1985/86 SEASON

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

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 seen.

League Cup Final (Milk Cup)

To date, Oxford United's greatest achievement is undoubtedly winning the League 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 visibility for such a large TV audience.

The green goalkeeper jersey was the third variation seen this season.

Match By Match

West Brom
Away

Tottenham
Home

Leicester
Home

Birmingham
Away

Sheffield W
Home

Coventry
Away

Man Utd
Away

Liverpool
Home

Shrewsbury
Home

Newcastle
Away

Northampton
Home

Man City
Home

Leicester
Away

Everton
Away

Northampton
Away

Luton
Home

Chelsea
Home

Fulham
Away

Watford
Away

Newcastle
Home

Aston Villa
Away

Stoke
Away

West Ham
Home

Arsenal
Away

Norwich
Home

Ipswich
Home
Kit Clash

N Forest
Away

Chelsea
Home

QPR
Away

Tottenham
Away

West Brom
Home

Chelsea
Away

Southampton
Home

Tottenham
Home

Tottenham
Away

Man Utd
Home

Sheffield W
Away

Portsmouth
Home

Coventry
Home

Birmingham
Home

Chelsea
Away

Aston Villa
Away

Man City
Away

Aston Villa
Home

Luton
Away

Newcastle
Home

Liverpool
Away

QPR
Home

Southampton
Away

Aston Villa
Home

Watford
Home

West Ham
Away

QPR
Wembley

Ipswich
Away

Everton
Home

N Forest
Home

Arsenal
Home

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.