Generation Ox

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 s...

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. Swindo...

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 ...

Boss Karl Robinson called Oxford’s intra-squad match on Tuesday night a bit of fun, but he wouldn’t of been laughing when he saw his first choice eleven, minus Henry, fail to break down a backline with no senior defenders in it. That's not a good sign when going to one of the meanest defences in the division on Saturday. Only three League One teams have conceded less goals per game than Peterborough - who have not conceded more than one goal in any of their last four league matches.   Adding to this, only a few teams have conceded less shots per game than the Posh and their expected goals is the best in the division.   This is unlike Oxford who are yet to register a clean sheet this season and are 13 games without keeping one in a run which extends over last season.   For a side struggling to stop conceding, London Road is not a good place to go. No team in the EFL averaged more goals per game than Peterborough last season, and they have already racked up s...

If you ever want an example of contrasting styles going head to head, just watch a Steve Evans versus Oxford derby. The classic ‘good against bad’, long ball against short passes, pretty against gets the job done. And it did get the job done. Gillingham had just 26% possession against Oxford but came away 3-1 winners, moving them up to just three places off the top, and moving United down to three places off the bottom. This result epitomised the trend that we have seen so far in the early stages of League One as it is not just Oxford who are struggling to get their passing game going.    Only a quarter of the teams in the top half of the table have averaged more than 50% possession in their opening league matches. In fact, the top four in the division average just 46.7% possession, with only Hull averaging more than 50%.   By contrast, all four of the sides in the relegation zone have an above average possession total. Bottom club MK Dons average a massive 62.7% poss...

Fortunately, Oxford didn’t have as much trouble starting their season off as they did starting the coach to get to Accrington last weekend, with the vehicle being rendered useless in farcical fashion as Coronavirus nearly stopped the football again.  But once at the WHAM stadium, United got right into their work scoring their first goals of the season in a 4-1 victory. The only other team going into last weekend having not scored a goal was Crewe Alexandra, but they also put to bed that record with a win of their own, two early goals enough to see off MK Dons.  The two sides not only shared poor starts to the season but also a reputation of playing a passing and possession-based game.   Only a few sides played more short passes per game than Oxford’s 373 last season and they also had the highest average possession in League One. But no side in League One or Two had more passes per game than Crewe last year and they also had more short passes than anyone else in ...