Still waiting on the old lags

Both Dean Saunders and Neil Ruddock are in discussions with United as the club tries to add some experience to the squad in an effort to leave Division Three at the first attempt. Ruddock seems the more likely to sign as talks with his agent are continuing and his wage demands, having done time with Crystal Palace and QPR, are likely to be less than Saunders', who will still be receiving a Premiership package from his time with Bradford City.

Regarding Ruddock Oxford spokesman, Chris Williams (yes, you Chris) said “I think wages may be an issue we have to overcome, but he looked at pictures of the new stadium on the official website and was quite impressed”. How about taking him to the actual stadium, Chris, if you really want to impress him (although probably not enough to get him to reduce his wage demands).

Both players were with Mark Wright at Liverpool, hence the contact, and Saunders himself says that he has spoken to Wright but that he would be surprised if a deal materialised, presumably because of the aforementioned wages. Of course he could always take a drop in his salary to return to his beloved Oxford, but previous returnees (Malcolm Shotton, Hugh Curran and Nigel Jemson) have failed to recapture their previous reputation and have disappointed.

A former Bradford team-mate of Saunders, and another Oxford old-boy, John Dreyer, has also joined United, according to Team Talk. The report states that he has joined United from Cambridge to take up a coaching role