1998–99 Oxford United F.C. season

Oxford United
1998–99 season
Manager Malcolm Shotton
Stadium Manor Ground
First Division 23rd (relegated)
FA Cup Fourth round
League Cup First round
Top goalscorer League: Windass (15)
All: Windass (18)
Average home league attendance 7,040

During the 1998–99 English football season, Oxford United F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

Season summary

During October 1998, the backroom staff at Oxford United were unpaid due to the club's financial situation with the new stadium; the threat of administration caused a group of fans to set up a pressure group called Fighting for Oxford United's Life (FOUL).[1] The group began to publicise the club's plight through a series of meetings and events, including a 'Scarf of Unity', which was a collection of scarfs from various clubs which was long enough to stretch around the perimeter of the pitch.[1] Chairman Robin Herd stepped down to concentrate on his engineering projects, and in April 1999 Firoz Kassam bought Herd's 89.9% controlling interest in Oxford United for £1, with which he also inherited the club's estimated £15 million debt.[2] Kassam reduced the £9 million of the debt to just £900,000, by virtue of a Company Voluntary Arrangement, by which unsecured creditors who were owed over £1,000 were reimbursed with 10p for every pound they were owed.[3] Secured creditors were paid off when Kassam sold the Manor to another of his companies, for £6 million. Kassam set about completing the unfinished stadium, gaining planning permission for a bowling alley, a multiplex cinema, and a hotel to sit next to the stadium, following a series of legal battles which were eventually all settled.[4] The season ended with relegation back to the Second Division.

Final league table

Pos Team Pl W D L F A Pts
1. Sunderland 46 31 12 3 91 28 105
2. Bradford City 46 26 9 11 82 47 87
3. Ipswich Town 46 26 8 12 69 32 86
4. Birmingham City 46 23 12 11 66 37 81
5. Watford 46 21 14 11 65 56 77
6. Bolton Wanderers 46 20 16 10 78 59 76
7. Wolverhampton Wanderers 46 19 16 11 64 43 73
8. Sheffield United 46 18 13 15 71 66 67
9. Norwich City 46 15 17 14 62 61 62
10. Huddersfield Town 46 15 16 15 62 71 61
11. Grimsby Town 46 17 10 19 40 52 61
12. West Bromwich Albion 46 16 11 19 69 76 59
13. Barnsley 46 14 17 15 59 56 59
14. Crystal Palace 46 14 16 16 58 71 58
15. Tranmere Rovers 46 12 20 14 63 61 56
16. Stockport County 46 12 17 17 49 60 53
17. Swindon Town 46 13 11 22 59 81 50
18. Crewe Alexandra 46 12 12 22 54 78 48
19. Portsmouth 46 11 14 21 57 73 47
20. Queens Park Rangers 46 12 11 23 52 61 47
21. Port Vale 46 13 8 25 45 75 47
22. Bury 46 10 17 19 35 60 47
23. Oxford United 46 10 14 22 48 71 44
24. Bristol City 46 9 15 22 57 80 42
Key
Promoted to the Premier League
Qualified for the promotion playoff
Relegated to Division 2

NB In the Football League goals scored (F) takes precedence over goal difference

Results

Oxford United's score comes first[5]

