2016–17 Oxford United F.C. season
# 2016–17 Oxford United F.C. season

The 2016–17 season was Oxford United's first season back in League One after gaining promotion the previous season, and their 123rd year in existence. As well as competing in League One, the club also participated in the FA Cup, League Cup and League Trophy.

Oxford lost three key players in the close season, Kemar Roofe departing for Leeds for a club record of £3m, Callum O'Dowda (less expectedly) to Bristol City for around £1m, and striker Danny Hylton who declined a contract renewal offer and joined Luton Town in League Two. United narrowly failed to sign Matty Taylor to replace the goal-scoring potential of these three players, but Chris Maguire, after protracted negotiations, signed a one-year contract extension and strikers Wes Thomas and Kane Hemmings were brought in to boost the forward line, the latter for a £250,000 fee. Manager Michael Appleton's first summer signing was goalkeeper Simon Eastwood. Eastwood had previously been on Oxford's books as cover for Ryan Clarke in 2010–11 but had failed to make an appearance. Another returning player was Rob Hall, a former loanee signed from Bolton Wanderers despite carrying a long-term injury. United spent what was believed to be a club record fee to secure the services of winger Marvin Johnson from Motherwell, and the defence was bolstered by the arrival of Christian Ribeiro, Aaron Martin and Curtis Nelson. Young midfielder John Lundstram was appointed captain to replace defender Jake Wright (who joined former Oxford manager Chris Wilder at eventual champions Sheffield United) and his deputy Johnny Mullins (who was not offered a new contract and joined teammate Hylton at Luton Town). Notable loanees from Premier League sides included Dan Crowley from Arsenal, Toni Martínez from West Ham and Conor McAleny from Everton.

After a shaky start which saw them in the relegation places after three games, League One newcomers United recovered strongly to finish 8th in the table, four points off the last playoff position, the highest of the promoted teams and in their highest placing at any point of the season. They again completed the double over local rivals Swindon Town, who were relegated to League Two. Eastwood, in stark contrast to his previous stint at the club, played every minute of United's 62 games in all competitions (the most competitive games played by any league team for the second season in succession) and was voted the club's Player of the Season by both fans and teammates at the end of the season. Maguire was the team's highest scorer with 17 goals in all competitions, with Hemmings chipping in with 15 and loanee McAleny scoring 10 in 18 League appearances in the second half of the season, including two hat-tricks. In total, Oxford scored 100 goals in all competitions.

For the second year running, Oxford reached the final of the League Trophy at Wembley Stadium but finished runners-up in the competition, this time beaten 2–1 by Coventry City. This was the club's fourth visit to the national stadium. They reached the fifth round of the FA Cup, beating Rotherham United and Newcastle United of the Championship before being eliminated by Middlesbrough of the Premier League. In the first round of the League Cup they also defeated Championship opposition in the shape of Birmingham City, but were knocked out in the second round by Brighton & Hove Albion.

The season covers the period from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017.

## Transfers

### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 July 2016 | GK | Simon Eastwood | Blackburn Rovers | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2016 | CB | Aaron Martin | Coventry City | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2016 | RB | Christian Ribeiro | Exeter City | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2016 | CF | Wes Thomas | Birmingham City | Free transfer |
| 4 July 2016 | CB | Curtis Nelson | Plymouth Argyle | Undisclosed |
| 12 July 2016 | CM | Joe Rothwell | Manchester United | Undisclosed |
| 19 July 2016 | CF | Robert Hall | Bolton Wanderers | Free transfer |
| 27 July 2016 | CF | Kane Hemmings | Dundee | £250,000 |
| 25 August 2016 | CM | Ryan Ledson | Everton | Undisclosed |
| 31 August 2016 | MF | Marvin Johnson | Motherwell | Undisclosed |
| 5 January 2017 | CM | James Cowan | Dundee | Undisclosed |

