Home Match Day Thread 29/12/23: L1 - OUFC v Derby County

[Northstandboy]

Huge game today, COYY!

Let’s leave 2023 on a high!

 

[Nadi-]

I think when Manning was here he had Brannagan & McGuane playing a double pivot e.g. if one goes the other holds (holding midfield role) and vice versa etc. I thought this actually stifled Brannagan’s game and the opposition found us out. I actually think if we had a true holding midfielder (similar to Gorrin in the good ole days) then Brannagan & McGuane would have more freedom where they’d be more effective, especially McGuane who now doesn’t seem to know when he can go or hold, hence the downturn in his performances!

McGuane didn’t start the season, his hackles were up when he came in.
For a few weeks looked a class above. Worked hard, covered everything and played with his head up.
For a while now he’s been back to what we saw last season, complicating things by holding onto and overdoing everything.
Whether it’s just confidence or just being overplayed ?
But definitely less observant of what’s around him recently.

 

[Sheik djibouti]

McGuane didn’t start the season, his hackles were up when he came in.
For a few weeks looked a class above. Worked hard, covered everything and played with his head up.
For a while now he’s been back to what we saw last season, complicating things by holding onto and overdoing everything.
Whether it’s just confidence or just being overplayed ?
But definitely less observant of what’s around him recently.

He's also slipped into the bad habit of trying to buy a foul to get a free kick, rather than looking to play football, which suggests to me that either his confidence in his own ability to get out of a tight spot is not very high, he's not seeing the options (because he's not playing with his head up) or the options just aren't there. In reality it's probably a bit of all three...

 

[Paul Cannell]

The Snake has set the bar high.

Nice Post. Manning got the chance to bail at the perfect time. He took it.

 

[QR]

Nice Post. Manning got the chance to bail at the perfect time. He took it.

Some might say, 'earned the chance'.

 

[Eric Blair]

Last night Derby had a corner just about every four minutes on average. Astonishing stat.

 

[SirAndyOfCrosby]

He's also slipped into the bad habit of trying to buy a foul to get a free kick, rather than looking to play football, which suggests to me that either his confidence in his own ability to get out of a tight spot is not very high, he's not seeing the options (because he's not playing with his head up) or the options just aren't there. In reality it's probably a bit of all three...

Or he's noticed that the same ploy is seemingly good enough for Mark Harris to continually get the plaudits?

 

[SirAndyOfCrosby]

What about our younger players, should our academy not be producing more players capable of doing a job in circumstances like this?

Good point.

An out of form and injury-hit Port Vale had to give a 16 year old a debut on the left last night (and on the right they had an 18 year old who only made his debut last month).

They demolished Blackpool 3-0.

A fresh, energetic kid playing in his preferred position surely has to be better than bringing on James Henry out of position.

In far more difficult circumstances (late 90s) I grew up watching the kids often having to be thrown in - and they often proved to be the best players we had.

 

[PottersRightBoot]

He's also slipped into the bad habit of trying to buy a foul to get a free kick, rather than looking to play football, which suggests to me that either his confidence in his own ability to get out of a tight spot is not very high, he's not seeing the options (because he's not playing with his head up) or the options just aren't there. In reality it's probably a bit of all three...

How about, he’s knackered?

 

[Sheik djibouti]

How about, he’s knackered?

Yeah...that too!

 

[uptheus]

Last night Derby had a corner just about every four minutes on average. Astonishing stat.

Plus all the crosses!

 

[LowerSouth]

McGuane didn’t start the season, his hackles were up when he came in.
For a few weeks looked a class above. Worked hard, covered everything and played with his head up.
For a while now he’s been back to what we saw last season, complicating things by holding onto and overdoing everything.
Whether it’s just confidence or just being overplayed ?
But definitely less observant of what’s around him recently.

All of the above is probably true.
Most of us always thought there was a decent player in there .
It took Manning, Hogg & Co to bring that to the surface .
McGuane has played in every league game this season .
His performance and solid contribution has increasingly slipped to last seasons level, since Manning left .
The missing players have also no doubt contributed to that, there absence has made for a chaotic few weeks, with no doubt more to come .

 

[Nadi-]

All of the above is probably true.
Most of us always thought there was a decent player in there .
It took Manning, Hogg & Co to bring that to the surface .
McGuane has played in every league game this season .
His performance and solid contribution has increasingly slipped to last seasons level, since Manning left .
The missing players have also no doubt contributed to that, there absence has made for a chaotic few weeks, with no doubt more to come .

McGuane was on the bench for the first 2 league games, Derby away being his first league start.

 

[LowerSouth]

McGuane was on the bench for the first 2 league games, Derby away being his first league start.

And he played in those two games and in between,a full 90 vs Bristol City.
We agree he has list his mojo, hopefully only temporarily.

 

[WokinghamYellow]

Mcguane did this last season, good start then performances tailed off

 

[Davox]

But the game they are playing isn’t at an intensity and standard that young professionals are expected to maintain for ninety minutes three times a week.

