Home Match Day Thread 09/01/23: FA Cup 3rd Round - OUFC v Arsenal

[holdsteady]

I thought our midfield 3 were excellent. I knew that would be our best area given the talent of those 3- I genuinely think they'd comfortably be a competitive midfield in the Championship (we'd need reinforcements for strength in depth of course). Unfortunately the rest of the team isn't anywhere near that.

Anderson is dynamite and exactly the reason why lower leagues can be fun- can be spectacular but probably won't be. He's a lunatic and a joy to watch.

Bate will be in the PL in years to come.

Murphy is exactly what you don't want in that game or any other. On his heels. Zero going forward and offers nothing in terms of work rate against Martinelli. He should be a bit embarrassed.

Also- having a go at the Arsenal shirts because you can't see the numbers. Get a grip, it's pathetic. Well done Arsenal. Using their profile to promote a vitally important cause.

Thinking about next season already- let's plod along to safety and hopefully and give time to GOD etc.

Those shirts were virtue signalling, what difference will wearing them make? Could still of had the names and numbers on them and been making that gesture as well.

 

[BrockBuster]

Mcguane was good again tonight. Unlucky with the one mistake

Pretty sure if you looked at stats for penetrative forward passes, Sam Long has probably played a lot more when he's been at CB than McGuane has at CDM. Just think he hinders as much as he helps for that role. Plus offers very little defensively.

Appreciative that possession and switching the play is incredibly important, but the amount of time he plays balls to people in worse positions who have little or no options is starting to do my head in. Don't think I've ever seen him take a risk with a pass.

 

[Older Shotts]

Visible numbers or names would've helped me massively, as bar Saka, Nketia and the keeper I had no idea who any of the other players were. Had to keep asking my boy.
Me: "who scored that?"
Him: "Alneny"
Me: "whos Huen Min Son?"
Him: "who?"
Me: "the korean looking chap who looks like Son"
Him: "tomiyasu"
Me: "whos this bloke running at Anderson?"
Him: "martinelli"

TBF its probably down to me having zero interest in the greed league, and my total ignorance of most teams and players in it.

 

[Hook]

He can do a job when Bate goes back in the summer!

 

[Eaststanding]

Those shirts were virtue signalling, what difference will wearing them make? Could still of had the names and numbers on them and been making that gesture as well.

Virtue signalling?!
Do you know anyone that’s been affected by knife crime? Have you spoken to anyone who’s responded to reports of yet another stabbing? Have you spoken to anyone that is trying to intervene and divert youngsters from knife crime?
Any, and I mean any, publicity that is given to understanding and dealing with knife crime is a positive in my book and that match last night, broadcast live to millions of people, is one of the biggest platforms to do that. Good on Arsenal for getting involved and ITV for making sure viewers knew what it was about.
Educate yourself.

 

[uptheus]

Hmmm...

Man City in previous games

 

[uptheus]

Going forward I agree Murphy was on his heels and reactive but defensively I disagree. He put in a couple of excellent tackles on Tierney and a couple on Martinelli after chasing back. Could he have been better, yes, but he did offer workrate and say he should be embarrassed is over the top.

He was too weak, and needed to get hold of the ball rather than trying little flicks here and there, thus losing possession to easily.

 

[holdsteady]

Virtue signalling?!
Do you know anyone that’s been affected by knife crime? Have you spoken to anyone who’s responded to reports of yet another stabbing? Have you spoken to anyone that is trying to intervene and divert youngsters from knife crime?
Any, and I mean any, publicity that is given to understanding and dealing with knife crime is a positive in my book and that match last night, broadcast live to millions of people, is one of the biggest platforms to do that. Good on Arsenal for getting involved and ITV for making sure viewers knew what it was about.
Educate yourself.

I got stabbed in the leg once, does that count?

I don’t think Arsenal doing this will make any difference, as I doubt you have ever been involved in the sort of lifestyle that leads to knife crime I doubt you can understand how little Arsenal wearing white football shirts will make a difference.

It’s virtue signalling, it’s to make people not involved feel like they are doing something.

 

[derek]

Eddie Nketieh being the worst of the lot for that.

Every time

 

[Brahma]

I got stabbed in the leg once, does that count?

I don’t think Arsenal doing this will make any difference, as I doubt you have ever been involved in the sort of lifestyle that leads to knife crime I doubt you can understand how little Arsenal wearing white football shirts will make a difference.

It’s virtue signalling, it’s to make people not involved feel like they are doing something.

It's got you talking about it.

Job done.

 

[Eaststanding]

I got stabbed in the leg once, does that count?

