Oxford united FC
Shock full details of Southampton spying on Oxford revealed
Saints were kicked out of the Championship play-off final last month after being found to have breached EFL rules by spying on Middlesbrough, Ipswich Town and the U’s.
After beating Boro in the semi-final, Southampton were replaced by the Teesside club in the final at Wembley who were then beaten 1-0 by Hull City, the Tigers securing promotion to the Premier League.
Previous details of Tonda Eckert’s side spying on Oxford back in December had been revealed, stating that the Saints boss wanted information on the formation of caretaker head coach Craig Short’s Yellows.
The St Mary’s club has since published a statement on their website in light of the recent details, as well as a statement from the chairman – he says he will not sack Eckert following the offences – and the head coach on social media.
The German boss has apologised to players, staff, and supporters, claiming he is responsible and saying: “I’m a young coach and made a mistake.”
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The panel’s written reasons for Saints’ spying on United read: “A few days before Christmas, Oxford sacked their Manager, Gary Rowett, and replaced him with an interim manager, Craig Short. Mr Rowett had usually played with a back five.
“At a Southampton coaching and analyst meeting in preparation for the match, Mr Eckert asked if someone could go to observe the Oxford training session to see how they were lining up and whether a particular player (Cameron Brannagan) was fit to play.
“Mr Eckert said that he did not see any issue in doing this: he said he was surprised to learn, after the Middlesbrough Incident, that observing an opposition team shortly before a match was a breach of the Regulations.
“The junior analyst intern duly attended Oxford’s training ground, where he was able to observe from public areas and footpaths.
“During the course of the training session, he sent updates, photographs and videos to analyst 1 and analyst 3 concerning matters such as tactical shape and player selection.
Saints instructed the intern to return the following day where he observed that Oxford would line up with a back four rather than a back five.
The written reasons continued: “Whilst Mr Eckert said that he did not personally view the footage from the training session and maintained that the information obtained had no impact on the match preparation, during the period of observation and following the provision of some information, analyst 1 messaged the junior analyst intern on WhatsApp: “Try and make out as much as you can please. You legend. Manager loved it.””
The 2026/27 EFL Cup supercomputer forecast, combining mathematical probability algorithms and agentic AI, suggests the Yellows will defeat Leyton Orient 2-1 at Brisbane Road.
This will be Ramsey’s first competitive fixture since taking charge.
The computer model – conducted by Andy’s Bet Club – anticipates several other first-round outcomes, including Rochdale, recently promoted from the National League, surprising Bradford City with a penalty shootout victory.
In the southern section of the competition, League Two’s Barnet are expected to beat Cambridge United, who are a league higher.
The supercomputer also foresees victories for West Ham United, Birmingham City, Burnley, and Wolves, all advancing unscathed to the second round.
On the other hand, Oxford’s fierce rivals, Swindon Town, are predicted to exit in the first round, losing 2-0 to Championship side Cardiff City.
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The first round of the EFL Cup, for the first time in six years, is set to take place before the start of the league season.
The supercomputer predicts that West Ham United will be the last remaining EFL team in the competition, bowing out in the quarter-finals against Chelsea.
The eventual winners, according to the supercomputer, will be Manchester City, claiming their 10th title.
The U’s begin the season with a Carabao Cup journey to Leyton Orient on Saturday which will also mark former Arsenal star Aaron Ramsey’s first competitive game in charge.
Oxford secured a perfect record in pre-season with four wins from four including a 2-0 win over Premier League club Ipswich Town.
Hit with a temporary transfer embargo in July, the U’s brought in one new player before the ban in former Hearts defender Frankie Kent.
They have seen four players depart in Matt Ingram, Nik Prelec and Will Vaulks permanently, as well as Ole Romeny on loan.
There have been a few changes to player squad numbers on the eve of the new season.
Notably, South Korean attacker Jeon Jin-woo has taken the no.7 from departed winger Przemyslaw Placheta who left earlier this summer after his contract expired with the Yellows.
