Oxford United Fans Express Shock and Sadness Over Des Buckingham’s Dismissal

Oxford United supporters have expressed shock and sadness following the dismissal of head coach Des Buckingham. Buckingham, an Oxford native who previously played for the club’s youth team, took on the role in November 2023. He guided the team to promotion from League One last season, securing victory in a play-off final. However, the U’s recent performance saw them falter, placing them just one point above the Championship relegation zone. Paul Peros, who chairs the support group OxVox, described the decision as a “massive disappointment,” stating that Buckingham “was a manager we all loved and we just desperately wanted to succeed.” In his farewell statement, Buckingham characterized managing his “boyhood club” as a dream come true. He concluded his message with the words: “I’ll always be one of you. Yellows!” Jerome Sale, the Oxford United commentator for BBC Radio Oxford, remarked that it was “arguably the most shocked I’ve been by a football club decision in all my time covering Oxford United.” He noted that during a radio phone-in, which received approximately 100 calls, text messages, and social media comments after the team’s home defeat by Sheffield Wednesday, only a “grand total of one called for a change of manager.” During an appearance on BBC’s Oxford United podcast The Dub, Championship expert and Oxford United fan George Elek expressed feeling “pretty upset, pretty angry even.” He recalled that upon Buckingham’s appointment, the club had been “very keen” to promote the story of the “return of an Oxford boy to Oxford,” prior to him achieving promotion. Elek elaborated, stating, “Decisions have to be made within that context.” He added, “The way you treat that manager is probably going to reflect on the fanbase too, and I think that’s why it’s been so controversial because the fans still feel a real affinity towards Des Buckingham.” He further commented: “As soon as it no longer suited the club to play up Des’s affinity with the fanbase and the fact that he is an Oxford boy, it was forgotten very quickly.” Conversely, former Oxford United player Ben Purkiss indicated that he was not surprised by the decision, suggesting that a change was necessary. Purkiss stated, “I’m not sure he’s had that much at his disposal but equally he came in when the team was second in the league so there’s obviously talent within the football club.” He continued, “He did as well as he could and he did absolutely fantastically to get the team over the line throughout the play offs.” He concluded, “I don’t think he was doing a bad job but equally I’m not sure he was doing a fantastic job at this moment in time.” Janine Bailey, representing the Oxford United Supporters Panel, informed the BBC: “He’s given us some of our greatest memories over the last few months.” She added, “We hit a really bad patch earlier in the year and again he turned it around, and I think, as fans, emotionally we just felt that Des deserved a chance to go on and do that.” Bailey further commented: “If you’re going to get rid of a manager like Des, who is such a community manager for Oxford, there has to be a really good reason to do so, and the one thing that Des didn’t bring to us was Championship experience and experience of getting through a dogfight at the bottom of the Championship table.” A message submitted to the BBC news website conveyed: “Best wishes to you Des. Going forward, an experienced head coach and a few new players that can compete in the Championship may just keep us there.” However, other reactions characterized the dismissal as “terrible,” “utterly disgusting,” and “madness.” Paul Peros stated: “I think you’ve just got to look at the positives and say thank you for what will be the memories of a lifetime.” He concluded, “But the brutality of football, a results business, [is] we’re now looking forward.” Information on following BBC Oxfordshire is available on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC does not assume responsibility for the content of external sites. Details regarding their approach to external linking are provided.