Watched them recently against the Baggies at home, went a goal behind but kept themselves in the game grabbing a late equaliser which flattered them somewhat. Didn't see any of that yesterday, they never laid a glove on us, mind we were better against them than West Brom were.
I think the thing which Oxford fans are commenting on were the individual skill levels we have compared to other teams. I personally noticed Jobe, Rigg and Dan Neil in this aspect. Some of Riggs pirouettes and Jobes twisting out of trouble alongside Dan Neils dropping off his shoulder to create space were ridiculous. Couple that with Patrick and Isidor and their speed of action as well as the calm defence we had - it was scarily good for the Championship
I think the understanding between Rigg, Jobe and Neil is perhaps underestimated. They seem on a wavelength which helps all 3 of them. There were times yesterday where all 3 turned and played a pass to one of the others, without even scanning to see what was on. Rigg in particular seems to have eyes everywhere. What I have always liked about Neil is he is always on the half turn. Rigg is the same. I know folk hate it when it doesnt worl for Neil, but it is probably 1 in 50. Yesterday the value in that play was so clear. Rigg was doing it in a full 360 manner, which is next level. Neil doing it deep and playing into Rigg or Jobe you can see him making the pass so they can play on the half turn. It creates a really fast forward momentum for us. If we get Rigg into those number 10 positions he could be deadly. He played one brilliant ball through for Isidor yesterday which had me in my feet, vision and execution. I think we all thought Browne would become a key starter this year. At the minute he is a clear 4th choice in my eyes. He is a great lad to bring on for the last 20 mins or so, help us see games out, but I suspect he is itching to get in the side. He is in his prime. Bare reality at the minute is the 3 in the team are playing at a standard you cant criticise. Is this our best start to a season ever yet?
Thing I've found hard to comprehend is we sign a very experienced midfielder in Browne and he can't get into that midfield because a 17 year old kid has matured so much in the past six months which really is bonkers. We all know if Rigg keeps himself right then the Sky is the limit for him, as for Browne he must be a tad frustrated but you wouldn't know when he does get on the pitch.
The start to this season is staggering for a club that was recently so demoralised. Looking at the table, on the train back home this morning, kept me fascinated for an hour ... ... the statistics are mind blowing. After only 12 games we've won 3 more games than any other team We've scored more goals than any other team, some goal of the season contenders We have the best goal difference in the division I could list loads more but stats aren't usually my thing ... ... so I won't go into 'youngest team to start a game', best start, etc. The joy of watching these kids is worth more than all the XGs and sequences put together imo.
It's noticeable that most Oxford fans haven't been saying "we played ****". A lot of them have recognised how good we were, with some saying we were next level, which probably answers your question.
He’ll get chance soon enough when we get a couple more yellows through, can’t remember where I read it in here but Jobe and Rigg close to a enforced break.
I had a call from a fella, on Sunday, who told me about this lad. I don't usually watch these 'back bedroom podcasts' but glad I did with this lad, he's not annoying like most of them. I also thought it was good to have a totally unbiased opinion.
Tell you what - I’ve watched Isodor’s goal even more than the goal from the Leeds game - and that’s a lot!
Having said I'm not one for stats here's some more We keep finding ways to score goals against all kinds of teams and styles. However, at the weekend, some teams that has 'easy' looking games had loads of goal attempts against stubborn defences and got nowhere, dropping two valuable points in the process. West Brom - 19 attempts - no goals - 65% possession Burnley - 22 attempts - no goals - 75% possession Leeds - 17 attempts - no goals - 68% possession Their opposition, between them, had zero goal attempts on target but came out with the same points. We only managed 13 attempts against a very poor Oxford. The teams around us think strength is better than brains, RLB is having their pants down.
Our first goal was a 24 pass move lasting around 1 minute and 20 seconds and involved 9 of our 11 players. Superb goal.
Oxford fans have been a classy bunch everywhere I’ve looked. Simple admission that we are a good side, indeed they’ve mainly said ‘far and away best we have played’ and the comment that I loved was ‘that’s the first time someone has made us look like a League One side just promoted’. I wish them well, it’s ok to credit the oppo, we do it often on here. Oxford should always be a Championship level side to be fair, always were (or higher) when I was a kid.
They've been great although why they chose to see the Adam Johnson ***** song I’m not sure. Still I hope they’re not in a relegation dogfight when we go for their last home game. It could be crucial for us and a massive allocation would be great.
