Oxford United

Oxford will be hoping to turn around their wayward form of late which has seen them drop to 23rd in the Championship.

Gary Rowett has arrived at the U's with the club currently on a seven-game winless run, losing six of those seven.

Not that Cardiff have fared much better - the Bluebirds themselves have not won in eight games and are just a place above Oxford.

• This is the first league meeting between Oxford United and Cardiff City since January 2000, in which the sides played out a 1-1 draw at Ninian Park.

• In all competitions, the last meeting between Oxford United and Cardiff City was in August 2011 in a League Cup tie, with the Bluebirds winning 3-1.

• Oxford have won their last three home league games on Boxing Day since losing 1-0 to Southend United back in 2018.

• Cardiff have won two of their last 23 league games on Boxing Day (D12 L9) and are winless in their last 10 since winning 2-1 against Crystal Palace back in 2012.

• Cardiff have lost their last two away Championship matches against newly promoted clubs, last losing three in a row in the league back in September 1991.

Janine Bailey
Chair of Oxford United supporters' panel

Image source, BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

I've heard it said that the Championship has two or even three mini-leagues and as we approach the halfway mark of the season, that is evident in the league table.

Under any circumstances it was going to be hard for Oxford to get points at Leeds on Saturday; on current form it required a Christmas miracle.

Oxford United's record signing last summer, Siriki Dembele, cost under £1m yet he remains in the treatment room.

Dan James, scorer of Leeds' first goal, commanded a fee of £25m when he joined the Whites in 2021.

The majority of the players in Oxford's squad for this match came up from League One last season.

Oxford cannot compete financially with clubs such as Leeds, so we must produce performances that are more than the sum of their parts.

There were glimmers of this against Leeds, and gritty persistence won points earlier in the campaign, including against Burnley - newly relegated from the Premier league.

This was always going to be a tough season, but we have earned the right to play in this league and have to show that we have what it takes to remain here.

Gary Rowett comes in with the squad looking low on confidence and disjointed on the pitch.

We have two sold-out home fixtures against teams alongside us in the bottom-of-the table mini-league.

What better opportunity to begin to turn things around and get some points on the board?

Image source, Rex Features

Oxford caretaker manager Craig Short spoke to BBC Radio Oxford after their 4-0 defeat at Leeds.

"I was disappointed with the nature of the goals but there's a massive gulf in class in this league," he said.

"We are playing against some who have Premier League experience. We've realised that recently.

"We're in a mini-league now and in a relegation fight and I have made that clear in the dressing room. Yes that's a place lots of people thought we would be but it is now mentality and physicality as well as using their ability.

"I have worked with Gary [Rowett] and I think he will think 'yes half-time the boys have done well' but I think he will be very disappointed with the second half and the cheap nature of the goals we gave away.

Short said the U's needed to have a good Christmas period under the new boss.

"Confidence is a big thing and you can't order that on the phone," he added.

"If you lose confidence it is easy to lose and hard to find. It is up to the individual and senior players. But it is about fight and being hard to beat.

"We have to look at the mini league we are in at the bottom and have a good Christmas. Two home games and we have to produce a response.

"Gary understands there is a difference in class. But I told them before it was not just a chance to show the new manager your football ability but to prove how resilient you are. I thought that went missing in the last 20 minutes."

BBC Radio Oxford have produced an emergency edition of their Oxford United podcast - The Dub - with Gary Rowett's first interview as boss.

Listen by clicking above or click here for all the latest episodes on BBC Sounds.

Oxford United chairman Grant Ferguson says this week's changes, with Rowett replacing Des Buckingham, have been done for the good of the club as a whole.

"It is no way disrespectful of what Des has achieved," he said.

"But we live in the here and now. We're very sure we have the right guy for the here and now in Gary, he was top of the list from the very beginning."

On the announcement (of Buckingham's sacking): "We need to learn as well, was it a bit blunt? In hindsight I think it was."

Image source, Rex Features

Oxford United fans will see a new face in the stands at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday as newly-appointed head coach Gary Rowett watches their game against Leeds United (15:00 GMT).

Rowett was appointed successor to Des Buckingham on Friday following the former boss' controversial sacking after Sunday's 3-1 loss to Sheffield Wednesday.

