WILL Vaulks believes it is vitally important that Oxford United have found a new formation which they can use this season in Sky Bet Championship.
Having deployed a 4-3-3 for much of the campaign, the U’s switched to a 3-4-2-1 set-up for the win against Hull City and narrow defeat at Watford.
Injuries to wide players Siriki Dembele, Kyle Edwards, Matt Phillips and Przemyslaw Placheta were the contributing factor to the change of shape, but with Phillips and Phillips set to return soon after the November international break, it will be intriguing to see whether United stick with their new system for the visit of Middlesbrough on November 23.
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On an individual level, the switch has allowed Vaulks a midfield partner in Josh McEachran, as opposed to having two attacking midfielders play in front of him in the 4-3-3 set-up.
Vaulks said: “From a personal point of view, I like playing with someone in there sometimes. You can link together and it gives you a bit more of a licence to put a tackle in.
“I think it’s been really important for the manager and players to realise we need to have a different way of playing.
“That formation that we played previously, we’ve still got that which we can go back to.
“I think the two performances have been decent. The level of the Championship has risen ridiculously in the last 10 years I’ve been involved in it.
“Teams are honestly playing four or five different formations in a 90-minute game. For us to have another option and that fluidity is really important.”
After the win against the Tigers, U’s head coach Des Buckingham alluded to how Vaulks had primarily played alongside a midfield partner at former club Sheffield Wednesday, therefore a tweak in formation could benefit the 31-year-old.
Buckingham said after the Tigers victory: “Will Vaulks has been used to at Sheffield Wednesday over the last couple of seasons playing with two sixes, so him being one and having someone alongside him.
“I felt with the game, there’s Josh McEachran’s ability to get around the pitch, and they would complement each other extremely well.”
Vaulks was United’s first signing of the summer following promotion from League One.
He had been offered a new contract by the Owls, after starring for the team last season.
Vaulks was named the supporters’ player of the year for the 2023/24 campaign, receiving 29 per cent of the online vote.
He was also named the PFA Player in the Community last season, the third time he had received the award.
Vaulks moved to the Owls in July 2022, and played 91 games in two seasons for Wednesday.