Oxford City F.C.

Oxford City Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Marston, Oxford, England. In 2023–24 they will compete in the National League, the fifth tier of English football, and play their home matches at Marsh Lane.

Oxford City
Full nameOxford City Football Club
Nickname(s)The Hoops
Founded1882 (1882)
GroundRAW Charging Stadium, Court Place Farm, Marsh Lane, Marston
Capacity3,100
ChairmanBrian Cox
ManagerRoss Jenkins
LeagueNational League
2022–23National League South, 3rd of 24 (promoted via play-offs)
WebsiteClub website
Marsh Lane, home of Oxford City F.C.

History

The club played their first recorded match on 15 March 1884 at Thame Grammar School, losing 4–2. Fixtures were irregular for over a decade, with none at all played between 1886 and 1893, but the club was reorganised and reconstituted in 1897 and soon became the leading club in Oxfordshire, winning the FA Amateur Cup in 1906, before joining the Isthmian League the following year.

In the latter half of the 20th century, the club went into decline and soon fell behind Headington United after that club turned professional in 1949. An attempt was made to return the club to success in 1979 when it became a limited company and later when England World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore was appointed manager with his former West Ham United team-mate Harry Redknapp as his assistant.

The club reached its lowest point in 1988 when they were evicted from their White House Ground by their landlords Brasenose College, who sold it off for housing. Forced to resign from the Isthmian League, the club did not reform and return to senior football until 1990 when, based at Cutteslowe Park, they entered the South Midlands League Division One, winning promotion in their first season. They returned to the Isthmian League in 1993 when they also moved to their current ground. The club continued to climb through the divisions of that League during the 1990s and reached the final of the FA Vase in 1995.

Highlights of the next decade included two years in the Isthmian League Premier Division and an epic FA Cup run in 1999–2000 which culminated in a three-game battle against Wycombe Wanderers in the First Round proper. City were eventually edged out 1–0 at Oxford United's Manor Ground. The first replay had been abandoned because of a fire alarm just as the penalty shootout was about to start;[1] this remains the only FA Cup tie to go to a second replay since the FA ruled that all ties should be settled after a maximum of two games. This rule change also means that City's other FA Cup record – the six games needed before losing to Alvechurch in 1971–72 – will probably never be beaten.

In 2005 the club were relegated back to the Spartan South Midlands League, but were promoted at the first time of asking under manager Andy Lyne, winning both the Championship and the Premier Cup.

In November 2006 Lyne resigned as manager to become the club's Director of Football. He was succeeded by Justin Merritt as Player Manager with former Oxford United player Mike Ford as his assistant. Merritt subsequently stepped down in August 2009 and Ford took over as manager.

On 3 May 2008, Oxford City were promoted from the Southern League Division One South and West with a 1–0 win over Uxbridge. In their first season in the Premier Division they finished in 6th place, narrowly missing out on the play-offs.[2]

In 2011–12 Oxford City finished as runners-up, narrowly missing out on the title. They won the play-off final against AFC Totton to gain promotion to Conference North for the first time in their history. The club enjoyed a successful first season in the Conference North, finishing in 10th place, 11 points clear of the relegation zone. The following season proved more of a struggle, with the club initially finishing in the relegation zone after a three-point deduction for fielding an ineligible player, only to be reprieved from relegation after Vauxhall Motors resigned from the Football Conference. Mike Ford left the club shortly after the season ended.

On 18 May 2014, Oxford City appointed Justin Merritt as Manager; he was joined by his Assistant Danny Nicholls with coaching roles for former players Mark Jones and Alan Foster and Enrique Guillen continuing his coaching role at the club. For 2015–16, they moved from Conference North to Conference South – the division was renamed National League South. Merritt resigned in December 2016, becoming the club's general manager, and Mark Jones took over as first-team coach, initially on a caretaker basis.[3]

In 2017–18 the Hoops enjoyed a historic run in the FA Cup. Under the guidance of Mark Jones, City knocked out football league opposition for the first time in their history with a 1–0 victory away at Colchester.[4] Then, on their first appearance in the second round for 47 years, they were narrowly defeated with an injury-time goal by Notts County, in a game broadcast live on BT Sport. Good form in the cup competitions followed with victory in the Oxfordshire Senior Cup final for the first time in 15 years at the close of the season.

