Oxford United

"He's probably one of the players in the squad that commands real value, but is also disposable."

The Dub team talk about who will be on the plane heading to Indonesia as Oxford United kick-off their pre-season - but we know one name who won't be joining.

Forward Ruben Rodrigues departed the club last Thursday for Brazilian side EC Vitoria.

A surprising exit? Former U's defender Ben Purkiss thinks the move to the Championship hasn't proved as fruitful as hoped for the Portuguese attacker.

"Rodrigues has done well for Gary [Rowett] but I don't think he's perhaps been as creative as what the side's needed," Purkiss said.

"Probably a part of it is that the side has played quite deep under Gary, so it was very difficult for him to get into those positions where he's able to impact and affect the game.

"But equally when he did get into those positions, did he really make those key contributions that you need from a number 10 at this level?"

Includes an interview with U's boss Gary Rowett.

Listen to the full episode and more on BBC Sounds.

The EFL fixture list is out and we know you are bursting to know what you've got to look forward to - or dread - from your team this upcoming season.

Here are some key dates to put in your diary:

• 9 August - v Portsmouth (H)

• 16 August - v Hull City (A)

• 26 December - v Southampton (H)

• 1 January 2026 - v Ipswich (A)

• 2 May - v Millwall (A)

See Oxford United's full fixture list here.

Your club will soon discover their schedule for the upcoming EFL season. As soon as Thursday, in fact.

Want to know who your side will face on opening day? The EFL fixtures will be announced at 12:00 BST - but that's not all.

The day will be rounded off by the first round of Carabao Cup being drawn at 16:30 BST.

So check back on 26 June to see who your team faces first, last and everything in between.

"This is what the big Premier League clubs do, this is the sort of pre-season tour that they have."

The Dub is back and it's a full house.

The team talk pre-season business, the curious case of Stuart Findlay, and the squad's upcoming tour in Indonesia's Presidents Cup.

But can a trip across the world make a difference in Oxford's upcoming Championship campaign? The Dub team think so.

"It will be warm, it'll be humid, but I think it will be potentially, if successful, a moment we look back on and say 'yep, that's when Oxford United became a little bit more big time," says BBC Radio Oxford presenter Jerome Sale.

"We look back on the Austria tour in 2015 and how that kick-started things for Oxford United.

"The hope will be that this will do the same in a different way."

Listen to the full episode and more on BBC Sounds.

Image source, Rex Features

Charlton Athletic striker Danny Hylton has announced his retirement from professional football and will continue his role as part of Nathan Jones' backroom staff.

The 36-year-old made 10 appearances for the Addicks after joining as player-coach in September.

The former Oxford United and Luton Town forward's only goal for Jones' side came in a 5-0 thumping of his former club Northampton Town in December.

"It's time to say goodbye to playing the beautiful game, a career I can now look back on and be immensely proud of," he said in a post on his LinkedIn page, external.

"Thank you to every club I have played for for allowing me to represent your club.

"Thank you to the fans for all your support, thank you to everyone that has been part of my journey."

Hylton began his career at Aldershot Town, where he scored 48 goals in 209 appearances before moving Rotherham United in 2013.

He made just two appearances for the Millers before moving to Oxford the following year, where he scored 30 goals in 101 games and helped the U's to League Two promotion in his second season.

Hylton enjoyed his most successful spell with Luton, spending six years with the Hatters and twice working under Jones.

He scored 62 goals in 170 appearances during a memorable era for the club as they rose from League Two to the Championship.

A two-year stint at Northampton brought no goals before his move to The Valley last year.

Oxford United are interested in a move to bring left-sided Irish player Callum O'Dowda, 30, back to the club from Cardiff City. (Irish Examiner), external

Take a look at Tuesday's full gossip column to see the latest transfer news and rumours from the EFL

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Ben Ashton
BBC Sport England

Image source, Getty Images

Watford are getting relegated, Plymouth are staying up, Millwall are in the play-offs and Portsmouth are also battling for a top-six spot.

Does something sound a bit off? Well, that's what would have happened if the Championship season started on 1 January.

Here's a look at the 2025 calendar year table, showing who the form sides were in the second half of the season and who went into freefall.

Perhaps the most notable difference between the actual final top six and the 2025 version is that Millwall would be in the play-offs and Premier League-bound Sunderland would not.

Burnley and Leeds still comfortably occupy the automatic promotion spots, albeit the Clarets would be unbeaten at the top of the pile with the Whites in second.

