Away Match Day Thread 25/02/2026 - MDT: Stoke City v Oxford United

[Carpy]

 

[Northstandboy]

bet365 Stadium
Wednesday 25th Feb 2026 @ 2000

 

[Mike_H]

Lets hope for 3 points tonight and more importantly no new manager Boing Boing bounce for the Baggies on Saturday.

 

[Yellows1]

Massive game, we need to turn the screw and start winning games, COYY’S

 

[chuckbert]

Huge game. 2 teams with similar form. We need the 3 points.

 

[ECYellow]

We can really start applying some pressure with a win tonight.

Can the players finally turn up and put back to back performances together? It needs to happen soon!

2-1 Ox and renewed hope of the great escape.

 

[Orkney Islands Yellow]

Must win. If we do it'll be a tense 0-1.

 

[m]

Looking forward to seeing* the line-up and the way we approach the game.





*listening on RadOx tbf, but you get the point

 

[OxfordNondie]

Injuries still an issue preventing putting out our best side

 

[unification]

This is the start of a five matches that all present massive opportunities. Not just the opposition who aren’t the strongest teams in the division but those around us. Six pointers abound.

It’ll take something we’ve repeatedly proven we’re not capable of though and that’s winning midweek after a good performance at the weekend.

We don’t have to win all five of those upcoming games but we have to start winning soon. Let’s hope it starts tonight.

 

[Front Post]

Back the lads tonight.
None of this self deprecating stuff that we've had from a select few at times. "We're going down with the Wednesday" at Sheffield Utd for example.

 

[dickwalton1964]

Back the lads tonight.
None of this self deprecating stuff that we've had from a select few at times. "We're going down with the Wednesday" at Sheffield Utd for example.

Agree with that. These chants like ‘how sh*t must you be we’re winning away’ are pretty pathetic and futile and do nothing to help the team. You’re right, this is a time for proper noisy support (similar to the Boro fans on Saturday) from proper fans, drowning out the idiots.

 

[SirAndyOfCrosby]

Back the lads tonight.
None of this self deprecating stuff that we've had from a select few at times. "We're going down with the Wednesday" at Sheffield Utd for example.

Absolutely embarassing that. As is the current fashion for 'how sh*t must you be, we're winning away'.

These spotty little kids don't know they're born. Gallows humour is for the gallows - not at away days in The Championship that we could have only dreamt of for the best part of a quarter of a century.

 

[LeftSideBoy]

Cumming
Long Makosso Brown Currie
Brannagan Vaulks
Donley
Mills Lankshear MPH

2-1 Oxford: Lankshear and Mills. BDK and Prelec back in the squad.

UP THE OX!

 

[Older Shotts]

WE ARE STAYING UP, SAY, WE ARE STAYING UP!!
WE ARE STAYING UP, SAY, WE ARE STAYING UP!!
WE ARE STAYING UP, SAY, WE ARE STAYING UP!!
WE ARE STAYING UP, SAY, WE ARE STAYING UP!!

The U's are staying up!
The U's are staying up!
And now you're gonna believe us
and now you're gonna believe us
THE U'S ARE STAYING UP!


Sorry, just practicing for this evening.

 

[Lost Marbles]

The official website match previews are starting to wind me up. They are so obviously AI generated and the Stoke one comes out with this drivel:

Stoke City's famous red and white striped kit has been a long-standing identity, earning them the nickname “The Potters,” a nod to Stoke-on-Trent’s pottery heritage.

I see, Stoke are called "The Potters" because of their kit, that makes perfect sense.

 

[Sarge]

1-2 away win

 

[Bodminyellow]

Just got on the train up - not looking forward to the journey too much but being picked up at Worcester which will help. Crucial we don’t loose and really need a win - feeling positive - Debating having a breakfast beer!!

 

[Swinny]

Results largely went in our favour last night - we've got to make that count and get something out of tonight.

Defensively much stronger recently - reckon we could nick it IF we somehow remember how to score ourselves...

 

[battman]

If, and it’s a big if, we win tonight and beat West Brom on the weekend, then we’d be above them in the table. And if Leicester lose vs an in form Norwich, then we’d be out of the relegation zone.

