Championship 11/03/2026 - MDT: Oxford United v Blackburn Rovers

[Carpy]

 

[werthersoriginal]

For me, what has really turned around in the last few performances is just how much better we are out of possession, how much better our movement is in attack and how effective the transition between attack and defence has become.

We have one of the lowest in possession % in the league and so it stands to reason that our shape in defence and the way we turn defence into attack HAS to be very good. For large parts of the season we weren't all that good at this and so we didn't create enough chances, or take the chances we did create. In defence, we've got far better protection on the flanks now, esepcially down the right with Mills working tirelessly to give Long some protection. Same with MPH when he's been on the left too . . they are all working so much harder out of possession. Last night didn't feel like only 32% possession, but that's all it was.

Along with a better defensive shape out of possession, our movement and options going forward in possession are so so much better of late. All of a sudden we're creating chances and getting players into good positions to make something happen. Lankshear, Mills, MPH, CamBran and Donnelly have all been instrumental to and benefitted from this in attack. We had 14 shots on goal with 78% on target, according to the official stats - that feels like a big improvement.

It's no concidence that Mills has been there our there abouts for MoM over the last few. He absolutely encapsulates everything good that we're doing at the moment. Special mention to the way Konak has stepped up too which allows us to see the best of Brannagan in particular, which is absolutely key.

Thing is, they technically had possession a lot of the time, but always with our players snapping at them, so they couldn't do much with the ball. Our pressing was great, I'm a bit concerned we'll be tired on Saturday as there's not much recovery time.

 

[Orkney Islands Yellow]

Not important in the grand scheme of things, but the way he boos there really bothers me...it's like he's shouting the word "Boooo" rather than making the noise? Dunno if that makes sense, but its really weird...anyway, as you were...

The act of booing is an odd thing generally.

 

[Orkney Islands Yellow]

Thing is, they technically had possession a lot of the time, but always with our players snapping at them, so they couldn't do much with the ball. Our pressing was great, I'm a bit concerned we'll be tired on Saturday as there's not much recovery time.

Thankfully Charlton played last night too.

 

[Ewes]

I think Stan Mills is benefiting from the new coaching set up. In the last month his out of possession work has been outstanding.

He’s tracking back, making blocks, winning headers at defensive corners. He’s turned into a real team player.

Fantastic from everyone on and off the pitch tonight.

Player of the season for me.

 

[SouthOxonOx]

Thankfully Charlton played last night too.

Yep. Would have not got back to London until near dawn this morning and then have another away day on Saturday with a lunchtime kick off. Very tough turnaround

 

[bazzer9461]

I think he got told not to go around chasing the ball and to hold to make it difficult for them to play throw the lines, but there were a couple of times he should have pressed high, and or, run into the channel as an outlet, but he did neither, very disappointing. Just wondering if he wasn’t sure whether to stick or twist!

Let’s not forget he was our furthest forward player and with the rest of the team doing a great job in preventing Blackburn from any meaningful attack he was on his own chasing a ball being played between three defenders and the GK. he harried these defenders so that’s good enough for me as we got theee points and a clean sheet.

 

[Marked Ox]

Thing is, they technically had possession a lot of the time, but always with our players snapping at them, so they couldn't do much with the ball. Our pressing was great, I'm a bit concerned we'll be tired on Saturday as there's not much recovery time.

Thankfully we have a squad now so can rotate if necessary.

 

[dickwalton1964]

As an aside why is a steward in the centre of the East Stand asking and then trying to direct people to their seat before the game?

People were telling the steward where their seat was after he'd start looking for it. It got really stupid and annoying when he asked a bloke in the middle of the minute silence for Amelia as they were going (quietly) to their seat.

Regarding stewards, what is wrong with some of our fans. I'm in SSL and some times the stewards will be stood, perhaps obscuring the view, but the way some fans ask (more like tell) them to get out of the way and sit down is appalling. What is wrong with politely asking them if they can sit on the step as opposed to talking to them like a piece of s**t. It's like people have no basic manners or respect - pretty shocking really considering they are mostly middle aged men. If I was a steward and someone spoke to me like that I don't think I'd be able to resist a response so fair play to the stewards who just did as they were told. But as for some of these fans, take a long, hard look at yourselves and ask why you don't have the intellect to engage respectfully.

 

[38yearsofpain]

I think it'll be more than 50 required, probably 52/53 points.

Interesting Sky sports prediction is now we stay up on 45! They are obviously in the camp that West Brom and Blackburn are in and will remain in freefall.

 

[tomoufc]

lets win the remaining 9 games and not even think about what other teams are doing

Of course, sorry!

 

[JerryL]

Not important in the grand scheme of things, but the way he boos there really bothers me...it's like he's shouting the word "Boooo" rather than making the noise? Dunno if that makes sense, but its really weird...anyway, as you were...

Christ why does that annoy me so much
A good boo is like a cow imitating a ghost, that ones just angrily spelling the word out loudly and i hate it
At the end of the season when we finish 17th we need to collate a top 5 boos from the #teamslikeoxford thread, for science

 

[tomoufc]

Thing is, they technically had possession a lot of the time, but always with our players snapping at them, so they couldn't do much with the ball. Our pressing was great, I'm a bit concerned we'll be tired on Saturday as there's not much recovery time.