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 July 2016 | CF | Jordan Bowery | Leyton Orient | Released |
| 1 July 2016 | LM | AJ George | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2016 | LB | Freddie Grant | Oxford City | Released |
| 1 July 2016 | CF | Patrick Hoban | Mansfield Town | Released |
| 1 July 2016 | CF | Danny Hylton | Luton Town | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2016 | CB | Johnny Mullins | Luton Town | Released |
| 7 July 2016 | LW | Kemar Roofe | Leeds United | £3,000,000 |
| 9 July 2016 | CB | Jake Wright | Sheffield United | Mutual consent |
| 14 July 2016 | LW | Callum O'Dowda | Bristol City | £1,000,000 + add ons |
| 19 July 2016 | GK | Sam Slocombe | Blackpool | Mutual consent |
| 4 August 2016 | GK | Max Crocombe | Carlisle United | Mutual consent |
| 5 January 2017 | CF | George Jeacock | Free agent | Mutual consent |
| 30 January 2017 | CF | Ryan Taylor | Plymouth Argyle | Mutual consent |
| 31 January 2017 | MF | Alex MacDonald | Mansfield Town | Mutual consent |

* ↑ Following Bowery's release, he signed for Leyton Orient.
* ↑ Following Grant's release, he signed for Oxford City.
* ↑ Following Hoban's release, he signed for Mansfield Town.
* ↑ Following Mullins' release, he signed for Luton Town.
* ↑ Following Wright's departure, he signed for Sheffield United.
* ↑ Following Slocombe's release, he signed for Blackpool.
* ↑ Following Crocombe's departure, he signed for Carlisle United.

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Date until |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 July 2016 | AM | Daniel Crowley | Arsenal | 2 December 2016 |
| 28 July 2016 | CF | Tyler Roberts | West Bromwich Albion | 3 January 2017 |
| 19 August 2016 | RB | Phil Edwards | Burton Albion | End of season |
| 31 August 2016 | CB | Charlie Raglan | Chesterfield | End of season |
| 23 January 2017 | CF | Toni Martínez | West Ham United | End of season |
| 31 January 2017 | CF | Conor McAleny | Everton | End of season |

* ↑ On 2 December 2016, Daniel Crowley's loan from Arsenal was terminated by mutual consent.
* ↑ On 3 January 2017, Charlie Raglan's loan from Chesterfield was extended until the end of the season.

### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Date until |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 5 August 2016 | CB | Robbie Cundy | Oxford City | 2 September 2016 |
| 5 August 2016 | GK | Jack Stevens | Oxford City | 2 September 2016 |
| 7 September 2016 | CM | John Ashby | Oxford City | 31 December 2016 |
| 7 September 2016 | RM | Jonny Giles | Oxford City | 7 December 2016 |
| 7 September 2016 | CF | James Roberts | Oxford City | 31 December 2016 |
| 9 September 2016 | CF | George Jeacock | Banbury United | 7 October 2016 |
| 8 December 2016 | CB | Miles Welch-Hayes | Bath City | 5 January 2017 |
| 2 January 2017 | RM | Jonny Giles | Aldershot Town | End of season |
| 9 January 2017 | CB | Robbie Cundy | Southport | 6 February 2017 |
| 24 February 2017 | CF | James Roberts | Stalybridge Celtic | End of season |
| 4 March 2017 | GK | Benjamin Büchel | Barnet | 11 March 2017 |

## Competitions

### League One

**League table**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 6 | Millwall (O, P) | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 66 | 57 | +9 | 73 | Qualification for the League One play-offs |
| 7 | Southend United | 46 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 70 | 53 | +17 | 72 | |
| 8 | Oxford United | 46 | 20 | 9 | 17 | 65 | 52 | +13 | 69 | |
| 9 | Rochdale | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 71 | 62 | +9 | 69 | |
| 10 | Bristol Rovers | 46 | 18 | 12 | 16 | 68 | 70 | −2 | 66 | |

* ↑ Four teams play for one spot and promotion to the EFL Championship.

**Results summary**

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |

Last updated: 30 April 2017. Source: BBC Sport

**Results by round**

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ground | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H |
| Result | D | L | L | W | L | W | W | D | D | L | W | L | W | L | D | L | L | W | W | D | D | W | L | D | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | W | L | L | W | L | W | L | D | W | L | D | L | W | W | W |
| Position | 13 | 17 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 |

### EFL Trophy

| Pos | Div | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | L1 | Swindon Town | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 7 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Oxford United | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 5 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | L2 | Exeter City | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 4 | |
| 4 | ACA | Chelsea U21 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 2 | |

