Home Match Day Thread 09/04/25: Championship - OUFC v QPR

[Northstandboy]

 

[Toe knee]

As much as I like a good old long throw in into the box, every now & then to mix it up.
That long throw now is getting ridiculous ,I swear its from the half way line now.
It's alright from near the corner flag ,but half way line come on!!!!!

 

[JOHN BOY]

This is where Rowett fails big time. He is the man who observes the players in training every day but it seems that it doesn't make any difference what other players do as he will stick with the same 13 or 14 even when they are carrying injuries. QPR were so much more energetic last night and I do wonder if we spend enough time on the training pitch as I know Rowett has quoted before that he does minimal training wise to save energy for the game but it doesn't always work like that.

I know alot on here believe he has done wonders in turning this team around from where it was but for me he has done a bang average job and last night proved that even more.

But he's working with bang average players.

 

[90syeIlow]

But he's working with bang average players.

The bang average players that perform better and show more creativity when they play with freedom instead of his uninspiring tactics?

 

[MiddleBartonYellow]

But he's working with bang average players.

I would say below average for this level, not all of them but most.

 

[brassmonkey]

Placheta. Why didn't he shoot when the keeper passed straight to him in the 1st half.

 

[Big Ron]

Placheta. Why didn't he shoot when the keeper passed straight to him in the 1st half.

Quite - particularly as he been trying his luck frequently (and poorly) since that worldy in December His decision making is generally poor and he is an incredibly frustrating player.

 

[Village-Yellow]

We win a game, we are top flight

We lose a game, league 1.

Rinse and repeat.

Usual stuff....

But tbf, at this stage of the season and given our league standing we are rapidly getting to this point.

In a few games time we could literally be in this situation of winning to stay up or losing and dropping down.

Bloody nerves are shot.

UTY's

 

[Lost Marbles]

The boy was traumatised, his first time seeing Oxford lose in person, tears were flowing, we were part of mass exodus I'm afraid, didn't want to put him through anymore trauma

My kid's first Oxford games were insane considering we got promoted - that's how to get them used to losing!

Cambridge away - lost 2-0
Cheltenham away - lost 2-0
Peterborough away - lost 3-0
Coventry away (FA Cup) - saw his first Oxford goals but lost 6-2
Reading home - first point 1-1
Shrewsbury away - 1-1

(Then Burton away and Peterborough home in the same week, followed by a trip to Wembley!)

 

[ubermeistervonmeat]

Once again we fail to capitalise on an opportunity to take us up the table and I am getting really sick of it. How many chances are we given where we could go up to the dizzy heights of 16th and fail to take it? Today was about building a gap and improving our goal difference leaving us only really needing one more win but once again we are well and truly in the crap. QPR were absolutely awful too and to gift them two goals like that and not even compete until an hour passed is just not acceptable. It's completely undone all our fine work against Sheffield United.

True - being honest if we do stay up it will be a bit lucky (like Plymouth last season) so we will need to seriously strengthen if we want to avoid their second season syndrome

 

[ThatSlopesATwelfthMan]

Credit to QPR last night, they did a job on us. Two limited sides where energy levels rather than technique made the difference. Brown's injury is a big blow. Cam is obviously not fit, he was struggling all night, particularly on the turn. By the end he was wincing every time he changed direction. Think we missed Moore too - especially after the early goal where we needed to just hold the ball and make them run around a bit to get a grip on things.

Dembele has clearly been instructed to play to his strengths and dribble without fear out wide. Thought he had some good moments including the assist and a great bit of skill in the first half which led to a cut back we really should have been onto. But with absolutely no midfield control it was far too easy for QPR to double up on our wide players and effectively kill any threat.

In defensive areas or centrally Dembele is an absolute liability though.

Some tough decisions ahead for Saturday. Can't help thinking we need to focus on fitness and physicality over anything else right now.

Detail: The ball boy thing with vaulks was because he provided a ball that hadn't been dried off properly.

 

[DannyW]

Credit to QPR last night, they did a job on us. Two limited sides where energy levels rather than technique made the difference. Brown's injury is a big blow. Cam is obviously not fit, he was struggling all night, particularly on the turn. By the end he was wincing every time he changed direction. Think we missed Moore too - especially after the early goal where we needed to just hold the ball and make them run around a bit to get a grip on things.

Dembele has clearly been instructed to play to his strengths and dribble without fear out wide. Thought he had some good moments including the assist and a great bit of skill in the first half which led to a cut back we really should have been onto. But with absolutely no midfield control it was far too easy for QPR to double up on our wide players and effectively kill any threat.

In defensive areas or centrally Dembele is an absolute liability though.

Some tough decisions ahead for Saturday. Can't help thinking we need to focus on fitness and physicality over anything else right now.

