Away Match Day Thread 12/09/20 L1 - Lincoln City v OUFC

[beyondthefourth]

2nd yellow

Nope, it was a straight red.

 

[Oxymoron]

Just seen the Atkinson incident on Quest - there is no way that will be overturned.

 

[Hackney Jack]

Just seen the Atkinson incident on Quest - there is no way that will be overturned.

agree. I thought it was a dangerous tackle.

 

[MiddleBartonYellow]

agree. I thought it was a dangerous tackle.

Debut to forget really.

 

[IsleofWightYellow]

agree. I thought it was a dangerous tackle.

Never a straight red though, but a booking would have seen him off anyway. The funny thing is he wasn’t bad apart from that and the mistake.

 

[RyanioBirdio]

Hmmmm. It has just occurred to me that if you take the three playoff games, the league cup game and then today as 90 minute matches, we have drawn 3 and lost 2, scoring 4 goals and conceding 7. Of those 4 goals scored, one was Marcus Browne running from the halfway line all on his own before getting a shot off, one was an own goal, and one was a miss hit cross that drifted inside the far post. The tinpot game with virtually an entire reserve side playing against Chelsea’s kids is up for debate as to whether or not anything meaningful can be taken / included from that.

We need to find a way to get going again.

 

[bashamwonderland]

Hmmmm. It has just occurred to me that if you take the three playoff games, the league cup game and then today as 90 minute matches, we have drawn 3 and lost 2, scoring 4 goals and conceding 7. Of those 4 goals scored, one was Marcus Browne running from the halfway line all on his own before getting a shot off, one was an own goal, and one was a miss hit cross that drifted inside the far post. The tinpot game with virtually an entire reserve side playing against Chelsea’s kids is up for debate as to whether or not anything meaningful can be taken / included from that.

We need to find a way to get going again.

A plan B would be nice. We didn't seem to have one during the playoffs.

 

[RyanioBirdio]

A plan B would be nice. We didn't seem to have one during the playoffs.

Genuinely think we just aren’t nasty or tough enough. Think it’s all a bit purist. There is such a thing as having too much respect for others.

I do wonder if someone like Forde, who has a lot of games at this level and above, and has won promotion from L1 in recent seasons, might offer something in the short term? A little bit of know how as well as a decent engine? Think we may have to play an Agyei or an Osei at some point too. We need someone who has proper pace.

 

[battman]

Genuinely think we just aren’t nasty or tough enough. Think it’s all a bit purist. There is such a thing as having too much respect for others.

I do wonder if someone like Forde, who has a lot of games at this level and above, and has won promotion from L1 in recent seasons, might offer something in the short term? A little bit of know how as well as a decent engine? Think we may have to play an Agyei or an Osei at some point too. We need someone who has proper pace.

Hopefully nastiness is something that Winnall brings, but I agree we do need to see it up and down the pitch. I can kind of see why Mackie was used so much last season, not really because of his ability but because he was one of the few in the squad that really had that edge. Shame that his legs had gone.

 

[beyondthefourth]

I don't know how much is going to be gained sacrificing technique for 'grit'. I agree that some doggedness and smarts needs to be learned amongst the squad, but it's more a confidence issue.

Atkinson, Clare, and Agyei were the only people to run and and take on the midfield and defence, and sometimes it worked. Its not necessarily 'Plan B', it's just taking a risk to change up our gameplay. It could also be applied to a clever run from Taylor in behind, which Henry finds with a different kind of pass. Its just avoiding doing the same thing that hasn't worked for the first 60 minutes of a game in the remaining 30.

The playoff games came after a period of lockdown with reduced training. We've just come off a shortened pre-season. We're going to be rusty. The playing field is evened and teams will get lucky against us, and then defend.

We will come into our own, hopefully sooner rather than later. But that's just how it is to be an Oxford fan at the start of a season lately.

 

[RyanioBirdio]

But that's just how it is to be an Oxford fan at the start of a season lately.

Which beyond a certain point stops being luck and starts to look like a flaw in the design.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

I'm not sure it's nastiness we need. I think it's aggression - in the right way. Passing the ball about in front of a massed defence gets the possession stats up, but so what? No shots either on or off target until an hour had gone is the telling stat. The problem is that when we move the ball so slowly and the players themselves are so one-paced, creating a space to shoot (even from outside the box) is very difficult. If you are trying to create space by moving the ball about, it needs to be done quickly, with players moving off the ball. We saw very little of either for long periods today.

Once Cooper, Clare and Agyei came on and actually started running at the opposition rather than wandering slowly into a blind alley and then turning round and passing it backwards/sideways, we looked like a different proposition. Otherwise there was a lot of passing followed by a hopeful punt into the box - that's not going to work, especially with Taylor up there on his own with little support form a not overly-tall midfield.

But we do have players who can and will run with the ball - the aforementioned three, Sykes, Brannagan for example - and it isn't all about pure pace, it's about having the confidence that you are allowed to and can do it. And we do have players who can thread a good pass to someone making a run - as long as they do so.

KR isn't an idiot though - he and his staff will have seen what we've seen, and it's up to him to fix it.

 

[Yellows1]

Sorry if I’ve missed this, where was Robbie Hall today and the new signing Winnall??

 

[BigCrompy]

Sorry if I’ve missed this, where was Robbie Hall today and the new signing Winnall??

Winnall not had a competitive pre-season and you'd think would be some 2-3 weeks off as a minimum....Hall not in our best 18.

 

[BigCrompy]

Never a straight red though, but a booking would have seen him off anyway.

Absolutely no better nor worse than the dangerous and mistimed chop on Marcus McGuane in the right corner quite early in the first half, for which the Lincoln fullback wasn't even booked.

I don't think Atkinson will get a reprieve in a month of Sundays, but it's the fact that refereeing is such a lottery that's the frustration.

 

[tonto]

Funnily enough Hall might have been a good choice at least he tries to beat players there was far too many safe passes played.Ironically Atkinson was our most effective dribbler which is a bit bizarre. Our so called talented players need to start showing that talent.

 

[m]

Both Ruffles and Gorrin out on long termish injuries. Gorrin 3/4 weeks, alongside the new striker not match fit. Three players out of a smallish squad may well force his hand in the transfer market.
Ruffles was said to be in agony in the tunnel with his shoulder, and the shoulder could be worse case scenario, meaning an experienced cover.

EVERYONE'S SQUAD IS THE SAME SIZE.

 

[West Oxon U’s]

 

[West Oxon U’s]

 

[behindthegoal]

We won't see winnall for a long time.... maybe last few minutes of a game....not match fit only played 20 odd games in 2 yrs