Home Match Day Thread 03/10/2023 L1: OUFC v Shrewsbury

[Malc]

Another 3 points today? I think so, 2-0 to the mighty Yellows.

 

[holdsteady]

I need someone, with a better football brain than me, to explain what Taylor means by 'in control out of possession'. By definition, this must mean the other team had the ball and therefore in control of the possession. Considering that said team were 1, 2 or 3 nil up it seems the most ridiculous of comments from Taylor - or any other manager who wants to peddle that rubbish when his team need goals to get a point even.

Unless that opposing team are going to boot the ball in their own goal how the hell is being 'in control out of possession' anything positive ? Brannagan, McGuane & Co could still be out there now, 12 hours later, moving it all over the pitch and getting back behind the ball in numbers whenever Shrewsbury had the ball. It was that easy. Oxford had complete control of that game - in possession and out of possession. At no point did Shrewsbury have any control or dictation of play.

Also, Taylor says three errors. One maybe, in the 96th minute, but the first goal was a hell of a cross and first time finish on the back post, no obvious error. The second was a good delivery, balls falls for Oxford and a tidy finish, again no obvious error. I know these under pressure managers will have their chairman listening intently to every word but just hold your hand up and admit you were outclassed from minute one.

You can see why they don't score many goals if being in control out of possession is his idea of a positive, we basically took it easy on them and won 3-0 at a canter. Thought it looked like a cup tie between teams a couple of divisions apart such was the gulf in class.

 

[holdsteady]

Control out of possession comes from positioning and pressing. It's about manoeuvring the opposition to play the ball either to places where they can't hurt you or into traps where the press is triggered. However, I fail to see how that applied to Shrewsbury.

When you lose 3-0 that's a bit mental to claim you managed any of that, if Harris has his shooting boots on yesterday we win 5-0 without getting out of second gear. I will predict Taylor will be gone within a month or two from there, when the desperate excuses start then its never to far away.

 

[dickwalton1964]

Agree, apart from the last paragraph.

The first goal the keeper puts into Stevens' path.

The second is a direct result of a foul.

Possibly but it's a great cross and finish, the cross was too good for the keeper to deal with. The second, yes a foul but one he probably had to make. Is a foul such a bad error ? You can rewind every single goal ever scored to something someone should have done to prevent the build up or finish but I wouldn't class a bit of decision making as errors as such, it's part and parcel of a fast moving game. Errors to me are the more farcical stuff, like the third. On this basis every goal ever scored is preventable and therefore, what, less worthy ?

 

[Robie]

I need someone, with a better football brain than me, to explain what Taylor means by 'in control out of possession'. By definition, this must mean the other team had the ball and therefore in control of the possession. Considering that said team were 1, 2 or 3 nil up it seems the most ridiculous of comments from Taylor - or any other manager who wants to peddle that rubbish when his team need goals to get a point even.

Unless that opposing team are going to boot the ball in their own goal how the hell is being 'in control out of possession' anything positive ? Brannagan, McGuane & Co could still be out there now, 12 hours later, moving it all over the pitch and getting back behind the ball in numbers whenever Shrewsbury had the ball. It was that easy. Oxford had complete control of that game - in possession and out of possession. At no point did Shrewsbury have any control or dictation of play.

Also, Taylor says three errors. One maybe, in the 96th minute, but the first goal was a hell of a cross and first time finish on the back post, no obvious error. The second was a good delivery, balls falls for Oxford and a tidy finish, again no obvious error. I know these under pressure managers will have their chairman listening intently to every word but just hold your hand up and admit you were outclassed from minute one.

Whilst I agree with you for the score line last night… Manning said similar after Exeter because they had the majority of the possession but the possession was hemmed in to their own half. We controlled where they had possession letting them knock it around at the back.
Obviously means nothing when you end up loosing the game.

 

[holdsteady]

Agree, apart from the last paragraph.

The first goal the keeper puts into Stevens' path.

The second is a direct result of a foul.

If you go back far enough though nearly all goals come as a result of a mistake, good play and pressure by the opposition causes mistakes and then they have to be good enough to make the most of the mistakes you have caused. Its a bit of a managers cop out to point out that goals come from mistakes, they all do really, its certainly a weak excuse when you lose 3-0 and never threaten yourself.

I mean Cheltenham are half way there to creating error less football, they just need to figure out how to stop conceding.

 

[dickwalton1964]

When you lose 3-0 that's a bit mental to claim you managed any of that, if Harris has his shooting boots on yesterday we win 5-0 without getting out of second gear. I will predict Taylor will be gone within a month or two from there, when the desperate excuses start then its never to far away.

