On Tuesday night, Josh Ruffels made his 300th appearance for Oxford United as the U’s lost 1-0 against Portsmouth.
The Oxford-born defender has had an up and down career for the club since his debut in 2013 but has come on leaps and bounds as a left-back under Karl Robinson, making 137 appearances under the current boss.
Despite being born in Oxford, Ruffels came through the ranks at Coventry City and made two senior appearances for the Sky Blues before signing for Oxford following his release.
Having started his career off as a central midfielder, Ruffels made his Oxford debut in a 3-1 win over Torquay United in League Two, coming on for the final three minutes.
Substitute appearances followed in league games against Chesterfield and Hartlepool before making his first Oxford start in a Johnstones Paint Trophy defeat against Portsmouth, in which he completed a full 90 minutes.
Ruffels had managed just 34 minutes of league football over five games before he started in a goalless draw against Newport County. He then started 20 of the following 23 league games as a versatile midfielder, playing centrally, in front of the back four and on both sides. In all competitions, he managed 35 appearances and netted his first goal for the club in a 1-1 draw at Bury.
Ruffels turned out 37 times the following season as Oxford ended the campaign 13th in League Two under Michael Appleton, who had replaced Gary Waddock. He started 28 of the 44 league games he was selected in but the midfielder failed to add any goal contributions.
The following season, Appleton’s first full season in charge, the U’s secured promotion from League Two and reached the final of the Football League Trophy, losing out to Barnsley. Despite the club success, it was a disappointing campaign for Ruffels who managed just 22 appearances in all competitions. Having played as a midfielder throughout his career, Ruffels became a converted left-back in an FA Cup first-round replay against Braintree and the final league game of the season against Wycombe.
2016/17 was another special season for Oxford, ending their League One campaign in eighth, reaching a second successive Football League Trophy final and enjoying a memorable run in the FA Cup. But again for Ruffels, game time was fairly irregular as he turned out 30 times across the campaign. He began the season covering at left-back, even turning out a centre back on a couple of occasions, before returning to the centre of midfield as the season wore on. He also added three goals in an FA Cup win over Merstham and league games against Port Vale and Millwall.
The following season was all change. Appleton left, Pep Clotet came in, Pep Clotet was sacked, a change of ownership and the appointment of Karl Robinson all made for a shaky season. Despite the changes, Ruffels made 45 appearances and added five goals to his game, while his performances under Robinson were predominantly as a left-back.
Robinson’s first full season in charge saw Ruffels regularly revert to a left-back. Despite a poor campaign for the club, who spent most of it in the bottom four of League One, Ruffels became a key figure of the manager’s plans and made the position his own. He turned out 52 times and added four more goals as the U’s eventually ended the season 12th following a run of just one defeat from their final nine league games.
Ruffels had become integral to Robinson and played every league game of the following season, failing to complete 90 minutes one just one occasion after picking up an injury against Portsmouth. Although the season was ended early as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the left-back made 48 appearances and found the net three times, including a late winner in a 3-2 win at Shrewsbury in what proved to be the final game of the season before it was curtailed. Amazingly, the goal secured a playoff spot for the U’s.
Onto this season and Ruffels has once again been one of the regular performers. He has scored five times from 30 appearances, including a brace in a win at Burton, missing only a handful of games early on through injury.
While he doesn’t often churn out ten out of ten performances, Ruffles is a consistent seven or eight most weeks, with his performance levels rarely dropping below. He has become an integral part of the way Karl Robinson likes his team to play – strong defensively but an attacking threat also. Adding goals and assists to his game is another part that has become more regular as time as gone on and the 27-year-old can look back knowing that reaching 300 Oxford career appearances is a real achievement.
