Generation Ox

When Stevie Kinniburgh first uttered the words “high press” in the first minute of commentary of United’s match against Plymouth, few could have imagined he would uphold such a committed position for the full 90 minutes. Nevertheless, the Scotsmen unremittingly ploughed through an hour and a half of desperate urging for United to get up the pitch and praising of those who did at every opportunity. Though Kinniburgh’s co-commentary – an admittingly more insightful style than Peter Rhoades-Brown’s usual ‘knock it and run’ analysis – was right. United’s committed pressure unsettled a Plymouth side who had four points from their last two games and were playing in front of 2,000 fans, and from the half hour mark onwards Oxford were – without it ever becoming one sided – the more likely force, winning out by a narrow margin in the end to make it three wins from three and keep their all important momentum going.   Almost as instilled was the ethos of pressing in the player’s minds as th

Momentum is always hard to come by, but even more so in this most irregular of seasons. Almost half his week’s set of League 1 fixtures were postponed due to Covid, and although United avoided that this time, they were not so lucky a week earlier when they had been due to play Bristol Rovers. That was United’s fourth game called off due to the virus – all in the opposition ranks and all coming after wins for Oxford. It has made building momentum harder, something which has plagued the other teams in the division too. Shrewsbury Town beat three of the top four in their three matches prior to a Boxing Day clash with Wigan, but they would have to come from behind just to salvage a point against the basement dwelling Latics. Shrewsbury’s new manager bounce may have played a role in some of those results, but there is no such excuse for other sides in the division who are also finding consistency hard to come by. Plymouth, for example, seem to win 5-0 one week and lose by a simila

An early Christmas present was offered to Oxford in the form of out of shape Northampton on Tuesday night. Four goals, three points and a clean sheet an almost perfect way for Karl Robinson’s men to head into the festive period. Although it was an injury and suspension-hit Northampton side, great credit does have to be given to Robinson’s men whose desire to stick to their game plan led to an emphatic second half performance.   With the Cobblers taking much of the pace out of the game in the first period, it looked as though Oxford would be sucked into a physical battle with Keith Curle's men – not a good sign when playing the team who have won the second most aerial duels in the division.   And this showed in the first 45, as Northampton dominated in most aerial statistics, stopping United getting any momentum in the game.  During the First Half A change in momentum United set about rectifying this in the second half, and the intensity of their passing and movement proved

It seems fitting that the last game without fans for Oxford was a nil-nil on a cold Tuesday night.  But those are the kind of outings Oxford fans can look forward to from now on, with a maximum of 2,000 supporters being allowed back into matches after this week’s tie against Hull. With this you can also expect to see a real momentum shift for all teams, with even a small number of fans still likely to make a big difference and there will probably be a return to the usual home advantage.  Some sides have tried to combat the lack of fans by filling the seats with youth players and staff, notably in Oxford’s away matches at Fleetwood and Gillingham - and it worked for the Cod Army whose home advantage of +25% the second best in League One. Though for the other teams in the division, there has been much less joy in these home games. The gap between the average points per game at home and away is smaller than it has been for the last decade, with just 0.12 more points being gathered a

After finally winning the right to an Oxford United penalty on Tuesday, Alex Gorrin showed all the composure that you would expect from a Spanish midfielder, rather than a League One holding man without a goal in English football. But the goal was just topping off a scintillating run of form for the midfielder who has been one of the small bright sparks in this United side in recent weeks. Oxford were undoubtedly poor in the early season and the absence of Gorrin certainly played a role in that. But the Spaniard has been instrumental in their recent return to form helping United to a points per game of 1.43 in League matches with him compared to only 0.6 when he’s not in the starting eleven.   This has been partly down to his defensive nous which, though it hasn’t solved Oxford’s inability to keep a clean sheet, has massively helped it. Oxford have conceded 0.5 less goals in league games since Gorrin has returned from injury. He averages the most tackles per game in this Oxfo

Not yet a six-pointer – but this match holds much more weight than any Oxford fan would have expected at the start of the season. Defeat to bottom of the league Wigan would be difficult to take now - especially because their opponents have the second lowest expected goals scored and the second highest expected goals conceded in the division.   Wigan’s league position seems fair on all the evidence given, and although Oxford would argue theirs is not, now is the time to prove it. To do that though they will have to improve on their last performance against Crewe, which left many fans calling it the worst of the season.  Although Oxford were undoubtedly poor, some credit has to be given to the opposition, whose pressing of Oxford’s midfield made it very difficult for them to keep the ball. They limited Oxford to a below average possession and passing accuracy - down 6% from United's season average. They have been keen to play this pressing game all season, averaging the third

