The beauty of football is that there is rarely a dull moment, no matter which club you support. And Oxford United is no exception. Few clubs have experienced the ups and downs of the beautiful game more acutely than the U’s, as they are affectionately known.

And in the last few years there have been far more downs than ups as the club slipped out of the Football League, while off the pitch there seemed to be constant controversy.

It was millionaire Firoz Kassam who “saved” the club back in 1999, inheriting £18m in debt and a half-built stadium.

But while he built the Ozone leisure complex around the ground, his business principles did not translate to success on the pitch, and he did little to endear himself to the fans.

In 2004, when new owners, the Woodstock Partners, took over led by former youth team player Nick Merry, there was a ray of hope but the shadow of Mr Kassam still loomed large as he owned the stadium and slapped a price of £13m on it.

In October last year, Mr Merry stepped aside as chairman, although he remains co-owner with Ian Lenagan, and director Kelvin Thomas moved into the hotseat.

Now, more than a year later, the team sits proudly on top of the Blue Square Premier League and had a good run in the FA Cup.

More than 6,000 fans are turning up at every home game, and suddenly there is an optimistic feel around the club, something which has not been experienced for years.

Mr Thomas said: “We have improved things off the pitch and we are getting more success on the pitch.

“One of our goals is to generate income and not just have it based around winning, although clearly it is easier right now.”

The millstone around the neck of development at Oxford United is ownership of the stadium. Until recently, Mr Kassam collected all the income from advertising and conferences leaving just the gate receipts and player sponsorship for the club.

And every quarter £120,000 has to be found to pay Mr Kassam for the rent of the stadium. Buying it back has to remain a long-term goal.

Mr Thomas said: “The licence agreement certainly stifles our ability to generate income.”

The club also has a debt of £4m according to the last accounts, some of which is historical, although that money is owed to Woodstock Partners, rather than any outside institution.

But additional income has come from the sale of former player Dean Whitehead who has moved from Sunderland to Stoke.

In a rare moment of financial foresight, the U’s benefit from the proceeds of a sell-on clause which means they have collected 25 per cent of Whitehead's £3m move to the Britannia Stadium, minus the £325,000 they sold him for to Sunderland five years ago, a total of about £670,000.

Partly as a result of that, Mr Thomas is confident the club will break even, halting the trend of a £1m annual loss over the last four years.

But he has also cut as many expenses as he possibly can, and is determined to build up income streams.

Negotiations have taken place with Mr Kassam and the club now receives 50 per cent of the advertising revenue.

At the beginning of the season Mr Thomas set out a series of “success factors” with the aim of getting back into the black. These included good runs in the cup competitions, better crowds and, of course, a return to the Football League. He is well on track, but there is a long way to go.

Essentially, Oxford United is a medium-sized company with football at its core. It has an annual turnover of about £2.5m, of which around £1.4m comes from season ticket sales and match day income. There are 70 staff including players, although its wage bill is considerably higher than equivalent businesses.

New incentives include a membership club launched last week where people can receive discounts with local and national companies, such as Pontins, Butlins, and the RAC, in exchange for a £35 annual fee. It is hoped the scheme will raise about £100,000 a year.

And the 12th Man initiative where fans raise cash to boost the playing budget has also been successful, raising enough money (an estimated £20,000 by January) to finance new permanent squad member Jamie Cook and loan signing Onome Sodje.

Mr Thomas is also keen to develop stronger links with the local business community and to fill boxes on matchdays.

Through the Business in a Box initiative he is offering companies a free chance to see for themselves what is on offer on a matchday, in the hope of encouraging them to become involved at some level by supporting the club.

He added: “We want to make sure everyone in Oxfordshire is talking positively about us. We don’t want sponsors, we look for partners.”

And there is a strong incentive for firms wanting to improve their corporate social responsibility, for example by becoming involved with the club’s Youth Community Trust, which reaches out to youngsters, some of whom live in the most deprived areas of the city.

As a former lower league player who has coached in the United States, Mr Thomas, 36, is genuinely enthusiastic and clearly has the interests of the club at heart.

And as a businessman with a successful pest control firm in Florida, Mr Thomas believes that, slowly but steadily, things are finally falling into place for Oxford United and the club can look forward with confidence, starting with results on the pitch and working backwards.

Promotion to League Two will guarantee up to £1m more income, and that could be the stepping stone for a bright future.