Oxford United rival promotion season with standout League One start

It was just three years ago that the Yellows kicked off the 2023/24 season under Liam Manning, where they achieved promotion to the Championship after winning the play-off final against Bolton Wanderers at Wembley

Since then, the club has seen five managers, including Manning, in charge as they survived a first campaign in the Championship for 25 years under Gary Rowett before suffering relegation last term under Matt Bloomfield.

Aaron Ramsey now roams the dugout for the U’s and has enjoyed a successful start to life in OX4.

On the club’s return to the third division, United have enjoyed a similar promising beginning to the one they did three years ago.

Oxford United midfielder Louie Sibley (Image: Darrell Fisher)

The Welshman has guided Oxford to 11 points from their opening six games despite constant turbulence off the field.

The arrival and departures of board-level staff coupled with the implementation of a temporary transfer embargo from the Sky Bet EFL have not made life easy for Ramsey.

However, the U’s have reached sixth place early in the season, with a game in hand on all but one team in the division.

Oxford United head coach Aaron Ramsey (Image: Darrell Fisher)

A win in that game in hand, against Reading, would see Oxford potentially climb to second place as things stand.

Oxford have three wins, two draws and a single defeat, scoring 13 goals and conceding seven.

Under Manning in 2023, the team lost their opening match 2-0 against Cambridge United before winning their next four.

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Former Oxford United head coach Liam Manning (Image: Joe Giddens/PA Wire)

Their sixth match was a 2-1 loss at the hands of Port Vale, leaving Manning’s men with one point more, 12, than Ramsey’s Yellows currently have but only in seventh place.

Despite having fewer points, the current U’s team is outperforming the previous League One competitors in other areas.

With 4-0 and 3-0 wins over Leicester City and Burton Albion respectively, the 2026 side have one more clean sheet than the previous team’s singular one in a 1-0 victory over Carlisle United.

Furthermore, Ramsey’s rampant group have scored an impressive 13 goals, averaging 2.17 goals per game.

Oxford United directors box including chairman Dusan Bogdanovic and former owner Firoz Kassam (front row, furthest right) (Image: Darrell Fisher)

The start of the promotion-winning season saw just nine goals and an average of 1.5 per game under Manning, who was eventually poached by Championship club Bristol City and replaced by Oxford-born hero Des Buckingham in November.

Other differences between the two seasons include off-the-pitch happenings, with Oxford undergoing trickier circumstances during Ramsey’s tenure so far than they did under Manning.

The fact that the former Arsenal star is outperforming the now out-of-work Manning with transfer restrictions and more instability higher up the food chain could see Ramsey looked upon more favourably.

Should United continue in their current impressive vein and see their embargo lifted ahead of the January window, there is no reason why they cannot match, or even better, the fortunes of 2023/24.