Takeover talks falter, the chairman decides to stay, new executives come in, fans call for new owners and the club loses its eighth manager in seven years.

And all this as the team teeters on the edge of a calamitous relegation.

It has been a very busy week at Oxford United -- and it ain't over yet.

A short while ago, the team looked as if they might challenge for one of the play-off places in League 2, with a chance of winning promotion.

Now the U's risk losing their Football League status after 44 years, and ironically, being replaced by Accrington Stanley, the club they originally ousted.

Many fans say the club needs the radical surgery of a complete sell-off.

In comparison, the changes announced yesterday look more like a little Band Aid.

The new team at the top, however enthusiastic, does not quite match up to the supporters' dreams of a return for Jim Smith, with all his experience and contacts.

Moreover, it is hard to see how any management can thrive in the long term under the current regime, given Firoz Kassam's record and the fans' feelings about him.

There have been too many new dawns in the Kassam era for us to start predicting a sunny future just yet.

But in the meantime, the task of everyone connected with the club -- owner, management, players and fans -- must be to avert relegation.

It would be a disaster if United were to sink into the Conference, particularly when they are celebrating the 20th anniversary of arguably their best triumph, the Milk Cup win.

Starting tonight, the players need to get points on the board in their remaining games and fans need to be at the Kassam Stadium in force to cheer them on.

Change can often work miracles at football clubs.

We wish new boss Darren Patterson and the team all the luck in the world in their do-or-die effort.