Away Match Day Thread 03/02/2026 - MDT: Sheffield United v Oxford United

[Peterdev]

It'll be Bromley rather than the Olympic Stadium but it'll be more enjoyable. More chance of winning and promotion and a repeat of the scenes in town that we saw in 2024.

We'll be back (if the panic spending doesn't hurt us).

Also Salford and Swindon to look forward to. Along with Bolton maybe and Reading. Will be tough that’s for sure.

 

[90syeIlow]

Is Brodie Spencer a better LWB than Greg Leigh?

Is Sam Long our best option at RWB?

Is two midfielders likely to be sufficient away from home against a side that will dominate the ball?

These are choices. Made by a man whose sole job is to make the best choices he possibly can. Regardless of a couple of injuries.

Is it too much to ask that we have a manager with the tactical nous to get the utmost out of what he has at his disposal?

It's just about the easiest job in football, ours. You can do whatever you like, pick whoever you like, play any inane formation and still the fanbase will throw their arms up - 'we can't expect anything more'.

My word. When we sacked Rowett six weeks ago was this really the best we could hope for? Really?

A) I fully agree that Leigh should have started LWB tonight.

B) Who do you play RWB instead of Long, Makosso? Admittedly I do not know if Makosso can play there so I'm posing the question to you.

C) I'm not sure what can be done about about this. Before we scored it worked ok and we only have Konak on the bench who was destined to replace Vaulks/Cam as BDK/Mcdonnell are injured.

D) MB could have done better tonight, but he has earned us some decent results with better tactics so there's still some hope.

 

[Brahma]

I'm loving this new 5-2-3 formation with inverted wingers.

Particularly having signed Donley, MPH, Jeon Jin Woo, Kunac, McDonnell and Aidomo Emakhu and a left wing back from League One to compete with two other left wing back cum full backs.

As for Dembele.......

 

[90syeIlow]

Currie possibly but I dont think he has the pace like the vast majority of championship full backs
Bdk no hes got worse as the season gone on think he would end up back in Holland

Who cares about pace if you're an excellent player without pace and the attributes that you do offer?

 

[Oxford84]

They’re top of the league for the last 15 games which is more relevant than what happened early in the season under a different manager

Lost to Charlton, WBA and Mansfield as well so clearly still not very good.

 

[Symp59]

I dont think you can judge our forwards on tonight, they hardly saw the ball and would have to have been perfect with every touch to get anything- though I share your reservations about them. It’s the midfield!! You can’t totally lose the midfield and hope to either keep the ball out or score.

We lose the midfield every game, we need better than Bran but it's like he's god and every team in the championship have 2or 3 better players than him and it's not been addressed

 

[Symp59]

It feels like we are a shambles

 

[carefreeoufc]

A) I fully agree that Leigh should have started LWB tonight.

B) Who do you play RWB instead of Long, Makosso? Admittedly I do not know if Makosso can play there so I'm posing the question to you.

C) I'm not sure what can be done about about this. Before we scored it worked ok and we only have Konak on the bench who was destined to replace Vaulks/Cam as BDK/Mcdonnell are injured.

D) MB could have done better tonight, but he has earned us some decent results with better tactics so there's still some hope.

B - he can
C - Vaulks did ok, but Konak offers more athleticism than a pairing we’ve seen fail numerous times.
D - Agree with the clean sheets. But they are games we should be winning, at least testing the opposition. His decision making for Birmingham and Sheffield Utd was poor. Particularly today.

 

[LowerSouth]

Who cares about pace if you're an excellent player without pace and the attributes that you do offer?

Surely the Championship has shown us that pace is a massive element

 

[Oldman159]

You know there is a good chance that after 5 minutes of watching him you will see why he doesn’t play? Because if he can’t get in this team then we have just set fire to a million quid.

Come on! 5 minutes? This is Oxford - He won’t last that long….he will get injured probably tripping over the AstroTurf edging whilst running onto the pitch before KO. You just know it…..

 

[Osei Yaw]

One thing I have realised, we've tried to do the same with transfers as other below-par teams from last year, like Derby...but we've done it a window too late instead of in the summer.