City's cup success continued in 2018–19, when they reached the first round proper of the FA Cup for the second consecutive season. After a 3–3 draw away to League Two Tranmere Rovers, the club were knocked out in the replay in front of the BT Sport TV cameras at Marsh Lane.[5] The Hoops also retained the Oxfordshire Senior Cup, coming from 3–1 down to defeat Banbury United 4–3 in a thrilling final. The 2020–21 season saw them knock out another League team from the FA Cup, Northampton Town.[6]

In October 2019 Mark Jones left his role as manager by 'mutual consent', just 48 hours after guiding the team into the FA Cup first round for the third year in succession. Former players Justin Merritt and Andy Ballard took over as the interim management team.[7] City are an FA Charter Standard Community Club and field more than 37 teams, with sides for men, women, boys and girls.

On 14 May 2023, Oxford City were promoted to the National League for the 2023–24 season after beating Worthing 2-0 in the play-off semi final and St. Albans City 4–0 at home in the National League South promotion play-off final to play in the fifth tier of English football for the first time in their history.[8]

Grounds

Since 1993, Oxford City have played their home games at Marsh Lane, Marston, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX3 0NQ. The original ground was the Whitehouse Ground, on the northern side of White House Road in southern Oxford (51.7438°N 1.2578°W / 51.7438; -1.2578), which was used from 1900 to 1988; and Cutteslowe Park (51.7911°N 1.2631°W / 51.7911; -1.2631), from 1990 to 1993.[9][10][11]

Players

Current squad
As of 24 October 2023[12]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK England ENG Chris Haigh (on loan from Ebbsfleet United)
2 DF Saint Kitts and Nevis SKN Andre Burley
3 DF Australia AUS Lewis Miccio
4 MF England ENG Josh Ashby
5 MF England ENG Nya Kirby
6 DF England ENG Tom Harrison
7 MF England ENG Lewis Coyle
8 MF England ENG Reece Fleet
9 FW England ENG Oliver Sanderson (on loan from Fulham)
10 MF England ENG Zac McEachran
11 MF England ENG Rafferty Pedder (on loan from Queens Park Rangers)
12 DF England ENG Mitchell Roberts
No. Pos. Nation Player
13 GK Poland POL Marcin Brzozowski
14 FW Antigua and Barbuda ATG Josh Parker
15 MF Austria AUT Renny Smith
16 MF England ENG Alfie Potter
17 FW Cameroon CMR Pierre Fonkeu
18 DF England ENG Aaron Williams-Bushell
19 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Canice Carroll
20 DF England ENG Latrell Humphrey-Ewers
21 DF England ENG Joe Wilson
22 DF England ENG Tafari Moore
24 FW England ENG Claudio Ofosu
25 DF England ENG Phil Croker

Club staff
Position Name
ManagerRoss Jenkins
Assistant managerAndy Ballard
Goalkeeper coachAlan Foster
First-team analystOwen Tredwell
PhysioAiden Keeble
KitmanLeigh Grant
Sources:[13]

Honours
Source:[2]

League

Cup

  • Tournoi de Pâques du Stade Français

Club records

Average attendances
Season Attendance
2012–13
311
2013–14
277
2014–15
320
2015–16
244
2016–17
302
2017–18
319
2018–19
353
2019–20
368*
2020–21
N/A
2021–22
616
2022–23
406
  • 17/21 home games were played in 2019–20

References
  1. Staniforth, Tommy (10 November 1999). "Fire at Wycombe calls halt to Cup tie". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  2. "Oxford City". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  3. "Justin Merritt steps down as Oxford City manager". Oxford Mail. 12 December 2016. Archived from the original on 26 January 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  4. Johnson, Jack (4 November 2017). "Oxford City stun Colchester United in Emirates FA Cup". Oxford Mail. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  5. Roberts, James (20 November 2018). "Oxford City 0, Tranmere Rovers 2". Oxford Mail. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  6. "Oxford City 2–1 Northampton Town". BBC Sport. 9 November 2020. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  7. Roberts, James (21 October 2019). "Oxford City manager Mark Jones leaves 'by mutual consent'". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  8. Metcalfe, Neil (14 May 2023). "Rampant Oxford City win National League South play-off final against sorry Saints". Herts Advertiser. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  9. "Location – Travelling Locally". Oxford City Football Club. Archived from the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  10. Woolley, Liz. "Oxford's first football ground". Local History in South Oxford. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  11. Ffrench, Andrew (9 April 2023). "When Oxford City played at the White House ground". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  12. "Men's 1st Team". Oxford City FC. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  13. "Oxford City FC First team". Oxford City FC. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  14. "International Tournaments (Paris) 1904–1935". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  15. "Pictures of Oxfordshire from the Oxford Mail". the Oxford Mail. Archived from the original on 30 October 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  16. Liam Rice (1 June 2023). "Oxford City director of football on preparation for National League". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
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