It's
no secret, United severely fell off the pace towards the end of last
season, resulting in them not winning any of their last 7 matches.
This was due to injuries to key players, mixed with un-suitable
replacements. Whatever the reason, here's why I believe this could be
Oxford's year.
Oxford
have started the season in perfect fashion; a 2-0 win over promotion
favourites, Bristol Rovers. After the game, I, as I always do, looked
at the fixture list for the coming weeks. Southend visit the Kassam
on Tuesday, another team that will be fighting for promotion, saying
it'll be a "tough test" is understatement. However, after
the performance yesterday, I would expect us to have enough to
certainly take at least a point from it. Following the visit of
Southend, United have a run of 6 games, which in my opinion are all
winnable. Home matches with Plymouth, Exeter and Bradford should all
be straight-forward enough. On the road, it won't be such a
formality. A trip to York on the 1st September looks a tricky test
and also trips to Burton and Cheltenham are never easy. Nevertheless,
including our win over Rovers, I honestly believe Oxford should aim
for 20 points, out of a possible 24, a difficult, however realistic
challenge.
If
United can reach the 20 point mark before arguably the toughest game
of the season, a trip to Rotherham, they'll have a solid platform to
build on, ahead of a tricky run of fixtures.
I'm
sure Chris Wilder's relatively satisfied with Oxford's openers,
however, he'll be aware not to take anything for granted, regardless
of the opposition.
One
could say the winter months will define our season. Between December
and February, Oxford welcome, title favourites, Rotherham, as well as
Bristol Rovers, York, Cheltenham and Fleetwood. Tough fixtures,
granted. But not only are they all at home, United produced some of
their finest football during the festive period and beyond last
campaign.
Oxford
only lost once between December and the beginning of
March, a period which also saw United complete their double over
Swindon.
It's
simple, you have to play everyone twice. What better time to play
your toughest matches than when you're seemingly hitting the ground
running? Yes, I am aware it could different this season, perhaps
we'll enjoy a solid end of the season instead.
So
with our "easier" fixtures early on and our "tough"
ones during a period where Oxford usually strive;
it's clear we've been lucky this time around! And it doesn't stop
there.
Last
season Oxford fell off the pace in the last couple of months,
however, after looking at our run-in, I would argue we couldn't have
hoped for a better one. During the course of March and April I would
predict that only one of the teams we have to play will be
challenging for automatic promotion (Chesterfield). Again, it's not
to say they're straight-forward, with games against Torquay,
Morecambe, Wycombe and Rochdale, it'll be anything but. However, I
think we could avoid defeat during the final couple of months -
putting us in contention for a very strong finish.
Looking
at the fixture list honestly fills me with confidence. Ofcourse it
will still take a lot of concentration and strong performances,
however, this could prove the difference. After all, Oxford weren't
all that far off last season.
Jack
Willows, Editor of "90 Minutes Up"
- http://90minutesup.blogspot.be
Don't forget, you can view the fixtures for Oxford's first team, women's team and youths on our Fixtures page.
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