Supporters have been reacting to Rowett's appointment and here are some of the comments:

Modharry: Surprised Oxford sacked Buckingham to be honest after he got them up to the Championship. It was always going to be difficult staying up for them. That said, getting Rowett, who is highly experienced in Championship, is a good appointment.

Doodle2: Buckingham a great loss and think he should've been given more time. We move on though and welcome Gary to the yellows...COYY!

The Smythe: Welcome aboard Gary. Solid appointment, hopefully, although I'm impressed that in just five days the board have managed "a thorough and diligent recruitment process." Clearly been going on behind the scenes for a while.

You can read all about Rowett's appointment and share your thoughts here.

Jerome Sale
BBC Radio Oxford

Image source, Getty Images

What Gary Rowett is, is a Championship manager.

He has hundreds of games behind him in the second tier and he joins a club that has, in the past quarter of a century, been in just 20 matches at that level.

If the owners, executives, and most of the players don't have Championship know-how, he does.

Over all his games as a boss his teams have a points-per-game record of at least 1.3. Replicate his worst performance at any Championship club and he'll get Oxford to safety - and that is what he has been recruited for.

What Gary Rowett isn't, is Des Buckingham. And that is not his fault.

United have faced a backlash more brutal than they anticipated when they fired Buckingham, the local lad made good, the man who delivered promotion and a fairytale story.

At least with this appointment they haven't had their head turned by a star name or someone with no more experience of the level than Buckingham had.

I am not sure they would have been forgiven for that.

Many will see this as Oxford recruiting a firefighter. They think it is for the long-term - which in the Championship isn't usually that long.

Either way, rightly or wrongly, the fairytale is over, this now is about hard reality.

Five months of grinding out the results to ensure what Buckingham achieved in the warmth of last May isn't wasted when we get to the spring of 2025.

Image source, Getty Images

Oxford United captain Elliott Moore said former head coach Des Buckingham "paid the price" for some recent poor form by the U's players.

Buckingham was relieved of his duties on Sunday, as the club thanked him for his contribution at the Kassam Stadium but said that they had decided to move on.

Oxford are one point and two places above the relegation zone in the Championship table, winless in their last five games.

"The players are the ones that go out on the pitch and the coach pays the price," said Moore, ahead of Saturday's game against Leeds United.

"Ultimately it comes down to us to put in a performance and from inside the camp we know that our levels as a team and individuals have dropped off in the last month.

"We started the season well and it might have heightened expectation from us as well as the outside.

"It's up to us now to just get our heads down and work, we need to start picking up some points."

BBC Radio Oxford understands former Millwall and Birmingham City manager Gary Rowett is close to joining the club to replace Buckingham.

Craig Short has been in caretaker charge this week - supported by fellow first team coaches Chris Hackett and Lewis Price and as it stands that will be the case at Elland Road at the weekend.

Leeds will seek to keep the pressure on Championship leaders Sheffield United when they return to Elland Road to face Oxford United.

The U's remain winless on the road this season and parted ways with Des Buckingham earlier this week while Daniel Farke's men go in search of a ninth straight home win.

• This is the first time that Leeds United and Oxford United are meeting in the Football League since March 1990, a match during which the Whites ran out 4-2 winners.

• Oxford have failed to win any of their three prior away league games against Leeds (D1 L2), with their last trip to Elland Road ending in a 2-1 defeat in September 1989.

• Leeds have won each of their past eight home league games in succession by a combined score line of 20-2, while so far this season, no team has won more home matches than the Whites (9) across England's top four tiers.

• Oxford have failed to win any of their nine away league games in the Championship this season (D2 L7), with their last away victory at this level coming back in March 1999 during a 2-1 win against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

• This season in the Championship, Leeds have scored the most goals (37), have the highest xG (36.5) and have had the most shots (344), while Oxford are bottom for shots attempted with 191.

Image source, BBC Sport

Image source, Rex Features

Des Buckingham's sacking from Oxford United has proven a controversial one.

The 39-year-old led the U's to promotion by defeating Bolton Wanderers in the League One play-offs last season but have struggled for results in the Championship, leaving them 20th on the table.

While some feel it was time for a change, others felt his achievements thus far merited more time at the helm.

Connor Penfold from The Manor podcast, external is among the latter.

"My initial reaction when I saw the news break was shock, disbelief and a little bit of anger as well," Penfold told the 72+ podcast.

"After the game on Saturday, I reinforced the point that I'd be quite happy to get relegated under Des Buckingham's leadership so to see his sacking less than 24 hours later, I was very surprised."

