WONDERS OF THE PYRAMID:?How boss Des Buckingham's '逆転する mullet' has taken Oxford to the brink of the 選手権 - with Wembley next on his bucket 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる）

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His career path reads more like a bucket 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる） of travel 目的地s: Oxford 部隊d, Wellington 不死鳥／絶品, Stoke City, New Zealand, Melbourne City, Mumbai City. (陳謝s, Potteries 地元のs, your patch is the 半端物 one out here).

But now Des Buckingham is 支援する at his beloved Oxford, and the next item on his bucket 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる） will soon be ticked off: Wembley. After a nail-biting second 脚 against Peterborough at London Road, the U's are within 90 minutes of 選手権 football for the first time this century.

The 39-year-old's coaching 長期冒険旅行, 大部分は in 青年 football, has been a sprawling one but Buckingham has proven himself to be a shrewd 操作者 wherever he has gone. And the 十分な-circle 旅行 is a romantic one, given Buckingham is a boyhood Oxford fan.

He had 拒絶するd 申し込む／申し出s to return to England when managing in Mumbai, but couldn't turn 負かす／撃墜する the 適切な時期 to 選ぶ up with Oxford, the club where he first went to a game, with his late grandmother as a kid.

No surprises, then, that emotions ran high in Peterborough on Wednesday as Oxford were 軍隊d to dig 深い and 持つ／拘留する on to a 緊張した 1-1 draw on the night in their play-off 半分-final, with their hard work already done in a 1-0 勝利，勝つ at the Kassam Stadium.

Oxford boss Des Buckingham has taken the club to the brink of the second tier

Buckingham's men earned a 1-1 draw with Peterborough to 始める，決める up a Wembley date with Bolton

Take a look at that ground, with only three stands and plonked a 重要な distance from the city centre, to see how much the U's are punching above their 負わせる in a 分割 十分な of clubs with more storied histories.

Oxford's story is one that has been 注目する，もくろむ-catching all season. After 避けるing relegation by just two points in 2022-23, they （機の）カム out of the 封鎖するs 飛行機で行くing under boss Liam Manning and won nine of their first 11 games this 称する，呼ぶ／期間／用語. But Manning was soon headhunted by 選手権 Bristol City.

For Oxford, it was suddenly a bumpy road ahead to 達成する a 最高の，を越す-six finish and they dropped points in six of Buckingham's first 10 games. Was the 早期に-season form just a flash in the pan under Manning?

Buckingham's teething problems soon turned into a minor 危機 as they won just two of 12 matches in a dismal run from January to March, the nadir 存在 a 5-0 thrashing by Bolton, who they will play at Wembley on Saturday week for a 発射 at the second tier.

Yet soon it all started to click. After that Bolton 敗北・負かす, they won four and drew one of the next five ― by an aggregate of 16-1. A month after losing 5-0 to a play-off 競争相手, they thrashed another 5-0 in despatching Peterborough.

It gave them a psychological 辛勝する／優位 when the teams met in the play-offs. Though Oxford have been 賞賛するd for their attacking prowess, this two-legged victory was a masterclass in defending.

The Not The 最高の，を越す 20 podcast recently 述べるd Buckingham's style as a '逆転する mullet': 商売／仕事 at the 支援する, party at the 前線. It was 位置／汚点／見つけ出す on ― they look incredibly steely in defence but have never 欠如（する）d for goals, either. With 13 strikes and 11 補助装置s, Cameron Brannagan is the 星／主役にする man. The Liverpool 学院 卒業生（する） has been one of the EFL's best midfielders.

Another success stor y is Josh Murphy, twin brother of Newcastle winger Jacob, who was dubbed the 'best player in League One' by former boss Karl Robinson but later struggled for form. He has rediscovered his best level under Buckingham, though.

Murphy puts his success in the last few months 負かす／撃墜する to becoming a father, an experience which the 29-year-old 述べるs as 'life-changing'. After a stellar season, life-changing might be the best way to 述べる Oxford's 業績／成就 if they can 勝利，勝つ 昇進／宣伝 at Wembley.