Legend

Win Draw Loss

Football League First Division

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
8 August 1998Bristol CityA2-213,729Murphy, Windass
15 August 1998Wolverhampton WanderersH0-27,521
22 August 1998Crystal PalaceA0-214,827
29 August 1998Grimsby TownH0-05,587
31 August 1998BarnsleyA0-115,328
6 September 1998PortsmouthH3-06,626Marsh, Windass (2, 1 pen)
9 September 1998Swindon TownA1-48,305Banger
12 September 1998Ipswich TownH3-36,632Banger, Windass, Thomson
19 September 1998SunderlandA0-734,567
26 September 1998Queens Park RangersH4-17,489Beauchamp, Murphy, Thomson, Windass
29 September 1998West Bromwich AlbionH3-07,437Beauchamp, Powell, Marsh
3 October 1998Huddersfield TownA0-210,968
10 October 1998Tranmere RoversH1-25,862Windass
17 October 1998Bolton WanderersA1-117,064Thomson
20 October 1998BuryA0-13,436
24 October 1998Sheffield UnitedH0-26,586
31 October 1998Crewe AlexandraH1-15,607Windass
7 November 1998WatfordA0-210,137
14 November 1998Birmingham CityA1-018,216Murphy
21 November 1998Port ValeH2-15,964Windass (pen), Powell
29 November 1998Norwich CityA3-117,851Wilsterman, Windass, Thomson
5 December 1998Bradford CityH0-15,969
12 December 1998Birmingham CityH1-77,189Windass
19 December 1998Stockport CountyA0-26,500
26 December 1998Crystal PalaceH1-38,375Windass
28 December 1998PortsmouthA2-212,604Banger (2)
9 January 1999Bristol CityH0-09,434
16 January 1999Grimsby TownA0-16,626
30 January 1999BarnsleyH1-06,174Windass
6 February 1999Wolverhampton WanderersA1-120,811Windass
13 February 1999Swindon TownH2-08,179Windass (2, 1 pen)
20 February 1999Ipswich TownA1-216,920Rémy
27 February 1999SunderlandH0-09,044
3 March 1999Queens Park RangersA0-19,040
6 March 1999West Bromwich AlbionA0-213,875
9 March 1999Huddersfield TownH2-26,034Cook, Beauchamp
13 March 1999WatfordH0-08,137
20 March 1999Crewe AlexandraA1-34,791Thomson
26 March 1999Sheffield UnitedA2-114,115Thomson, Banger
3 April 1999Bolton WanderersH0-07,547
5 April 1999Tranmere RoversA2-27,837Weatherstone, Gilchrist
10 April 1999BuryH0-16,358
17 April 1999Port ValeA0-17,393
24 April 1999Norwich CityH2-47,345Wilsterman, Francis
1 May 1999Bradford CityA0-015,064
9 May 1999Stockport CountyH5-06,830Gilchrist, Powell, Beauchamp, Murphy, Thomson

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R32 January 1999Crewe AlexandraA3-14,207Windass, Murphy (2)
R425 January 1999ChelseaH1-19,059Windass
R4R3 February 1999ChelseaA2-432,106Gilchrist, Windass (pen)

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R1 1st Leg11 August 1998Luton TownA3-23,165Murphy (2), Weatherstone
R1 2nd Leg18 August 1998Luton TownH1-3 (lost 4-5 on agg)5,099Whelan

Squad

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

No. Position Player
- England GK Paul Gerrard (on loan from Everton)
- England DF Les Robinson
- England DF Phil Gilchrist
- Canada DF Mark Watson
- England MF Paul Powell
- England MF Martin Gray
- England MF Joey Beauchamp
- England FW Matt Murphy
- Scotland FW Andy Thomson
- England FW Nicky Banger
- England MF Paul Tait
- Sweden GK Pål Lundin
- England DF Phil Whelan
No. Position Player
- Saint Kitts and Nevis FW Kevin Francis
- Netherlands DF Brian Wilsterman
- Wales FW Rob Folland
- France DF Christophe Rémy
- England FW Jamie Cook
- England MF Simon Weatherstone
- England MF Tony Wright
- England DF Mark Warren (on loan from Leyton Orient)
- England MF Mickey Lewis
- England DF Steve Davis
- England DF Andrew Rose
- England FW Mike Williams
- England GK Elliot Jackson

Left club during the season

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

No. Position Player
- England MF Danny Hill (to Cardiff City)
- England GK Phil Whitehead (to West Bromwich Albion)
- England DF Simon Marsh (to Birmingham City)
No. Position Player
- England GK Mike Salmon (on loan from Charlton Athletic)
- England MF David Smith (to Stockport County)
- England FW Dean Windass (to Bradford City)

References

  1. 1 2 Brodetsky p.93.
  2. ↑ Brodetsky p.94.
  3. ↑ Conn, David (2006-03-29). "History repeats itself at Oxford United". The Guardian. London: Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
  4. ↑ Brodetsky p.97.
  5. ↑ http://www.statto.com/football/teams/oxford-united/1998-1999/results
  6. ↑ http://www.11v11.com/teams/oxford-united/tab/players/season/1999
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.