Away Match Day Thread 4/9/21 L1: AFC Wimbledon v OUFC

[sadoldsod1778]

We 13 corners no goals
Don 5 corners 2 goals says it all.

 

[Manorlounger]

Totally agree. Wycombe up next week with Ainsworth in the stands watching. They’ll just save their energy for the numerous corners we’ll give away.

Frustrating when we get space we cross the ball high and slow into the box. With our current make up we need to drill it low and play to feet.

Spot on. We don't have the height in any number to gain advantage but we do have ball players on the ground. Play to our strengths, is that so simple to understand?

 

[Yellows1]

Plenty of work needed by the sounds of it, again this season our defence doesn’t look great, maybe we should have invested more in another full back and centre half - Also worryingly we can’t seem to put teams to bed when we’re on too AKA Bolton

 

[tonyw]

I think we could all see what was wrong, set pieces are a real achilles heel. Whether defending or taking, we just don't get it right.

I'm not sure it's the system, really - I think it's more the personnel.

Either attacking or defending set pieces, who do we have that is a real, imposing presence in either box?
#1. Moore, #2 Thornily (or whoever the second CB is), #3 ???
I mean it's probably all 5 ft 9 of Matty Taylor.

The best set piece delivery we had today - which was the free kick first half - Alex Gorrin ended up on the end of it. And as much as I love him in general as a player - an aerial threat in the box, he is not. Last year, he was spending most of our set pieces back on the halfway line whilst Ruffels and Long went up and caused some genuine menace alongside the two CBs. But as much as Seddon looks a better player than Ruffs with the ball at his feet, he's yet to demonstrate that he's on a par with him in the air. And we have zero cover/defensive replacements for Sam Long.

For as much as KR has overachieved in getting us so close to promotion the past two years, he's a stubborn ****er and his steadfast refusal to balance out his squad is ultimately going to come back to bite him one of these years. All the great attacking play in the world is not going to get us promoted if we throw away three points every away game because we can't defend set pieces.

 

[Big Ron]

Tinpot outfit

Why a tinpot outfit? I’m no fan of Wimbledon and the ongoing MK Dons obsession but they‘ve built a fan owned club from the roots upwards, on a limited budget and actually have their own four sided ground.

One question from today, apologies if raised already, why such a police presence? Plenty of scowling coppers around Earlsfield Station.

 

[uptheus]

We got done again by a team that press high.

For all Holland’s trickery he’s weak

As I said before the transfer window closed we needed another striker, especially as Taylor and Winnall are like peas in a pod. KR obviously doesn’t have faith in Agyei so a waste of a squad player.

Thought the substitutions and shape done us in that last 20mins even though we were looking the weaker team before that.

We should have kept trying to play football rather than revert to their style of play which was basically a scrap which we were never going to win.

 

[Thomas/Brock/Jones]

Why oh why not bring on Ageyi , he has looked unplayable in 20/ 30 min bursts , is powerful, fast and can score out of nothing .
Seems the perfect super sub as he hasn't done it over 90 mins ( not that he gets a chance to) throw in it was against his old club as well as he scored a wonder goal on Tuesday then to see a ponderous Winnall whose best days are long past come on was simply astounding.
Not saying Dan is God but offers something completely different and can score .

 

[uptheus]

Bunch of tin pot wankers couldn’t organise a P**s up in a brewery

But they beat us!

 

[bazzer9461]

Why a tinpot outfit? I’m no fan of Wimbledon and the ongoing MK Dons obsession but they‘ve built a fan owned club from the roots upwards, on a limited budget and actually have their own four sided ground.

One question from today, apologies if raised already, why such a police presence? Plenty of scowling coppers around Earlsfield Station.

There would have been more if we had won and we’re stuck at this damned bloody gate

 

[bazzer9461]

But they beat us!

Nothing to do with us being beat but there organisation in accommodating away fans

 

[christenedinjericho]

For starters I was at the game.

For the mains I'm sat here in a Battersea hotel giving this game some thought.

For desserts...we got it big time today.

Posters please stop fooling me and others by saying let's get the f*ck out of the papa johns because we need a first eleven for the weekend...really? Undone by set pieces and headed goals on Tuesday with a supposedly second eleven and deja-vu today with the first eleven. Unfortunately, its not rocket science. KR is tinkering, and trying to be too clever. I'm old school you go out to win in whatever game you play in whether it's the tin pot trophy, league cup or the 46 game league as in my book a winning run generally breeds success more times than the stop start mentality we are getting accumstomed too at the moment.