Saturday will really test our squad depth. We’ve got a very competitive first XI now. Let’s see what the others are made of.

 

[Steve Gilbert]

Not important in the grand scheme of things, but the way he boos there really bothers me...it's like he's shouting the word "Boooo" rather than making the noise? Dunno if that makes sense, but its really weird...anyway, as you were...

What bothers me is the fact the idiot has travelled a good 4 hours on a Wednesday only to stand there filming the game and ‘commentating’ on it.
If you want to watch a game through a screen stay at f*****g home and watch it on TV!

 

[Eaststanding]

Was it just me or was the atmosphere a bit strange, a bit flat, for long periods last night ? Considering what was at stake I felt the whole ground descended into periods of eerie silence for long periods. The crowd definitely came alive when the countdown was on with 10-15 minutes to go but that seemed about the only time to me. I don’t know if it was a reaction to the Amelia tragedy or the fact the away end was a thousand short and not the noisiest but at no point - bar that last push - did it feel like a six pointer at stake.

Disagree. Find something else to criticise.
There was some tension in the crowd until we scored then later as Blackburn put us under the cosh for a while but for large parts there was good and prolonged noise, one of the best atmosphere’s this season I’d say, particularly when the SSL were on their feet towards the end.
Of all the things to criticise about last night, and there were precious few, the noise around the ground shouldn’t be one of them, it felt like a six pointer to me and the noise generated reflected that.

 

[NorthWestOx]

Only downside was that A34 being closed and needing to do a MASSIVE detour to get back to Kidlington….Grrrrr.

Think yourself lucky, the M6 was also closed last night around Birmingham, and we had to go through Birmingham!

 

[derek]

So what happened with the early chance for Lankshear, from Mills low cross? Initially I thought the keeper saved it, but apparently not, and Lankshear obviously thought he should have got a corner.

Did the defender just get a nick on it that wasn't spotted by the officials?

 

[Swinny]

What bothers me off is the fact the idiot has travelled a good 4 hours on a Wednesday only to stand there filming the game and ‘commentating’ on it.
If you want to watch a game through a screen stay at f*****g home and watch it on TV!

Of all the things I don't understand about modern football, people doing that is thing I don't understand the most!

 

[Marked Ox]

So what happened with the early chance for Lankshear, from Mills low cross? Initially I thought the keeper saved it, but apparently not, and Lankshear obviously thought he should have got a corner.

Did the defender just get a nick on it that wasn't spotted by the officials?

Yes that seems to be the case from watching the highlights. Think the Sky highlights have a replay from behind. Also, the ITV highlights programme has the same replay. Watch it on catch-up, helpfully the Oxford game is the first game they show.

 

[Swinny]

Think yourself lucky, the M6 was also closed last night around Birmingham, and we had to go through Birmingham!

Fair enough...you win!

 

[RgYellows]

Yep. Would have not got back to London until near dawn this morning and then have another away day on Saturday with a lunchtime kick off. Very tough turnaround

Add to that excellent point, with their result last night Charlton might think they can relax a teeny bit.

They aren’t a team like Leeds that can afford to maintain a second XI that costs more than ours.

There will be no excuse to be outworked by Charlton; nor do I think for a moment that our current squad will allow themselves to be.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

So what happened with the early chance for Lankshear, from Mills low cross? Initially I thought the keeper saved it, but apparently not, and Lankshear obviously thought he should have got a corner.

Did the defender just get a nick on it that wasn't spotted by the officials?

TBH even from the replays it is very difficult to see what happened. It was the wrong side for the ref to see clearly (two sliding players in the way) and the lino was probably in an equally bad place to see what went on. So the ref was probably right to give a goal kick.

 

[dickwalton1964]

Disagree. Find something else to criticise.
There was some tension in the crowd until we scored then later as Blackburn put us under the cosh for a while but for large parts there was good and prolonged noise, one of the best atmosphere’s this season I’d say, particularly when the SSL were on their feet towards the end.
Of all the things to criticise about last night, and there were precious few, the noise around the ground shouldn’t be one of them, it felt like a six pointer to me and the noise generated reflected that.

OK, no need to be so defensive, I haven't put the boot in on your mother. I have no desire to criticise but, personally, I thought it was the worst atmosphere of the season last night. Absolute library atmosphere for large parts of that second half especially, although the crowd rallied momentarily when Lankshear and Konak geed it up. Last ten - and probably when most needed in fairness - they awakened and willed us home. We obviously have very different perceptions of good atmospheres !

 

[werthersoriginal]

OK, no need to be so defensive, I haven't put the boot in on your mother. I have no desire to criticise but, personally, I thought it was the worst atmosphere of the season last night. Absolute library atmosphere for large parts of that second half especially, although the crowd rallied momentarily when Lankshear and Konak geed it up. Last ten - and probably when most needed in fairness - they awakened and willed us home. We obviously have very different perceptions of good atmospheres !

