Generation Ox

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