Home Match Day Thread 23/02/2021 L1 OUFC v Portsmouth

[horseman]

I allude to the fact the playoffs are probably gone and that is an opinion tbh I hope you come back here in May and say “ you were saying ” and I will say fare enough, and if we were to get promoted via the playoffs I will come back on here with the question how many new players 14 -18 because unfortunately the team we have at the moment won’t be good enough for the championship.

Baz a point or win tonight the play offs were still gone right? You must have been thinking this for some time as one game does not sway it one way or the other.

Pompey lost their previous 2 but according to the table are very much in sight of the play offs.

We drew at Ipswich Saturday and they've gone on to beat Hull Away Lincoln only drew with them down the A420 so that's the autos gone for them?

 

[Pillox]

Be all honest all you like but it’s best to remain factual and objective whilst you’re at it. You’ve made some pretty wild claims in your last few posts. You claim the season is over, we won’t beat anyone that are around us in the league and we are minnows in this division. All three of those points are questionable.

Wouldn't bother chap. Evidence and data not really a thing with bazzer.

 

[Pillox]

Ill stick to my standard response to avoid any stick. If youve nothing good to say, dont say anything. So i wont.

Thats a first

 

[m]

Ruffels: Bang average against any side above the bottom 12. Absolutely woeful on the ball and got caught out far too many times on the left hand side.

Henry: Useless, yet again.

Sykes: Beyond the odd fancy trick, offers very little going forward and is a defensive liability.

Winnall: Shocking. No, he didn’t get service that he needed but his touch was poor, he had no pace and he couldn’t hold up the ball or chase for the second ball without giving away a foul.

No way Henry, Sykes and Winnall start on Saturday. If we are serious about going up, we need to pick our best 11.

Stevens
Long Moore Atkinson Ruffels
Gorrin
Brannagan Lee
Barker Taylor Shodipo

Based on tonight, any other selection just isn’t good enough.

Lee and Shodipo weren't any better than Henry, Sykes or Winnall on the night.

 

[dickwalton1964]

Would like some decent questions from the Mail and Chris Williams on tonight and the last few weeks.

Ask about the thoughts on the team selection tonight. Did he make an error in midfield.

Ask about Henry coming straight back in after numerous poor performances but a little cameo on Saturday.

Ask about the Gorrin dropping.

Ask if he’s happy with what Winnal is bringing to the team.

Ask about the continued absence of Ageyi.

Ask about the record against teams in top half of the table. Is it a mental thing? Or just poor management?

Ask about the continued sluggish starts to the second half.

You mention Winnall but what has Taylor done in the last eight matches ? Winnal has one start and one ineffective performance, thats a lot different to eight starts and eight ineffective performances.

 

[werthersoriginal]

Haven’t read all the comments so I dunno the prevailing view. We weren’t terrible yet they were just a little bit better. There werent any clear chances for either side. I don’t think there’s any point picking on any one player, they were all pretty flat.

 

[horseman]

You mention Winnall but what has Taylor done in the last eight matches ? Winnal has one start and one ineffective performance, thats a lot different to eight starts and eight ineffective performances.

no it's player preferences from fans rearing it's head despite the preferred option being below par.

The fact that Winnall again received no service matters not if his face don't fit only a hat trick every week will do

 

[Sheik djibouti]

I think we have a few players who are leggy/tired. Not least of all Gorrin, Atkinson, Taylor and probably most of all Ruffels.

There is no way in abnormal season they would be expected to play Tues/Sat as much as they have. Ruffels hasn't looked at the races in the last few, which is a shame because hes been a real asset most of the season.

We are looking pedestrian and lacking the drive we had and that is not all down to McGuane's continued absence. It is deeper than that and I can't help think that fatigue along with constant tinkering is at the heart of it.

I still maintain we have the quality, but we (I should say the managment) seem at a loss as to how to use it effectively.

I agree with most that the back 6 picks itself and would always put Taylor up front if fit. I like Shodipo out wide and like Barker for the same reason...but someone needs to give them an intensive course in backing up their full backs without the ball!!

That leaves 2 midfield berths for Lee, Brannagan, Sykes/others to fill and I think it has to be Lee and Branners.

BUT when they are bang out of form, knackered, not getting blatant free kicks and the ball generally not bouncing for us, it is ALWAYS going to be a massive ask.

We need a break and we need to get a break. We won't get the former, so get them sleeves rolled up and put your backs into it and we might just make the luck we need!!!

COYY!!
OTID

 

[werthersoriginal]

Is there a team anywhere who give away as many stupid fouls as we do ? I watched Sykes twice make ridiculous challenges, you could see a foul coming from a mile away. Stupid shoves or just sheer clumsiness. I then watched Pompey players to see if they did the same. They didn’t. Yes, they made a few fouls but proper fouls, fouls where they were a whisker away from the ball. Ours are brain dead fouls, tumbling into the back of players from behind and silly little trips cutting across players.

