1983/84

Flip player to see back

League:

Level

Canon League Division 3

Position:

Champions

FA Cup:

Fifth Round

League Cup:

Fifth Round

Chairman:

Robert Maxwell

Manager:

Jim Smith

Top Scorer:

Steve Biggins (24)

Notable Players:

Steve Biggins, Kevin Brock, Steve Hardwick, Trevor Hebberd, Paul Hinshelwood, Mark Jones, George Lawrence, Malcolm Shotton, Mick Vinter, Neil Whatmore.

This was to prove to be a wonderfully successful campaign for Oxford United. Not only did the U’s secure promotion as Division 3 Champions, but they also enjoyed a giant-killing cup run including three epic cup ties against Manchester United, which culminated in a memorable 2-1 victory.

Kit Manufacturer

Sponsors

Once again, the shirt sponsors varied throughout the season, but all were part of chairman Robert Maxwell's empire.

Home Kit

Long
sleeves

At a glance, the kits looked unchained from 1982, however the shirts were manufactured differently.

For the previous season, the shirts had a 'flat' finish, with a pencil-thin pinstripe printed onto the fabric. These 1983 shirts featured a shiny polyester fabric, with a wider and paler pinstripe woven through the fabric.

A further difference was the introduction of a small Spall motif embroidered onto the sleeves.

The Pergamon sponsored shirts were again used exclusively at the Manor Ground for the majority of the league matches.

Variations

Long
sleeves

The BPCC sponsored shirts were used during the first half of the season for away matches, plus one home fixture.

Away Kit

Long
sleeves

The all-red change kit remained unchanged from the 1982/83 season.

Third Kit

With both the yellow and the red shirts causing a colour clash at Bradford and Newport, Oxford United introduced an all-white third kit.

These shirts were not printed with a sponsor. The basic design would go on to become the change colours for the following season.

Goalkeeper Jersey

TV Shirts

Long
sleeves

The TV companies finally relaxed their ban on football shirt sponsorship. However, they did insist that all sponsor logos must be half of the size permitted by the FA.

Shirts with a smaller BPCC logo were produced for TV fixtures and were worn mainly for the Milk Cup matches.

However, the smaller logo was impossible to read from any distance and was certainly not distinguishable on the TV screens of that era.

TV Shirts (Version 2)

Long
sleeves

The lack of clarity of the small BPCC logo was not lost on Robert Maxwell, particularly as the club were enjoying prominent TV coverage with 3 games against Manchester United. A new set of shirts were provided, this time with plain bold black lettering.

These shirts made their debut in the second cup replay against Manchester United and would continue to feature regularly over this season and the 1984/85 season.

Match By Match

Lincoln
Home

Bristol City
Home

Wigan
Away

Scunthorpe
Away

Burnley
Home

Bristol City
Away

Gillingham
Away

Millwall
Home

Walsall
Home

Preston
Away

Newcastle
Away

Brentford
Home

Plymouth
Away

Bradford
Home

Bournemouth
Away

Newcastle
Home

Hull City
Home

Wimbledon
Away

Sheffield U
Home

Leeds
Away

Port Vale
Away

Peterboro'
Home

Leeds
Home

Newport
Home

Man Utd
Home

Southend
Away

Man Utd
Away

Reading
Away

Reading
Home

Rotherham
Away

Man Utd
Home

Bristol Rov
Home

Bolton
Away

L Orient
Home

Exeter
Away

Burnley
Away

Burnley
Home

Lincoln
Away

Everton
Home

Everton
Away

Blackpool
Home

Preston
Home

Millwall
Away

Wimbledon
Home

Sheffield W
Home

Swindon
Home

Bournemouth
Home

Hull City
Away

Bradford
Away

Sheffield U
Away

Port Vale
Home

Gillingham
Home

Brentford
Away

Plymouth
Home

Burnley
Away

Scunthorpe
Home

Walsall
Away

Southend
Home

Bolton
Home

Bristol Rov
Away

Newport
Away

Wigan
Home

Exeter
Home

L Orient
Away

Rotherham
Home

*Colours taken from match-day programme.

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