Home Match Day Thread 10/02/2026 - MDT: Oxford United v Norwich City

[Carpy]

 

[Northstandboy]

Kassam Stadium
Tuesday 10th Feb 2026 @ 1945

 

[Barbadosyellow]

Norwich are on a good run but they're beatable if the team all give 100% and luck is on our side. COYY.

 

[Berliner]

We've got to win...nothing else really to say.
COYY

 

[Toe knee]

To stay up, We've got to win at home100%

 

[dickwalton1964]

Yes, I’m not really a drama queen when it comes to demanding results and often think a point in the Championship is a great return home or away but this does feel like one where we need all three. At some point we need wins and a home game against a bottom half side is an opportunity we have to take.

 

[Teddydee1980]

Agree, obviously, on the importance of this one. Feels like a chance to change the narrative a bit..build an actual run of results.

Could be a night where we as fans can make a difference. Going to be hard not to react if we go one down for example, nerves will translate to the players. We've simply got to give the team everything for the full 90.

 

[West Oxon U’s]

 

[Orkney Islands Yellow]

Big game, difficult game. Will need to be at our absolute best to get the three points we desperately need.

 

[derek]

Spoke to a Norwich fan yesterday who reckoned they were rubbish for the first 75 minutes against Blackburn. Here's hoping they can extend that tonight.

 

[EastStandKieran]

This has got a big game feel to it let's hope the fans that bother to turn up actually make some noise the players will need us tonight

 

[Morris Oxford]

Feels like the most important game of the season to date.

Bloomfield has been heavily backed, half of our outfield starting line up against Coventry were January signings.

Desperately need to find a way to follow one good performance with another, anything less than a win and 3 points will be a serious blow to any hopes of avoiding the drop.

It’s not just the 3 points, it’s the momentum and confidence it will bring.

 

[Sarge]

under lights, in the February rain, home win , 2-1

 

[Daviddidcotexile]

Feels like a must win

 

[Village-Yellow]

Spoke to a Norwich fan yesterday who reckoned they were rubbish for the first 75 minutes against Blackburn. Here's hoping they can extend that tonight.

They were rubbish for 75 mins then won 2-0.

I really hope they don’t extend that tonight.

We need to be on it for the full 90 plus stoppage .

Any game is winnable. We just need to be the victor

Hoping, as always, we can turn in a performance worthy of kick starting a run to keep us up.

We have to do this as we are running out of lives.

COYY’s

 

[Village-Yellow]

Yes, I’m not really a drama queen when it comes to demanding results and often think a point in the Championship is a great return home or away but this does feel like one where we need all three. At some point we need wins and a home game against a bottom half side is an opportunity we have to take.

A point can indeed be a good point, but you have to also accumulate those 3 pointers, otherwise we end up with tonight’s predicament.

I could be wrong but I doubt Norwich are a bottom half side on recent form.

Hoping we can deliver.

 

[McXal]

It just feels like a win tonight is desperately crucial.

Our following two league fixtures (as well as Sunderland in the cup which will be physically demanding even if we rotate somewhat) are extremely tough. A win tonight means, even if we lose at Boro and Stoke, we will exit those fixtures still averaging 1 point per game under Bloomfield. Not enough to stay up obviously - but enough that means we’ll still be in touch when we reach those crunch home fixtures.

I still think we’ll need to be fortunate and have it be a year where less than 50 points is required to keep a team up. But winning tonight backs up the positives from Saturday, alleviates something of a hoodoo we’ve developed about not being able to follow up a good Saturday performance in midweek…and will ensure we’re not miles off by the time we’ve got past trips to Boro and Stoke.

Literally needs to be an any which way, ugly, even if we get battered but get a winner that goes in off Romeny’s ass in the 94th minute victory tonight you feel

 

[Orkney Islands Yellow]

Nerves kicking in already!

 

[werthersoriginal]

I hope we field a more attacking formation that's a surprise to us and to Norwich. Relying on the continental-style skills of wing back Sam Long as our main attacking threat won't cut it.