You obviously missed Norwich and Birmingham - both played out in total silence.

 

[Eaststanding]

OK, no need to be so defensive, I haven't put the boot in on your mother. I have no desire to criticise but, personally, I thought it was the worst atmosphere of the season last night. Absolute library atmosphere for large parts of that second half especially, although the crowd rallied momentarily when Lankshear and Konak geed it up. Last ten - and probably when most needed in fairness - they awakened and willed us home. We obviously have very different perceptions of good atmospheres !

Poor choice of words there, my mother died in 2024. I wouldn’t have recommended taking her on though.
‘Worst atmosphere of the season’ it wasn’t, no one else has commented on the atmosphere, either on this forum or Radio Oxford post game.
It does seems to just be your problem.

 

[Swaby39]

Charlton have 47 points already, Wednesday still to play, and home games left against Preston, Bristol City and Norwich (i.e. mid table teams with nothing to play for, the first two of whom seem to be mailing it in already). I know everyone expected them to be struggling, and they're a little scruffy and boring, but there's absolutely no way they're going down now. They are grinding out results like a boss.

Nah......long shot that QPR get drawn in, but it's really 2 from 5 now, and anybody's game. And the good news is that we know from recent experience that at least two of those other teams are seriously rubbish.

The reason I say it is that I don’t think 50 points will be enough. Someone made a good point recently that Wednesday have essentially handed everybody in the league an extra 4/6 points.

I think Blackburn will sink with points in the mid 40s and the third to go down will do so with an ordinarily-good-enough points total. Just a prediction on my part.

I think most expect Leicester to be OK and West Brom certainly have the players to join them. So (us aside) I look at Pompey for one, and QPR who could be just 3 points clear if they lost the next 2, with 7 to play. Once you’re in quick sand, as we saw with Preston last year, it’s a heck of a job to get out.

 

[Foley]

OK, no need to be so defensive, I haven't put the boot in on your mother. I have no desire to criticise but, personally, I thought it was the worst atmosphere of the season last night. Absolute library atmosphere for large parts of that second half especially, although the crowd rallied momentarily when Lankshear and Konak geed it up. Last ten - and probably when most needed in fairness - they awakened and willed us home. We obviously have very different perceptions of good atmospheres !

I thought that tte crowd were generally very good and that it was one of the best atmospheres this season

 

[Essexyellows]

lets win the remaining 9 games and not even think about what other teams are doing

^^^^^^^^^^^ this.

You make your own destiny and, if you give it your all with what you can control you have not failed.

 

[tonyw]

The reason I say it is that I don’t think 50 points will be enough. Someone made a good point recently that Wednesday have essentially handed everybody in the league an extra 4/6 points.

I think Blackburn will sink with points in the mid 40s and the third to go down will do so with an ordinarily-good-enough points total. Just a prediction on my part.

I think most expect Leicester to be OK and West Brom certainly have the players to join them. So (us aside) I look at Pompey for one, and QPR who could be just 3 points clear if they lost the next 2, with 7 to play. Once you’re in quick sand, as we saw with Preston last year, it’s a heck of a job to get out.

And I guess what I'm saying is that I would be very surprised now if Charlton don't get 55+ points.

You have to pencil in three points against Wednesday (yes, I know they got a point off Watford, but that was after losing their previous 13), but they've also got those three other very winnable home games still to come.

They've only lost 2 out of their last 9......so I don't know why we're expecting them to lose 7 or 8 out of their final 9 games? Other than a blip in November, they've been very resilient in terms of regularly picking up points all season long (just hopefully not on Saturday).

QPR are much more likely, in my view, to end up in trouble because - unlike Charlton - they're currently in a tailspin, and as you say, those can be tough to pull out of. If they lose their next two (against Leicester and Pompey), they're certainly in the conversation.

 

[uptheus]

So what happened with the early chance for Lankshear, from Mills low cross? Initially I thought the keeper saved it, but apparently not, and Lankshear obviously thought he should have got a corner.

Did the defender just get a nick on it that wasn't spotted by the officials?

I think the defender just got a touch before Lankshear, thus meaning Lankshear didn’t get the connection he thought/hoped he was going to get and hence why it ended up being a goal kick!

 

[Marked Ox]

The reason I say it is that I don’t think 50 points will be enough. Someone made a good point recently that Wednesday have essentially handed everybody in the league an extra 4/6 points.

I think Blackburn will sink with points in the mid 40s and the third to go down will do so with an ordinarily-good-enough points total. Just a prediction on my part.

I think most expect Leicester to be OK and West Brom certainly have the players to join them. So (us aside) I look at Pompey for one, and QPR who could be just 3 points clear if they lost the next 2, with 7 to play. Once you’re in quick sand, as we saw with Preston last year, it’s a heck of a job to get out.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Sheff Wed pick up points now. The stress, even though they already knew, of relegation would be there until mathematically sure. So they have the mental freedom of playing just for that game.

Also players will be looking to impress to get contracts there or elsewhere, such as Jerry Yates seems to be doing.