It’s what a couple of wins can do at the bottom of the table, but it obviously means doing something we haven’t done all season: win back-to-back games. Let’s start that tonight.

 

[werthersoriginal]

The official website match previews are starting to wind me up. They are so obviously AI generated and the Stoke one comes out with this drivel:

Stoke City's famous red and white striped kit has been a long-standing identity, earning them the nickname “The Potters,” a nod to Stoke-on-Trent’s pottery heritage.

I see, Stoke are called "The Potters" because of their kit, that makes perfect sense.

AI writing is so s**t. It always reads like a pompous intern trying to sound important - which it could be, I guess.

 

[EastSussexOx]

We have been really struggling for intensity in mid week games and really think we should look to pick players based on fitness for the match, even if some of these downgrade on paper from first choice players. A bit of rotation is needed. E.g. Long has been playing well but he played the full 90 on Saturday so should think about replacing him with Spencer for today given full back is a physically demanding role. It is a real shame that Prelec isn't fit because ideally Lanks shouldn't play this one after putting in 87 mins on Saturday - but the thought of Harris starting doesn't set pulses racing.

 

[JayOx88]

I'm actually excited for tonight - last night's results were largely good for us, and Saturday's result and performance has hopefully instilled a steely confidence that we can get the three points.

I was very critical of Bloomfield after the Norwich game, so it's only right I give him credit for Saturday. That shape was much more like it - a solid back four with round pegs in round holes and it sounded like we didn't get totally overrun in midfield, whilst having some good moments at the other end too. I really hope he's now settled on this as our best approach.

More of the same tonight, please. If we're capable of doing that, there is no reason we can't win away against a side in poor form sat in 16th place and put ourselves right back in contention for survival.

 

[The Mighty Aldo]

As always hoping for a win, but would take a point after last nights results.
Would have to back that up with a win on Saturday though

 

[SirAndyOfCrosby]

As always hoping for a win, but would take a point after last nights results.

Nope.

We've drawn 11 games this season. 'Taking' draws is what has got us in this predicament (we've lost fewer than West Brom - and the same as Norwich, Blackburn and Sheffield United).

The only thing that gets us out of this mess is getting to 12 or even 13 wins - and we simply won't get there by 'taking a point'.

 

[chuckbert]

AI writing is so s**t. It always reads like a pompous intern trying to sound important - which it could be, I guess.

That's the fault of the prompt-writer. You can get it to use any kind of "voice" you can think of or describe. There are even numbers you can give it as parameters for the level of "lay person" you want.

Here's the first bit of the article in the voice of ricky gervais:
Right, okay. So. The Rivalry. laughs A Quick Head-to-Head Check. Brilliant. Here we go.
Stoke City — the Potters, as they're known, which is a lovely little nickname, very humble, very honest, we make pots, that's what we do — they made the trip to the Kassam Stadium in early November. And they left with all three points after a 3-0 win. Three-nil! Oxford didn't just lose, they were, and I say this with great affection, absolutely battered. Lewis Baker got two — two! — and Steven N'Zonzi, whose name I will never not enjoy saying, got the other. N'Zonzi. Brilliant. And Stoke were on fire at the time, climbing the Championship table, full of confidence, the whole thing. Good for them. Really.
Now — pauses for effect — encounters between the two clubs have been relatively rare in recent years. Three meetings in 25 years. Twenty-five years! These two sides have been avoiding each other like they owe each other money. There was Stoke's November win, a 1-0 Oxford win back in September 2024, and a goalless draw in January 2025. A goalless draw. No goals. None. Two professional football teams, fully grown adults, and between them they couldn't manage a single goal. Incredible. I love football, I really do.
Overall they've met 22 times, Oxford have won nine, there have been seven draws, and I think we can all agree that statistically, historically, and in every conceivable way — this is a fixture that probably means more to Oxford than anyone else. And there's nothing wrong with that. smirks Nothing wrong with that at all.
I asked it to do Nick Harris, but it said:
Now, I have to be honest with you — Nick Harris is a name associated with sports journalism, but a "Nick Harris from BBC Radio Oxford" with a strongly distinctive on-air voice or style isn't something I have a clear enough picture of to do justice to an accurate impression. I wouldn't want to put words in someone's mouth in a way that feels unfair or inaccurate.
If you could give me a sense of his style — is he excitable, deadpan, very local and down-to-earth, formal? — I'd be more than happy to have a go at writing the paragraph in that spirit. Alternatively, if you had a different broadcaster or commentator in mind whose style is a bit more widely known, I can work with that too!

