Oxford United start compared to other promoted teams

The U’s have won three and drawn five of those first 12 matches, leaving them 14th in the Sky Bet Championship table, three points clear of the relegation zone.

It’s well-documented that United are playing in the second tier of English football for the first time in 25 years, but how does the side compare to recent promotion winners at this stage of the campaign?

We had a look at how promoted teams from League One fared after 12 games in the Championship over the past five seasons.

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2019/20

The season was interrupted by coronavirus, so is perhaps something of an outlier in the past five years.

League One winners Luton Town and runners-up Barnsley were joined by play-off winners Charlton Athletic in the second tier.

With 12 games played, the Addicks were flying in seventh on 21 points, while the Hatters in 16th matched United’s 14-point tally.

The Tykes were second from bottom on just seven points, only above Wigan Athletic due to the Latics suffering a 12-point deduction.

By the end of the campaign, Luton and Barnsley managed to survive on the final day, but it was Charlton whose season fell apart and were relegated back to League One with a 4-0 loss at Leeds United.

2019/20 season (Image: Liam Rice)

2020/21

Wycombe Wanderers beat the U’s in the League One play-off final in 2020, to join Coventry City and Rotherham United in the Championship.

All three sides were in the bottom six after 12 games, with the Millers 19th (12 points), Sky Blues 21st (nine points) and the Chairboys 22nd (eight points).

Things improved for Coventry, who finished a respectable 16th, but Wycombe and Rotherham were relegated on the final day of the campaign.

2020/21 season (Image: Liam Rice) 2021/22

Blackpool saw off United in the League One play-off semi-finals, and then beat Lincoln City at Wembley to ensure promotion alongside Hull City and Peterborough United.

The Tangerines made the strongest start in the Championship, sitting 14th with 15 points after 12 games.

The Tigers were just above the relegation zone with nine points, while the Posh were second from bottom on eight points.

Play-off winners Blackpool maintained their lower mid-table position to finish 16th, while Hull also stayed up, 14 points clear of 22nd-placed Peterborough, who were relegated with two games to go.

2021/22 season (Image: Liam Rice) 2022/23

Wigan and Rotherham sealed the top two spots in League One the season prior, while Sunderland won the play-offs.

All three teams made a wonderful start to the 2022/23 season, and sat from fifth to seventh after 12 games.

The Black Cats (fifth) and the Latics (sixth) had 19 points, while the seventh-placed Millers had 18 points.

Sunderland stayed in the play-off places to finish sixth, and lost 3-2 on aggregate to Luton in the semi-finals.

Rotherham stayed up with enough of a buffer, but Wigan went down, not helped by a three-point deduction.

2022/23 season (Image: Liam Rice) 2023/24

Plymouth Argyle and Ipswich Town grabbed the top two spots in League One, while Sheffield Wednesday won the play-offs in the previous season.

After 12 games in the Championship, the Tractor Boys were flying in second place on 29 points, while 21st-placed Argyle (12 points) and bottom side Owls, on just three points, and without a win, scrapped at the other end of the table.

The stunning start made by Ipswich proved to be no fluke as the East Anglia side finished a point behind title winners Leicester City to secure promotion to the Premier League.

At the other end of the table, the Owls performed a miracle of their own as they and Plymouth secured safety on the final day.

2023/24 season (Image: Liam Rice)What can we learn from the previous five seasons?

A strong start doesn’t necessarily mean a strong finish, with the relegations of Charlton and Wigan in 2020 and 2023 respectively examples of that, while plenty of sides have recovered from poor starts to stay up.

The two teams with the most similar points tally to the U’s after 12 games – Luton in 2019/20 (14 points) and Blackpool in 2021/22 (15 points) – went on to secure survival.

At least one newly promoted team has been relegated from the Championship the following campaign, apart from last season when Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth defied the odds.