With
Oxford currently sitting top of the embryonic League Two table, we
welcome Plymouth Argyle to the Kassam next.
Plymouth
have come a long way since their visit last season, which resulted in
a 5-1
tonking. At the time, Argyle had to send out what was essentially
a youth team because they couldn't afford a full senior team. Now the
club has stabilised since James Brent's takeover and managed to
secure Football League safety with a 1-1 draw against Oxford back in
April.
This
season manager Carl Fletcher has apparently been given a 'promotion
budget', but the side that will feature at the Kassam consists
mostly of the same payers that finished the season at Argyle. They
have not made a fantastic start to the season; an apparently
impressive 3-0 victory over League One Portsmouth in the League Cup
was essentially a walkover against the Pompey youth team, and they
lost their opening match 3-0 at home to Aldershot before picking up
their first point with a goalless draw at Dagenham.
On
the playing side, there are plenty of links between Oxford and
Plymouth. Darren Purse's successful 18-month spell at Oxford were
impressive enough to ensure that he is forever remembered fondly as
one of the best centre-backs to have worn the yellow shirt. After a
long career with Birmingham, West Brom, Cardiff and Sheffield
Wednesday he now finds himself at the heart of the Plymouth defence as
club captain. Another familiar name on the Argyle teamsheet is
goalkeeper Jake Cole, who made five appearances for Oxford on loan
from QPR at the start of the 2008-09 season. Also turning out for
Plymouth is Paul Wotton, who made 4 forgettable appearances for
Oxford in the 2010-11 season. Our own Tony Capaldi, who is set to
feature at left back, made over 140 Championship appearances for
Plymouth over four years at the club.
Chris
Wilder has an interesting dilemma for this match, with the return to
fitness of James Constable from a groin strain. Does Beano make an
immediate return to the team, despite his form so far this season, or
does Tommy Craddock get a starting opportunity after netting twice on
Tuesday after coming off the bench?
From the Vaults
Oxford United v Plymouth Argyle, 2th October 2011
A
financially-crippled Plymouth team consisting mostly of youth players
and cut adrift at the bottom of League Two visited the Kassam for the
first match between these two sides in almost a decade. It didn't end
well for them...
You can find this and many other old Oxford matches on our Video Vault page.
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