Generation Ox

Perhaps amid the whirlwind of emotions that was Tuesday night we had forgotten that Oxford have only won two of the 18 games they played against top ten sides in League One prior to this. Perhaps we also forgot Blackpool have won nine of their matches against the same set of sides.  Perhaps we chose not to remember.  The truth was when Oxford walked off the Kassam pitch on Tuesday night after a 3-0 defeat to Blackpool in the first leg of the playoff semi finals, they were beaten by the better, more mature side.  It was not for a lack of effort, nor a lack of belief. Oxford simply could not break down a team who set up to stifle them.  What will be of disappointment to Robinson was that Blackpool performed an equally accomplished 2-0 victory in this fixture back in March, playing in a remarkably similar way.  That Oxford were unable to learn from their opposition was a sign that perhaps this side is not ready for the step up.  Everything pointed towards Oxfo...

The first leg of the play-off semi final is on Tuesday night, and Oxford will need to find a way of breaking down the League's best team over the last 40 matches.  Since mid-August, Blackpool have picked up 76 points, conceding only 26 goals in the process, eight less than the next best defence and thirteen better than the next team.  Since the turn of the year, Blackpool have won 16 of their 28 matches.  How do Oxford, then, go about beating them?  Here's a few key factors the data suggests Oxford will need in order to progress to Wembley.  Score First  When playing a defence as good as Blackpool, it is even more important than ever to score the first goal.  Critchley's team have won 23 of the 30 matches where they have taken the lead, the third best win conversion rate in the division.  Blackpool have also only conceded 21 goals in the second half of matches in League One this season, the least of any team in the division, and it is indicative o...

Amid continued speculation over his future, Oxford fans are beginning to brace for life without Josh Ruffels next season. The full back has been gracing Grenoble Road for nearly eight years now but he has really stepped up in the last few seasons. His injury record is next to perfect, having missed only six League matches since the start of the 2018-19 season. So how do Oxford go about replacing him should he choose to leave this summer? Hopefully it won’t come to this, but we’ve drawn up a shortlist of five potential replacements for Ruffels using statistical profiling.  We’ve used their most recent season to create a 'stats radar' on each player showing their strengths and weaknesses based on how they rank for a particular action compared to other full backs in their respective leagues. For a little example, below is the statistical profile of Josh Ruffels.  As we can see, Josh Ruffels’ defensive stats are some of the best in League One. He tops the charts for ...