United appear to have signed Southend striker Mark Rawle on a one year contract, subject to a medical. Southend, though, don't seem to be aware of Rawle's imminent arrival, as their official web site claims that he is due to sign a new contract with them tomorrow. “Mark contacted the club secretary about half an hour ago and said that he would come in on Friday and sign” said [Southend manager Steve] Wignall. “It's good news. I still don't know why it has taken him so long to come to that decision. He only lives locally so I presume that logistically he must be somewhere else otherwise he could have got in today.” Of course, as he hasn't completed his transfer to Oxford, it could well be Ian Atkins that he's pissing about instead.24 year old Rawle was Southend's top scorer last season with 12 goals, and is described as “speedy but often unpredictable” on the official site. However, he also has a history of groin and hamstring problems, so it's highly possible that he might fail a medical.
Other transfer talk
The arrival of Rawle increases the likelihood that Steve Basham won't sign his new contract, and it is probable that he will end up at Wycombe. Dave Savage is also looking increasingly likely to move on, although Bobby Ford is expected to put pen to paper in the next few days, as is Paul McCarthy.Other players, besides Jefferson Louis, whose names have been circulated to clubs as being available for transfer include Simon King, who has been tenuously linked with Bristol Rovers, Matt Bound, Manny Omoyinmi and Sam Ricketts.
Former United trainee Howard Forinton has joined ex-ROS Jamie Cook at Stevenage Borough, lucky lad.
Fixtures out
United start the new season with a trip to Sincil Bank, to face Lincoln City, who pipped Oxford to the play-offs by just four minutes at the end of last season. With Derek Townsley, Julian Alsop and Ben Futcher all likely to be on the pitch at the same time this game could go down in the record books as the tallest of all time. Don't expect the ball to see much of the Lincoln beach, as it spends most of its time in the clouds.United's first ever league visit to Yeovil is on February 14th, a good excuse to get away from your loved one for a day. The Boxing Day fixture is another home clash, this time against Leyton Orient, and United visit their only seaside fixture, Torquay United, on Easter Bank Holiday. For the third season running Oxford finish with a home game, this time Rochdale are the victims.
The full set of fixtures can be seen here (allegedly).