Firoz Kassam ? What has happened on field since he arrived 1998/1999 ? Firoz arrived and we all believed we were saved from the financial ruin, our players and staff were paid for the first time in 10 weeks, Firoz came in and immediately put enough money together for us to financially survive the season. However we were relegated from Division 1 (or now known as the championship).
1999/2000 ? Malcom Shotton resigns so Mickey Lewis steps in as caretaker for 3 months before Firoz appoints Dennis Smith as manager to save us from a second relegation in a row. We finished 20th. Firoz worries about the club's new stadium rather than the football and refuses to put money into the playing staff while the stadium is in doubt and says he will pull out if the stadium does not go through
2000/2001 ? Firoz brings Kinnear, Kemp and McLeary to the club. Excitement at first, then Kinnear leaves after 101 days on ?health reasons? but then joins
Luton a couple of days after. It is rumored this was due to the lack of funds to bring in any new players (except Scott and Quinn). OUFC are relegated after finishing at the bottom of the league
2001/2002 ? Failing to get sponsorship for a name for the new ground, Firoz announces the name as the ?Kassam Stadium.? After a terrible start to the season Firoz sacks Mark Wright and appoints Ian Atkins who is well known in division three. However the Atkins diet left us 21
st. The lowest the Yellows have finished.
2002/2003 ? Atkins changed the personal in the summer and finished 8th after being in the playoffs for a lot of the season. This was the first time Oxford have been in the top half of any league since Firoz took over
2003/2004 ? The Yellows have a great start and were well clear at the top of the table. However Firoz and Atkins fall out over contracts and Firoz tries to sale the club for a pound. Firoz later sacks Ian Atkins for speaking to other clubs and later admits that he had offered Ian Atkins to Bristol Rovers before he was sacked. Rix stands in and although he held a terrible record as caretaker, one win in nine, he signs a 2 year contract and at the end of the season Oxford end up in 9th, a huge disappointment
2004/2005 ? Oxford start poorly and under fans pressure Rix gets put on "gardening leave" which allowed Patterson to fill the caretaker position. With no money for new players and little budget for a new manager with Rix still being paid, Kassam signs Diaz and team to work at OUFC for free. Although there are obvious language concerns, Diaz has a proven record. The team looks better and Diaz is bringing some of the right players in without spending any money. Alsop and others leave on bad terms. Firoz announces planning application for a new hotel and then a week later announces he can not afford Mr Diaz and team next season. Diaz and friends are now closely linked with a take over. 6th Season in the Third division/League 2 now looms. Brian Talbort comes in and enterained the fans for 90 minutes at the fans forum.
2005/2006 - Oxford United have the worst start to the season, ever, in the basement league.