Detail: The ball boy thing with vaulks was because he provided a ball that hadn't been dried off properly.

I would have expected with our reliance on the long throw to have the ball boys fully briefed on their roll in this, if they are not it should be addressed asap.

 

[Up The Manor]

Probably the worst 45 minutes of football since the David Kemp era.
Everything about it was anti social football mentality that only resulted in one outcome .

 

[Jonny G]

Placheta and Dembele are just not good enough for Championship level, too inconsistent, don't deliver enough chances. goals or even a pattern of play where their team mates can play around them knowing roughly what they're going to do. Rodrigues also not good enough and - although I personally thought him better than Rodrigues first half of the season, Rowett obviously doesn't think that El Miz is good enough either.
Harris works hard but clearly isn't a first choice Championship number 9 who'll consistently provide a goal threat, whilst Bradshaw looks to have clever touches he appears to be winding down his career and - apart from one season a couple of years ago - seems to have a similar threat level to Harris. Romeny also doesn't appear to have the qualities needed for a starting forward at this level.
All of this means that we have very little threat, as evidenced by our leading goal scorer having 6 goals and Leigh, Brown and Helik all being within at most 3 goals of being joint top scorer.
The recruitment in this area was incredibly poor in both summer and January windows and we need a huge clear out and at least six options coming in who have enough quality to be fighting for starting positions (3 or 4 will need to start) for next season.
Finally, a word on Dembele - as above I don't think he's good enough, but Rowett decided to keep him on and change his position last night. Siriki then did what he often does, which is get caught on the ball with seemingly about 3 different options going through his brain and the delayed decision getting him caught in possession. Rowett then subbed him before play re-started after the goal had been scored and brought on Mattos. Dembele needs to improve, but that goal was on Rowett.

 

[Osei Yaw]

I know it's natural to apportion the blame for yesterday's result, but I've woken up and found acceptance. It's not the ballboys, it's not GR (who has a ppg we'd have died for after sacking Des) it's not Siriki, Cumming or Brown, we were just beaten by a better team on the night; we were well off it collectively.

It's okay to accept that. Twenty-two other teams in our league would have barely batted an eyelid at that result; this is the Championship. I was guilty of being too high after the Sheff Utd win and failed to see how we wouldn't come away with points last night, but there are maybe eight teams in this league who have earned (or bought) that entitlement, and we are far from being one of them.

Feet well and truly back on the ground. Still think a win and a draw at Cardiff will see us safe, but it's going to be tough, and I'm a little ashamed I allowed myself to think otherwise. Looks like the players did too.

Your post comes across as very well balanced and I don't think you should feel ashamed that you thought we were almost safe. Fans should be allowed to get excited and optimistic, otherwise what's the point?

Saturday was an absolutely excellent performance in every way, and it was justifiable to feel confident going into last night's match. The fans were very good last night. Things understandably fell flat when they got their third, but we were loud and supportive even at 2-0 down. We can think whatever we want before or after a game... the main chance we get to do something positive to affect the result is during a game, and there is no arrogance or entitlement about our support recently. Even if people felt we had a good chance of winning last night then there weren't many turning up and sitting in silence expecting us to roll them over for an easy 3-0. Everyone seems to know we need to dig in and grind the points out, which is reflected in the support we've had over 90 minutes in the last 2 home games.

We need to keep it up for the rest of the season to help grind out the points we need.

 

[Big Ron]

True - being honest if we do stay up it will be a bit lucky (like Plymouth last season) so we will need to seriously strengthen if we want to avoid their second season syndrome

I would suggest that if we stay up there is nothing lucky that about that - over 46 games we would have won more points than the teams below us. I don't disagree we would need to strengthen but why 'lucky'?

 

[Vancouver Yellow]

I would suggest that if we stay up there is nothing lucky that about that - over 46 games we would have won more points than the teams below us. I don't disagree we would need to strengthen but why 'lucky'?

We’d be lucky that there’s three teams in the league that are poorer than last nights performance.

 

[PottersRightBoot]

Placheta and Dembele are just not good enough for Championship level, too inconsistent, don't deliver enough chances. goals or even a pattern of play where their team mates can play around them knowing roughly what they're going to do. Rodrigues also not good enough and - although I personally thought him better than Rodrigues first half of the season, Rowett obviously doesn't think that El Miz is good enough either.
Harris works hard but clearly isn't a first choice Championship number 9 who'll consistently provide a goal threat, whilst Bradshaw looks to have clever touches he appears to be winding down his career and - apart from one season a couple of years ago - seems to have a similar threat level to Harris. Romeny also doesn't appear to have the qualities needed for a starting forward at this level.
All of this means that we have very little threat, as evidenced by our leading goal scorer having 6 goals and Leigh, Brown and Helik all being within at most 3 goals of being joint top scorer.
The recruitment in this area was incredibly poor in both summer and January windows and we need a huge clear out and at least six options coming in who have enough quality to be fighting for starting positions (3 or 4 will need to start) for next season.
Finally, a word on Dembele - as above I don't think he's good enough, but Rowett decided to keep him on and change his position last night. Siriki then did what he often does, which is get caught on the ball with seemingly about 3 different options going through his brain and the delayed decision getting him caught in possession. Rowett then subbed him before play re-started after the goal had been scored and brought on Mattos. Dembele needs to improve, but that goal was on Rowett.