Agree re Taylor.

I think under pressure managers use that jargon to bamboozle the hierarchy into thinking there is something a bit more scientific to being totally outclassed.

 

[bazzer9461]

I'm getting to like Stevens game by game and I thought he was superb against Stevenage but tonight he was class and the goal was class ( GOT MY VOTE)thought long had a poor game and his passing was awful tonight and Harris didn't have the best of games tonight. Marriott scored again and hopefully be in yellow in January as I think we are still crying out for an out and out striker on tonights proformance would of had a field day with the crosses that went into the box tonight.

No thank you to Marriot

 

[Osei Yaw]

That comment from Taylor is similar to some of the waffle Robinson would say last season after we had lost 2-0 but 'controlled possession'. The only reason we may have controlled possession last season was because the opposition were 2-0 up and didn't need to bother. Same as last night, Shrews may have done well 'out of possession' because once we were 2 up against 10 men we were done.

We only scored the third because it would have been rude for Leigh not to shoot when that opportunity presented itself.

 

[m]

Possibly but it's a great cross and finish, the cross was too good for the keeper to deal with. The second, yes a foul but one he probably had to make. Is a foul such a bad error ? You can rewind every single goal ever scored to something someone should have done to prevent the build up or finish but I wouldn't class a bit of decision making as errors as such, it's part and parcel of a fast moving game. Errors to me are the more farcical stuff, like the third. On this basis every goal ever scored is preventable and therefore, what, less worthy ?

I'm inclined to agree.

I can see his argument though.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

I agree with the poster who said it was weirdly dull! The two best bits were the goals at either end of the game.

We were very professional, Shrewsbury were so passive it was unbelievable. They seemed to have absolutely no belief they could get back on even terms at 1-0 and once we scored again it turned to a passing training session for us. They'd better get their arses in gear or they are going down. We didn't have to expend that much energy, which is good for Saturday.

An amazing turn around from last season, when a 3-0 home win would have been greeted by me as the dawning of a bright new era - now I am thinking I won't remember much from the game in a month's time!

 

[dickwalton1964]

Whilst I agree with you for the score line last night… Manning said similar after Exeter because they had the majority of the possession but the possession was hemmed in to their own half. We controlled where they had possession letting them knock it around at the back.
Obviously means nothing when you end up loosing the game.

Yeah I get the controlling the game out of possession when you're 2 or 3 up, that's perfectly acceptable and understandable to manage a game that way. A bit like how we did last night when they had 10 minutes in the second half but created nothing. We sat in, got men back and created plenty of counters in that time - nothing wrong with that. Taylor though seems proud that they were supposedly in control out of possession yet creating absolutely nothing while losing a football match. Seems illogical from him.

 

[Older Shotts]

I agree with the poster who said it was weirdly dull! The two best bits were the goals at either end of the game.

We were very professional, Shrewsbury were so passive it was unbelievable. They seemed to have absolutely no belief they could get back on even terms at 1-0 and once we scored again it turned to a passing training session for us. They'd better get their arses in gear or they are going down. We didn't have to expend that much energy, which is good for Saturday.

An amazing turn around from last season, when a 3-0 home win would have been greeted by me as the dawning of a bright new era - now I am thinking I won't remember much from the game in a month's time!

Yeah i did think to myself we are trying to bore them into submission. All the passing left and right and back left and back right along the back 3/5 was dull as... but it worked.

 

[RyanioBirdio]

Was Bodin injured?

Official match report suggests so:

“The overworked Marosi tipped a Cameron Brannagan drive over after 32 minutes, but with Marcus McGuane running the show alongside Brannagan, the U’s were in complete control at the break, although forced into a change at that point with Tyler Goodrham replacing Billy Bodin for the second 45 minutes.”

 

[Osei Yaw]

It was another game last night where everyone played well, some really well (certainly no bad performances) and man of the match could've been one of 4 or 5 players. This is certainly a hallmark of this side - everyone knowing their role and that of the others round them, and as a result everyone just gets on with functioning in a well oiled machine. No superstars, just good players who have been properly moulded into a really good side.

I gave my motm pick to Moore. Defensively he was very sound but he used the ball really well. From the first minute he was moving it quickly, either out wide or up the pitch. Probably doesn't get the credit he deserves for how well he uses the ball but there was so much one touch passing from him and it helped set the tempo for the rest of the side. I just checked and he attempted 128 passes last night, 115 of those found our player and the majority of those were passes with a purpose, not just aimlessly rolling it round the back, but trying to move to quickly to be the start of something. There was one really noticeable lofted ball in the first half through to Stevens, I think. Nothing came of that one but if teams are going to sit back all the way back then it's nice to know our centre back has got that sort of pass in him.

