Oxford United: League One success and stadium dreams have supporters feeling complex mix of emotions

Following a football team tends to bring more lows than highs.

If you are an Oxford United fan who is yet to hit middle age then you haven't seen your team win a major trophy, or compete in the top flight.

Unless you were born before the 1980s you won't even have seen them win a division. Any division. There have been good days of course, unforgettable moments that will last a lifetime. Like a glorious shot in an otherwise terrible round of golf, it keeps you interested, keeps you coming back, but even almost all the good stuff with United over the years has been played out against a background of financial instability or peril.

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It is understandable, then, that when Oxford fans assess the current situation, their emotions are all over the place.

They will have laughed along with the BBC Chief football writer's tongue in cheek assessment that Oxford United's new stadium might one day be a destination of delight for journalists covering European football because Liam Manning has got the U's playing so well.

Some tiny part of them might even wonder if Phil McNulty might be right. "We ARE playing SO well", they'll dare to consider and "look at what Brighton have done". And then, because they're Oxford fans they'll go back to worrying about the wheels falling off.

The truth is, that while nothing has yet been achieved, these are not just heady days, they're critically important ones. On the field Oxford are finding different ways to win and are in the automatic promotion places - five points clear of not being. Opposition managers consistently feel their sides have been unlucky against United and will wait for Oxford to run out of steam. Like everyone did with Plymouth last year.

'A stadium to be proud of'

This week we have seen United's plans for their proposed new stadium between Oxford and Kidlington. In 2001 United moved from the quaint but crumbling Manor Ground with its seven stands, to the, infamously, three at the Kassam Stadium. Both a source of embarrassment.

Viewing the CGI images of what a new home might look like brought a real, intense reaction from fans who can imagine themselves, finally, sat in a stadium to be proud of.

For local people there remains understandable and reasonable concerns about traffic and parking. Fans are being asked by the Supporters Trust OxVox to pledge to use public transport - again Brighton is the model. United have to manage these concerns as they ask Cherwell District Council for planning permission before the year is out.

We are talking about a stadium project worth north of £100m. That's 30% more than Brentford's new home, designed by the same architects, cost to complete. £100m. Let that sink in. That is the money these Oxford United owners are happy to find for a project on this site.

They have pledged to fans, local stakeholders, even in Parliament that they will fund it. They've already delivered a competitive playing budget. United's lease at the Kassam runs out in 2026. Remember this site is already Plan B. Oxford United have just entered a window of opportunity.

'Oxford fans should allow themselves to dream'

Head coach Liam Manning's mantra, one that he knows draws amusement because he says it so much and it is often repeated by his players and his bosses is "don't get too high, and don't get too low."

But when he says that he is talking about those working for the club, not those supporting it. Football IS about emotion for the fans - in however many stands there are.

It is his job to worry about preparing his players for the challenges that undoubtedly lie ahead. It is his bosses' job to worry about how they might stave off bigger clubs trying to tempt top players - or even Manning - away and to have a succession plan if they can't.

And they have employed hugely experienced stadium construction experts to work out how to make "The Triangle" stadium site work for the club and the community.

It is hard and against their nature, because there are so many things that can go wrong, but Oxford fans should at least allow themselves to dream of a future in a higher league and in a stadium that the club owns - so could generate revenue to fund football at a higher level.

Oxford's unofficial motto over the years might have been, "it's the hope that kills you". With this current team, manager and ownership group, at least there IS hope.

You can hear every Oxford United match live on BBC Radio Oxford with Jerome Sale.

• Listen BBC Radio Oxford's 'The Dub: An Oxford United podcast' here
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