Season One: 2005/06

Success in my very first season, as after a poor start I was promoted to League One. Not so successful in any of the cups, however: I only won two cup ties all season, one each in the League Cup and LDV Vans Trophy. One of the main reasons for promotion was the success of fans' favourite Steve Basham, who earned the golden boot, finishing with 28 league goals and 30 in total.

Key Transfers
The summer brought only a couple of loan signings. Promising youngster Kyle Wilson was snapped up from Crewe, and Johannes Djourou was brought in from Arsenal, the first of many former Arsenal players to come to Oxford.
In January, I bought an entire new defence! Goalkeeper Anthony Silva was outstanding, whereas the defence was bolstered with experienced players including Fabian Wilnis. There was also the purchase of promising Swedish youngster Moses Reed, although as he was only 17, he didn't feature in the first team in 2005/06.

Meanwhile...
Elsewhere in the FM world of 2006, England won the world cup, beating Croatia in the final. Surprisingly, Iran finished 4th. Liverpool finally won the league, while neighbours Everton were relegated along with Newcastle and Fulham.