As far as opening months go for Oxford United, it has been an extremely decent first few weeks of the new League One season for the U’s.
Karl Robinson was quick in bringing new (and old) faces to the club during the transfer window, with Marcus McGuane joining the U’s on a permanent basis following a successful loan spell from Nottingham Forest. Then, another returning player in Ryan Williams, who played for the club under Chris Wilder during the 2013/14 season, signed from Portsmouth.
Despite losing defender Josh Ruffels on a free transfer to Huddersfield Town, the U’s continued to strengthen and added Billy Bodin on a one-year deal from Preston North End.
Then, Rob Atkinson left to join Bristol City in a fee reported to be around £1.6 million, before Sean Clare left to join Charlton Athletic.
However, the arrivals continued and defensive reinforcement came in the shape of left-back Steve Seddon, before both Nathan Holland and Gavin Whyte returned to the club on loan from West Ham United and Cardiff City respectively. Another defender soon arrived as Jordan Thorniley joined the club on loan from Blackpool.
On the pitch, the U’s began the season with a 1-1 draw at newly-promoted Cambridge United. While it may have felt like two points dropped, it was a strong display from a new look Oxford side.
The U’s then progressed to the second round of the Carabao Cup with a win on penalties over Burton Albion before edging past fellow promotion rivals Charlton in the league.
Oxford then welcomed Crewe to Grenoble Road and despite arguably the poorest display of the campaign so far, Robinson’s side picked up another three points.
The U’s put in a solid display at Bolton but were unfortunate to leave Greater Manchester without any points after the Trotters came from behind to win.
Robinson’s side then bowed out of the cup following defeat against QPR at Loftus Road before bouncing back in style with a confident 3-1 win over Lincoln City.
Before the win over the Imps, the U’s signed 18-year-old goalkeeper Mackenzie Chapman which sparked rumours of an exit for Jack Stevens, who had previously been linked with a move to Aston Villa. Despite that, Stevens stayed and Oxford added two more midfielders before the deadline with Herbie Kane joining on loan from Barnsley and Ben Davis arriving on a two-year deal from Fulham.
Robinson also revealed that the club had rejected a bid for Cameron Brannagan, insisting that the club would only sell their key players for the right price, leaving the U’s in a good position heading into September.
