Away at the Theatre of Dreams, I set my stall out by playing a 4-5-1 formation, with Iversen and Nordtveit on the wings. The plan worked perfectly; after half an hour, Bendtner finished off a nice move, and we were 1-0 up at half-time.
The second half was rather uneventful, as I gradually brought the wingers back in order to hold off the expected onslaught. The onslaught never really came, but in the 90th minute, the ball fell to Rooney, unmarked, 30 yards out. BANG. So the game finished 1-1, and despite the late goal, I told the team that I was pleased to come away with a "bonus" point.
Oxford vs Charlton
One of just two home games out of the last six, so a home win was expected. But the attackers misfired, resulting in a dull 0-0 draw. This dropped us to 16th, but extended the lead over 18th-placed Middlesbrough to five points with four games left.
Easter Rush 1: Norwich vs Oxford
And so to the first of two crucial away games over the Easter weekend. With a tricky last two games, surely a win would be required from one of them. But Norwich scored in the first half, Iversen had a goal controversially disallowed in the second half, and Norwich went straight up the other end to make it 2-0. Boro drew, and we dropped to 17th: four points ahead of Boro with three games left.
Easter Rush 2: Middlesbrough vs Oxford
Easter Monday brought a must-not-lose game for both teams, so the first half was a cautious - and goalless - affair. With Sunderland and Leeds already down, a win would guarantee my safety.
Suddenly, with 25 minutes to go, Iversen was found by Larsson... he turns... shoots... and scores! After such a great season, the commentators remarked, it's fitting for Iversen to score the goal that would keep Oxford up if it stays like this.
No sooner were those words out of Motty's mouth, than Boro had gone up the other end, and John Carew had no trouble in equalising. 1-1 after 66 minutes.
Worse was to come. Soon after kicking off, we lost the ball again. Someone or other came rushing out of the back line and was caught out, Carew said "thanks very much", I said "****!", and it was 2-1 to Boro, just three minutes after Oxford had taken the lead.
That's how it finishes, so with two games left, the gap was just one point...
Oxford vs Tottenham Hotspur
The final home game was against Spurs, who were 3rd and set to qualify for the Champions League again. Given the oppoistion, I applied the same defensive formation that had worked at Old Trafford. Fortune smiled on Oxford, as Steven Taylor was sent off in only the 2nd minute. This meant that Oxford had all the first half pressure, and Bendtner and Flamini backed this up with goals: 2-0 at half-time.
"Don't let your performance drop!", said I. The players did not disappoint, as two more marvellous goals, from Rossi (a sub for the injured Bendtner) and Iversen (of course), gave a 4-0 win.
Leeds vs Middlesbrough
Two days later, Boro went to bottom club Leeds, who had won once in about 25 games, knowing that a win was necessary for them, as I was now four points ahead with a better goal difference. Carew notched another goal early on, and although Leeds soon equalised, two further Boro goals made it 3-1 going into first-half injury time. But then Boro collapsed, and Eidur Gudjohnsen scored twice to make it 3-3 at half-time.
As it stood, the battle would have gone into the final day, with Boro needing to win by 4 away at Spurs while Oxford lost by 4 at Villa. However, Kapo scored early on in the second half to make it 4-3 to Leeds... this was how it finished, which meant relegation for Boro, and SURVIVAL FOR OXFORD!
Aston Villa vs Oxford
So with safety guaranteed, I made several changes, bringing in four young players, three of them for their first starts, and Leo Roget, who is the only surviving member of the team I started the game with in League Two. After a scoreless first half, I brought on fans' favourite Kyle Wilson, who had also played for me in all four divisions. Just a few minutes after coming on, he went on a mazy run and slotted the ball in the net, and although Villa soon equalised, 1-1 was a decent result, and Roget signed off with a man of the match performance.
FINAL SIX RESULTS
FINAL TABLE
Arsenal won the league for the fourth time running, despite almost throwing away a 10-point lead. You will also notice that Southampton ousted Liverpool for a Champions League spot :-)
FINALLY: SOME STATS
Iversen was the star player, collecting the Player's Young Player Of The Year award and contributing directly to 30 of Oxford's 64 goals this season. Silva was an influential captain, while January signings helped too: Bendtner's goals and Huskova's tackling basically kept us up.