Tuesday night saw Oxford register their first clean sheet in 19 matches and - though Walsall away in the new PJT is not the most impressive game to end the run – it will have had a massive boost on the confidence of United’s defence. As will the return of skipper John Mousinho, who had not started for nearly two months after a knee injury but captained the side to this win, as part of a centre back pairing with 16 years between them – nearly as old as Joshua Anifwose who was named on the bench for United. Though Nico Jones probably won’t be challenging for a first team place just yet – John Mousinho might. With Rob Atkinson on the verge of returning and Elliot Moore having seemingly cemented his place in the starting line-up, Robinson has to think about whether he should bring back the club captain from his virtual coaching role.  John Mousinho played around three fifths of Oxford’s matches last year, rotating with Elliot Moore for the place alongside Dickie in defence, but Unite

Despite the win against Rochdale, Oxford could find themselves back at the base of the table by the time they play their next league game with yet another postponed match this Saturday. Nobody is claiming Oxford should be top of the league, but their league position certainly isn't being kind to them. Though with no match on Saturday, it's a opportunity to look back at how the rest of the league is shaping up.   The disjointed fixture list means it is very difficult to see who should be where, with some teams nearly a quarter of the way through their season and poor old Accrington yet to reach the eight-game mark.   Accrington themselves enjoyed a strong start to the campaign, and if we go off the points per game table, they would be five places higher than they currently are. In fact, based on everyone’s new favourite points per game method, 17 teams in League One would have new positions, with half of the table moving at least two places up or down.     Early season o

When league affairs aren’t going great, sometimes all that is needed is a healthy cup run. This meant the last thing Oxford needed was to draw the highest ranked club in the competition in the very first round. But this is the FA Cup. The magic, the upsets, the joy. Oxford beating fellow League One side Peterborough at home is hardly going to make the top picks on the highlights reel, but it would certainly be an important result for Oxford fans and mark an obvious improvement, given they lost to Peterborough just a few weeks ago. There won’t be the same sort of atmosphere for this year as in recent matches against Newcastle and Swansea due to the lack of fans, but that may give Robinson even more of an incentive to progress further get one of these big ties. The prize money and the prospect of a televised game could bring in much needed revenue where it is lacking elsewhere. Only a couple of rounds stand between United and the heralded third round, and based on recent seas

Oxford fans cannot be blamed for feeling a sense of deja vu after another defeat to Charlton on Tuesday despite dominating much of the play. Many have been left feeling it’s been the same story all season and after a third postponement last Saturday - this time the much-anticipated derby game - it’s fair to say Oxford’s luck appears to be out.   With this in mind, the last thing United need is a sixth away game of the season and, more worryingly, an away game at Highbury. Oxford have picked up just two points from a possible 18 in away matches with Fleetwood. In fact those are the only two points Oxford have ever gained against The Trawlermen in League encounters, losing all five of their home games with them.   It means that Fleetwood are the only side in League One this season that Oxford have never beaten, and United fans will not be confident of breaking that record this weekend.   Oxford’s conversion rate sits at just 6% this year, and they have failed to score in 57% of

Without fans, some games at the Kassam this season have been accused of feeling like an EFL Trophy match on a Tuesday night. Not this one though. This is Oxford United vs Swindon Town. The game that needs no introduction, but here’s one anyway.   It’s the first meeting between the rivals since February 2017 in a season where Swindon dropped to a lower division than Oxford for the first time since 1987. But times have certainly changed since that season when John Aldridge top scored for United, as Oxford haven’t lost a league match to their friends down the motorway for more than fifteen years.   They will come into this one in high spirits as well after finally putting some chances away in midweek, putting three past MK Dons to gain their second win of the season to take some pressure off a poor start. Its been the reverse for the Robins who have lost their last five matches in all competitions after what was a promising start to life back in the third tier. Swindon have sc

Amid the clamour for signings as deadline day neared, you could make a case - and many people did - that Oxford needed strengthening in a number of departments. Obviously a rapid left winger. Some cover for Josh Ruffels. An experienced centre-back to help solidify a fragile defence. Some ball-carrying dynamism in midfield. After some pretty stellar work in recent transfer windows - at least in terms of bringing players in - the arrival of an unheralded winger from QPR on deadline day was a bit underwhelming (at least until his second minute of action). Shodipo may tick the pace box, but what of the need to fill some of those other positions? The answer may lie in the same reason Eric Deir continues to make the England squad. The versatility of players like Deir - or from different generations Phil Neville and Mick Duxbury - would always have an extra value when the big tournaments came around because of their ability to fill in a variety of positions.  Arguably the salary cap does that