Generation Ox

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 ...

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 ...

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 U...

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.   ...

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...