Home Match Day Thread 17/11/2020 L1 OUFC v Crewe Alexandra

[uptheus]

Got at least 3-4 weeks yet for CB..

And then he’ll need 5-10 games to get back to match fitness.

 

[Essexyellows]

Some people might be needing to reduce their level of optimism.
In "normal times" we can be there or there abouts.
We aren`t in normal times.
Think what has changed since March with Covid, Income (lack of) , sale of players, squad limits, salary limits, injuries, disruption to flow & fitness, Tigers businesses impacted even the rich folk might concerned for the future.

Step back from the keyboard, go for a walk, breath the fresh air and remember it is only a game.

 

[Northstandboy]

With only a squad of 22 we include
Hanson who had a history of injuries
Winnall who has a history of injuries
Hall who has a history of injuries
Atkinson who’s injury history is suspect

Don't forget Obita who was out injured for two seasons at Reading.

And Shodipo who had only played 8 games in 3 years for two different clubs when on loan before coming here.

 

[Fourthstand]

Fans return to matches: Government exploring potential return for December​

After last nights horror show, who’s up for it?

 

[guyellow]

It honestly looked like a bunch of half decent lads who turned up to have a kick about at the park. No leadership or strategy. No coherence.
I think the lack of crowd doesn't help, it feels a bit like a training match. If other teams can get over this then we can.

Wholesale changes needed for Saturday. If they don't play for the shirt they don't wear it.

 

[arthurturner]

It honestly looked like a bunch of half decent lads who turned up to have a kick about at the park. No leadership or strategy. No coherence.
I think the lack of crowd doesn't help, it feels a bit like a training match. If other teams can get over this then we can.

Wholesale changes needed for Saturday. If they don't play for the shirt they don't wear it.

But is the problem the players? Seems to me the management; coaching; tactics and recruitment has a lot to answer for.

 

[ThatSlopesATwelfthMan]

Don't forget Obita who was out injured for two seasons at Reading.

And Shodipo who had only played 8 games in 3 years for two different clubs when on loan before coming here.

And Mous. Who, as RadOx keep reminding us, doesn't even bother getting kitted up when on the bench.

 

[WuTang]

Valid, but whether you're a full back or a winger or whatever, when you lose the ball you do you're absolute damndest to get the bloody thing back and don't just jog after the guy...it was more than once tonight as well.

That was the entire team, such little effort to make sprints back, runs to create space etc.

They couldn't even be bothered to sprint forward to counter attack, the midfield just strolls around.

Serious problems when you start seeing a lack of effort!

 

[MC Yellow]

The problem I think is under KR we always start slowly losing more than we win it’s happened since he walked through the door I’m also wondering whether the players are struggling to play with no fans in the ground clutching at straws I know but after last night need to try and find something because KR certainly don’t know why we’re so s**t

Has to have an effect but clearly we are not dealing with it as well as 20 or so other teams. It’s KR’s job to get the players pumped up.

Just looked like 11 strangers kicking a ball around last night.

 

[Concretebob]

Fans return to matches: Government exploring potential return for December​

After last nights horror show, who’s up for it?

100% up for it. Might actually get us playing a bit? Wishful thinking I know.

 

[Gregortheox]

Even angrier this morning - come in to thousands of Covid Testing kits and the prospect of coordinating delivery across the city on the back of that shower of s**t. There are folk on here who seem to think our players are somehow more effected by this than anyone else. I'm not buying it...they need a f*****g rocket and told straight that this is unacceptable. I don't expect them to be ripping this league apart but relegation zone!?..Karl - f*****g sort it and quickly!

 

[Hackney Jack]

Some people might be needing to reduce their level of optimism.
In "normal times" we can be there or there abouts.
We aren`t in normal times.
Think what has changed since March with Covid, Income (lack of) , sale of players, squad limits, salary limits, injuries, disruption to flow & fitness, Tigers businesses impacted even the rich folk might concerned for the future.

Step back from the keyboard, go for a walk, breath the fresh air and remember it is only a game.

Cometh the hour, Cometh EY.

Right here is a list that only effects OUFC.

Insightful analysis as ever.

 

[Eaststanding]

Credit to Crewe, they got all the basics right; pressing, disrupting, hassling, then passing and moving with fluidity, creating chances and running us ragged. They did everything that we didn’t, and when you can’t even begin to do the basics, that’s a problem.
We resorted to stupid fouls and panic when we did have the ball, starting with Eastwood’s aimless kicking and repeated all the way through the team.
So much was wrong, so much to put right by Saturday and a genuine test of Robinson’s managerial abilities.

