United Online (Oxford United Official Website)

Member Name: rleigh

Product:	Oxford United Official Website
Date:	05/05/08 (98 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The website is incredibly professional looking, and packed full of useful information.

Disadvantages: Sometimes updates can take place a little too sporadically.

For generations now my family has followed Oxford United Football Club, I've always had an interest in Manchester United also but Oxford United is without doubt my football team of choice. Being born in Oxford I was always around fans of the club from a young age and this is something that helped shape my support for the Oxford United football team. The official Oxford United website is therefore one that I have spent a lot of time on over the years, a website where I can go to learn all the latest news about my football team of choice and keep up with such details as the current league table and the latest fixtures and results. Oxford United is now a football team in the Blue Square Premier (the fifth tier of English football), a lot of teams in the league have extremely amateur looking websites but the Oxford United one is an excellent website and looks very professional indeed.

In the top left hand corner of the website are seven drop-down menus; News, Match, Team, Tickets, Club, Fans, and Commercial. From any of the pages on the website there is also always the option to get back to the homepage through clicking the 'Home' button which is present in the upper left hand corner directly underneath a logo of the Oxford United club badge. It's an extremely easy to use website; it's well designed and simple to progress from page to page. Having used the website for many years now never have I had any problems with it and always in fact I have found the website to be excellent in every way.

The home page is incredibly well laid out, the 'Latest Headlines' are present here which gives you the seven most recent news posts, also displayed here is the score of the last game that Oxford United played, a whole host of averts are present for websites such as football betting, and also the page gives details of a number to call in order to book tickets for the next Oxford United home game. It's all clearly set out, aesthetically pleasing, and the ease of navigation here is absolutely excellent. To the bottom of the home page details are given here that the website is 'Part of the Official Football Sites network', the website therefore possesses a similar layout structure to such other football team websites as those of West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur, and Aston Villa also (amongst others).

From the 'News' drop down you are given four options; News Homepage, Latest News, The Big Interview, and The Odds. As I go on the website daily I tend to read the news on the day and therefore don't generally requite to look through the archives, the News Homepage is excellent however as it gives you the option to look through news that is up to one year old. It's a shame that it doesn't go back any further than this, it's quite extensive however and is an interesting resource to use if you're ever after Oxford United news that is not current. The Latest News page displays the last ten news posts entered on the website. Although the section is titled 'Latest News', you can actually go further back here than you can with the News Homepage; way back to news from April 2001 in fact. Each page displays ten news results but you can keep going back further and further to your hearts content. The Big Interview gives the manager/a certain player a chance to give their thoughts about the current form and progression of the club, it can be quite an interesting one to read and is a feature of the website that I often tend to read. Finally in this section 'The Odds' quite simply gives a link to the bet365 website so that you can bet on whatever takes your fancy here.

The 'Match' drop down is another strong one on the website and one where you can look at things such as the latest League Table, all the fixtures and results, and read match reports also. It's an excellent part of the website, one that I spend much of my time on when visiting. With the fixtures and results page you can go right back to the 2001/2002 season; it's an excellent page and looking back over the last few years results can be an incredibly interesting experience (but also quite depressing sometimes given the poor form of Oxford United in recent years). The League Table also goes back to the 2001/2002, a season when Oxford United was relegated to the fourth tier of English football. It's interesting looking back on the league tables of recent years, the gradual decline of Oxford United Football Club and the fall from grace from the third to the fifth tier of English football.

On the 'Team' page you can find details of the current squad and information about the Oxford United ladies team also. Player profiles are given for all of the current Oxford United first team and information is given about the player's histories and previous clubs that they have all played for. The Oxford United ladies team information is all quite limited, this is a definite area in which the website can be improved and all that is present in this area of the website is a small number of news posts about the ladies team. One thing I have noticed about this area of the website is that long after players have left the club, often information is still listed about them here as though they are still technically Oxford United players. Although this area of the website can be slow to update, the information listed about players is always vast and incredibly detailed. The information is strong, a little more time and effort could perhaps go into keeping this area of the website up to date however.

The 'Tickets' drop down is a great area of the website where you can find the number to ring for the ticket office or even book tickets for home games online. In this area of the website you can also find information about season tickets and download an application form if you're wishing to invest in a season ticket. As a season ticket holder not only do you get access to every Oxford United home game in a season but also discounted price bowling at the 'Bowlplex' which is located directly opposite Oxford United's football ground. The website gives details of several other offers that are currently available for season ticket holders, every season this changes however and each season you get different privileges as a season ticket holder. Having held a season ticket on a couple of occasions I must say that the season ticket itself is reward enough (although sometimes the performance of Oxford United Football Club leaves a lot to be desired).

Useful utilities can be found on the 'Club' page such as the online club shop and a history of Oxford United Football Club also. I've spent a little too much money in the club shop over the years, having the club shop at my fingertips online is a little risky but so far I've done quite well and restricted my overall spend on the website. Its interesting reading about the history of the football club, the teams progress from the non-league to the league and back again. Oxford United actually started life under the name of Headington United, the website gives a very detailed history of the club and an excellent overview of all the changes that have taken place over the years. This is another excellent element of the website, very professional looking and incredibly well thought out and constructed.

The final two drop downs on the website of 'Fans' and 'Commercial' are in my opinion less important than the others. In the Fans section a forum can be found and a general football quiz also amongst other things. The Commercial drop down on the other hand leads to areas of the website such as information about player sponsorship, pricing of advertising in the match day programme etc. The Fans and Commercial areas are not areas of the website that I tend to use, like the rest of the website however these sections are well detailed and the information that is displayed here is extremely clear and concise. The entire website is incredibly impressive and these sections are certainly no exception.

The official Oxford United website is absolutely excellent, it's incredibly professional looking and jam packed full of useful information. Everything you could possibly need to know about Oxford United Football Club is listed on the website, it's well laid out and navigating through the website is therefore an absolute pleasure. As a keen Oxford United fan I am never let down by the quality of the website, sometimes updates happen a little too sporadically but all in all the website is absolutely excellent. The official Oxford United website tells me everything I could possibly need to know about the club and more, tickets can be ordered for all home games here and using the Oxford United online shop is always extremely easy. As a football club resource the official website of Oxford United is excellent, a lot is offered here and the layout of it all is absolutely brilliant.


Website Address: http://www.oufc.premiumtv.co.uk

Summary: The official website of Oxford United is absolutely excellent and that is why I'm on there daily.