Oxford United F.C. - Struggle to the Top

My manager for this story will be former Liverpool and Oxford United midfielder, Ray Houghton. The Scotsman, who made his name with Oxford United, actually played for the Republic of Ireland, eligible to play through his father. Oxford bought him from Fulham in Oxford's debut season in the First Division, as it was then known, helped to keep the side away from relegation, and scored the second goal in Oxford's 3-0 win over Queens Park Rangers at the old Wembley, to win The U's the Milk Cup, or the Capital One Cup, it is called nowadays. He was later sold to my other supported team, Liverpool, and this is where his success came. Winning the league in his first season, he was picked out by many for his impressive displays, and also getting The Reds to the F.A. Cup Final, where they famously lost to Wimbledon. After a few more seasons with Liverpool, he moved on and eventually retired back in 2000 while playing for Stevenage Borough.

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Houghton: Good to be Back

Oxford United have named Ray Houghton as their new manager, little over two weeks after the resignation of former boss Gary Waddock.

Waddock departed The Kassam Stadium in June, at the end of the 2012-2013 season, with assistant manager Mickey Lewis taking the reigns temporarily, assuming the role of caretaker manager.

Houghton, 52, does not have any experience in football management, but he knows what it feels like to be under pressure to do well, having starred for several clubs during his playing career, and he certainly knows what it is like to be part of the Oxford United team, having spent two years at the club between 1985-1987, playing a total of 83 league games, before being sold on to Liverpool.

The former Republic of Ireland midfielder leaves his job as Irish television channel 'Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ)' pundit to take charge of the team.

"I'm thrilled to be returning to a side who have done so much for me. It is a shame to see them left in this position, especially considering that we were in, what is now the Barclays Premier League, when I left for Liverpool." Houghton told the Oxford Mail.

"It's a great opportunity, and I hope that I can repay Ian (Lenagan, Oxford United chairman) by getting the club back to where we once were.

He has been handed a basic one year contract with Oxford, so he will have to impress if he wants to fulfill his ambitions.

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I am looking forward to seeing what you can do with Oxford, just don't beat Pompey

The Oxford United squad does not need to be majorly tweaked, according to new boss Ray Houghton. Houghton was hired last week, and we have not seen him move quickly into the transfer market.

He explains: "This squad is the perfect balance of experience and youth. You've the big names like Dave Kitson and David Connolly, the fan favorites, the likes of James Constable, Ryan Clarke and Jake Wright, and then we've got the younger players who have so much to offer to the team. Callum O'Dowda and Josh Ruffels have a lot to offer the squad at their young ages, and even more so in the future. I am confident that the two youngsters will develop well, and I hope that we can be at that next level by this time next year. I've had a watchful eye on a few standout targets, who I won't name just yet, but really, I don't want to change up the squad too much. I think that this squad is perfectly capable of achieving our ambitions of a promotion this season, but I may look to a few loan signings to help the side further. I've not been given any money to spend by Ian, so I'm working tightly, but this won't hold the squad back."

The side finished 8th place in the league last year - just one place behind seventh place, which would have guaranteed The U's a chance to fight for promotion. But Houghton's ambitions are far beyond reaching the playoffs this year. He has already confirmed his intentions to make the top three, so that there will be no queries about whether or not The Yellows will be in League One next season.

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I read all of that to myself thinking how Houghton would pronounce every single word

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Crystal Palace goalkeeper Lewis Price has announced that he has joined League Two club Oxford United on loan until the end of his season, via his Twitter account.

The 28-year-old has been at Selhurst Park since 2010, but has only played six times since in league competitions. With the club having sealed a return to the Premier League, he has been completely frozen out of the team - club legend Julián Speroni and new signing Wayne Hennessey
are now considered far too much competition for the Welshman.

Price has eleven caps for the Welsh national side, and he is expected to be competition for United's current first team goalkeeper, Ryan Clarke. The 31-year-old is reaching the stages of his career which are considered to be a goalkeepers' prime, but Clarke is recently known to be injury prone - missing a large section of the 2012-2013 season with a shoulder injury. Clarke has been with Oxford since 2009, having joined from Salisbury City on a free transfer.

Good signing man, hopefully he'll help you on your quest for promotion.