If we had this sort of baseline in summer with a season ahead of us I'd be a lot more optimistic than chucking bags of cash in winter with 16 games to play.

A question for Tim Williams, probably (not that he would ever give a straight answer).

After our game finished tonight I watched the end of St. Mirren vs Hearts and caught a glimpse of Allan Campbell on the bench for St. Mirren, and the farce of a summer transfer window came back to me. I was trying to work out if that window was worse than the first one back at this level when we got an embargo, or as bad as when Karl chased Jerome Sinclair for a month only to be turned down in favour of a chicken shop, but then Findlay hooked a clearance into the River Clyde and I was back in the room.

It's a very good question. The only thing I'm clutching at for an explanation is that Thohir took outright control of the club between the summer and January windows, and maybe that helps explain the stark difference between the two.

I'm still holding onto the faint hope we will stay up. We still have effectively 4 players to make their debuts. If they are all an improvement in the same way Peart-Harris has been and Mokasso too then there is life in the old dog yet.

 

[West Oxon U’s]

Makosso looked good, I thought. Long was good first half.

Vaulks played well throughout aside from a misplaced pass.

Brown has been "the man" for so long now, I think that title is gone, he can't find a pass, sadly.

Brannagan wasn't great tonight and hasn't been for a little while. I mean, genuinely, give the guy a statue, but I think he might be stretching to get by at this level.

Lankshear, potentially excellent goalscorer but I'd love him to win a header rather than watching the defender before trying to back in.

I do seriously think we can stay up (there are some other diabolical teams around), I'd rest Brown, try MPH or the new Millwall fella up top instead of the usuals and get the ball over the left back more than we have been.

Still, definitely staying up. Bottom three:

Portsmouth
Blackburn
Sheff Weds

Not sure Brown can perform to his best on the left of a back three. Looks unhappy there and lacks pace. He also has a tendency to hit too many long passes
where invariably our opponent’s pick up these long balls and start attacks. Crazy that we leave out Ben Davies for tonight’s game. He was our best player on Saturday.

 

[JoeUFC]

Not sure Brown can perform to his best on the left of a back three. Looks unhappy there and lacks pace. He also has a tendency to hit too many long passes
where invariably our opponent’s pick up these long balls and start attacks. Crazy that we leave out Ben Davies for tonight’s game. He was our best player on Saturday.

You're probably right. I just think CB looks out of his depth, this level requires a pass, he hasn't got it.

I have hope for the new guy, stepped forward occasionally, few good passes, clever football.

 

[OxfordYankee]

Don’t get me started.

Do you ever stop?

 

[90syeIlow]

Surely the Championship has shown us that pace is a massive element

If you lack pace, you need to make it up for it in other ways, which Currie does so very often and that's why he's such a standout player.

 

[Oxford84]

Can Bloomfield have some balls and revert back to his attacking style he had at previous clubs rather than this scared defensive Rowett style s**t.

 

[lerekdilley]

You know it’s game over when straight after a transfer window, your still relying on the same lot who have been out of their depth all season. Can’t see a way out of this from here.

 

[90syeIlow]

You know it’s game over when straight after a transfer window, your still relying on the same lot have been out of their depth all season. Can’t see a way out of this from here.

Do you want Donley and Mcdonnell to play with injuries?

 

[Bicester Yellow]

I’ll be surprised if either go for above £3m if we’re relegated

Can see where you are coming from but don’t think Currie has looked out of place this season. I think he will go for good money.

BDK I can see what you are saying. I could see us making our money back on him at least.

 

[carefreeoufc]

Can see where you are coming from but don’t think Currie has looked out of place this season. I think he will go for good money.

BDK I can see what you are saying. I could see us making our money back on him at least.

Maybe. There’s often been debates on here about the inflationary impact of promotion to the Championship and what players will go for/be bought for.

Early days, but we have a £3m option on the lad from Luton. I’m not sure we’d get much more than that next season. Hopefully we’ll stay up and we won’t find out

 

[Yellowmania]

My misses had me watching Married at first sight. I think the Aussie version has just started.

Did you spot any potential upgrade on our LWB problem?

