Paul B
Well-known member
- Joined
- 14 Dec 2017
- Messages
- 1,251
You've perfectly expressed what I and no doubt most fans who watched that debacle are thinking. Robinson has completely lost the plot. He must have known that putting Winnall on was a risk, so why take Taylor off? Taylor was ineffective throughout the game for exactly the reason you state. Having them both up front in the circumstances was the obvious choice. When it was needed neither was there. Every game is winnable. I'm not at all confident Saturday's game is winnable by us.A fair assessment, if somewhat depressing in its accuracy. For what it’s worth I agree with you about Clare. Mainly because he’s played his entire career in midfield before this season.
IMO: Robinson would do well to just sign round pegs to go in round holes a bit more often. Not every player needs to be “retrained” to play a different role, or a different position entirely. Either sign the players to fit the system, or change the system to fit the players. It’s one or the other. What you don’t do is smash the two things together like they’re a couple of children’s action figures. Watching Clare have no idea how to be a full back is one thing, but seeing Matty Taylor run around on his own, trying to play like a target man and hold the ball up, is heartbreaking. He’s one of the best out and out six yard box poachers outside of the Championship, and he’s being asked to spend his time fighting two blokes half a foot bigger than him while none of his team mates get within 20 or 30 yards. We’ve gone back to witnessing this absolute obsession that Robinson has with the 4-2-3-1, which is exactly what happened at the beginning of the last two seasons when we started poorly, and because of it we’re no longer getting people up alongside the striker, nor do we have wide men running at the defenders and slipping passes through / putting balls across. Other teams don’t have to defend or keep their wits about them anymore, because we have one isolated striker trying to be something he isn’t and that’s our lot. Press outlets can present the lineup however they want on the social media diagrams - you can see the team shape on camera and you can watch the way they lineup from goal kicks. If this is going to happen every season then at what point are we going to at least sign players who fit into that system? As it stands the ‘recruitment team’ seem to collect a bunch of players that they like the look of in isolation, and then Robinson tries to cram a bunch of them into a pre-determined shape come hell or high water. It’s all a bit, “I want to play this shape, in this way, and I want to get these specific players on the pitch no matter what.” He usually drops it eventually and we immediately improve, so let’s see.
Frustrating, but already I’m looking ahead to Saturday and thinking, “Surely this is winnable... right?!”
I think you are right and that KR has had an easy ride by the crowd not being in the stadium. It would surely have been made very clear to him by now that playing poor Clare at right back was a failure, that playing Taylor as some sort of unsupported target man was wasting one of our best assets and that (for some bizarre reason) waiting until 55 minutes to make any changes after last night's disastrous first half performance was not acceptable.I daresay that KR is waking up this morning thinking how lucky he is that the stadiums are empty for matches.
That total lack of performance from his team would have had the crowd looking for a lynching.
Even my wife said that it was lucky there was no-one there to watch this.I daresay that KR is waking up this morning thinking how lucky he is that the stadiums are empty for matches.
That total lack of performance from his team would have had the crowd looking for a lynching.
You could be right with the, more or less, carte blanche shown to KR. I wonder how many players are now contemplating how they can engineer a move away from OUFC. Careers are on the line for some although others, Taylor being a candidate, must be utterly frustrated that they fell for the storyline they were given. What a way to see out the last few years of competitive football! Others may be thanking their lucky stars that they have found another pay packet.I think you are right and that KR has had an easy ride by the crowd not being in the stadium. It would surely have been made very clear to him by now that playing poor Clare at right back was a failure, that playing Taylor as some sort of unsupported target man was wasting one of our best assets and that (for some bizarre reason) waiting until 55 minutes to make any changes after last night's disastrous first half performance was not acceptable.
Unfortunately that may be making him sleep a little easier, but it means he can keep plugging away at the same old for longer than he did at the start of other seasons.
Mine said quite a bit, and then mentioned how fortunate we are to live in a detached modern house with good insulation!Even my wife said that it was lucky there was no-one there to watch this.
As stated fans have differing opinions but if deep down anyone truly believes that either as individuals or a squad we are a relegation side then i for one have to disagree.
Depressing to watch, might give up I think.On paper, I agree. In reality and on the pitch I certainly see relegation candidates at the moment