Mark Sykes: From the periphery to a key player for Oxford

Mark Sykes is an enigma - whenever he seems to have played himself into the team, he disappears again. 

But that all seems a distant memory in light of his performances this term, which has finally earnt him a permanent spot in the side. 

His game has massively improved over the last few months, both on and off the ball, and its leading to greater faith being placed in from Robinson. 

The Irishmen seems to be delighting in that faith, and is showing the perfect balance between party tricks and efficiency to be a successful League One player. 

The first improvement to Sykes' game has simply been his game time. 

He is playing significantly more this season than any other year, and is on track to beat his club best 23 starts, which came last term. 

Part of this has been down to Sykes' versatility, having started in five different positions already this season. 

Predominantly featuring on the wing, Sykes has often played the role of dropping into midfield to allow others to run in behind him. Steve Seddon has been a benefactor of this, with Sykes' ability to drift unnoticed into the middle of the pitch leading to plenty of space for the left back to exploit. 

Mark Sykes' improvements this term have been down to much more than just versatility, though, and the most obvious addition to his skillset is a new found goal threat. 

His last goal against MK Dons means Sykes has already scored double the number of goals this year as in the rest of his Oxford career combined, and he is on track for his best scoring season since his final year at Glenavon in the 2017-18 season. 

From both midfield and the wing, Sykes has had plenty of opportunities to burst into the box this season, and he has become adept at arriving at the right time to knock the ball home. 

His goals have ranged from attempted crosses, long distance open goals and balls bouncing in of his head/shoulder/whatever that one went in off against Morecambe. Mark Sykes' has shown elements of good finishing, but his biggest improvement has simply been getting into the right positions more often, whether playing Right Wing or Central Midfield. 

He is also taking more shots on average this year (1.5) than last term (1), and he ranks as the sixth most prominent shot taker in this Oxford team.

Sykes' has also registered three assists this season - albeit none in the League - which is a marked improvement from last term. 

The assist numbers, though, still seem to suggest Mark Sykes is underperforming compared to his days at Glenavon, and even his first season at Oxford. 

Digging into more detailed statistics, however, and we can see he can count himself very unlucky that he has not contributed any assists in the league yet this term.

Expected assists measures the likelihood that an open play pass would lead to an assist, regardless of whether the pass results in a shot or not. Sykes has averaged 0.18 expected assists per 90, indicating that he can reasonably expect to have registered 2.47 open play assists this season. 

0.18 expected assists per game also puts Sykes in the top 15 creators in League One by this metric, and is behind only James Henry for Oxford United. 

Sykes is on par with the likes of Oladapo Afolayan for expected assists, and sits amongst the best creators in the division.

Mark Sykes is less impressive for key passes per game, though, with his 0.7 per 90 minutes only the 9th best in this Oxford team for all players with 700+ minutes. This is perhaps indicative of a need for Sykes to continue developing better end product, as he still too often leaves much to be desired with his final ball.  

Sykes is earning the opportunities to play these final passes, though, fashioning several opportunities from his own hard work on the ball.

He averages 2.2 dribbles per 90 in League One this term, the third best of all Oxford players, whilst his successful dribbles (1.1 per game) is the second best in the Oxford squad. 

Sykes is also fouled on average one time per game, the sixth most in the Oxford team of all players with 700+ minutes, indicating his increasing danger on the ball, and how teams are struggling to deal with him. 

This is also indicative of Sykes' greater risk taking on the ball, although this has also led to him losing possession on average the joint third most times in the Oxford team this year, behind only Matty Taylor and James Henry. 

His willingness to take more risks on the ball, though, is a key reason for Sykes' improvement this term, and he is clearly revelling in the freedom he has been given by Robinson.

One thing Sykes' has never shied away from is his defensive duties, with a seemingly relentless engine helping him cover plenty of ground in the middle of the park. 

Sykes averages 1.4 tackles per 90, the fourth most of all Oxford midfielders, behind the three holding players in Brannagan, Kane and Gorrin. 

Sykes also holds up well for other defensive elements of his game and, although he is not always successful, it is clear that Sykes' endears himself to Robinson by getting involved in the defensive side of the game, possibly a side which we did not see a lot of in his early years as an Oxford player. 

If that is a reason for Sykes selection, it might also be an explanation of Marcus McGuane's absence, as he ranks at the bottom of almost all defensive actions from United's midfield. 

As expected, the three players mentioned above who have played in the holding role this season are on top for most of these stats, but a clear trend of Sykes being the best of the rest emerges. 

What is particularly notable is his exploits in the air, averaging 0.8 aerial duels per game, the joint third highest of all United's midfielders, and challenging 2.2 in total every match, ranking him third in his own right. 

Despite his limited stature, Sykes is still more than willing to throw himself about in the middle, and his aerial battles are a great example of this. 

This season, Sykes' has made himself one of oxford's most important players, and has really started to endear himself to the supporters. 

It is simple to look at his season and suggest he has simply added goal involvements, and you would not be wrong, but there is so much more to his game than that. 

He is carrying the ball with more regularity and purpose and is providing creativity which greatly exceeds his 0 league assists this term. 

His final product still needs to improve, and he can count himself somewhat fortunate to have six goals this term given the freak nature of some of them, but Sykes is developing into a real player and is one of Sky bet League One's most impressive creators. 

He is starting to show the form which explains why Oxford turned down reported bids from the likes of Ipswich in the summer, and keeping him fit and firing will be key to United's chances this season.