 

[lerekdilley]

Do you want Donley and Mcdonnell to play with injuries?

No, what point are you trying to make?

 

[90syeIlow]

No, what point are you trying to make?

That how do you expect new players to start over the older ones when they're either injured or unavailable?

 

[WE Yellow]

Brilliant support up there tonight, proper Yellows who are the true representation of this club. Mistakes get punished brutally in this division, we will go nowhere if we don’t eradicate them fast, but we’ve known that for almost 2 years now.

I quickly scrolled past a comment that said Konak looks like a red card waiting to happen so shouldn’t play. b*****s. He’s exactly who I want representing the club, standing up for us and showing some grit, feeling angry at the position we are in. He and Makosso come out of tonight with a lot of credit.

I understand the logic of wanting to find a system in the long term and I think there were some signs at times that it could work quite nicely with the correct personnel, but I don’t care about next season just yet, I want us to stay up this season, I don’t care how it happens. Just show some f*****g fight and get shots off, get the ball wide and run at teams. The attitude of some on this forum is bewildering, seemingly accepting relegation and giving up with 14 games to go. f**k that. I hope none of that transmits to our playing or coaching staff.

We know what the prick Williams thinks about the Championship, he thinks League 1 is where we should be. Ferguson has got his handicap down to scratch but he’ll be checking up on our scores at the 19th hole i’m sure. We’re just meant to be okay with that? The Championship promotion has masked what is a complete shitshow on how to run a football club. We’re little boys playing in a man’s league. Siege mentality from the fans in the ground and the players on the pitch for the remaining games, please, let’s go down swinging, wave our dicks around and enjoy it where we can. There’s a chance we’re in League 1 next season, “back where we belong” eh Timmy?. Let’s give the Championship a f*****g go whilst we can huh?

I am in no way trying to deflect away from what was shown on the pitch tonight. But one thing I can assure you of is I have seen that performance under Des, Rowett, Short and now Bloomfield. Naivety, a lost team, a group of players who (some exceptions) show heart
and desire, but that gets you places in the lower leagues, not where we’re at right now. I couldn’t care less who could be sold for what if we go down, who needs to go and who needs to stay for our charge next season, I care about what’s in front of me right now, and the hardest thing to accept is that the “little old Oxford” tag is actually a great way of describing us, and those in charge have done nothing to solve it.

 

[lerekdilley]

Where did I say I expected them too? Was just summing up the reality of the situation.

 

[holdsteady]

Just a quick note; our signing from South Korea is called Jeon Jin-Woo.
You’re welcome.

He’s the Korean lad until he plays a game.

 

[holdsteady]

A) I fully agree that Leigh should have started LWB tonight.

B) Who do you play RWB instead of Long, Makosso? Admittedly I do not know if Makosso can play there so I'm posing the question to you.

C) I'm not sure what can be done about about this. Before we scored it worked ok and we only have Konak on the bench who was destined to replace Vaulks/Cam as BDK/Mcdonnell are injured.

D) MB could have done better tonight, but he has earned us some decent results with better tactics so there's still some hope.

If you don’t have wing backs better than Long or Spencer then just play a different formation that doesn’t require wing backs?

 

[TeamOX]

I would just like a rational explanation to why we are trying to play 5 at the back when we didn’t have a single player suited to the wing back role available?

Added to this, in the two games Bloomfield started with a back four we got two clean sheets.

Utterly confusing.

 

[holdsteady]

I would just like a rational explanation to why we are trying to play 5 at the back when we didn’t have a single player suited to the wing back role available?

Added to this, in the two games Bloomfield started with a back four we got two clean sheets.

Utterly confusing.

That’s a fair point, we have conceded 6 goals in 3 games with wing backs. Although we have scored 3 in 3 compared to no goals with a back four in two. So it’s made us more likely to score but worse at the back.

 

[90syeIlow]

If you don’t have wing backs better than Ling or Spencer then just play a different formation that doesn’t require wing backs?

I agree, but he seemed unwilling to change formation unfortunately.

 

[Old Man]

Maybe players injuries are going to be the excuse for a relegation. Hope not but we certainly need to fight for every ball and tackle hard , have we got the guts and spirit??