Oxford united FC
Former Oxford United boss on Man City record and Premier League exit
The 50-year-old was in charge of Oxford from 2014 to 2017, leading the club to automatic promotion to League One in the 2015/16 season.
Appleton helped the club reach the final of the EFL Trophy in two consecutive campaigns but suffering defeat in both at the hands of Barnsley and Coventry City, respectively.
In his final season in charge, the former Charlton Athletic and Blackburn Rovers boss led the U’s to eighth place in the third tier but left during the subsequent summer, joining Leicester as assistant to Craig Shakespeare.
Appleton had a positive relationship with then-chairman Darryl Eales, with fans ‘disappointed’ with his exit at the time.
“I had a couple of really honest conversations with Darryl at the end of the season before Leicester even came up,” the former Yellows boss revealed in an interview with EFL Debate.
“Within our conversations, I realised that if anything did come up, I’d have to really seriously think about it.
“It was around financials, how we rebuild, can we rebuild? There were a few things going on with Daryl at the time and… that didn’t go as well as what I thought it was going to do after two years of success.
“At the end of the day, we know how quickly things can turn in football.
“The Leicester one came up, and I felt it was just a fantastic opportunity to work with top, top players and international players, with someone who I knew and had respected for a while.
“Because I’d done it at West Bromwich Albion, I knew I was more than comfortable on that stage working with the players on the pitch.
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“When that opportunity came, it was a no brainer.
“To work with the likes of Vards [and] those six months I had with Riyad Mahrez, probably the best player I ever coached.”
Appleton led Oxford to deep runs in cup competitions alongside league success, particularly in his second and third seasons at the club.
“We had good people, good players, the place just exploded.
“[In 2015/16] we got promotion, we were great, we had a really good run in the FA Cup, we got to the final of the EFL Trophy and it was a good time.
“I think it was the second year and the third year, and I’ll have to get the absolute stats but I’ll only be out by one or two games, I think there was only Manchester City that, in the whole of the Football League and Premier League for two seasons on the run, that played more games than Oxford. I think we played 62 and 61 because of cup games.
“The football club at that time was really, really good for me.”
The 34-year-old ex-EFL striker will be available for Wednesday evening’s fixture against Bracknell Town.
Bodin has played for several EFL clubs, including Preston North End, Oxford, Burton Albion and Swindon.
Last season at Swindon, he made 27 appearances, including nine starts, and scored four goals in League Two.
His arrival gives Gosport another forward as the club sits 13th in the Premier Division South.
The side has scored 11 goals in eight league matches this season.
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Bodin joined Oxford in 2021, as a free agent on a one-year contract.
During his first season, Oxford narrowly missed out on a play-off place, while Bodin scored six league goals and one in the FA Cup.
He later helped Oxford win promotion to the Championship, then announced he would leave at the end of the 2023-24 season when his contract expired.
Bodin joined Burton after leaving Oxford before moving to Reading on loan.
The Swindon-born attacker was released by his local team when his contract expired at the end of last season.
Robinson was sacked as boss of League Two side Salford City in June just days after losing last season’s play-off final 3-0 against Notts County.
He has since been out of work whilst two League One clubs have already pulled the trigger and sacked their managers.
Wycombe Wanderers fired Michael Duff after just five games this season before Peterborough United dismissed Luke Williams after seven matches.
League leaders Bradford City are also managerless after losing Graham Alexander to Championship club Preston North End.
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire revealed that former U’s boss Robinson was seen leaving London Road on Tuesday afternoon as the Posh continue their search for a new boss.
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It comes after drama on Tuesday in which Forest Green Rovers released a statement announcing that manager Robbie Savage had been offered the job by Peterborough only for the Cambridgeshire club to come out and deny Rovers owner Dale Vince’s claims.
Peterborough manager search latest ➡️
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire understands former MK Dons and Oxford manager Karl Robinson was seen leaving London Road yesterday afternoon#pufc | #BBCEFL pic.twitter.com/XuuYgDXPZk
— BBC Cambs Sport (@BBCCambsSport) September 30, 2026
Former Salford and MK Dons boss Robinson managed Oxford for almost five years, reaching the League One play-off final in 2019/20 but losing 2-1 to Wycombe Wanderers.
The U’s reached the play-offs again the following season but were defeated in the semi-final by Blackpool with a 6-3 aggregate score line.
The 46-year-old was sacked in February 2023 after a run of eight games without a win.
Oxford currently lie 10th in the third tier in the midst of the first international break of the season, with two games in hand on a chunk of their competitors.
The U’s saw the incoming of former Arsenal and Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey as head coach in June before being hit with a temporary transfer embargo and losing highly-rated players Stanley Mills and Brian De Keersmaecker late in the window.
After winning three and drawing two of their first six League One games following Championship relegation last season, the Yellows are in a strong position early in the campaign.
Former EFL journeyman and current Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman has backed Ramsey’s men despite citing ‘massive losses’ within the playing squad.
“I will always look at teams that get relegated from the Championship and think that the reality is that they should be pushing at the top end one way or another,” the former Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion striker disclosed.
“But then I had a look at who they’ve lost and it’s several key players.
“I didn’t realise they’d lost Brian De Keersmaecker, Przemyslaw Placheta, Stanley Mills, and Myles Peart-Harris.
“That is four massive key players who, if they were still at the club, you’d almost go definitely a top six team that without hesitation.
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“But there’s lots of factors that you’ve got to consider, and that’s just one of them.
“Then you’ve got Aaron Ramsey, who’s a new manager with very little past experience, only a few games in caretaker charge of Cardiff City.
“You’ve also got him implementing a completely different style to the one that they had last year in the Championship, where they had the lowest average possession in the whole of the Championship, whereas Aaron wants them to be a dominant possession-based team.
“They’re now the third highest average possession in League One.
“Only Leicester City and Stockport County have more of the ball.
“And the other factor is they’ve played at least one game less than most of the league, and in some cases, I think there’s seven or eight teams that have played two more games.
“So, when you put it all together, they’ve lost one game all season away at Huddersfield Town, who are a decent team.
“They’re currently 10th, and if they win the game in hand, they shoot all the way up to third.
“I think you’ve got to have them down as a good team for the level, with good players and definitely in with a shout of getting straight back up.”
The U’s return to action on Tuesday, October 6, facing Exeter City away in the Jersey Mike’s Trophy.
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