Cameron Brannagan wants to pay back Oxford United by winning promotion to the Championship. Photo: Adrian Sherratt for The Telegraph
Cameron Brannagan owes Oxford a combined debt. A debt he believes he will never be able to repay, although he wants to achieve something to show his gratitude.
That something is promotion to the Championship, as Brannagan is a key member of the team, who will travel to Wembley to face Bolton. Wanderers in Saturday's League One play-off final.
“The least I can do is get this club out of the league,” says the 28-year-old midfielder. “If you look at the big picture, there are bigger things than football and what they did for me at that time, to be honest, they probably saved my life.”
Better if Brannagan himself explains what happened.” at this time.” Ultimately, he said, he experienced an episode so traumatic and potentially life-altering that once the scene was set, it had to be.
It is now October 2020 and the Oxford League home game against Crewe Alexandra has been canceled due to a Covid outbreak in the visiting camp. So Oxford organized a game between the teams, and here Brannagan tells the story.
“I woke up with blurred vision in my left eye,” he says. “And it went to the right, and I'm one of those people who says, 'Oh, it's going to go away tomorrow.' I don't care”. But this did not happen.
Brannagan scores the winning goal against Exeter to defend Oxford' Play-off places Photo: Adam Davey/PA Wire. “It was weird. I'll never forget that night. The Crewe game was postponed and we played a home game and I thought, 'This just isn't right.' I was looking at the ball and it was strange and I thought, “I just need to check this out.”
Brannagan took to the field after 20 minutes, but he says he never would have carried on. The worst could happen. He could go blind.
“I came out and was in the hospital for eight or nine hours and no one knew what it was because they had never seen it before. Then the specialist called me and said, “I need you urgently tomorrow morning.”
“I walked in and she said, “If it's inflammation, I hope to save your vision. If it is an infection, you may go blind in both eyes. You'll have to have surgery.”
Just let it sink in. It was so abrupt.
Fortunately for Brannagan, it turned out to be inflammation, surgery was avoided, and he was able to retain his vision. “But I would have been 24 hours away from going blind if the specialist hadn’t gotten infected then,” he says, also paying tribute to highly regarded Oxford physiotherapist Amy Cranston.
“The hospital saved me, and too saved me.” club for getting me involved in what she did. I will never forget it,” says Brannagan.
“The specialist [Dr. Sri Sharma] told me, 'Look, I'm not sure you can continue your career straight away.' without hesitation I said, “No, I will.” And so am I. I've always been like this. Everyone says I can't do something and I want to prove them wrong.
“A few months later I went back for a checkup and she told me, “What you did is wonderful.” ” Because I came back and ended up making the PFA Team of the Season.”
< img src="/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/b97f494fa66af92eb155297c6e0bb855.jpg" /> Brannagan leads the celebrations after qualifying at Wembley. Photo: John Walton/PA Wire
Fortunately, what happened to Brannagan, who played again the following January, was an isolated incident. There is no risk of this state returning – he even erased its name from his memory. He made a full recovery. “This is such a rarity that you have never, ever heard of. They don’t know why this happened,” he says.
At the time, Brannagan was prescribed a heavy course of steroids, taking up to 20 tablets a day, and it blew his body up, but he was completely back to normal. The only effect is a “scar” when he closes his right eye.
Not surprisingly, this changed his life. “Huge,” Brannagan says. “They say everything happens for a reason. Did this happen for some reason? I think maybe that was the case. Maybe the realization that I'm here. I don't know. I'm just chatting now. But that's how I put it.
“I look back and think, 'Didn't I appreciate things?' I'm not too sure. But it made me more aware. I remember going back and talking to people and, you know, when someone was having a bad day in training, I would say, “Come on mate, honestly, enjoy yourself because everything can change in an instant.” aware. Life can change with the snap of a finger.
“Like I said, I couldn't repay this club and that's me to be honest… there are more important things than football and what they did for me in at that time, to be honest, they probably saved my life.”
This partly explains why Brannagan stayed. He has received offers to go play in the Championship, and he should perform at a higher level. But he desperately wants to do the same with Oxford.
“Look, there were times when I was probably close to leaving,” he says. “But there is something about this club, I have been here for six years and have experienced a lot with the club.
“I remember signing the contract and my goal was to try and get out of this league. and this is what I have always wanted to do, this has been my passion and I want to see my work through to completion. I really do. And to give back to the club and the fans who were there every week, there is no better feeling than that. This is better than any salary or anything else. That's who I am.”
Brannagan joined Liverpool when he was five years old. Sixteen years later, having made nine first-team appearances, he left for Oxford. “I wanted to act,” he says. “I played under Brendan Rodgers and then Jurgen Klopp and I can’t thank them enough, from all the academy staff to the first team coaches.
Brannagan joined Oxford in 2017 after 16 years in the Liverpool system. Photo: Reuters/Phil Noble
“But maybe one thing I remember is that I was too nice when I was there. I was a small child and I didn’t want to catch people’s eyes. You show them that respect, don't get me wrong, but if you want to play every week and you want to play at the top, you have to be like that, be persistent.
“I tell the young guys now that it has to be in you, because otherwise you will be passed over. It probably took me several credits to learn this. You have to go and play because U21 football is very different from league football. It's people's livelihood and you can't get that in academy football. I left there and came here, and I don't know how many games I've played now, but I love it.”
Klopp did try to send Brannagan out on loan, but he insisted on the deal. back. “It's strange actually because he wanted me to go on loan to Swindon and I said no,” he says, mentioning Oxford's arch-rivals.
“I’m not from here and didn’t know about the rivalry then, but I said, ‘I’m not going there; no chance”. I don't know why, but I was firmly convinced that I would not go to Swindon. I ended up going to Fleetwood briefly and we ended up losing in the play-offs and there was a stage where I was going to go to Wigan on loan and then I ended up here.”
Oxford lost 5-0 to Bolton in March. This was a turning point as they qualified for the play-offs, where they had already beaten Peterborough United. “I'll never forget it,” Brannagan said of Bolton's defeat. “I have never felt such embarrassment.
“I remember walking home and if that didn’t set your stomach on fire, I don’t know what will. We were simply not good enough. There's no beating around the bush here.”
This means Oxford are certainly not favorites for Wembley. “I guess you would say that,” Brannagan says. “If you lose 5-0, you will remain an underdog. But we want to prove our point, and I can’t put into words how important that is.”
The Championship – with Oxford planning to move into a new £130 million stadium by the start of the 2026/27 season – is an achievable dream. “One hundred percent this is where I want to be. But I want to do it with this club,” says Brannagan. “I want to take this club to the next level. Of course I want to play at the top. People might say, “Oh, you should do that.” But this is my life and my career, and I will do what makes me happy.”
And a walk to Wembley? “I can not wait. I’m like a kid at Christmas,” Brannagan says. “I’m a footballer and that’s what you live for. These moments. There won't be a better feeling. You have the opportunity to go to the next level, and it’s that feeling – there can’t be a better feeling in football. I've talked to guys who have been promoted multiple times and they say it's the best feeling you'll ever experience.
“Things like what happened to me often cross my mind, and if this were so, for the sake of the club, perhaps I would not be playing football now. Honestly, I can't repay this club. It's my opinion. I really can not”. But he can try.
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