New signing Kent will wear the no.5 despite picking up an anterior cruciate ligament injury which rules him out of action for a number of months.
Academy graduate Tyler Goodrham has changed his number from no.19 to no.11 which was held by Romeny last term.
New numbers and squad list confirmed ✅
Looks like young Monty Marriott will be third choice goalkeeper – all other youngsters that featured in pre-season are included and handed squad numbers 🔢 #oufc 🟡 https://t.co/ZtWECiNrEp
— malachi (@MalachiObrey) August 7, 2026
January signing Jamie McDonnell will wear the no.18 shirt which was worn by Louie Sibley last year; the latter will now wear no.32.
21-year-old striker Gatlin O’Donkor, who scored in three out of four pre-season fixtures, will take over the no.19 shirt formerly worn by Goodrham.
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Youngsters James Golding (no.25), Leo Snowden (no.27), Aidan Elliott-Wheeler (no.37), Monty Marriott (no.41) and Harrison Bradney (no.44) are all included on the list.
Marriott will seemingly be the new third-choice shot-stopper, with veteran Simon Eastwood (no.13) as the second choice.
The three other young academy products all featured in the pre-season victories and have a huge opportunity at securing regular first-team spots amid the current transfer embargo.
🔢 With the first game of the competitive season just hours away, we can confirm the squad list for the 2026/27 season.
— Oxford United (@OUFCOfficial) August 7, 2026
Marselino Ferdinan is one who is notably absent.
There has been no information on his contract status as of yet, with the Indonesian not named in the U’s post.
The 21-year-old spent time on loan at Slovakian club AS Trencin last season but suffered an injury which curtailed his year.
The confirmed numbers come three days after United released their new away kit showcasing Oxford’s performing arts scene.
Supporters can now choose which player and number to select when purchasing the new home and away shirts.
Oxford begin the new campaign with a trip to Leyton Orient in the Carabao Cup on Saturday afternoon, marking the start of a new era under the leadership of former Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey.
The U’s have had a summer of mixed fortunes, winning all four of their pre-season fixtures after being hit with a temporary transfer embargo for failing to comply with the EFL’s Squad Cost Management Protocol (SCMP) regulations.
With the Yellows unable to bring in new faces or replace departing names, young players and those formerly on the fringes of the squad have been given a huge opportunity to secure a first-team place.
As one of the senior figures at the club, Brannagan has opened up on his influence on those players.
“I’ve had close conversations with them because it’s a great opportunity for the younger ones to come through,” the 30-year-old declared.
“The stage is theirs, to be honest. I’m sure that Gaff has come in and had conversations with them and said that there will be opportunity for you.
“If it was me as a young kid now, I’d be looking at that going, this is my chance.
“They’re all great kids; they work very hard and they do deserve the opportunity.
“I wish them all the best and hopefully they will grab that opportunity by the scruff of the neck and do really well.”
One of those young players is fellow midfielder Harrison Bradney, a youngster who has progressed through the club’s academy since joining at the age of seven and impressed in his performances in pre-season.
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“I try to help them all, to be honest, in their own ways,” Brannagan continued.
“It’s never easy as a young kid, especially stepping into the first-team environment but, yeah, Bradley is great.
“I see it in training; he’s got great quality and he’s got potential to hopefully have a great career.
“Bradney knows if he obviously ever needs anything, we’re always here to help him.
“I think he’s been great pre-season and trained really well; [it is a] massive season for him.”
Three players have left the club – Ole Romeny, Nik Prelec and Will Vaulks – since the embargo hit but the U’s players have had to remain focused on the season ahead amidst the off-field drama.
“There’s always conversation in the dressing room, but obviously that’s for the dressing room.
“Everybody here is focused to play for Oxford United and that’s the main focus. Our main focus is tomorrow.
“I know it’s a cup game, but we want to go there and hopefully get the result.
“It’s an important game and we want to get through to the next round.”
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