 

[AbsoluteZero]

I was a proper miserable git last night, back to normal after a defeat. Having being detached from the games and the club since lockdown 1 the defeats have just gone over my head with just a bit of frustration thinking we will be OK in a fairly pointless season for the fans that we just need to get through, but after last night's really poor show it felt like I was back to normal. Probably could do without it, will have to jump on the mental health issues bandwagon now and persuade my boss I need to be furloughed and get 80% pay for doing nothing for the next few weeks to try and rescue my mind from having to worry about my football club being rather rubbish.

 

[captainox]

After the Gillingham defeat, we could all fall back on the amount of possession we had and the amount of clear cut chances we didn't take as reasons to be optimistic going forward.

Last night we had less possession, created absolutely nothing other than Winnall's header from the edge of the penalty box. The midfield was absent in a defensive and attacking sense. Henry was a complete passenger, Taylor completely isolated once again and the lack of vocals amongst the players on the pitch was so obvious. Apart from Sam Long, not one player appeared to be trying to gee everyone up. No-one was dishing out a bollocking following a Crewe chance, no-one was rallying the team after a good bit of play.

The system has to be changed because every team knows how to setup against us, and every team knows we won't change it. We don't give the opposition anything different to think about, they don't have to react to us doing something unexpected. Last night at 1-0 down, we changed a couple of players and kept the system/style exactly the same. Crewe didn't have to alter their approach whatsoever.

Of this squad of 22:
- you've got a player who has been consistently injured in the last 18 months in Hanson.
- two players who have missed a lot of football in the past couple of seasons but did manage some minutes last season in Obita and Winnall
- a player who got a new contract in January but can't get in the matchday selection in Hall.
- a player who was signed for a fee in the summer but can't get a sniff in Cooper.
- a loanee who can't get in the side in Kelly.

So there's arguably 6 players there who are currently a waste of a registration place. (Obita has only just arrived so harsh to include in that 6 at the moment, but we know of his recent injury history).
If Kelly, and McGuane for that matter, don't bring something to the party over the next few weeks in the numerous games before the window reopens, I'd send them both back in January.

As for going forward:
Losing and playing well is one thing.
Losing and not creating anything is extremely worrying.
Losing, not creating and seemingly going down without any ounce of a fight is relegation battle stuff.

Wigan is a must win.

 

[The mighty Aldo]

Correct - he should start at RW on Saturday instead of Henry and scare the Wigan defence with his pace, his cross across the 6 yard box tonight was different class, we’re currently screwing him up at RB.

Robinson has a history of this
Remember Luke Garbutt brought in at left back absolute shite
Ruffles takes his place and as Garbutt an emergency plays on left midfield and became arguably our stand out player in the last 10/15 games of the season
Give Clare a go on the right with Long behind him

 

[bazzer9461]

That would cost a lot of money and there’s no chance, Tiger is not one to splash the cash with no obvious chance of a return.

There maybe something in his contract about failure and termination of contract and an agreed figure

 

[bazzer9461]

Fans return to matches: Government exploring potential return for December​

After last nights horror show, who’s up for it?

It won’t happen

 

[ZeroTheHero]

It must surely only be stubbornness that is making KR stick with Clare at RB? Mous is fit enough to play (he did manage a whole game earlier in the week), so he could have started in the middle and Long at RB. Or Forde could have played RB if Mous isn't fit enough? It was very telling that Crewe went straight for our right hand side from the kick off and kept going for it.

I though Clare looked pretty good (well, perhaps a bit better than some of our other players) further forward, so I think he is very far from being a poor signing in general - just one being played in the wrong place and a poor signing as a right back.

 

[guyellow]

But is the problem the players? Seems to me the management; coaching; tactics and recruitment has a lot to answer for.

I suspect its a combination. The players looked poorly motivated, which comes from themselves and from the Gaffer. Poor tactics may be due to coaching or to players not executing the coaching strategy.

I also have some concern about the fitness coaching. It is constantly being lauded, and we had a fitness measurement day on Friday, yet we seem to get a disproportionate amount of muscle strains and players who can only play for part of a match.

KRs comments last night about removing some of the junior coaching staff from the dressing room so the players could speak freely is also of concern. Smells of backroom discontent.