1985/86

Flip player to see back

League:

Level

Canon League Division 1

Position:

18th

FA Cup:

Third Round

League Cup:

Winners

Chairman:

Robert Maxwell

Manager:

Maurice Evans

Top Scorer:

John Aldridge (31)

Notable Players:

John Aldridge, Gary Briggs, Billy Hamilton, Jeremy Charles, Trevor Hebberd, Ray Houghton, David Langan, Les Phillips, Peter Rhoades-Brown, Malcolm Shotton, Neil Slatter, John Trewick.

Kit Manufacturer

With Oxford United now in the top flight of English football, kit suppliers were eager to be part of the club's success story. Umbro, the largest manufacturer at the time, provided kits for both the England and Scotland national teams.

Sponsor

Wang, an American business computing company became the new club sponsor, replacing the various Maxwell businesses that had featured over the previous 3 years.

Home Kit & Away Variations

Long
sleeves

Umbro provided Oxford with a distinctly different look, featuring a pale 'custard yellow' shirt with dark navy trim. The shirt closely resembled Scotland's 1985 away kit.

The alternative yellow shorts and socks were a bright yellow, which did not match the pale yellow shirts particularly well.

Initially, all shirts featured a smaller Wang logo to ensure compliance with the rule regarding reduced-size logos for televised matches.

Away Kit

No long
sleeves

The all-white change kit was enhanced with shoulder panels featuring the pale yellow and navy colours of the home kit.

Sadly, this smart design was to feature just once during the season.

Goalkeeper Jersey

Red versions of this shirt were also produced and were worn in the various official team photos, but they would never see first team action.

Sponsor Variation

Long
sleeves

From the end of September, shirts featuring a larger version of the Wang logo became the primary set.

Occasionally, the shirts with the smaller logo would reappear for televised games.

In the second half of the season, a different design of keepers' shirt was usually worn.

League Cup Final

To date, Oxford United's greatest achievement is undoubtedly winning the League Cup (Milk Cup) at the old Wembley Stadium. The team outclassed Queens Park Rangers, securing a 3-0 victory in front of a sell-out crowd and millions watching on national television.

In true cup final tradition, commemorative shirts were produced featuring embroidered text.

The sponsor's logo was positioned lower on the chest, and centred within the horizontal bands of the fabric. The Wang logo was a simple text-only version to maximize its size and visibility for such a large TV audience.

The green goalkeeper jersey worn at Wembley was the third design seen this season.

Match By Match

West Brom
Away
D 1-1

Tottenham
Home
D 1-1

Leicester
Home
W 5-0

Birmingham
Away
L 3-1

Sheffield W
Home
L 0-1

Coventry
Away
L 5-2

Man Utd
Away
L 3-0

Liverpool
Home
D 2-2

Shrewsbury
Home
W 3-0
FMC

Newcastle
Away
L 3-0

Northampton
Home
W 2-1
LC1

Man City
Home
W 1-0

Leicester
Away
D 4-4

Everton
Away
L 2-0

Northampton
Away
W 0-2
LC1

Luton
Home
D 1-1

Chelsea
Home
W 2-1

Fulham
Away
W 0-2
FMC

Watford
Away
D 2-2

Newcastle
Home
W 3-1
LC2

Aston Villa
Away
L 2-0

Stoke
Away
W 0-1
FMC

West Ham
Home
L 1-2

Arsenal
Away
L 2-1

Norwich
Home
W 3-1
LC3

Ipswich
Home
W 4-3
(Kit Clash)

N Forest
Away
D 1-1

Chelsea
Home
L 1-4
FMC

Tottenham
Away
L 5-1

West Brom
Home
D 2-2

Chelsea
Away
W 0-1
FMC

Southampton
Home
W 3-0

QPR
Away
L 3-1

Tottenham
Home
D 1-1
FAC3

Tottenham
Away
L 2-1
FAC3R

Man Utd
Home
L 1-3

Sheffield W
Away
L 2-1

Portsmouth
Home
W 3-1
LC4

Coventry
Home
L 0-1

Birmingham
Home
L 0-1

Chelsea
Away
W 1-4

Aston Villa
Away
D 2-2
LC5

Man City
Away
W 0-3

Aston Villa
Home
W 2-1
LC5

Luton
Away
W 1-2

Newcastle
Home
L 1-2

Liverpool
Away
L 6-0

QPR
Home
W 3-0

Southampton
Away
D 1-1

Aston Villa
Home
D 1-1

Watford
Home
D 1-1

West Ham
Away
L 3-1

QPR
Wembley
W 3-0
LC Final

Ipswich
Away
L 3-2

Everton
Home
W 1-0

N Forest
Home
L 1-2

Arsenal
Home
W 3-0

Pre-season Kits

The club did not receive their yellow 'player-issue' shirts in time for the pre-season fixtures.

Initially, unsponsored 1983 Spall shirts were worn.

For the home match against Brighton, the team wore new long-sleeve Umbro away shirts. These featured a large version of the Wang logo. These particular shirts never featured in a first-team match, as the only time the away shirts were worn in a league game, a short-sleeved set with a small version of the sponsor's logo were used.

Oxford United then played a pre-season fixture at Brentford with a 'mixed' all-yellow strip. The shirts were old Spall shirts and paired with brand new Umbro shorts and socks.