Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Oxford United F.C./archive1


 * The following is an archived discussion of a featured article nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.

The article was not promoted 03:01, 26 November 2007.

Oxford United F.C.
I'm nominating this article for featured article because i feel that it is good enough to become a featured article. I think it is similar to the existing non-league FA's. Eddie6705 (talk) 12:28, 17 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Oppose This article is far from FA.
 * The lead section sucks. Two paragraphs with only one sentence. A list of managers and players.
 * A lot of POV words. For example, "Its history is quite unlike that of any other club in English football", "most impressively winning", "an excellent way", "famously asked", "an excellent start", "most successful ever" and many more.
 * The article is not comprehensive. Add a section about the crest. Add a section about the colours. Make the Supporters section longer.
 * Referencing is not FA standard. "Records" section, only 1 reference. "Financial crisis" section, only 1 reference. "Stadiums" section, 0 references. "Backroom staff" section, 0 references. "Notable players" section, 0 references. "Managerial history" section, 0 references. "Achievements" section, 0 references.
 * My English is not very good but I can see that the article needs a copy-edit.
 * Choose whether Oxford United "is" or "are" a football club.
 * The "Headington United" "2001 to present" section and "Financial crisis" repeats "the team" and "the club" until I want to sleep.
 * " By now, Oxford were deep in relegation trouble." When is "now"? 2007?
 * " relegated to the National Conference from League Two in 23rd place" is confusing.
 * "because of £13 million debts, which almost bankrupted the club." Huh?
 * And many more.
 * Is it important for readers to know the result of every match in the 1986 League Cup and the 2006 playoffs? Is it important for readers to know the result of the last match Oxford played with Swindon Town?
 * Why is the "Financial crisis" section put at the end of the "History" section?
 * Improve the article more and try GA first. --Kaypoh (talk) 12:46, 18 November 2007 (UTC)
 * By the way Kaypoh, it's a GA already! The Rambling Man (talk) 11:37, 19 November 2007 (UTC)
 * It's a GA already? I see. Eddie6705 fixed some of the problems, so I strike them, but the article is still very far from FA standards. --Kaypoh (talk) 06:14, 21 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Oppose, as Kaypoh rather clearly stated, it's in need of some serious work. Some specifics from me:
 * Get to know the WP:MOS, particularly with regard to the placement of references and WP:DATE for date formatting.
 * Check other club FA's. Notable players is a no-no, inherently POV, so create a subpage of players who meet specific criteria, club records, 125+ appearances, internationals etc.
 * Fill in the publisher field in the Cite web's.
 * Ensure all statements of fact which need citation have citation.
 * Crest section could do with some work on citation and prose.
 * Backroom staff section is really trivial stuff. Best off removed.
 * Check other club FA's for the managerial history section, most include complete match records.
 * Get rid of the succession box, does nothing for the article.
 * Why all the bolding in the Records section? Plus consider including a graph for attendances, league finishes and the like.
 * Trim external links per WP:EL
 * Let me know if I can be of any help. The Rambling Man (talk) 11:24, 19 November 2007 (UTC)
 * One more thing, Image:Oxford United badge.gif needs a correct fair use rationale. The Rambling Man (talk) 11:37, 19 November 2007 (UTC)


 * Oppose for the reasons above. Also there is a distinct lack of images. It should be easy to get hold of at least one player, manager and stadium image I'd have thought. I think you should aim to make it significantly better than existing non-league FAs, since Oxford were a league club for many years and have played in the top flight, hence there should be more source material readily available. Well done on getting it to GA though and keep up the good work. --Jameboy (talk) 01:38, 20 November 2007 (UTC)


 * Oppose for many of the reasons above. There are a lot of WP:MOS issues and the entry needs a good copy-edit. There are a lot of shorter sentences and it doesn't flow too well. It's a good start but a lot of work needed. And you'll need some images to get it to FA.
 * First line. who are currently playing, simply say who play. You certainly don't need currently.
 * upto should be two words.
 * As above, differentiate between is/are or was/were. It ought to be plural but consistency is the main thing. See here for more details.
 * 1940's. No apostrophe.
 * Maxwell takeover. It seems a bit of a short but possibly very interesting chapter. Can you expand further on this?
 * FA Cup run. but have not progressed that far in the competition since then, then is unnecessary.**2nd-round and 3rd-round. Should be second round and third round.
 * The whole league cup section is very choppy. It particularly could do with a good copy-edit.
 * a winners medal. Probably ought to be a winner's medal?
 * Do you need to say it was the last time it was the Milk Cup? It doesn't strike me as being key to Oxford's history though others might disagree.
 * As above 8th should be eighth.
 * Stadiums section first line Oxford United (also as Headington United) . You've already said they were Headington United. In fact this line is a basic repetition from the first section of history.
 * The four stands were: Beech Road (west), London Road (home), Cuckoo Lane (north) and Osler Road (east).  Urgh. This could do with being re-written.
 * redeveloping the ground was too costly, so the club decided to move to a purpose-built all-seater stadium on the outskirts of the city Is this right? I would expect a new ground cost more than re-development. In fact how much did the new stadium cost?
 * Make sure references come after the punctuation without a space as per WP:MOS.
 * The club name also returns to the crest returned?
 * with a current membership of 263, I'd try re-word this otherwise you need to update it every time someone else joins or leaves.
 * Backroom staff. I'm guessing this list has come from the official website. I don't think you need to list all these staff. Chairman, manager and possibly coaches ought to suffice.
 * Managerial history. I really like this table.
 * How about a section on the club's rivalries, particularly with Reading and Swindon Town, and why there isn't much rivaly with Oxford City. Peanut4 (talk) 01:21, 21 November 2007 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.