What about the goal he created though?

Dembele did alright last night and needs to stay in the team. I bet our last 5 opponents would be delighted to see him benched.

 

[Mateo Corbo's Tackle]

We just did not start the game. We were so passive.There was no intensity.

It was apparent after just a few minutes that Romeny was playing in too high a position and we were seriously outnumbered in the middle of the park especially as Rangers did not play with an orthodox centre forward.

This allowed Rangers to dominate centrally and they were able to easily pass through us and around us. Brannagan and Vaulks were really struggling . It was six minutes before we were able to muster a passing sequence such was Rangers early dominance. The early pressure led to a cheap corner being given up and Edwards was able to easily flick in a header which Cumming appeared to fumble into the net. It was a disastrous start to such an important match and it was to get worse.

Losing Brown after 12 minutes was a hammer blow. Sloppy play again meant Brown had to go for a 40-60 and there was a huge sound on impact with Brown
coming off second best in the block tackle with Sam Field. I pray the damage is not too serious. It was similar to the injury Brannagan picked up against Stoke last September that saw him out for six weeks or so.

Another cheap corner saw Rangers in the second phase float a ball to the back post from where they made first contact with the looping header taking Cumming out of the game. Field was left a yard out with ball at his feet but Romeny knocked it past Cumming for an O.G.

QPR were dominant, winning all the duels especially aerially.

We improved second half - it could not get any worse - but still made basic errors and gave away so many free-kicks. We lack physicality in too many areas.

With sub Mills halving the deficit and Rangers on the rack with a further 11 minutes added on, Dembele squandered possession cheaply and Yang was played in
and was able to shoot across Cumming with no defender in sight.

It was a really bad night.

Excellent synopsis.

Why can a normal person on a forum (no disrespect to @West Oxon U’s) see this - and not our manager?

Everyone is welcome to their opinions, and I'm sure that plenty think that mine are a load of bobbins. That's fine.
But I just can't buy the "GR not culpable" argument. His ppg is good, yes, but let's not forget that the first two wins were nothing to do with GR's management style - these were proper pioneering, players being able to express themselves, kinds of performances. Take those away and the ppg isn't as rosy.
And since then, when influence has been introduced, tell me a game we've been excellent in, all round - not just in defence.

 

[Bicester Yellow]

Credit to QPR last night, they did a job on us. Two limited sides where energy levels rather than technique made the difference. Brown's injury is a big blow. Cam is obviously not fit, he was struggling all night, particularly on the turn. By the end he was wincing every time he changed direction. Think we missed Moore too - especially after the early goal where we needed to just hold the ball and make them run around a bit to get a grip on things.

Dembele has clearly been instructed to play to his strengths and dribble without fear out wide. Thought he had some good moments including the assist and a great bit of skill in the first half which led to a cut back we really should have been onto. But with absolutely no midfield control it was far too easy for QPR to double up on our wide players and effectively kill any threat.

In defensive areas or centrally Dembele is an absolute liability though.

Some tough decisions ahead for Saturday. Can't help thinking we need to focus on fitness and physicality over anything else right now.

Detail: The ball boy thing with vaulks was because he provided a ball that hadn't been dried off properly.

But in that situation Brannagan needs to say that he isn’t fit and that he needs the Op now.

Yes we lose him for the season but he’s actually a liability at the moment

 

[Bicester Yellow]

We’d be lucky that there’s three teams in the league that are poorer than last nights performance.

We may just be lucky enough that a lot of the sides around us have to play each other and may nullify each other.

 

[Big Ron]

We’d be lucky that there’s three teams in the league that are poorer than last nights performance.

That ignores the very point I was making - last night was a terrible performance but the season is 46 games long, where you end up is where you deserve to be based on performances over that game span, there is nothing lucky about that.

 

[Vancouver Yellow]

Excellent synopsis.

Why can a normal person on a forum (no disrespect to @West Oxon U’s) see this - and not our manager?

Everyone is welcome to their opinions, and I'm sure that plenty think that mine are a load of bobbins. That's fine.
But I just can't buy the "GR not culpable" argument. His ppg is good, yes, but let's not forget that the first two wins were nothing to do with GR's management style - these were proper pioneering, players being able to express themselves, kinds of performances. Take those away and the ppg isn't as rosy.
And since then, when influence has been introduced, tell me a game we've been excellent in, all round - not just in defence.