If you want players to play that much, then they will have to slow down. If the opposition don’t slow down with you, you lose. Derby didn’t have to slow down, because they had a bench loaded with quality.

If you don’t slow down, Mills and Tyler get exhausted. Then we have to replace them with Henry and McEachran because we don’t have the depth. And you lose.


McEachran and Henry weren’t engaging and closing down because they don’t have the legs.

Of course their strategy was to cross it in - because they knew we couldn’t stop them.


As far as I can tell, the rest of your post is saying that you basically make no allowances for it.

Who has said Browne and Murphy are more important than Mills and Ty?


The reason that every single team has adapted and moved on is because, if they didn’t, they’d lose every week.

But the game they are playing isn’t at an intensity and standard that young professionals are expected to maintain for ninety minutes three times a week.

If you want players to play that much, then they will have to slow down. If the opposition don’t slow down with you, you lose. Derby didn’t have to slow down, because they had a bench loaded with quality.

If you don’t slow down, Mills and Tyler get exhausted. Then we have to replace them with Henry and McEachran because we don’t have the depth. And you lose.


McEachran and Henry weren’t engaging and closing down because they don’t have the legs.

Of course their strategy was to cross it in - because they knew we couldn’t stop them.


As far as I can tell, the rest of your post is saying that you basically make no allowances for it.

Who has said Browne and Murphy are more important than Mills and Ty?


The reason that every single team has adapted and moved on is because, if they didn’t, they’d lose every week.

You seem to be hell bent on saying there was nothing that we could have done to prevent their goals as we don’t have the strength in depth? Your argument about two footballers (Henry and Mchecran) not ‘having the legs’ even though they were fresh is complete nonsense. They are professional athletes and if instructed and positioned in the right areas of the pitch they could have helped stopping balls being delivered into the box. Simple as that. To deny that is to not really understand football.

 

[holdsteady]

You seem to be hell bent on saying there was nothing that we could have done to prevent their goals as we don’t have the strength in depth? Your argument about two footballers (Henry and Mchecran) not ‘having the legs’ even though they were fresh is complete nonsense. They are professional athletes and if instructed and positioned in the right areas of the pitch they could have helped stopping balls being delivered into the box. Simple as that. To deny that is to not really understand football.

But Henry doesn’t have the legs to sprint around anymore? They have gone unfortunately, to deny that is to not understand football.

Without injuries Henry is nowhere near the bench, without Robinson’s summer of madness he isn’t even at the club anymore and we have fresher legs in the squad to use.

 

[RgYellows]

You seem to be hell bent on saying there was nothing that we could have done to prevent their goals as we don’t have the strength in depth? Your argument about two footballers (Henry and Mchecran) not ‘having the legs’ even though they were fresh is complete nonsense. They are professional athletes and if instructed and positioned in the right areas of the pitch they could have helped stopping balls being delivered into the box. Simple as that. To deny that is to not really understand football.

I certainly don’t understand football if there’s a magical blade of grass where you can put James Henry or Josh McEachran and suddenly that’ll allow them to win aerial challenges under pressure from opposition centre backs, or sprint into fifteen yards of space beyond opposition full backs.

Could you use your superior understanding of football to mark where on a standard football pitch these fantastical positions are? Maybe even bullet point the instructions - are they something like “stop the cross coming in”, or maybe even just “win”?

I have seen absolutely nothing that makes me believe James Henry can lead a press for 45 minutes. Saying he can because “he’s a professional” isn’t the sort of insight that should leave you questioning anyone’s football knowledge.

 

[Golden Dr Otto]

I don’t understand football.

Me and Jefferson Louis have that in common.

If I did I’d have stopped watching a long time ago.

 

[Davox]

But Henry doesn’t have the legs to sprint around anymore? They have gone unfortunately, to deny that is to not understand football.

Without injuries Henry is nowhere near the bench, without Robinson’s summer of madness he isn’t even at the club anymore and we have fresher legs in the squad to use.

Absolute rubbish. Henry or anyone else doesn’t need to constantly sprint to defend adequately.

 

[Davox]

I certainly don’t understand football if there’s a magical blade of grass where you can put James Henry or Josh McEachran and suddenly that’ll allow them to win aerial challenges under pressure from opposition centre backs, or sprint into fifteen yards of space beyond opposition full backs.

Could you use your superior understanding of football to mark where on a standard football pitch these fantastical positions are? Maybe even bullet point the instructions - are they something like “stop the cross coming in”, or maybe even just “win”?

I have seen absolutely nothing that makes me believe James Henry can lead a press for 45 minutes. Saying he can because “he’s a professional” isn’t the sort of insight that should leave you questioning anyone’s football knowledge.

You’re not getting it which doesn’t surprise me. I’m not advocating pressing but you’ve chosen to ignore that because it supports your weak argument. It’s quite simple, you’ve got to set up the team braver by not having people sit deep when overloads are happening on the flanks and supporting midfielders with quality like Hourihane are not marked and whipping balls in. From the sounds of it you weren’t at the game. Our midfielder was completely bypassed and might have well have not been there due to them starting and defending from deep positions but don’t let the facts of what happened interfere with your argument!