Away Match Day Thread 31/10/2023 L1: Lincoln City v OUFC

[Northstandboy]

COYY

 

[SirAndyOfCrosby]

Beadle

Long Negru Thorniley Leigh

McEachran
Brannagan McGuane

Mills Harris Bodin
​

That would be my line up. I think we're better with a back 4, and when Leigh pushes up to join the attack it leaves a pretty stable back 3.
Ruben probably needs a rest, not been at his best the last few weeks. Ideally in January sign two strikers, so Harris can move to the wing, and a number 6 to take over from McEachran.

Drop both Moore & Brown and play a completely new and untested CB partnership?
3x CM doing 2x jobs?
Drop our most creative player in Rodrigues?

Some interesting calls there, I must say.

Can't help but feel that your team looks both capable of conceding a few and, simultaneously, incapable of scoring many.

It's a hard NO from me.

 

[Oufccraig45]

Hopefully we’ll remind everyone tonight that we’re actually a very decent side. People can single out players from Saturday, but with a remotely competent referee, we’d have won comfortably.

Long should play for me. Don’t get me wrong, we 100% can do better in January, but if you look at his role in the pen on Saturday, that’s what you need at least one of your centre backs in a 3 to be doing. He was scared to go over the halfway line against Wigan and up until the last 10 mins against Wycombe too. That has to change as without our best wingers, we will struggle to create space out wide without those runs. And he’s not a very good defender so I don’t really see what the point of him is if he’s not doing that.

Brannagan coming back will make an enormous difference. It’s all too sideways with both Mc’s playing. It makes it easier for teams to mark Harris and Ruben too without anyone breaking from deep or threatening to shoot from 25 yards.

I’d start Mills over Bodin. We’re too one paced and predictable without someone like him. And again, we need to create space for Harris as he’s not Jordan Rhodes or Dion Charles, he isn’t going to create a yard for himself.

Assuming Brannagan’s back and can play at least 70mins, I’d back us to win by the odd goal.

We should of won with ease in the first half if we could score yes the ref was awful and for both sides if we can't score when on top can't go blaming the ref easy cop out that. We haven't got a out and out striker that will cost us promotion Harris isn't the answer currently poor and long shouldn't be nowhere near the first team no pace and teams always targeting long coz they know he's the weak link January can't come quickly enough at present as we are in desperate need for at least 2-3 players if we want to achieve promotion and get out of this awful league

 

[Yellowmania]

McGuane to break his duck tonight...plus a goal from one of our defenders (just not sure in which goal ).

McGuane scoring? Remind me not to let you pick my lottery numbers!

 

[IsleofWightYellow]

I don't think Long did anything wrong on Saturday, he's quickly becoming a scapegoat of the team. I also thought Bodin was one of our better players on Saturday, the tempo certainly dropped when he was subbed.

You mean apart from when he gave the ball away, miles out of position, and they attacked down his RCB channel and they got a penalty?

 

[Cookie]

Drop both Moore & Brown and play a completely new and untested CB partnership?
3x CM doing 2x jobs?
Drop our most creative player in Rodrigues?

Some interesting calls there, I must say.

Can't help but feel that your team looks both capable of conceding a few and, simultaneously, incapable of scoring many.

It's a hard NO from me.

TBF Brown has been doing well, I just prefer Thorniley as a CB. I would still be happy if Brown played.
They are our two best CBs, if we can't play "a completely new and untested CB partnership" then we can never start them together.
I'm not sure what "3x CM doing 2x jobs" means, as it is clearly a different formation. Therefore it's actually 3x CM doing 3x jobs...
Ruben hasn't been at his best the last few weeks, no harm to starting him on the bench and bringing him on..

 

[Cookie]

You mean apart from when he gave the ball away, miles out of position, and they attacked down his RCB channel and they got a penalty?

He stepped in trying to make a tackle, following it being given away in midfield. Are you also blaming Moore for failing to clear the ball before the first penalty?

 

[BicesterU]

I though McEachran and McGuane worked quite well together on Saturday, although with them together in the middle the onus will always be on control and possession than driving the team forward. It also seemed to me that the gap between them and Rodrigues was too big at times, and so we struggled to progress the ball centrally as a result.

Harris looked a lot more on it on Saturday than he had been. It looked like we had plan in the first 10 minutes to go long to him at almost every opportunity to force the Wanderers back line deeper and make the pitch longer, which worked well as we dominated that first half and should've been 3 up but for those misses from Harris and Bodin. And that's not to mention the penalty we should've had and the advantage the ref didn't give. We created enough chances to have been out of sight, and as much as the ref was beyond awful we had enough chances to take him out of the equation altogether.

The final throes were the polar opposite of the Blackpool game, and even when we were 2-1 down I still felt we might go on and win it. Harris's header was another golden opportunity missed.

As some have already said, I suspect if he bags one and gets that monkey off his back we could see a few from him - he was in good form early in the season, but his sending off and ban took the wind out of sales.

I do like the idea of two up top to take some of the pressure off Harris and add an attacking threat, but the way Manning likes to dominate possession I'm not sure he'd want to sacrifice a body in midfield.

Other than Brannaghan coming back in, I can't see too many other changes for tonight. Looking forward to being entirely wrong, of course!

