Away Match Day Thread 21/11/2020 L1 Wigan Athletic v OUFC

What will the result be?


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What a player Gorrin is for us, he showed some really classy turns to get away from multiple players which hasn’t always been seen as one of his strengths. Our form this season will rest on keeping him on the pitch, we just don’t have another player capable of playing there

Still feel for Stevens, guy must wonder what he has to do in order to get a prolonged run in the side, Eastwood just doesn’t seem to have an ounce of confidence at the moment

As for Wigan, not a great side at all
 
That was my first time actually watching via iFollow rather than just listening in (testing it out to ensure no hiccups when I come to watch the big game next Saturday) and honestly, I thought we were excellent. The only difference is that last season we would have stuck 3 or 4 past them. When you're doing well the breaks go your way but when you've been struggling as we have, that little bit of luck seems to desert you. Taylor's half chance early on after their keeper weirdly lunged to stop Henry's ball in with his feet and missed it, hits Matty in the chest and loops over. Atkinson's towering header from a Kelly corner, cleared off the line. Moore's header from another excellent Kelly delivery hits the outside of the post and goes wide, rather than the inside of the post and in.

Perhaps I am overly optimistic as a result of not having the scars from several of our previous displays this term, but I honestly see a very decent footballing side there. Of course the caveat is that it was against Wigan who look nailed on for relegation, but it was the overall performance, if not the scoreline, that gives me reason for this optimism. We played them off the park. Some lovely passing and moving, gives-and-goes on the overlap down both flanks. In addition to the near misses referenced above, there was the shot from Obita which forced a great full length diving save. The header from Taylor, he was like a coiled spring and put all his neck muscles into it, but just directed it slightly too close to the keeper who again made a smart save. Every man worked his socks off. The celebrations after we scored - loved them! Everyone getting involved and piling in (even Sykes who was warming up in his bib); you could see what it meant to them.

Apart from Eastwood's flap which almost gifted them the lead, not one person let the side down today:

- Long. A guy playing RB who likes to defend first and attack second. How we've needed that. Very solid and linked up well down the right with Henry a few times, cracking ball in for Taylor which deserved to be an assist. For the goal he was being held by Garner who is a wily old fox and prevented him from jumping in such a way as to not to make it obvious to the officials. He then made the mistake of momentarily stopping to appeal rather than chasing down the man the ball had gone to. Had he not done so, he could've cut the cross out as their bloke actually stood on the ball and had to back track. So a lesson there - either exaggerate the contact and go down, or don't stop and play to the whistle. Overall though, very good and no surprise we look a lot better for having a genuine RB playing the position.

- Moore and Atkinson. Hopefully both can stay fit as they have the potential to be a very good pairing for us I think. Their lack of experience at this level could potentially cause the odd problem throughout the season, but that absolutely isn't their own individual fault and should never be used as a stick to beat them with. And what a threat they pose from set pieces. After years of us never making full use of corners and the like, boy is it good to see!

- Ruffels. Clearly Josh is having a poor season by his standards (although in fairness he could've probably done with a bit longer rehabbing from his injury and was asked to come back earlier than was ideal due to lack of LB options), but I thought he was his usual dependable self today. Probably helped by having Obita in front of him who willingly offered defensive cover when it was required.

- Gorrin. The guy that anchors our team. I feel about him the way @RyanioBirdio feels about Taylor. He's a colossus for us, and there is nobody else that can play that role even half as effectively. He wins important headers in the midfield, he'll kick and he'll scrap and he'll take one for the team when it's needed. But he's also much better on the ball than some give him credit for, and has the composure and quality under a high press to turn and pass his way out of it.

- Kelly. Up until now I haven't rated him one little bit, but he looked so much better in a more advanced CM role. He also ran more and looked much more energetic than he has done to date. The fact is you don't become a bad player overnight, and Championship sides don't hand out 3 year contracts to a player after only half a season unless said player has demonstrated a fair amount of ability. I thought he linked and interchanged really well with Henry who came inside quite a lot, and as previously mentioned his set piece delivery was superb. He now needs to maintain this level.

