Generation Ox

Oxford's ten game unbeaten run came to an abrupt end at high flyers Ipswich Town, and fans may have been surprised at the lack of ground Oxford made in that unbeaten period.  During those two months without defeat, Oxford rose from 19th to 15th, as the constant accumulation of draws prevented Robinson's side from really rising the table.  In many of these games it felt as though United could have easily won the matches, perhaps with a bit more luck or better finishing.  This was certainly the case in the 0-0 draw against Sheffield Wednesday, when Murphy's missed penalty and Henry's late claim for miss of the year left United with a single point from a game they could have easily won.  Similarly, Accrington's long-range equaliser earnt them a point against the U's in a match where Oxford seemed relatively comfortable but couldn't add to their one goal advantage.  On both occasions, a goal for Oxford wouldn't have been completely unjust.  Yet the difficult

Watching Oxford at points this season has been borderline painful.  Even when they have won, the tempo has been lethargic, and matches generally very closed and cagey.  In other words, Oxford's performances so far this season have been surprisingly un-Oxford in style, so to speak.  Karl Robinson could (and has) pointed to numerous reasons for this, stretching from injuries to new systems designed to be more defensively solid .  But United's slow tempo may come down to something which has been crucial but not always the most noticed over the last three seasons: pressing. From a sample size of just seven matches, we should be cautious of making sweeping statements, but their numbers when closing down their opponents have clearly dropped.  This is particularly surprising, and perhaps even worrying, given the sides Oxford have played this season. Five of the six teams they have faced are in the bottom half of the table, and four of those teams are in the bottom five of the division

League One this year looks more competitive than ever before.  At least half of the teams in the division have genuine promotion aims this season, with the early highflyers Portsmouth and Ipswich hoping to fend off the chasing pack, whilst the likes of Barnsley, Oxford, MK Dons and Wycombe are all playing catch up after the opening six matches.  After such a small number of games, though, it is difficult to tell what is to be believed, and whether the League table in May will look anything like this.  Through the use of underlying data, we are going to attack the early season standings, and uncover which team's form seems to be fact, and which could be fiction.  In for the Long Run The table a few matches in can be misleading, but some sides look set to continue at their early season pace, including a few at the top of the standings.  Sheffield Wednesday are one side who have stood out from their early season form, sitting one point off the lead after six games.  No side have spent

Oxford's start to this season has been extremely underwhelming, and tomorrow's match suddenly has much more riding on it than people would have expected when the fixture list came out.  Both Oxford and Cheltenham are on four points after five games, and the sides will be desperate to get their seasons off and running.  Cheltenham come off the back of their first victory of the season over Exeter, whilst Oxford haven't won in any of their last three matches and have lost both of their away matches this season.  A trip to Gloucestershire will not be simple, but Cheltenham's defensive record can give hope to an Oxford side who have underperformed in front of goal so far this season.  Cheltenham's open play expected goals against of 3 is the fifth lowest in League One, indicating that they are difficult to break down, but more encouraging is the 50 open play shots they conceded, the seventh most in the division.  This shows that Oxford will have opportunities to get eff

Karl Robinson's tinkering ahead of this season was meant to make Oxford genuine promotion challengers, but something has gone wrong.  Four points from their opening five matches is not the start they were after, and the attacking performances have been lethargic and blunt.  Whilst Robinson's system has rightly come under criticism for how it has effected Oxford going forward, perhaps there is not as much attention on what it has done at the other end of the pitch.  This system and team was created to make Oxford more robust and defensively solid. It has certainly done that, according to xG anyway.  It is surprising then that nearly half the division have conceded less or the same as United's five goals this season.  Oxford's supposedly stellar performances at the back have also only yielded one clean sheet. So if Oxford are so good in defence, then why do they keep conceding? ... Whilst Oxford's defensive strengths are not immediately obvious, the underlying numbers

A season is not decided in two matches, and it would be ludicrous to try to gain valid conclusions from the opening games alone.  However, Oxford's performances have certainly underwhelmed some who were hoping for their star studded attack to show they are serious promotion candidates.  A magical moment from Tyler Goodrham saved an otherwise stale attacking performance against Cambridge, and whilst United were solid defensively against Derby, they seemed to run out of ideas going forward as the game progressed.  That has been the story of Oxford's first two matches: strong at the back but a lack of penetration going forward, particularly through open play.  Against Cambridge they were very reliant on chances from set pieces - a valid route of attack, but not one which has dominated Oxford's attacking plans in recent seasons. That game was the first time Robinson's side have registered more shots from set pieces (8) than from open play (7) in nearly a year and a half whe