The connection between the fans and Buckingham, a boyhood Oxford United fan, is evident.

Even his emotional exit statement tugged at the heart strings of the U's faithful, adding yet more weight to his departure.

"We created that incredible report with him - he was one of us," Penfold added.

"Unfortunately, the board took the decision they have done and there are reasons for that. But I don't think that was the right choice.

"Oxford are not in the relegation zone but he's got the sack. This is a manager who got you promoted six months ago. I just do not get it."

You can listen to Connor's full reaction on BBC Sounds.

Image source, Getty Images

Sacking head coach Des Buckingham was in the best interests of Oxford United, club chairman Grant Ferguson has said.

The U's parted ways with Buckingham on Sunday following their defeat to Sheffield Wednesday leaving them without a win in their last six Championship games.

Buckingham, 39, took on the role in November 2023 and led the club to promotion to the Championship for the first time in 25 years with a memorable 2-0 play-off final win over Bolton Wanderers at Wembley.

While stating Buckingham's importance in "one of the best days in the club's history", Ferguson said he and the board "firmly believe that our current position and recent form are not reflective of the potential this squad holds".

"Many factors are taken into consideration with decisions like these but, ultimately, results are the defining factor," he said in a statement, external.

"Given performances over a number of months, and following the recent defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, we as the board agreed that a change had to be made now."

Ferguson said he was committed to recruiting the "right person" as new head coach and the club would look to strengthen the squad in the January transfer window.

"Since my appointment as chairman in the summer of 2022, the board, [CEO] Tim Williams and I have been very clear about our ambition: to establish Oxford United as a stable and sustainable Championship club," he added.

"Whilst we are now in the Championship, we acknowledge that there is still much work to be done.

"We will forever be grateful to Des for helping us reach this point, but we believe that in order to protect the best interests of the club, this decision needed to be taken."

We asked for your views on Oxford United's decision to sack head coach Des Buckingham.

He leaves the club after leading them to promotion from League One last season -but they are just one point above the Championship's relegation zone.

Oxford fans have been reacting to the news and you can share your thoughts as well.

Here are some of your comments:

XV - Terrible decision. League one squad and not in bottom three. 99.9% of Oxford fans will be aghast.

Peter - Utterly Disgusting Decision! Des is Yellow and Blue through and through! No clue in the boardroom! Even if we'd gone down he should have been given the chance to get us back. I Am Fuming!!!!! Thank you Des and any club should be grateful to get you!

Georgia - Come on. We've beaten one team since September and they are currently bottom of the league. The QPR performance was desperate and Saturday was nearly as bad. With Des at helm, we were certs to go down. It all depends who comes in now. Ownership have made good managerial appointments in the past and are still throwing money at the 'project' so let's not throw toys out of the pram just yet.

Simoon - It's happened. Best wishes to you Des. Going forward an experienced head coach and a few new players that can compete in the Championship may just keep us there. COYY!

George - Madness - got us to where we wanted to be. It was always going to be a battle to stay up but he deserved to see it through and he understood the club and the supporters

Image source, Rex Features

Many Oxford United fans were surprised when the news broke on Sunday afternoon that the club had parted ways with head coach Des Buckingham.

The Oxford-born U's fan, who began his coaching journey at the Kassam as a teenager, was relieved of his duties after 13 months at the helm following a home defeat by Sheffield Wednesday the previous afternoon.

EFL expert and U's fan George Elek and former Oxford United player Ben Purkiss joined BBC Radio Oxford sports editor Jerome Sale to talk through the news in an emergency edition of the station's podcast.

Click here to listen to a special edition of The Dub.

Jerome Sale
BBC Radio Oxford's Oxford United commentator

Image source, Rex Features

When a team has won only once in 15 games it might seem strange to talk about the outright shock that cascaded through Oxfordshire within moments of this sacking news breaking.

It is not about Des Buckingham being a local guy - or even the guy that took Oxford into the Championship for the first time in 25 years.

I did a phone-in and, of the 100 or so calls, text messages and social media comments after Oxford were beaten at home by Sheffield Wednesday, a grand total of one called for a change of manager.

Relegation always was, and remains, a possibility for a club that almost surprised itself by winning the League One play-offs following a late charge last season.

My initial thought is the fans have been happy being in the Championship – but the club clearly isn't.