I don’t think Arsenal doing this will make any difference, as I doubt you have ever been involved in the sort of lifestyle that leads to knife crime I doubt you can understand how little Arsenal wearing white football shirts will make a difference.

It’s virtue signalling, it’s to make people not involved feel like they are doing something.

You couldn’t be more wrong.
Professionally, I’ve seen and experienced the utter waste of life due to knife crime, and I’ve seen and worked with good people working their arses off to try and prevent it happening again.
If wearing white shirts gets people talking about knife crime, and we’re doing exactly that, it is a good thing. The more people talk about it, the more interest is generated, the better understanding of who, and what is needed to tackle knife crime.
Virtue signalling it is not.

 

[Fred]

When the team was announced, I remember thinking there was no way we would win the game as we had no firepower and couldn't see where the goals were coming from. Unfortunately, that proved to be the case. As others have said, a new striker is absolutely essential.

Shock!
You thought we wouldn't Win, can't imagine why?

 

[mooro]

Football wise - everyone ( incl management) can be proud of their efforts, we dealt comfortably with everything they could muster for an hour or more, and kept trying to get something back even after the game had gone.

Pluses - great coverage across all platforms (ITV, BBC match report, talksport build up and commentary) of the stadium banner and background; interesting to hear across the same platforms how we as a club are regarded, particularly in terms of how we try to play; minutes for the youngsters

Negatives - the disrespectful attitude of the arsenal players ( most notably the time spent lining up for kick-off after scoring (I actually timed the 3rd goal and it was 1m 45secs before they were ready) :
After already having to pay the £30 to become a member in order to get the tickets, I now have a £70 parking ticket for parking on the verge and the cost of replacing a burst tyre to add on top

 

[captainox]

We could have Harry Kane in the box, the final ball is often very poor.

O'Donkor runs about more than Taylor - of course he does, he's an 18 year old pro trying to make an impression.
Taylor is at the other end of his career and has had to adapt his game to his physical ability (and will further). Taylor of 3 or 4 years ago would have got on the end of that ball yesterday and had the opportunity to take a proper shot.

We've had enough older strikers/players to know they're not going to go charging around.

The main frustration of Taylor for me is that because he isn't getting chances in the box, he goes searching for the ball, either out wide or much deeper. He's a poacher, always has been with a few 1 on 1 goals added in. Stay in the box and await the delivery.

Though perhaps some of the problem is, it's a different type of delivery coming from a proper winger than it used to be from a Henry type player. There's definitely not an understanding with Murphy/Wildschut yet - as I'm not entirely sure they know themselves their intended plan when they get the ball.

This midfield 3 works, but it doesn't offer much for a Taylor type striker and is heavily reliant on the wingers to produce something. We seem to have moved away from a side that compliments Taylor's strengths, and are ending up with him having to do things that don't suit his game, despite not really having an issue in previous seasons. It's not wonder that he looks like a shadow of his former self.

Spent the day trying to think of a striker who would thrive on the current style, system and personnel, and I keep coming back to some form of big targetman awaiting balls into the box from the wingers.

I'd much prefer us to try a front 2 and perhaps Taylor/GOD would work. But then you're completely changing the set-up and probably dropping one of the midfield 3, if you intend to keep the wingers as standard wingers.

 

[tonyw]

It's a shame - usually when the World Cup introduces a good innovation, and it works, the rest of football takes it up pretty quickly. A few years ago, it was the shaving foam at free kicks. This year, I was hoping it would be the injury time expansion. Because the World Cup refs genuinely did add on wasted time at the end of the game, such that 8-10 minutes became the norm, there were remarkably less time-wasting antics during the tournament.....because what's the point in rolling around, taking three minute goal celebrations and generally mucking about if it's not actually going to make the game any shorter.
But from what we saw last night - and what I've seen of games since the World Cup ended - English refs seem to have no inclination to follow suit on this.

Other quick hits:

For anyone saying 'Oh, Matty Taylor is only 32/ about to turn 33 - he's not done yet'......well, Jamie Mackie was also only 32/about to turn 33 when he joined us.
It's not an unusual age to lose a yard of pace, and for both of those guys losing a yard has a hell of an impact on their games, and means that they're not good for much more than shithousery. Taylor looks like he should be taking over the Mackie "15-20 minutes at the end to wind up the opposition" role, but we don't have alternatives to start games.
(I think it's unfair to expect more than the occasional start out of GOD at this stage of his development......though I do hope one of those occasional starts is on Saturday). Work to do over the next three weeks.

Also, thought Gabriel was awesome last night. Won everything in the air in almost every scenario, and half the time was so unbothered when he was winning his headers that he was able to cushion the ball perfectly for his teammates. Was like watching Matty Elliott play in the 90s!