Yeah I agree. The new manager bounce came in at a time when we were playing lower table teams, so it all worked out fairly well for him. But the longer time has gone on, and the more he has instilled the Rowett-esque playing style and tactics, we look scared to try and play.

That’s what’s bothering me, when we were playing well and getting results, we were far more dynamic in our approach. Trying different things, players using initiative. But over the past 2 months we look like sticks in the mud. No movement, no general flow to our game. It’s just hoof and keep the fingers crossed, and stick a long throw in even if you’re by the halfway line. Long throws certainly have their place, but I found it quite embarrassing last night when we were taking them on the halfway line. It also kills and momentum we might have (not that we really did have any but the point stands.)

I’ve heard him repeat many times how we are the underdogs in the league etc etc and it’s a tough division and all that, but we all know this. I don’t really care. We’ve seen this team play with fluidity this season, and actually look threatening! I’d rather see us try and play ourselves up the pitch as opposed to not even bother.

 

[Vancouver Yellow]

That ignores the very point I was making - last night was a terrible performance but the season is 46 games long, where you end up is where you deserve to be based on performances over that game span, there is nothing lucky about that.

Well, yeah. That’s the whole basis of a football league, isn’t it? You collect points and where you are at the end of the season determines what happens to your club.

But we would definitely be lucky to stay up if we put out performances like that last night over the next 5 games.

 

[holdsteady]

Well, yeah. That’s the whole basis of a football league, isn’t it? You collect points and where you are at the end of the season determines what happens to your club.

But we would definitely be lucky to stay up if we put our performances like that last night over the next 5 games.

We won't stay up if we play like we did in the first half last night for the next five games, we won't pick up another point doing that. But if Sheffield United win the league will they have been lucky because we shut them out for one game? No, its not what you do in your best or worst game its what you do over all 46, no one ends up in any position through luck, good or bad, 46 games against 23 teams split home and away sees to that. Its why the covid shortened season was such a travesty, thats the season some teams got lucky.

 

[Followtheox1]

But in that situation Brannagan needs to say that he isn’t fit and that he needs the Op now.

Yes we lose him for the season but he’s actually a liability at the moment

I thought he did a decent job against Sheffield United and Watford recently. He wasn't amazing last night ( nobody was) but he still had two of our best efforts. Describing a player like him as a liability based on one game is the over the top reaction I expect to hear on here after a loss to be honest.

 

[Vancouver Yellow]

We won't stay up if we play like we did in the first half last night for the next five games, we won't pick up another point doing that. But if Sheffield United win the league will they have been lucky because we shut them out for one game? No, its not what you do in your best or worst game its what you do over all 46, no one ends up in any position through luck, good or bad, 46 games against 23 teams split home and away sees to that. Its why the covid shortened season was such a travesty, thats the season some teams got lucky.

If we played like we did last night, or anywhere close to that level, and stayed up - we would be lucky.

We were unlucky to lose a point at Coventry when Will Vaulks misplaced his backpass and we lost in the last minute. How valuable would that point be in our current situation?

Luck does come into football. Of course it does.

 

[Big Ron]

We may just be lucky enough that a lot of the sides around us have to play each other and may nullify each other.

But over the season, which is what we are talking about, they were always going to have to play each other. The FA haven't suddenly redrawn the fixture list, making us the 'lucky' recipients of their largesse.

As Vancouver Yellow points out, there is certainly a lot of luck in football, one way or the other, but I would suggest that over 46 games that balances itself out.

 

[Bicester Yellow]

I thought he did a decent job against Sheffield United and Watford recently. He wasn't amazing last night ( nobody was) but he still had two of our best efforts. Describing a player like him as a liability based on one game is the over the top reaction I expect to hear on here after a loss to be honest.

He is a liability if he can’t get around the pitch and close the space down? There was massive gaps that were left because of him and Vaulks not being able to get around the pitch.

Just because he’s been here years doesn’t make him immune from criticism.

It probably isn’t an opinion had by many but it’s mine and I think we’ve overestimated how good he is at this level. He’s just okay, he is nothing standout of special.

 

[Bicester Yellow]

But over the season, which is what we are talking about, they were always going to have to play each other. The FA haven't suddenly redrawn the fixture list. making us the 'lucky' recipients of their largesse.

As Vancouver Yellow points out, there is certainly a lot of luck in football, one way or the other, but I would suggest that over 46 games that balances itself out.

Definitely it does, if we go down we will deserve to go down.

Over the last 2 months we have been playing relegation standard football.

 

[Steve Gilbert]

We’d be lucky that there’s three teams in the league that are poorer than last nights performance.

How many of the bottom 8 won in this round of mid week fixtures?