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Yes, and against teams like Barnsley it was exacerbated as they played with wingbacks but even yesterday when Reading played 4-1-4-1, their wingers and wingbacks doubled up on our full backs. Goodrham & Rodrigues both donโt defend or track back or if they do itโs on very rare occasions and the gap between the midfield & Harris is vast, the whole middle of the pitch is so open and we lose every second ball.It's been far to easy to get crosses in from the wings for opposition. To an extent from both sides of the pitch but worse in my view from the right. If you put enough crosses in, at some point you will score.
Mightve pressed with Manning from the start but wed often drop back deep and try to defend a 1 goal lead under him.Have to say love him or hate him Sam Smith showed exactly what a good lone striker is capable of.
Reading hit the ball long a lot and he managed to get a flick on or hold the ball up and play other players in. Moore gave him a tough time as well.
Harris is not that sort of striker and why we persist in knocking long balls to him is a mystery.Not his fault but I am really hopeful that maybe he can work with Goodwin and benefit.
Under Manning we pressed from the front all game, now we appear to start the game doing this but slowly drop back and Harris is the only player who does anything resembling a press, Consequently we drop deeper and the opposition back four have time to play through us.
Better teams than Reading will exploit this
Out of our attacking players I actually think those two are better at getting back than most. Rodrigues plays almost like a 10 or second striker so wouldn't be expecting him to get back all the time but he definitely does his work up top. Mills was very inconsistent with his defending, so is Bodin, Stevens ironically wasn't great a getting back when playing further ahead of Long, Burey it is early days but he certainly doesn't look he will track back consistently.Yes, and against teams like Barnsley it was exacerbated as they played with wingbacks but even yesterday when Reading played 4-1-4-1, their wingers and wingbacks doubled up on our full backs. Goodrham & Rodrigues both donโt defend or track back or if they do itโs on very rare occasions and the gap between the midfield & Harris is vast, the whole middle of the pitch is so open and we lose every second ball.
It was also a game of 2 halves under Manning.I think the trouble is heโs learning on our time. It was all teeโd up beautifully for him but heโs coming unstuck against coaches who just know that much more about EFL football. Occasionally the players will get us through a game but thereโs a lot of individuality required for us to win, it seems.
Heโs learning, you can see in the first half an hour today we improved, but heโs ultimately come unstuck again by another managerโs game plan. We could all see what was brewing (a late charge from Reading after keeping it tight for 70 mins) but going by his changes, he didnโt see it.
Too often itโs a game of two halves with Des. Today we were the more proactive side but then at 1-0 we seemed desperate to escape rather than kill them off. Not the mindset of a team at the top.
Itโs not happening this season. I just donโt think Des will get his head around it quickly enough and he doesnโt have anybody in his ear to speed that process up.
How did you choose which words to capitalise?Don't think DES will know what to do with the players once they come back still say he's out of his DEPTH we are going into a downward spiral with him in charge we need a new MANAGER
A lot of the posts on here are borderline bonkers. It's not just about one game, you know! Here we go ..1. Was KR a disaster? Generally no, he was really good for the first 3-4 years. But he completely lost the plot in the last 12 months, mostly because he's a bit thick and couldn't cope with having to follow a 'process' instead of having his mates guffawing at all his jokes and phoning up his favourite agents...2. Was Manning any good? Yes, he did a great job tidying up KR's mess, but left some obvious gaps...3. Did Manning run away ? Yes, probably because he knew we wouldn't get promoted and he doesn't really believe in himself despite all the boring management-speak..4. Would Manning have got us promoted? Almost certainly not- see answer (3)...4. Is Buckingham a poor hire? Who knows, but he is really well rated in football 'circles', so he'll probably work out fine..5. Will we get promoted this season? Probably not. The squad is too weak...6. Are the Board supportive? Err, yes. Very much so. They are building us a ยฃ100M+ stadium and have given our managers very significant financial support in the last 2+ years. I think that's all I have to say for now! A bit of perspective always helps imo!
Come on, Iโm not saying every single game was like a cup final, but very often that place could get seriously noisy!Nah, plenty of dull games then, and far more skill now, though granted the slow technical passing can be dull.
That is a bit of a generalisation about modern football, itโs far more about quality of manager and players than about style.The atmosphere in the Manor days was amazing, it was a cauldron at times, a real lions den.
But this was helped by the fact the players really played with their hearts on their sleeve, which doesnโt really happen these days, with the exception of Brannagan, who wouldโve been a real fans favourite in the Manor days!
But also in those days, we got the ball to the wingers, who really attacked the full back and got crosses in, for players who were bombing into the box, we had players shooting on site, creating chances, flying into crunching tackles, and generally going for the throat of the opposition right from the first minute, it was exciting to watch, and got the crowd going, so the singing and atmosphere was loud and intimidating for opponents and we regularly out sang their fans.
Modern football is by its very nature a lot more boring, very languid and passy passy, with slow build up play, itโs actually quite uninspiring and dull to watch, and that is reflected in the stands, at every level, the home crowds struggle to lift themselves, and itโs often the away fans who are the loudest these days.
But itโs a two way street, if the players want the fans to create an atmosphere, then theyโve got to give them something to sing and shout about.
Iโm beginning to wonder if Rodrigues is a luxury we canโt currently afford. With him in the team we effectively play 4:2:4 with Brannagan and McGuane having to cover a ridiculously large area of the pitch against three opposing midfielders. No wonder they sometimes look lost.I blame the midfield and Rodrigues mostly as they had zero control of the game and Reading kept picking up second balls and finding space in the middle of the pitch second half.
Defence had no one to pass to so just kept hoofing it up the pitch.
Still hasnt got another job and only 33% win rate at Birmingham, not ,much proof he wouldve been any good.?John Eustace was the man to bring in.
I agree that with RR we are sometimes effectively playing 4-2-4 - but not in a good way. Under Manning he was elegantly sliding balls forward for Harris to run on to, but Iโm not sure what heโs supposed to be doing now.Iโm beginning to wonder if Rodrigues is a luxury we canโt currently afford. With him in the team we effectively play 4:2:4 with Brannagan and McGuane having to cover a ridiculously large area of the pitch against three opposing midfielders. No wonder they sometimes look lost.
I wonder if, now we have Matete, it would be better to play him with two of Brannagan, McGuane and Goodrham ahead of him.
Quite easy and simpleHow did you choose which words to capitalise?
I don't think Manning leaving is as straight forward as you make it out to be i.e doesn't believe in himself, didn't think he could get us up etc. It might make some people feel better to think those the were the reasons. Reality is Bristol City are a bigger club than us, playing consistently in a higher division who were able to offer significantly more in wages. I think a better argument would be that he went there because he does believe in himself and that he had no emotional attachment to Oxford.
Agree, this is an insane postFFSโฆ have a day off will ya.