 

[tatabanya]

It's a shame - usually when the World Cup introduces a good innovation, and it works, the rest of football takes it up pretty quickly. A few years ago, it was the shaving foam at free kicks. This year, I was hoping it would be the injury time expansion. Because the World Cup refs genuinely did add on wasted time at the end of the game, such that 8-10 minutes became the norm, there were remarkably less time-wasting antics during the tournament.....because what's the point in rolling around, taking three minute goal celebrations and generally mucking about if it's not actually going to make the game any shorter.
But from what we saw last night - and what I've seen of games since the World Cup ended - English refs seem to have no inclination to follow suit on this.

Other quick hits:

For anyone saying 'Oh, Matty Taylor is only 32/ about to turn 33 - he's not done yet'......well, Jamie Mackie was also only 32/about to turn 33 when he joined us.
It's not an unusual age to lose a yard of pace, and for both of those guys losing a yard has a hell of an impact on their games, and means that they're not good for much more than shithousery. Taylor looks like he should be taking over the Mackie "15-20 minutes at the end to wind up the opposition" role, but we don't have alternatives to start games.
(I think it's unfair to expect more than the occasional start out of GOD at this stage of his development......though I do hope one of those occasional starts is on Saturday). Work to do over the next three weeks.

Also, thought Gabriel was awesome last night. Won everything in the air in almost every scenario, and half the time was so unbothered when he was winning his headers that he was able to cushion the ball perfectly for his teammates. Was like watching Matty Elliott play in the 90s!

Mackie had never been a prolific scorer and had relied on his pace and strength through his career. Once that pace had gone he was never going to be the same player.

Matt Taylor has been profile in his career. He’s been prolific in the recent past. He’s a player who comes alive in the box and, so far this season, has been starved of the service on which he had previously thrived

I get that he is out of form, and with our current inability to play to his strengths he is contributing little, but to write him off is perplexing. Stick him up front for Ipswich, Sheff Wed or Argyle and see what happens

 

[tatabanya]

It's a shame - usually when the World Cup introduces a good innovation, and it works, the rest of football takes it up pretty quickly. A few years ago, it was the shaving foam at free kicks. This year, I was hoping it would be the injury time expansion. Because the World Cup refs genuinely did add on wasted time at the end of the game, such that 8-10 minutes became the norm, there were remarkably less time-wasting antics during the tournament.....because what's the point in rolling around, taking three minute goal celebrations and generally mucking about if it's not actually going to make the game any shorter.
But from what we saw last night - and what I've seen of games since the World Cup ended - English refs seem to have no inclination to follow suit on this.

Other quick hits:

For anyone saying 'Oh, Matty Taylor is only 32/ about to turn 33 - he's not done yet'......well, Jamie Mackie was also only 32/about to turn 33 when he joined us.
It's not an unusual age to lose a yard of pace, and for both of those guys losing a yard has a hell of an impact on their games, and means that they're not good for much more than shithousery. Taylor looks like he should be taking over the Mackie "15-20 minutes at the end to wind up the opposition" role, but we don't have alternatives to start games.
(I think it's unfair to expect more than the occasional start out of GOD at this stage of his development......though I do hope one of those occasional starts is on Saturday). Work to do over the next three weeks.

Also, thought Gabriel was awesome last night. Won everything in the air in almost every scenario, and half the time was so unbothered when he was winning his headers that he was able to cushion the ball perfectly for his teammates. Was like watching Matty Elliott play in the 90s!

Mackie had never been a prolific scorer and had relied on his pace and strength through his career. Once that pace had gone he was never going to be the same player.

Matt Taylor has been profile in his career. He’s been prolific in the recent past. He’s a player who comes alive in the box and, so far this season, has been starved of the service on which he had previously thrived

I get that he is out of form, and with our current inability to play to his strengths he is contributing little, but to write him off is perplexing. Stick him up front for Ipswich, Sheff Wed or Argyle and see what happens

 

[bicesterox]

Shock!
You thought we wouldn't Win, can't imagine why?

 

[holdsteady]

Mackie had never been a prolific scorer and had relied on his pace and strength through his career. Once that pace had gone he was never going to be the same player.

Matt Taylor has been profile in his career. He’s been prolific in the recent past. He’s a player who comes alive in the box and, so far this season, has been starved of the service on which he had previously thrived

I get that he is out of form, and with our current inability to play to his strengths he is contributing little, but to write him off is perplexing. Stick him up front for Ipswich, Sheff Wed or Argyle and see what happens

He wouldn’t get in there teams so not much.

 

[ljs]

Man City in previous games

So, they were higher than 1st place?