Aldridge played for Oxford for three years after joining from Newport County in 1984, scoring 52 goals for the club before leaving for boyhood side Liverpool.

The 67-year-old spent two seasons with the Reds before moving abroad to Spanish outfit Real Sociedad.

He then saw out his career with Tranmere Rovers as a player-manager.

Speaking exclusively to the Oxford Mail, on behalf of betTom, Aldridge recalled his time playing in La Liga.

“Anfield’s my number one [favourite stadium. My number two would be the Camp Nou,” the former Republic of Ireland international disclosed.

“I played there three times.

John Aldridge after scoring four against Gillingham (Image: Oxford Mail Archive)

“The first game, it was just amazing. We drew 2-2 and I scored two.

“Then we went again in the cup. After losing 1-0 at home, we won 3-2.

“We got to extra time and I scored another two.

“Then the last away game of my Spanish career in Sociedad was at Barcelona.

READ MORE: Ex-Oxford United and Swindon Town attacker signs for Gosport Borough

READ MORE: Former Oxford United boss on Man City record and Premier League exit

READ MORE: Former Oxford United boss spotted at League One rivals

“A week before I’d scored the winner against Atletico Madrid, 1-0, which won Barcelona the league.

“We went there in front of 110,000. We clapped them on the pitch.

“We beat them 3-1 and I scored another two. I scored six goals in three games.

“At the Bernabeu [against Real Madrid], I scored one when we won 3-2. That was amazing.

“It just didn’t have what the Camp Nou had.

“The Camp Nou was more natural to me.”

The U’s saw a judicial review request from campaign group ‘Friends of Stratfield Brake’ refused by the High Court last week with the Judge concluding that the ground of challenge were unarguable.

Oxford were granted planning permission by Cherwell District Council earlier this year, with a new stadium dubbed crucial for the future of the club.

The new ground is set to be located on The Triangle in Kidlington, with the £130 million investment providing almost 1,000 jobs and hoping to boost the economy by £32 million a year.

Former Yellows striker and Milk Cup winner Aldridge has declared that the new stadium will make a ‘massive difference’ having played in stadiums from the old Manor Ground to Liverpool’s Anfield and Barcelona’s famous Camp Nou.

“Once they get there…it makes a massive difference,” the former U’s and Liverpool goal scorer announced.

Plans for Oxford United stadium (Image: Oxford United)

“It makes you feel a bit more proud that you’re not residing in someone else’s back garden.

“I think the fact that they don’t own the ground will make it easy to walk away from. And the fact that there’s only three sides.

“It didn’t look quite like a football stadium.

“It looked like a baseball stadium in many ways.

“I feel sorry for teams that have to move or have moved…for the fans, the die-hard fans.

“Liverpool are lucky. We’ve built on what we’ve always had. Obviously, Anfield’s noted all over the world, one of the best stadiums in the world.

“We’re lucky to have that.”

READ MORE: Former Oxford United boss on Man City record and Premier League exit

READ MORE: Former Oxford United boss spotted at League One rivals

In a career that took him from Oxford to Liverpool to Spain, Aldridge played in a number of world-renowned grounds.

After making a name for himself with Newport County, the former Republic or Ireland international arrived at the famous Manor Ground where he went on to make a number of memories.

“There was a mini Kop…right behind us, you know, they made a difference and I’ll never forget that.

“I scored a worldie against Oxford for Newport from about, I must remember, 40 yards out; I think that might have just captured Jim Smith’s mind.

“But as memories go, I had so many.

“The hat-trick against Ipswich, three goals in, I think it was about six, seven minutes or something.

John Aldridge playing for the U’s (Image: Photo: Oxford Mail)

“We were getting beat 3-0, we scored just before half-time, went on to 3-3 and Neil Slatter scored the winner.

“When we knocked Arsenal out of the cup, beating Villa to go to Wembley over the two legs.

“It was brilliant to play there because of the atmosphere.

“It was a little bit intimidating to teams. We beat Chelsea 4-0, I think.

“Teams hated coming there, honestly.

“I think the Manor Ground kept us up over the years.”

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.

Michael Appleton checks his watch as the final game of the season against Wycombe Wanderers enters injury time, waiting for the celebrations to start as the U’s clinch promotion in 2016 (Image: David Fleming)

“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.

READ MORE: Former Oxford United boss spotted at League One rivals

READ MORE: Oxford United tipped for League One promotion despite ‘massive’ losses

“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.

Michael Appleton has been out of work since leaving Shrewsbury Town in January (Image: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire)

“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.”