 

[WRox]

We should of won with ease in the first half if we could score yes the ref was awful and for both sides if we can't score when on top can't go blaming the ref easy cop out that. We haven't got a out and out striker that will cost us promotion Harris isn't the answer currently poor and long shouldn't be nowhere near the first team no pace and teams always targeting long coz they know he's the weak link January can't come quickly enough at present as we are in desperate need for at least 2-3 players if we want to achieve promotion and get out of this awful league

Harris isn’t a poor player, he looks good in a side that attacks quickly with pace and width (Derby A, Northampton in the PJT). Slow and sideways build up doesn’t suit him at all.

Sam Long’s form is an issue, but I’m not sure whether dropping him or not makes us stronger at the minute. Probably depends on wherever Negru is. Someone like Liam Palmer at Wednesday is the exact profile of what we really need in there longer term.

We’re not far off though and shouldn’t be going 4 games without a win with this squad, even if it is a bit depleted at the minute.

 

[Orkney Islands Yellow]

Another very difficult game, it's been a tough 10 days or so.

Not confident of a win, would take a point.

 

[The mighty Aldo]

Tough game
Lincoln are a good side.
Really does depend if we can score first. If we can do that, can we hang on ?
Having said that I fear this will end up the same as Wigan
Lincoln 2 Oxford 0

 

[Paul Cannell]

Without a good bit more purpose and pace than Saturday we'll struggle and it will be horrible to watch.

 

[Joey]

He stepped in trying to make a tackle, following it being given away in midfield. Are you also blaming Moore for failing to clear the ball before the first penalty?

That's a very generous interpretation of it. Harris got a tow on the ball, Long was favourite and didn't even need to make a tackle but panicked and just touched it to McLeary under not much pressure. I'm not hanging him out to dry on it but to make out it wasn't a mistake is very disingenuous, he could have found a team mate, put his foot through it or just used the Wycombe player's momentum to beat him and start an attack. He did none of them and gave it away cheaply.

On your second point I rate Moore and he's been our best defender by a mile this season but I thought it was a very poor header for the first penalty.

 

[Made-in-Jericho]

Feel we've come off the rails a bit recently, not too sure why (opposition managers have worked out our weakness and exploited it or we've lost our mojo?).
Don't like to make predictions but fear a loss tonight by a goal or two. Happy to be proved wrong - perhaps a genius tactical switch by Manning.
Need the January transfer window to come quickly, sign a proper striker if we want to progress upwards.

 

[derek]

If I remember correctly, it took Harris a while to start scoring, and the key was placing the ball rather than hammering it straight at the keeper.

Since the red card he seems to be in the same place, and once he rediscovers that, the goals will come. I wonder if the header in the second half was an attempt at that, but he overcooked it and went wide.

However, as usual, the caveat is that I know eff all.

And we do need to try and get another striker in January - I'm sure the team are looking at that already.

 

[Jon-ioualways]

I'm VERY confident of a win this evening.

I came to England to watch our last three games. You all saw the result. I'm now away from our green and pleasant (sometimes) land, and do apologize to you all (and to the team) for my jinxing presence.

Normal winning service to be resumed, starting tonight. Guaranteed!

 

[JOHN BOY]

Drop both Moore & Brown and play a completely new and untested CB partnership?
3x CM doing 2x jobs?
Drop our most creative player in Rodrigues?

Some interesting calls there, I must say.

Can't help but feel that your team looks both capable of conceding a few and, simultaneously, incapable of scoring many.

It's a hard NO from me.

And me.

 

[The mighty Aldo]

If I remember correctly, it took Harris a while to start scoring, and the key was placing the ball rather than hammering it straight at the keeper.

Since the red card he seems to be in the same place, and once he rediscovers that, the goals will come. I wonder if the header in the second half was an attempt at that, but he overcooked it and went wide.

However, as usual, the caveat is that I know eff all.

And we do need to try and get another striker in January - I'm sure the team are looking at that already.

I’m sorry but the goals will never flow from Harris.

He is not a natural goal scorer.

His record at Cardiff was 9 goals in 87 appearances, and he didn’t do any better when out on loan
His record before joining us was 133 games 14 goals
Yes he tries hard and he may be an option from the bench but if we are serious about promotion we need a proven goal scorer or two at this club by the end of the first week of January

 

[TailsWeWin]

I don’t think Manning ever saw Harris as our main goal threat. I assumed he was there as a facilitator - the one who moves a defence around and creates space for others to score. The problem is that we haven’t had the threat from wide out or from midfield that this plan relied on. Mills is not a goalscorer, and Edwards and Browne are currently unavailable. RR hasn’t yet truly taken off, Cam hasn’t yet provided enough (he WILL come good), Goodhram has been disappointing and GOD is a waste of space.
Harris is doing his best, but to expect him to perform the role of a traditional striker is misguided.

 

[derek]

I’m sorry but the goals will never flow from Harris.

He is not a natural goal scorer.

His record at Cardiff was 9 goals in 87 appearances, and he didn’t do any better when out on loan
His record before joining us was 133 games 14 goals
Yes he tries hard and he may be an option from the bench but if we are serious about promotion we need a proven goal scorer or two at this club by the end of the first week of January

I completely agree with you, and I even said we need another striker.

But I do expect Harris to contribute goals again.

 

[Cowley Yellow]

I have a notion that Harris just needs to see one go in and he'll regain the confidence to keep on putting them in the net. That robbed opportunity on Saturday might have been the one, thanks to that prat SS, Harris probably feels the footballing Gods are against him!

He's definitely lacking confidence, but he regularly stands offside which rules him out of that passage of play