 

[MarkG]

Stoke double training target as Mark Robins looks to resolve 'weakness of ours'

Stoke City turn their focus to a mid-week home game against Oxford United

www.stokesentinel.co.uk

 

[MarkG]

Stoke City injury news vs Oxford United as Potters put faith in cryotherapy

Mark Robins is preparing for a mid-week Championship match at home against Oxford United

www.stokesentinel.co.uk

 

[Common Villager]

That's the fault of the prompt-writer. You can get it to use any kind of "voice" you can think of or describe. There are even numbers you can give it as parameters for the level of "lay person" you want.

Here's the first bit of the article in the voice of ricky gervais:
Right, okay. So. The Rivalry. laughs A Quick Head-to-Head Check. Brilliant. Here we go.
Stoke City — the Potters, as they're known, which is a lovely little nickname, very humble, very honest, we make pots, that's what we do — they made the trip to the Kassam Stadium in early November. And they left with all three points after a 3-0 win. Three-nil! Oxford didn't just lose, they were, and I say this with great affection, absolutely battered. Lewis Baker got two — two! — and Steven N'Zonzi, whose name I will never not enjoy saying, got the other. N'Zonzi. Brilliant. And Stoke were on fire at the time, climbing the Championship table, full of confidence, the whole thing. Good for them. Really.
Now — pauses for effect — encounters between the two clubs have been relatively rare in recent years. Three meetings in 25 years. Twenty-five years! These two sides have been avoiding each other like they owe each other money. There was Stoke's November win, a 1-0 Oxford win back in September 2024, and a goalless draw in January 2025. A goalless draw. No goals. None. Two professional football teams, fully grown adults, and between them they couldn't manage a single goal. Incredible. I love football, I really do.
Overall they've met 22 times, Oxford have won nine, there have been seven draws, and I think we can all agree that statistically, historically, and in every conceivable way — this is a fixture that probably means more to Oxford than anyone else. And there's nothing wrong with that. smirks Nothing wrong with that at all.
I asked it to do Nick Harris, but it said:
Now, I have to be honest with you — Nick Harris is a name associated with sports journalism, but a "Nick Harris from BBC Radio Oxford" with a strongly distinctive on-air voice or style isn't something I have a clear enough picture of to do justice to an accurate impression. I wouldn't want to put words in someone's mouth in a way that feels unfair or inaccurate.
If you could give me a sense of his style — is he excitable, deadpan, very local and down-to-earth, formal? — I'd be more than happy to have a go at writing the paragraph in that spirit. Alternatively, if you had a different broadcaster or commentator in mind whose style is a bit more widely known, I can work with that too!

Grant Ferguson is is refreshingly laid back for a man with such responsibility

 

[Kernow Yellow]

The official website match previews are starting to wind me up. They are so obviously AI generated and the Stoke one comes out with this drivel:

Stoke City's famous red and white striped kit has been a long-standing identity, earning them the nickname “The Potters,” a nod to Stoke-on-Trent’s pottery heritage.

I see, Stoke are called "The Potters" because of their kit, that makes perfect sense.

Jesus, just read it. Absolute AI slop. This section particularly riled me:

"Under Mark Robins, Stoke City have most commonly operating in a 4-2-3-1 shape with an emphasis on balance and organisation. When at their very best, they are comfortable building from deep and keeping possession, averaging solid ball retention and pass accuracy, while prioritising defensive compactness and shape out of possession."

Firstly - who cares? This is the OUFC website, not some betting preview trying to fill space. Secondly, at least make it look like it is talking about football in English. Do other clubs do this too or is it just Us that have got lazy?

 

[WE Yellow]

McDonnell is a huge miss tonight, bigger than people might realise. I'd be pleasantly surprised if we get anything from it to be honest, but it's massive if we do.