Since Des Buckingham joined Oxford United in November, the U’s have struggled to replicate their early season form as shown under Liam Manning.
Manning left Oxford to join Bristol City with the club second in League One but at present, the U’s are fighting for what looks like the final playoff spot.
As a result, it is evident that some players have struggled under the new head coach, be it fitness, tactics, or something in between, but on the flip side, there are a few individuals who have really stood out.
Oxford United Player Performances Under Des Buckingham Compared to Liam Manning
Struggling
The most notable players to show signs of a decline in performance would be midfield duo, Marcus McGuane and Ruben Rodrigues.
Under Manning, Rodrigues made the step up from the National League to League One look easy, often controlling the ball in behind the striker while also picking out space and key passes in the final third.
While he has five goal contributions under both head coaches, his dip in form has coincided under Buckingham. Rodrigues is less effective in games, which is part of the reason why the U’s haven’t been as free-flowing in attack. He has also picked up almost double the amount of bookings under Buckingham, highlighting a lack of discipline while on the pitch.
Just behind him is McGuane. Like Rodrigues, McGuane would influence games from a deeper position, picking passes with ease and breaking up opposition attacks.
Granted, under Buckingham, he has provided a better goal contribution, with two goals and one assist compared to just one assist under Manning, but again his performances have dipped.
One issue could be the change in tactics. Under Manning, the ball would feature heavily in the middle of the park with the duo, along with Cameron Brannagan, often dictating the play. However, under Buckingham, the U’s are using more width and often bypassing the midfield, leaving the pair with fewer touches of the ball over the course of the game.
Another that has struggled is full-back, Greg Leigh, although that could be down to injury. The Jamaica international netted five goals in 12 appearances under Manning, compared to just one from 14 under Buckingham.
Leigh picked up an injury while away on international duty and has struggled to get going since.
Improvements
While these players have struggled, Des Buckingham has got the best out of several players, and there is a theme with all of them coming from the attacking areas.
As previously mentioned, Buckingham likes the ball played out wide and the likes of Josh Murphy and Tyler Goodrham have excelled with this style of play.
Including the back end of last season, Murphy played just 19 times under Manning, failing to score. In 17 appearances under Buckingham, the winger has found the net four times. Granted, he has been sidelined with injury under both head coaches but this is the best we have seen of the former Cardiff man in an Oxford shirt.
Goodrham scored five from 23 under Manning, including two in vital wins against Cheltenham and Forest Green to keep their League One status intact last season. But under Buckingham, the academy graduate has hit another level with seven goals in the same amount of games. He looks fitter, quicker and sharper – again playing into the fact that Buckingham likes to use the width and allow the wingers to run at the backline. Both Murphy and Goodrham have benefitted from this.
The final player to show signs of improvement is striker, Mark Harris. The Welshman hit five from 16 under Manning and seven from 27 under Buckingham, but his all-round game looks better. The striker looks more confident and is getting into better finishing positions than he was under the previous head coach.