I generally don't comment and criticise too much with my club but with Wickly Wanderers coming up next week I fear more tears coming our way unless we instill more backbone from the players and most of all from KR. Three league away matches we have led in and our backbone has disappeared in each.

Please get back to establishing a backbone in the team as without it, it will collapse and this is so evident at the moment.

COYY'S

 

[werthersoriginal]

Well I’m a Karl supporter on the whole but getting fed up of losing the lead and being done by direct teams. Really really don’t want the same to happen next week. They need to spend the time preparing to defend set pieces and high balls.

 

[RyanioBirdio]

maybe we should have invested more in another full back and centre half

 

[McXal]

It was a decent game of football - but I’d be lying if I said that I felt like we had any chance of seeing out a 1-0 victory as I watched the teams go in at half time. To lead in all three away games so far - against three very different teams - tells you we’re a good side. To only come away with one point also tells you that we are soft, lack killer instinct and (as others have said) 100% have NOT brought in the physicality which we lacked last year and were told would be addressed.

Lots of talk about our inability to defend set pieces, rightly so of course because we’re shipping constant and crucial goals to them. But I’m starting to get annoyed about our attack as well. We seem to need about 85 chances to score a goal. Holland’s miss (well, I say ‘miss’, he stalled and hesitated so long it was more ‘Holland’s failure to make his mind up, getting tackled then fell over like a prat’ incident) was absolutely criminal. At Cambridge, Bolton and again today it felt like there were periods in the game where we were camped not just in their half - but in their final third. But constantly make a hash of the final ball, or cross to nobody, or take a corner which fails to look remotely threatening, or take so long to make a decision that the chance dissipates.

Rant over. Ending on some positives - Sykes was outstanding today. I’ve criticised him plenty (because he is as guilty as anyone of the aforementioned wastefulness in the opponent’s penalty area) but he was just brilliant to watch today and we were measurably worse once he came off.

I’m also not a particularly big fan of AFC Wimbledon. Both fans and club have always come across like a needy, bitter little collaborative (IMO). But it was impossible not to admire the accomplishment of getting back to Plough Lane. I arrived a little early today and walking around the ground to the away entrance seeing the sheer joy on their supporters’ faces as they approached the ground and the happiness which they spoke about it was nice (said enviously because I’d love the day where we get to walk to a stadium we can properly call our own…). It kept the noise in nicely too - I didn’t think much of their crowd in the first half when we were marginally the better side, but it was rocking in the second half. (Again, similar to the Cambridge and Bolton games. I bloody wish we could kill these games off when we get ahead! If we score a second and third goal then our inability to defend set pieces is less of an issue…)

 

[ljs]

Well, that was an embarrassing second half performance (following similar on Tuesday).
For the first time in years I left before the final whistle (on 85 minutes).

What on earth were those subs about...

As others have said, the squad is totally imbalanced with at least two too many wingers, and at least two defensively minded players short (no matter what scotchegg says) along with a lack of height and physicality.

 

[The mighty Aldo]

We 13 corners no goals
Don 5 corners 2 goals says it all.

I thought the same, they made it difficult for us and one player even got booked for pushing over Williams
Our corners free kicks offered no threat, not saying we miss Long and Ruffs but we certainly looked more likely to score when they were in the team
Seemed obvious today with their height advantage pumping the ball in the air was pointless but we didn’t change things

 

[Beast]

You could see it was only a matter of time, that we were going to concede from set pieces. We were lucky last saturday, not to concede a couple from corners. KR said in the week after the Cambridge game the young players have a lot to learn in terms of defending from set pieces, I Would say that’s the same for our more experienced defenders too! Shocking sub tactics again, Sykes off, no ageyi again.

 

[behindthegoal]

Positives

I wasn't there
I didn't pay for the stream
First half we were good

Negative

Everything else


That second half was one of the worst I've witnessed as an Oxford fan. We couldn't hit a barn door with a machine gun and we let 3 goals in against a bang average team.

Not being harsh I'm being real.

But.... You weren't there...

 

[Wandering Yellow]

But.... You weren't there...

 

[Northernyellow]

But.... You weren't there...

I was there. AFCW are pretty good these days. We played well. Our finishing was poor. AFCW took their chances well. We'll be top six at the end of the season.