- McGuane. You can see there is a ball player in there but he can also be frustrating at times. When he went down and handled the ball just assuming he would get a free kick I was shouting at him. But it's also possible that with his background at Arsenal & Barca we sometimes expect too much of him and need to remember he is just 21 and pretty inexperienced. He worked well on the left side in conjunction with Obita and of course assisted the first goal with a really good low cross which would have found Henry had Taylor not done his thing. He should have done better with his shot when he broke into the box, but I feel like once he scores one a few more will follow.

- Henry. Thought he was excellent. What's that saying about form and class?

- Obita. There were a few times where you can see this guy has played a good degree of football at a higher level. He would have 2 players on him, a ball roll and a nutmeg and goes past them like they're not there. Naturally with his injuries he may have lost a touch of pace, but at 26 if he can stay fit he will still have a lot of football left in him and could be a hell of a player for us. Helped out in a defensive sense too and our left flank looks much stronger with him here. All in all a very useful 80 minutes under his belt.

- Taylor. What. A. Goal. Honestly that was of the highest quality, the kind of thing you see from Aguero on MOTD. Back to goal, one touch to set himself and the second to turn and smash it into the back of the net and give the keeper no chance. Not sure about Winnall but he is as good as it gets at this level, between the 6 yard box and penalty spot anyway! Seriously though he's a very good footballer, and like many good footballers they always want to be on the ball. This is why he's often dropping so deep this season in particular - if we're not having enough possession in high enough areas he comes out to somewhere he believes he can affect the game, but this in turn leaves us without a focal point up front. So it's up to our midfield and wide men to keep providing him with the right service and I think the goals will flow again.

And finally - Clare. Very hopeful he will prove to be a good signing in the long run, just not in the position he was signed for. That isn't his fault. I think he filled in at RB on the odd occasion for Hearts but 95% of the guy's career has been as an attacking midfielder or wide player, and that's exactly what he is. He is deceptively quick, and had the vision and quality to pick out an inch perfect cut back into Henry's path. The lad is 6'3", pacey and powerful. Would a League One left back want to face that after an hour of dealing with James Henry? Would they f*ck.


So as I say, perhaps I am just overly enthusiastic as I did not subject myself to the Crewe debacle. And an injury to any one of Long, Moore or Atkinson could cause major problems. But I still think we'll stuff that lot next Saturday.
 
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That was my first time actually watching via iFollow rather than just listening in (testing it out to ensure no hiccups when I come to watch the big game next Saturday) and honestly, I thought we were excellent. The only difference is that last season we would have stuck 3 or 4 past them. When you're doing well the breaks go your way but when you've been struggling as we have, that little bit of luck seems to desert you. Taylor's half chance early on after their keeper weirdly lunged to stop Henry's ball in with his feet and missed it, hits Matty in the chest and loops over. Atkinson's towering header from a Kelly corner, cleared off the line. Moore's header from another excellent Kelly delivery hits the outside of the post and goes wide, rather than the inside of the post and in.

Perhaps I am overly optimistic as a result of not having the scars from several of our previous displays this term, but I honestly see a very decent footballing side there. Of course the caveat is that it was against Wigan who look nailed on for relegation, but it was the overall performance, if not the scoreline, that gives me reason for this optimism. We played them off the park. Some lovely passing and moving, gives-and-goes on the overlap down both flanks. In addition to the near misses referenced above, there was the shot from Obita which forced a great full length diving save. The header from Taylor, he was like a coiled spring and put all his neck muscles into it, but just directed it slightly too close to the keeper who again made a smart save. Every man worked his socks off. The celebrations after we scored - loved them! Everyone getting involved and piling in (even Sykes who was warming up in his bib); you could see what it meant to them.

Apart from Eastwood's flap which almost gifted them the lead, not one person let the side down today:

- Long. A guy playing RB who likes to defend first and attack second. How we've needed that. Very solid and linked up well down the right with Henry a few times, cracking ball in for Taylor which deserved to be an assist. For the goal he was being held by Garner who is a wily old fox and prevented him from jumping in such a way as to not to make it obvious to the officials. He then made the mistake of momentarily stopping to appeal rather than chasing down the man the ball had gone to. Had he not done so, he could've cut the cross out as their bloke actually stood on the ball and had to back track. So a lesson there - either exaggerate the contact and go down, or don't stop and play to the whistle. Overall though, very good and no surprise we look a lot better for having a genuine RB playing the position.

