo Emakhu has been a force on the left combining well with Currie.
Tyler Goodrham has returned and been at the heart of many attacking moves in the no.10 role.
Outcast midfielder Siriki Dembele has shown glimpses of excitement as he has returned to the fold, with Ramsey speaking highly of how he has trained; he will provide decent competition for Emakhu and Goodrham.
With longer-term injuries to Jeon Jin-woo and Ruben Roosken, Aidan Elliott-Wheeler and Leo Snowden, who have both shown promise, also have a chance at becoming rotation options for Ramsey.
Striker
Mark Harris is the most senior option of the two, but has scored no goals in pre-season compared to Gatlin O’Donkor’s three.
Harris is more proven with 19 goals in his last League One campaign in 2023/24, but will have genuine competition if 21-year-old O’Donkor can maintain his goal threat heading into the competitive action.
The U’s remain under a temporary transfer embargo which sees them banned from registering any new players until they prove their compliance with the EFL’s Squad Cost Management Protocol (SCMP) regulations.
Oxford brought in one new player prior to the embargo being confirmed, with former Heart of Midlothian centre back joining on a free transfer.
He, however, has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury which will keep the 30-year-old side-lined for a number of months.
Meanwhile, United’s league rivals are making sure to strengthen ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.
The headline transfer news in the third-tier this week has been the loan transfer of Tommy Watson to Leicester City from Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion.
Watson joins on a season-long loan deal after just a year at Brighton having arrived from Sunderland last summer.
The 20-year-old scored the winning goal which saw the Black Cats beat Sheffield United in the 2024/25 Championship play-off final at Wembley despite already agreeing a £10 million move to the south coast.
He played just 10 times for the Seagulls and spent the second half of last season at Millwall.
Watson now drops down to the third tier in an attempt to help Leicester bounce back to the Championship after relegation alongside the U’s last term.
Elsewhere, MK Dons have continued to make waves in the window by bringing in former Middlesbrough winger Sam Silvera.
The newly-promoted Dons have brought in the winger on a free transfer after he was released by Boro at the end of last season.
It is another statement signing for Paul Warne’s side, with the Australian a first-choice name for the Teessiders last season until injury curtailed his season.
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The 25-year-old scored eight goals in 65 appearances for Boro.
Most recently, Oxford have seen Will Vaulks leave for League Two club Tranmere Rovers from whose academy he graduated.
The 32-year-old departs after two years at the club, playing 88 times.
Oxford’s first opponents of the season, Leyton Orient who they face in the Carabao Cup on Saturday, are in the midst of a fight to keep hold of star striker Dom Ballard.
The 21-year-old, who scored 23 goals and managed five assists in League One last year, is the target of Championship club Bristol City who are reportedly making a final push to sign the striker.
The Robins have offered £5 million for Ballard’s services, according to reporter Alan Nixon, with the O’s having held firm but are resigned to losing the prolific goal scorer.
Other moves in the division see Ollie Cooper join Notts County on loan from Swansea City and Stockport County sign Luca Ashby-Hammond after leaving Plymouth Argyle.
The 35-year-old was appointed into his first head coach role in June, taking over at United from Matt Bloomfield after retiring from professional football in April.
Ramsey has enjoyed a successful start to his tenure in OX4 so far, securing four wins from four pre-season fixtures, including a 2-0 victory over Premier League side Ipswich Town.
The former Gunners midfielder has also had to manage the squad amidst a temporary transfer ban which sees Oxford unable to register any new player until they prove compliance with the EFL’s Squad Cost Management Protocol (SCMP) regulations.
The ex-Wales international played under some world-renowned managers during his successful playing career in the likes of Wenger, Aston Villa boss Unai Emery and former Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri.
“Arsene was a huge part of the success that I had as a player,” the Yellows head coach detailed after the pre-season win over Ipswich.
“And obviously, I took so much from him as well, from the manager side of things.
“But I’ve been very lucky and blessed to have played for some really good managers over the years, which I’ve taken little bits from as well.
“So, yes, I wouldn’t just say it’s all him, but definitely he’s formed part of that.”
Similarly to Wenger, Ramsey possesses a calm demeanour on the touchline, more often than not on the edge of his technical area with the occasional instruction directed at a player or the team as a whole.
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He is visibly calm and contemplative, something which he himself acknowledges.
“I think that’s me as a player, though. I’ve always been quite calm and comfortable in situations. So for me, that’s the way that I am.
“And I want my players to feel that and to feel like they can go out there and express themselves.
“So, yes, when they play like that [against Ipswich], it does make it a lot easier for me on the side lines.
“I think we need to be confident in what we’re trying to do for us to be able to really showcase exactly what we can do.
“It’s that confidence which is important without stepping over the line, but we need to embrace that.”
The U’s begin their campaign this Saturday with a Carabao Cup clash with League One rivals Leyton Orient.
Ramsey will be hoping his side can take the confidence and impressive performances from pre-season into the competitive campaign.
League action begins a week later, with the Yellows hosting newly-promoted MK Dons at the Kassam on the opening day.
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