My dad doesn’t go to games anymore, he follows Oxford from home. His separation from the actual game often gives him a two-dimensional perspective stripped of nuance, but there are times when the distance gives him an objectivity you can’t get from being immersed in the spectacle. 

If Chris Wilder left James Constable out of the starting eleven, he’d point out that regardless of the specifics of Constable’s form – which he couldn’t know about from his living room – he always scored goals. It’s not a deep insight, but it was true, while his performances ebbed and flowed, a goal was never far away. 

When I phoned him after I got back from holiday this week, he asked if I’d followed the games against Cambridge and Swansea as though I’d been trekking in Nepal with nothing more than a long wave radio and the scantest contact with civilisation.

‘They’ll start selling tickets just for the 93^rd minute’ I joked. 

‘Hmm, it doesn’t always work like that.’ He deadpanned back as though this might be a realistic proposition. This is the downside of a stay-at-home fan, the badinage can be a bit stilted.

He’s right; it doesn’t always work like that and the sobering defeat to Bristol Rovers highlighted the fortunate nature of both Tyler Goodrham’s goal against Cambridge and Cameron Brannagan’s against Swansea. 

The euphoria of those goals have helped mask some flat performances, it’s reasonable to say that they could easily have turned out differently. Conversely, I don’t think we can say the same about the games we’ve lost – we didn’t really do enough against Derby or Rovers to win those games. We could have been looking at a point and a cup defeat rather than three and the visit of Crystal Palace. 

Now is not the time to panic; signings came late and we know Karl Robinson tends to build momentum rather than fire out of the blocks at 100 mph. But we’re already four points behind where we were this time last season and we ended up seven short of the play-offs last year. By that crude measure, somewhere we’ve got to find eleven more points.

If that sounds unnecessarily alarmist, it is. It’s unnecessary, rather than alarmist. It’s too early for big statements, but I don’t know where those points will come from. Last season was an easier start, this year Wycombe, Barnsley and MK Dons are all in a similar position to us or worse, and we’re expecting them to come good. We’re only three games in and no team in the division has a perfect record, which shows just how inconsistent and competitive it can be. 

There were moments against Rovers when we could have snatched something, perhaps even a win. We withered in the heat but looked good for twenty minutes. But these were only moments, and this is not exactly an unfamiliar pattern. For several seasons we’ve claimed we’ll get our business done early then signed players late, started slowly and gained pace, while the fightback is thrilling and memorable, the truth is that with this approach we’ve always fallen just short. 

If the objective this year is to get promoted, and I’m not convinced the club is all-in with that idea, then it’s surely reasonable to ask why isn’t this pattern isn’t being addressed? Is a slow start priced in? Are we being too picky with the players we pursue? Is our recruitment too sluggish? Are things being changed and still not working? 

While we look a stronger physical unit this season, it should be no surprise that we’ll face teams like Bristol Rovers who are set up not to fail. These are the teams we’ve always struggled against. If anything, given the quality of some of the bigger clubs and the success of Wycombe in recent seasons, we have to expect more physical, well organised teams, not less. It can be a successful strategy for not only for staying in the division, but even going up against the odds. And yet, it still comes as a surprise when teams play like that.

There’s a concept called the Icarus Paradox, where your strengths become your weaknesses. You over-invest in your strengths because that’s where you get instant rewards, while your weaknesses grow unaddressed like a dry rot, deep in the foundations of your organisation. 

Robinson’s investment in and commitment to the Oxford project is undeniable, he feels it very deeply, but there is a point where underlying blind spots – the loss of objectivity, the lack of pragmatism – stop being lovable quirks. It’s not unique to Robinson, everyone has the same problem. Some, like Michael Appleton, get out before they become too apparent while others, like Chris Wilder stay just a bit too long and their achievements become tainted. There’s no doubt that Karl Robinson is edging closer to that point and if the turnaround is slow, then the pressure will grow.

The good news is that in a week, things could easily look significantly better, both Lincoln and Morecambe at home are winnable and if we catch Crystal Palace off their guard, we could be in for a memorable night. It’s either a critical week or an excellent opportunity, depending on your perspective.