D-Day for United

6:10am Monday 12th January 2009

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OXFORD United are fighting a new crisis today, when they bid to overturn an 11-point deduction.

The club have been charged by the Football Conference for failing to register a player correctly – Eddie Hutchinson – and as a result, are set to lose all the points they picked up when the midfielder played.

United are appealing against the decision, and their case will be heard in Birmingham today.

However, Mansfield Town fell foul of the same rule at the start of the season and were docked points, so it seems likely United will be punished equally.

Crawley Town face a similar charge, but have accepted their wrong-doing.

The U’s are understood to be furious that the error was not picked up earlier by Conference chiefs, but ultimately they will have to hold their hands up to the serious administrative mistake.

Secretary Mick Brown is the man responsible for the registration of players, and his position must now be under threat.

United officials are putting forward a case that Hutchinson’s registration form WAS sent to the Conference offices, and that the mistake was at their end, not United’s.

However, it is the responsibility of the club to ensure a player’s form has been both received and accepted and this appears to be the club’s big downfall – no confirmation call was ever made.

Hutchinson – who is in no way to blame for the error – was stunned when the Oxford Mail broke the news to him that he was the player in question, but says that the league are at fault, not the club.

“I remember being called into Mick Brown’s office and signing the form so it has to be an error from the league,” he said.

“There were people there who witnessed it, so I and the club have done what we had to do, and I just hope that now the league carry the can for the mistake.”

l United statement and reaction: Pages 38-39