 

[Followtheox1]

I can see why Manning goes with the back 3 he does but I do think it limits our ability to play out. They are probably our worst three defenders for distribution and it showed at times last night. I'm not complaining as such given our results but against some teams giving the ball away like they did consistently will bite us. On another note, Wycombe were picking up a head of steam and can be quite a dangerous team so I'm not too fussed Pompey beat them. A draw would have been great.

 

[Followtheox1]

It was another game last night where everyone played well, some really well (certainly no bad performances) and man of the match could've been one of 4 or 5 players. This is certainly a hallmark of this side - everyone knowing their role and that of the others round them, and as a result everyone just gets on with functioning in a well oiled machine. No superstars, just good players who have been properly moulded into a really good side.

I gave my motm pick to Moore. Defensively he was very sound but he used the ball really well. From the first minute he was moving it quickly, either out wide or up the pitch. Probably doesn't get the credit he deserves for how well he uses the ball but there was so much one touch passing from him and it helped set the tempo for the rest of the side. I just checked and he attempted 128 passes last night, 115 of those found our player and the majority of those were passes with a purpose, not just aimlessly rolling it round the back, but trying to move to quickly to be the start of something. There was one really noticeable lofted ball in the first half through to Stevens, I think. Nothing came of that one but if teams are going to sit back all the way back then it's nice to know our centre back has got that sort of pass in him.

Really? Great defensively but Moore gave it away a number of times in the second half.

 

[dickwalton1964]

I agree with the poster who said it was weirdly dull! The two best bits were the goals at either end of the game.

We were very professional, Shrewsbury were so passive it was unbelievable. They seemed to have absolutely no belief they could get back on even terms at 1-0 and once we scored again it turned to a passing training session for us. They'd better get their arses in gear or they are going down. We didn't have to expend that much energy, which is good for Saturday.

An amazing turn around from last season, when a 3-0 home win would have been greeted by me as the dawning of a bright new era - now I am thinking I won't remember much from the game in a month's time!

I sort of know where you're coming from. Under Robinson though we'd probably have poured forward, conceded and had a heart stopping end to the game. I have to say I'm quite enjoying these last 10-15 minutes in cruise control with the opposition struggling to get the ball off us. It's new to the fans as we haven't seen this sort of control in matches. Albeit on an entirely different level, it's a bit like the way Manchester City win games. They get ahead, keep the ball for ever, strangle the life out of the game and invariably get a second and third to put the gloss on the score line.

 

[holdsteady]

I agree with the poster who said it was weirdly dull! The two best bits were the goals at either end of the game.

We were very professional, Shrewsbury were so passive it was unbelievable. They seemed to have absolutely no belief they could get back on even terms at 1-0 and once we scored again it turned to a passing training session for us. They'd better get their arses in gear or they are going down. We didn't have to expend that much energy, which is good for Saturday.

An amazing turn around from last season, when a 3-0 home win would have been greeted by me as the dawning of a bright new era - now I am thinking I won't remember much from the game in a month's time!

The game drifted at times, but at no point once we went in front could you ever see anything other a comfortable win, think we played within ourselves against a relegation candidate, hopefully that has left us fresher for a tougher game on Saturday. I do think it looked like a cup match where the higher league side canters to a win without overexerting themselves.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

I sort of know where you're coming from. Under Robinson though we'd probably have poured forward, conceded and had a heart stopping end to the game. I have to say I'm quite enjoying these last 10-15 minutes in cruise control with the opposition struggling to get the ball off us. It's new to the fans as we haven't seen this sort of control in matches. Albeit on an entirely different level, it's a bit like the way Manchester City win games. They get ahead, keep the ball for ever, strangle the life out of the game and invariably get a second and third to put the gloss on the score line.

I am not pining for the KR days, believe me! It wasn't a criticism of the team or manager really - and certainly not of us over all this season. I think it was more the way Shrewsbury seemed to rather give up, the lack of a vocal opposition following to spark the crowd into life and the sheer ease with which we passed the ball about and totally controlled the game. It was a good win, a professional performance and a well-deserved 3 points. Not our fault the opposition was so passive.

 

[Joey]

After 2-0 and the sending off, LM's thinking about the 12.30 KO match against Rovers on Saturday

Absolutely, but I wish he'd had some consideration for my bets at 325/1 and 850/1 respectively. Manning out.