Oxford United

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Former West Bromwich Albion and Scotland forward Matt Phillips has announced his retirement from professional football.

The 35-year-old made 238 league appearances for the Baggies, scoring 28 goals during an eight-year stay at The Hawthorns which included three seasons in the Premier League.

Phillips started his career with Wycombe Wanderers before joining Blackpool and then QPR in 2013. He cost Albion £5.5m in 2016.

He made his Scotland debut in a 5-1 friendly win over the USA in May 2012, going on to make 16 senior international appearances and scoring one goal during a win over Hungary in 2018.

After leaving the Baggies in August 2024, Phillips spent 18 months with Oxford United before ending last season with Stevenage where he scored two goals in 19 League One games.

"It's been an amazing journey, as my professional playing career comes to an end let's see what's next," he said on social media., external

Derek Fazackerley has parted ways with Oxford United after 12 years service for "personal reasons".

The 74-year-old first joined the U's as assistant manager to Michael Appleton in 2014, before taking on roles as a first team coach and a short spell as interim manager in 2018.

He then moved into an advisory position, which he had held for the past six years.

"It's certainly not the end, who knows what the future holds in terms of what might come up?" Fazackerley said.

"I'll be there if they [Oxford] need me. The only difference is I won't be around as much as I was before."

A former Blackburn Rovers and England defender, Fazackerley began his coaching career at Newcastle United alongside Kevin Keegan, who he went on to work with again for the England national team.

Other coaching roles came at Rovers, Bolton Wanderers and Barnsley, as well as Manchester City and Leicester City working with former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Listen to the full interview with BBC Radio Oxford above or on BBC Sounds here.

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Oxford United midfielder Marselino Ferdinan has departed the U's to join Indonesian Super League side Persija Jakarta.

The 22-year-old Indonesia international moved to the Kassam two seasons ago but made just one substitute appearance in the Championship.

He came off the bench for the final 13 minutes of the 3-3 final-day draw with Swansea in May 2025, with his only other U's appearance coming off the bench in the FA Cup third round defeat by Exeter earlier that season.

He spent time on loan with Slovak side AS Trencin last season and leaves Oxford following the expiry of his contract this summer, having remained with the club during his rehabilitation from injury.

The latest edition of BBC Radio Oxford's Oxford United podcast is out now.

The team discuss the home draw with Cambridge United, leaving the U's sixth heading into the International break.

They also ask where is Cameron Brannagan's best position in League One, talk through players going away with their countries - but not coach Chris Gunter - and reflect on the recent merchandise error going global.

You can find more content like this by subscribing on BBC Sounds.

Oxford United head coach Aaron Ramsey has praised his players for their "resilient and relentless" performance after they beat Burton on Saturday.

The U's struck three times late on to pick up their third win of the League One season and move up to fifth in the standings.

Siriki Dembele broke the deadlock after 76 minutes before Louie Sibley and Gatlin O'Donkor also found the net in the final knockings.

The victory followed up an impressive 4-0 victory over Leicester City seven days earlier, and Ramsey was delighted with how his side went about it.

"It was a different test but one we had to stand up to so full credit to the boys," Ramsey told BBC Radio Oxford.

"They had a resilience and relentlessness to keep creating opportunities and take the game to Burton, especially in the second half, which was really encouraging for us.

"A really important aspect for me off the back of the result at Leicester was to back that result up in the next game and we managed to do that.

"It was a really pleasing performance but also one we can learn from to continue to get better."

Oxford have 10 points from their opening five matches, having played one game less than the rest of the division bar Reading.

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Oxford United head coach Aaron Ramsey has said that he is looking forward to returning to the Kassam Stadium after three consecutive games on the road.

The U's sit 11th in League One having played four matches - one less than most teams and two less than others who have played six times so far this season.

They come into Saturday's clash with Burton off the back of an empathetic 4-0 win over Leicester at the King Power last weekend.

"We got to really enjoy the performance over the weekend but it's work as usual now," he told BBC Radio Oxford.

"It was a brilliant experience to enjoy that moment with our fans and see that yellow wall of about 2,000 of them in the corner of the ground.

"We know how important our home games are going to be for us this season, so it's a great chance to be back home in front of our supporters. It's been a while and it'll be nice to play back in front of them."

Saturday's opponents Burton have one point more than Oxford after five games and have lost just once this season.

Although Oxford have momentum on their side from last weekend's statement win, Ramsey feels his side need to be at their best if they are to get a result against The Brewers.

"We're going to have to treat this game with the utmost respect and concentration," he added.

"The boys are fully aware of what to expect and have to maintain the standards set so far.

"Different teams will ask different questions of us and we have to adapt and be wary of that. We also have to realise the strength in depth that we have in this team and utilise it as best we can."

The latest edition of BBC Radio Oxford's Oxford United podcast is out now.

The team discuss the details in Brian De Keersmaecker's move away from the club, plus the latest from the EFL sanctioning Luka Lynch's move and reaction to the loss against Huddersfield.

You can find more content like this by subscribing on BBC Sounds.

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Transfer deadline day is upon us and today is the final chance for your EFL club to finalise any business until January.

The transfer window closes at 23:00 BST, so we might have some late night scrambles to get deals over the line.

There has already been plenty of movement this summer and whether it's a busy or quiet day for your club, you will be able to keep across it all on BBC Sport.

Follow our EFL deadline day live text coverage throughout the day here

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