Coventry improved significantly after Frank Lampard replaced Mark Robins and are third over the course of the year.

The Sky Blues would instead be pitted against Bristol City in the play-off semi-final as opposed to Sunderland. Who knows what difference that would have made to their promotion bid...

Image source, Rex Features

Portsmouth - who spent much of the season battling relegation and only secured their Championship safety with two games to spare - are seventh and just one point outside a play-off spot.

Pompey sit above Sunderland, who lost their final five games of the season and are down in eighth.

The data perhaps shows just how long Regis Le Bris' side effectively had a play-off spot sewn up before their victory at Wembley against Sheffield United to claim promotion.

Relegation battlers Oxford find themselves seven places higher than where they actually finished in the 2024-25 campaign (17th), reflecting the good work done by Gary Rowett after he took over as boss from Des Buckingham.

Image source, Rex Features

Plymouth would have survived comfortably had the season begun in January 2025, showing a significant uptick after Miron Muslic replaced Wayne Rooney at the helm.

Middlesbrough tailed off significantly in the second half of the season, underpinning why they missed out on the play-offs. It was a drop off that ultimately cost Michael Carrick his job as head coach.

Norwich City conceded more goals (32) than any other side in 2025, which counteracted the hard work they'd done at the other end, having been the fourth top scorers (31) since the turn of the year.

Image source, Rex Features

Watford had a disappointing 2025, winning just five of their 23 games and losing 13 to finish bottom of the calendar year table.

The Hornets had the joint-worst goal difference along with Cardiff (-10) and head coach Tom Cleverley was sacked following the end of the season.

Preston and Cardiff won the fewest games of any side in 2025 (4), which cost the Bluebirds their Championship status and almost led to the Lilywhites dropping into League One as they avoided relegation by one point.

Paul Heckingbottom's side would be down if only games this year were counted.

Luton and Derby scored the fewest goals in 2025 (19) and attacking output was an issue that plagued both sides throughout the entire campaign.

It had major consequences for the Hatters with back-to-back relegations, while the Rams survived by a point - and only on goal difference in the yearly table.

Data collated from Transfermarkt

"The last seven or eight games were pretty tough if I'm being honest. It wasn't great."

The Dub's Robyn Cowen is joined by Oxford United midfielder Will Vaulks as they discuss his debut season with the U's, what the future holds for the 31-year-old and battling through pain to help the team avoid relegation.

Vaulks sustained an ankle injury towards the end of last season but chose to delay surgery until the U's had secured safety.

"There was no pressure from the club, it was more myself. It just didn't feel the right time to say 'I'll just get the operation now, look after myself and leave the players to it'," Vaulks said.

"If you would have asked my other four clubs I've had before now, 'reliable' probably would have been a word you'd have used to describe me.

"I had a couple of errors that led to goals that really affected me as well. It was tough coming to a place with a lot of expectation and then to be the one that was letting the team down. That's what hurts as a player."

Listen to the full episode and more on BBC Sounds.

Image source, PA Media

Oxford United striker Ole Romeny scored the only goal of the game for Indonesia in a 1-0 win over China in their World Cup qualifier on Thursday.

The 24-year-old netted from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time in a victory which guaranteed Indonesia's progress to the fourth round stage of qualifying.

Indonesia will now need to either win their mini three-team tiebreaker group or finish second and then win a two-legged play-off game to reach World Cup 2026 which is being held in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Romeny's strike against China is his third in three international games for Indonesia since gaining citizenship in February this year.

He was born in the Netherlands and represented the Dutch national sides at youth level but his grandmother is Indonesian, meaning Romeny was able to switch his allegiance.

Romeny scored one goal in 14 Championship games for the U's after signing from Eredivisie club Utrecht in January.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Oxford United

Oxford United have agreed new deals with 20-year-old academy products Josh Johnson and James Golding.

Midfielder Johnson joined the club as a scholar and has made seven first team appearances in cup competitions since making his debut at 16, in addition to loan spells with Dartford, Welling, Banbury and Maidenhead.

Former Republic of Ireland under-19 centre-back Golding has featured for the senior side nine times since making his debut in 2021, including three times in League One, and had loan spells at Maidenhead and Southend last season.

Head of football, Ed Waldron, told the club website, external: "It's really important for the club to have a strong core of young, promising players who have been developed within our system.

"Josh and James are two players who have shown real qualities over each age group and have since enjoyed strong loan spells at first-team level across the pyramid.

"We look forward to continuing to work with both as they aim to make an impact on our first team group."