- Moore and Atkinson. Hopefully both can stay fit as they have the potential to be a very good pairing for us I think. Their lack of experience at this level could potentially cause the odd problem throughout the season, but that absolutely isn't their own individual fault and should never be used as a stick to beat them with. And what a threat they pose from set pieces. After years of us never making full use of corners and the like, boy is it good to see!

- Ruffels. Clearly Josh is having a poor season by his standards (although in fairness he could've probably done with a bit longer rehabbing from his injury and was asked to come back earlier than was ideal due to lack of LB options), but I thought he was his usual dependable self today. Probably helped by having Obita in front of him who willingly offered defensive cover when it was required.

- Gorrin. The guy that anchors our team. I feel about him the way @RyanioBirdio feels about Taylor. He's a colossus for us, and there is nobody else that can play that role even half as effectively. He wins important headers in the midfield, he'll kick and he'll scrap and he'll take one for the team when it's needed. But he's also much better on the ball than some give him credit for, and has the composure and quality under a high press to turn and pass his way out of it.

- Kelly. Up until now I haven't rated him one little bit, but he looked so much better in a more advanced CM role. He also ran more and looked much more energetic than he has done to date. The fact is you don't become a bad player overnight, and Championship sides don't hand out 3 year contracts to a player after only half a season unless said player has demonstrated a fair amount of ability. I thought he linked and interchanged really well with Henry who came inside quite a lot, and as previously mentioned his set piece delivery was superb. He now needs to maintain this level.

- McGuane. You can see there is a ball player in there but he can also be frustrating at times. When he went down and handled the ball just assuming he would get a free kick I was shouting at him. But it's also possible that with his background at Arsenal & Barca we sometimes expect too much of him and need to remember he is just 21 and pretty inexperienced. He worked well on the left side in conjunction with Obita and of course assisted the first goal with a really good low cross which would have found Henry had Taylor not done his thing. He should have done better with his shot when he broke into the box, but I feel like once he scores one a few more will follow.

- Henry. Thought he was excellent. What's that saying about form and class?

- Obita. There were a few times where you can see this guy has played a good degree of football at a higher level. He would have 2 players on him, a ball roll and a nutmeg and goes past them like they're not there. Naturally with his injuries he may have lost a touch of pace, but at 26 if he can stay fit he will still have a lot of football left in him and could be a hell of a player for us. Helped out in a defensive sense too and our left flank looks much stronger with him here. All in all a very useful 80 minutes under his belt.

- Taylor. What. A. Goal. Honestly that was of the highest quality, the kind of thing you see from Aguero on MOTD. Back to goal, one touch to set himself and the second to turn and smash it into the back of the net and give the keeper no chance. Not sure about Winnall but he is as good as it gets at this level, between the 6 yard box and penalty spot anyway! Seriously though he's a very good footballer, and like many good footballers they always want to be on the ball. This is why he's often dropping so deep this season in particular - if we're not having enough possession in high enough areas he comes out to somewhere he believes he can affect the game, but this in turn leaves us without a focal point up front. So it's up to our midfield and wide men to keep providing him with the right service and I think the goals will flow again.

And finally - Clare. Very hopeful he will prove to be a good signing in the long run, just not in the position he was signed for. That isn't his fault. I think he filled in at RB on the odd occasion for Hearts but 95% of the guy's career has been as an attacking midfielder or wide player, and that's exactly what he is. He is deceptively quick, and had the vision and quality to pick out an inch perfect cut back into Henry's path. The lad is 6'3", pacey and powerful. Would a League One left back want to face that after an hour of dealing with James Henry? Would they f*ck.


So as I say, perhaps I am just overly enthusiastic as I did not subject myself to the Crewe debacle. And an injury to any one of Long, Moore or Atkinson could cause major problems. But I still think we'll stuff that lot next Saturday.
A very good review, and I don't think you're being overly optimistic. Christ, it's been lonely on the positive bus so welcome aboard!!