Yes it’s so frustrating, it constantly kills our momentum. Having said there’s no point picking on any one player, I find Shodipo does this so much.

 

[bazzer9461]

Baz a point or win tonight the play offs were still gone right? You must have been thinking this for some time as one game does not sway it one way or the other.

Pompey lost their previous 2 but according to the table are very much in sight of the play offs.

We drew at Ipswich Saturday and they've gone on to beat Hull Away Lincoln only drew with them down the A420 so that's the autos gone for them?

Pompey are 4th so are in the play offs on 50 points and can’t see them dropping to many points, Hull on the other hand are on 51
With us having 3 games in hand, and if we win those 3 we would go above them but unlikely. So in all honesty I can see us struggling to get into the playoffs, we f we did then yippee but can’t see it.

 

[bazzer9461]

Wouldn't bother chap. Evidence and data not really a thing with bazzer.

Evidence? Have you seen the last two games?
old chap?

 

[Wallop]

16 games left but yeah it’s all over Bore off Bazzer..

18 games left!

 

[LeftSideBoy]

Lee and Shodipo weren't any better than Henry, Sykes or Winnall on the night.

Tonight, Lee was much better than Henry. Shodipo wasn’t as good as he has been but as I mentioned, he hasn’t been poor in 20 games like Henry has. I’m not convinced by Sykes. I’m not convinced by Winnall.

 

[Junior_1]

You mention Winnall but what has Taylor done in the last eight matches ? Winnal has one start and one ineffective performance, thats a lot different to eight starts and eight ineffective performances.

I can take a player having a bad game, being an Oxford fan we’ve got used to it over the years. What annoys me is players not doing the basics.

If Winnall wasn’t or isn’t fully fit, I have a little sympathy but the constant fouls, the constant poor distribution, the constant losing of the ball really wasn’t good enough tonight.

Taylor had also been poor but he hasn’t done the above before last Saturday where he looked like he was trying to hard but his frustration was on show to much which led to the constant moaning to the ref.

If only we had another player who could offer a bit of pace and power from the bench? You know the lad who’s scored from the bench and generally made a difference.

Also guessing Robinson felt the pitch wasn’t the right size for Hall so didn’t even bench him.

Still, always MK Saturday.

 

[LeftSideBoy]

18 games left!

18? That’s 2 more games for us to lose then! Seasons definitely over now

 

[bazzer9461]

Tonight, Lee was much better than Henry. Shodipo wasn’t as good as he has been but as I mentioned, he hasn’t been poor in 20 games like Henry has. I’m not convinced by Sykes. I’m not convinced by Winnall.

As I said earlier Shodipo didn’t do much but like Saturday he played the ball back and set of in a run to receive the ball back down the wing, but the ball didn’t come it was passed back further. The coaching staff need to work on the movement of our midfield and front runners so the ball can be passed forward a lot sooner rather than 5 minutes of sideways and back passing.

 

[horseman]

Haven’t read all the comments so I dunno the prevailing view. We weren’t terrible yet they were just a little bit better. There werent any clear chances for either side. I don’t think there’s any point picking on any one player, they were all pretty flat.

i'm normal very reserved and like to see balance but we really were not with it tonight and allowed an out of form side to boss us on our own patch

Those constant niggling silly fouls were so frustrating and those backwards and side ways passing followed by a long daigonal ball towards a player already with 2 or 3 opponents near him equally so.

 

[bazzer9461]

18? That’s 2 more games for us to lose then! Seasons definitely over now

We will be a mid to higher table team but not playoff and

 

[bazzer9461]

I can take a player having a bad game, being an Oxford fan we’ve got used to it over the years. What annoys me is players not doing the basics.

If Winnall wasn’t or isn’t fully fit, I have a little sympathy but the constant fouls, the constant poor distribution, the constant losing of the ball really wasn’t good enough tonight.

Taylor had also been poor but he hasn’t done the above before last Saturday where he looked like he was trying to hard but his frustration was on show to much which led to the constant moaning to the ref.

If only we had another player who could offer a bit of pace and power from the bench? You know the lad who’s scored from the bench and generally made a difference.

Also guessing Robinson felt the pitch wasn’t the right size for Hall so didn’t even bench him.

Still, always MK Saturday.

yep and I bet Grigg scores a hat trick

 

[LeftSideBoy]

As I said earlier Shodipo didn’t do much but like Saturday he played the ball back and set of in a run to receive the ball back down the wing, but the ball didn’t come it was passed back further. The coaching staff need to work on the movement of our midfield and front runners so the ball can be passed forward a lot sooner rather than 5 minutes of sideways and back passing.

That’s what happens when you start James Henry, drop Gorrin, play Sykes on his weaker side, and you don’t start with Barker out wide with Lee in CAM.