## Squad statistics

### Appearances and goals

    As of 30 April 2017

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | League One | League One | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | FL Trophy | FL Trophy |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Simon Eastwood | 62 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | WAL | Christian Ribeiro | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Joe Skarz | 38 | 0 | 28+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | ENG | John Lundstram | 57 | 1 | 44+1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5+2 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Curtis Nelson | 43 | 4 | 33 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Aaron Martin | 11 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Dan Crowley | 11 | 3 | 2+4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | ESP | Toni Martínez | 17 | 3 | 8+7 | 1 | 1+1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Liam Sercombe | 44 | 5 | 25+6 | 3 | 1+3 | 0 | 1+1 | 1 | 4+3 | 1 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Wes Thomas | 17 | 4 | 8+5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | SCO | Chris Maguire | 54 | 17 | 40+2 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6+1 | 3 |
| 11 | MF | SCO | Alex MacDonald | 31 | 3 | 18+5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 1 |
| 11 | FW | ENG | Conor McAleny | 19 | 10 | 14+4 | 10 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | LIE | Benjamin Büchel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Josh Ruffels | 30 | 3 | 14+6 | 2 | 2+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | ENG | Kane Hemmings | 53 | 15 | 22+17 | 6 | 3+3 | 5 | 1+1 | 0 | 5+1 | 4 |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Phil Edwards | 52 | 4 | 37+2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Jonny Giles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Joe Rothwell | 44 | 2 | 19+13 | 1 | 2+2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6+1 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | ENG | Robert Hall | 35 | 6 | 21+5 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | ENG | Ryan Taylor | 31 | 4 | 9+12 | 1 | 3+1 | 2 | 1+1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 21 | FW | WAL | Tyler Roberts | 22 | 2 | 0+14 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Sam Long | 7 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Ryan Ledson | 29 | 1 | 20+2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Josh Ashby | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Charlie Raglan | 16 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Marvin Johnson | 52 | 6 | 33+6 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5+2 | 3 |
| 33 | DF | ENG | Chey Dunkley | 51 | 3 | 40 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 35 | DF | IRL | Canice Carroll | 7 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 36 | DF | ENG | Miles Welch-Hayes | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | FW | ENG | George Jeacock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

* Source:

### Top scorers

    As of 30 April 2017

| Place | Position | Nation | Number | Name | League One | FA Cup | League Cup | FL Trophy | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | FW | | 10 | Chris Maguire | 13 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
| 2 | FW | | 15 | Kane Hemmings | 6 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 15 |
| 3 | FW | | 11 | Conor McAleny | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 4 | FW | | 19 | Robert Hall | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | MF | | 28 | Marvin Johnson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| 6 | MF | | 8 | Liam Sercombe | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 7 | DF | | 5 | Curtis Nelson | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | FW | | 9 | Wes Thomas | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | DF | | 16 | Phil Edwards | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 | FW | | 20 | Ryan Taylor | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 | Own goal | Own goal | Own goal | Own goal | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 12 | MF | | 7 | Dan Crowley | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 12 | FW | | 7 | Toni Martínez | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 12 | MF | | 11 | Alex MacDonald | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 12 | MF | | 14 | Josh Ruffels | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 12 | DF | | 33 | Chey Dunkley | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 17 | MF | | 18 | Joe Rothwell | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 17 | FW | | 21 | Tyler Roberts | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 19 | MF | | 4 | John Lundstram | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 | MF | | 23 | Ryan Ledson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 62 | 16 | 3 | 16 | 100 |

### Disciplinary record

    As of 30 April 2017

| Number | Nation | Position | Name | League Two | League Two | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | FL Trophy | FL Trophy | Total | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | | GK | Simon Eastwood | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | | DF | Joe Skarz | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 4 | | MF | John Lundstram | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 5 | | DF | Curtis Nelson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 6 | | DF | Aaron Martin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | | MF | Dan Crowley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 7 | | FW | Toni Martínez | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | | MF | Liam Sercombe | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 9 | | FW | Wes Thomas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | | FW | Chris Maguire | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 11 | | MF | Alex MacDonald | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| 11 | | FW | Conor McAleny | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | | MF | Josh Ruffels | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 15 | | FW | Kane Hemmings | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 16 | | DF | Phil Edwards | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 18 | | MF | Joe Rothwell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | | MF | Robert Hall | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 20 | | FW | Ryan Taylor | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 21 | | FW | Tyler Roberts | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | | DF | Sam Long | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 23 | | MF | Ryan Ledson | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 25 | | DF | Charlie Raglan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 28 | | MF | Marvin Johnson | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 33 | | DF | Chey Dunkley | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 35 | | DF | Canice Carroll | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 76 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 99 | 2 |