Ruffels hasn't been at the level he has previously set, but with Long often getting pulled across to cover for Clare, he always had an eye on dropping in to support Moore. With so many people playing wide left, the consistency hasn't been there to sit back in when needed and Ruffels has been hugely exposed. With Atkinson back, and Obita on the left, it should allow Ruffels to focus on his game and I'm sure he'll be back up to speed soon.

Clare had looked scared in earlier games and his confidence was shot. Taking him out of the spotlight of RB has allowed him to play his game without fear of making mistakes. I'm sure this move would have been made earlier if we had the players to cover. Strangly, the more he plays wide right, the better I think he'll become at RB if needed to cover. It feels like he has never quite adapted to league 1 and will get time to read the game better and learn the role. As I've said before, I certainly would write him off in either role just yet.

Kelly is a good player with the ball, and he showed that yesterday. But he doesn't have the physicality to replace Gorrin and that has been where he has looked poor. Finding a way to get the best out of him is essential with Brannagan out, and we also need to see McGuane with more consistent performances. Rotating Forde or Sykes in should give us some different options, but it's beginning to feel like we have a functioning midfield.

Taylor was under pressure, and I know that he has been questioning his own performances. But he is always there and as KR said, he kept putting himself in there to miss. Many would gave hidden away, but he didn't and got his reward. With Winnall out, we need Taylor (and Henry) to get a real run going. They were both on fire in February/March when games were coming thick and fast and any repeat will see us push up the table quickly.

The frustration is that we have a decent team but they haven't performed, and when they have it has been individual errors or bad luck that has cost us. Iron out these issues, get the confidence back and luck will sort itself out. Certainly more reasons to be positive than not right now (none more so than Kip and Mellow have gone missing!!)
 
Get Brannigan back (that midfield still isn’t good enough without him), hope we can get through to January without any defensive injuries and then bring in another centre back to make up for the huge mistake of not having got one in the summer and we have a decent chance of staying up if Robinson just carries on playing players in their proper positions.

We only beat Wigan though, we are still a centre back injury away from being in a mess again, haven’t kept a clean sheet since corona was a bottled Mexican lager you stuck a lime in the top of and have a record against the 5 best teams we have played of won none, lost 5 (scoring 1 and conceding 10 in the process).

Yesterday was a big win, but their is still loads to do.
 
My observations:
Thankfully we scrapped a win against the bottom team.
A clean sheet would have given me more confidence going forward.
Scoring the first goal was vital.
Mediocre players perform better when played in their best position and some were helped by having a better quality player [Obita] around them.
Underperforming players like Taylor and Henry showed up.
Lets see how we do against a top 6 side on Tuesday.
 
Don’t see how Long gets blame for that goal. Clares man who put in the cross it’s his job to help Long out and track that run. Long got caught in a 50/50 to win the ball so it is Clare who has to get a cross and cover him. Only mistake he made today though looks a lot better further forward.

Clare was covering in for Sam when he went for the ball. The problem was Sam got nowhere near the ball and watched it sail over his head instead. Clare did nothing wrong as he correctly covered the inside area that Sam had come out from. Clare has got a lot of criticism this season but this wasn't his fault in anyway imo.
 
Clare was covering in for Sam when he went for the ball. The problem was Sam got nowhere near the ball and watched it sail over his head instead. Clare did nothing wrong as he correctly covered the inside area that Sam had come out from. Clare has got a lot of criticism this season but this wasn't his fault in anyway imo.
I find it just a little strange that some seem to want to blame everything on Clare. Sure he has had a very poor start to the season, but there have been times where Clare has received the only criticism for goals conceded and yet 3 or 4 platers weren't doing their jobs properly to purely blame yesterday's goal on Clare is bizarre
 
We started with 4 Oxfordshire born players today. Is this a record?
Yes. Its good. Apart from Long, we have had very few players in recent years
come all the way through our academy, made it with us as a professional and then gone onto have a professional career. Since Dean Whitehead, I can think of COD. Hopefully we will produce a few more.
 
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