Now that the dust has almost settled on the 2006/07 season, it feels an appropriate time to conduct our own mini post-mortem, and we use the phrase deliberately, because following the trauma of the defeat by Leyton Orient at the end of last season, Oxford United's failure to regain their league status, and the cruel way in which it was denied, felt like a little part of us died. Or perhaps continued to die, if death is some sort of ongoing process, following the decline into coma of the past few seasons.

While the events of 6 May 2006 are unlikely to be forgotten in a hurry by United supporters, the impact of Nick Merry's takeover and the thought of being a big fish in a rather small pond meant that there was sufficient optimism going in to the new season to keep the fans reasonably buoyant. The record-breaking unbeaten run of 19 games from the start of the season, leading to an eight-point lead at the top of the table, led most (fans and neutrals) to believe that the optimism was not misplaced.

However, that unbeaten run served more to hide the deficiencies within the squad, than lead to a feeling of invulnerability, whatever the supporters were singing. The eight-point gap had been achieved by the end of September, but when the run came to an end, in mid-November, United were only five points clear of Dagenham & Redbridge. By this time, it was clear that the threads of the season were beginning to fray. The home draw with third-bottom Southport (who were twice ahead, and against whom United needed two penalties, one in the last minute, to rescue the point) was symptomatic of the way the season was developing, with a vulnerability to set pieces, and Oxford demonstrating an alarming inability to break down sides who were determined to defend from the outset.

So United's unbeaten run was a house built on sand, and when the run was ended, first at Wycombe in the FA Cup, and then at Gravesend & Northfleet, the season started to unravel. After the Tamworth win the following week, it was almost three months before United recorded their next league win, coincidentally against Gravesend, and in the meantime the Daggers had built a lead that proved unassailable. On Boxing Day, United set a Conference record attendance, with over 11,000 watching the match against Woking, but size doesn't always matter, as the Cards held the Us to a goalless draw. On New Year's Day, an Oxford side depleted by injuries lost 2-1 at Exeter and surrendered the lead at the top of the table for the first time since the opening weeks of the season. Worse was to come when, in the season's nadir, Rushden & Diamonds ended the side's unbeaten home record, live on TV, in the Yellows' most inept performance of the season.

After the Rushden game, Oxford started to get back on track, but successive home defeats to Kidderminster Harriers and Forest Green Rovers ended any lingering hopes that United might challenge Dagenham for the title. Eventually, the side limped into second place, carried there by virtue of the storming start to the season, rather than a spectacular finish. The win at Exeter, in the first leg of the play-off semi-final, gave Oxford some false hope, as did Yemi Odubade's opener in the second leg, which put United 2-0 up on aggregate. Typically Oxford, the side blew the whole season with the very last kick of the game, having never been behind during the tie it was the final kick of the penalty shoot-out that condemned the Us to a second season of non-league football.

So, was this season a failure? Yes, if you consider that the stated aim at the outset was a return to the Football League. That obviously hasn't happened. On the other hand, United finished second out of 24 clubs, didn't concede more than two goals in any game, and only once was beaten by a margin of two goals. The side was never out of the top two all season, and in terms of attendances both home and away was clearly the biggest side to have competed in the Conference since it was formed in 1979. However, as Oxford found to their cost, size of crowds doesn't necessarily equate to performances on the pitch, and it was on the pitch that Oxford ultimately failed to achieve promotion.

There are many different theories as to why United are still a non-league side. The unbeaten start to the season gave supporters a heightened expectation that the club was going to sweep all before them, but in fact other sides were starting to get the measure of United's tactics, and were losing whatever awe they may have had of Oxford's reputation. The tactics of a rigid 5-3-2 were inappropriate, especially given the limitations of the players who, at this level, were never comfortable with their roles. Injuries played their part too, with Gavin Johnson, Chris Willmott, Steve Basham, and Eddie Hutchinson all long-term crocks, and then loan-signing Georges Santos quickly joined them, while both Marvin Robinson and Rob Duffy spent long periods on the sidelines. However, it seems that Oxford's worst enemy was themselves, as the side bottled it on the big occasions, notably the play offs, and the side fell victim to its own expectations.And for next season? Once again, United are likely to start as favourites for the title. The playing budget will need to be reduced by as much as a quarter, and the opposition will mostly now not be so timid when visiting Minchery Farm. This, though, could work in United's favour, if teams open up more and allow them the space in which to play. The experience of the Conference gained last season should stand both management and players in good stead, and if Jim Smith can bring in the right players (especially a striker who can actually score regularly), then it is possible that Oxford could again challenge for the title. The fear is that another season at this level without promotion could lead to United becoming non-league perennials, like Halifax, Aldershot, and Exeter. That really would be a small kind of death for Oxford.