Oxford fans could have been forgiven for thinking there may not be an away kit this season, or at best the first they see of it would be at Cambridge on opening day.
The thought of Oxford wearing bibs against Cambridge's golden attire was quickly becoming too close for compfort, before the details of their away kit release were finally circulated.
The kit will become available on Friday 6th August at 10am on… TikTok.
For the time being, though, Oxford are currently one of only five teams in England’s top
four divisions not to have released both a home and away kit for the 2021-22
season.
Joining Oxford are League One rivals Portsmouth, as well as Tranmere and Derby, the latter perhaps will turn out in bibs if it can save a little cash. Hats off, too, to Exeter, who have neglected even the home kit so far.
Ahead of the away kit release, then, we dig through Oxford’s recent kit
history, to see what style and colour has proved most successful over the
years, and what United should go with this time.
The Colour
Since Oxford’s promotion to the football League, they have
been through seven different coloured away kits, whilst accumulating a total of 330
points away from Grenoble Road.
Of those 330 points, a quarter were claimed whilst donning a
navy-blue kit, whilst fans of the white shirt will be pleased to see that 23%
have been collected in that colour.
Despite only featuring for one season, the red away shirt also won Oxford 49 points (15% of the total).
To evaluate the genuine success of each shirt, however, we
must look at them in respect to the number of games played in them.
The traditional ‘home kit reverse’ has been the most popular
choice of away shirt for Oxford over the years, playing in Navy Blue, often
with yellow trimming, 69 times since their return to the Football League.
Quantity, though, does not equate to quality for the Navy
Blue, which has seen Oxford claim a meagre 1.22 average points per game in away
matches across the three seasons its been worn – the second worst away colour in
these eleven years.
The only colour with a worse ratio was black.
The slick appearance could not overcome Oxford’s far from
slick performances, as they collected 23 points from 23 games on route to a 16th
placed finish in 2017-18. The black kit has not returned since.
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| (https://oxfordkits.com/index.html) |
Arguably Oxford’s most successful away kit of this period,
given it was the only one where an actual promotion was achieved, was their
retro red and black striped shirt.
They amassed an incredible 2.13 points per game whilst
wearing the kit – 0.7 more points per game than the next most successful colour
– and finished the season as the best away side in League two.
Having finished 2nd that season, it is no
surprise the red shirt also boasts the best average league finish of any away
kit, as well as the best away games only league average.
Interestingly, the only kit which averaged a higher league
finish with results based on results only away games was the red kit,
another sign of Oxford’s strength in it.
Light Blue has been a fitting but not successful away shirt
for Oxford over the years.
Weather it is something to do with the inviting sense of calm
brought by the aqua coloured shirt or simply some poor defensive teams,
opposition sides find it far easier to score past them.
When wearing the Light Blue strip, Oxford conceded an average
of 1.5 goals per game, even worse than when wearing Black. For context, Bristol
Rovers, who finished bottom of League One last term, only conceded 1.52 goals
per game.
At the other end of the pitch, White and Red are once again
the most efficient, averaging 1.55 and 2.07 goals per game respectively.
Meanwhile, Navy Blue once again shows its ineffectiveness,
with only 1.14 goals scored per match when wearing that shirt.
The orange third kit, designed as a novelty, served only to
bring some remarkably average results.
In its brief six game run out, it brought two wins, two
draws, and two defeats, scoring eight and conceding the same number. We will
have to wait to see if they experiment with the orange again one day, but for
the sake of excitement, lets hope its not anytime soon.
The Style
The other decision to be made is on the style of the shirt.
The downward stripes pattern, which controversially sees
these two kits (below) coupled together, narrowly beats the sash for
average points per game - over a timeframe of 28 more matches too - and claims the position
as ‘most successful style’.
In truth, the only poor option the kit designers could choose for
Oxford’s shirt style would be to not have a pattern at all.
Oxford’s points per game away from home is at its lowest when wearing a plain away kit.
Oxford have played 144 league matches in a plain away shirt since their arrival in the Football League and averaged an away league finish of 11th, whilst their average overall League finish is also poor compared to when wearing other kit styles.
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| The below markers represent final League position. The higher the marker, the higher the finish. |
Whilst being sound defensively in the plain shirt, their attacking numbers are far from impressive.
Whilst the single season sash brought a fair amount of
excitement (1.56 goals per game), it also came with a flurry of action in Oxford’s
own goalmouth (1.33 goals conceded per game), which they may not want to
revisit.
Kits with a centre stripe across the chest may not be
remembered particularly strongly by Oxford fans – they brought two midtable finishes in the club’s League Two days – but United
were consistently good away from home in these outfits.
They were on average the 7th best away team in League two when wearing the stripe across the chest, and were considerably better than at home in the same time period, where they finished in an average position of 16th.
What Should Oxford's New Kit look like?
The bottom line is, don’t be boring.
Navy Blue doesn’t earn you points, light blue equals bad
defences, and plain shirts just don’t work.
The recent revival of the white kit could be good news for U’s
fans, as they have consistently seen strong performances whilst wearing them,
and a return to red would also be welcomed if it brings joy like in 2015.
Combine either of these two colours with some form of stripe
– preferably downwards, but across the centre has also worked – and you have a
winning combination.
Of course, Oxford’s kit won’t be decided on historic
numbers, and style and sales will be prioritised.
If, however, when it is released on Friday morning, they announce a plain black shirt, then its probably safe to write the season off now.
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