 

[BicesterU]

We're a really, really tricky team to predict. We're as likely to lose this and somehow beat Boro or Stoke as we are to win this one.

On our days and in our moments we've demonstrated we have the ability in the squad to beat just about anyone, but our lack of consistency has us where we are.

As such, we are absolutely capable of picking up a win tonight, it's 'just' a matter of putting in a performance that merits it, whether that's a sweeping victory, or a backs to the wall scrap either defending a one goal lead or pinching a late winner.

I think three points from these next three games would be a good return, but even in the process of writing this post, I've wondered to myself which would be better for the team's confidence - a win tonight and losses against Stoke and Boro, or three draws?

Each scenario gives us three points, but would it be better to go in to the games against WBA, Preston, Blackburn, Charlton and Southampton off the back of two straight loses, or (potentially) four games unbeaten.

Obviously it's not a binary choice, and maybe I'm just trying to convince myself that not winning tonight isn't the end of the world.

I don't fall in to the 'must win' camp simply because even if we lose tonight, we've still got enough games left that we can stay up.

But it does feel like we have to end the cycle of taking a step forward only to then take two steps back.

 

[bicesterox]

Must win - simple as that.

We can no longer ( I never am) be happy at a point from a home game, unless we are losing in the last minute.

Norwich, Blackburn, Albion, we should be going all out for 9 points from those 3.


Yes tonight will be tough but show the defensive resilience of Saturday and a lot of attacking, stick the ball in the bloody net, job done

#COYY

 

[Isle of Wight Yellow]

My worry with the 5-2-3 is that we:

1) Get hardly any players forward

2) Give the players on the ball very few options when we do have possession

3) Get overrun in central midfield


It very much feels like it’s a formation set up to keep it tight and scrap a 1-0 win from a set piece. Which is fine (although I’d like to see us attack a bit more, especially at home) but if we go behind I don’t feel like we can easily go more attacking…

 

[WE Yellow]

Huge game tonight. Huge for the players, huge for the manager, huge for the supporters. Can all 3 support one another to get us over the line? Tonight will tell us - this game really will set the tone for the rest of the season. The points against Bristol City, Coventry and Leicester were all great efforts however they've been counter acted by fairly meek surrendering of points against QPR, Birmingham and Sheff U. Regardless of formation we go with, I really want us to get in their faces and not give them a second on the ball, it's all well and good playing in a low block and countering away from home but at home you really want to see some attacking intent. With a high chance of Leicester and West Brom dropping points tonight this is a great chance to close the gap and take a good home win into our remaining "easier" home fixtures coming up.

Cumming

Spencer
Makosso
Davies
Currie

Konak
McDonnell
Brannagan

Placheta
Emakhu
MPH

Ingram, Long, Helik, Brown, Roosken, Jin Woo, Mills, Harris, Romeny

 

[Sutton Yellow]

To win a home game with 5 across the back is very tough, so I really hope we don't set up like that tonight. It makes it very difficult to support attacks and we need to be proactive.

If we start home matches with 5 at the back, we are adopting a policy of eg keep it tight for 70 mins, then make some changes to open up the opposition.

If we do that, we are effectively reducing must win home matches to 20-25 min contests which is really making life difficult for ourselves.

 

[werthersoriginal]

To win a home game with 5 across the back is very tough, so I really hope we don't set up like that tonight. It makes it very difficult to support attacks and we need to be proactive.

If we start home matches with 5 at the back, we are adopting a policy of eg keep it tight for 70 mins, then make some changes to open up the opposition.

If we do that, we are effectively reducing must win home matches to 20-25 min contests which is really making life difficult for ourselves.

And also if they get one on 30 minutes we won't know whether to stick or twist.

 

[pommy80]

Realistically I think all remaining home games are must wins now. There is only a little over 2 months to go. Draws won’t cut in now.

Nervous but positive we can get the 3 points.

 

[Twiggy85]

My worry with the 5-2-3 is that we:

1) Get hardly any players forward

2) Give the players on the ball very few options when we do have possession

3) Get overrun in central midfield


It very much feels like it’s a formation set up to keep it tight and scrap a 1-0 win from a set piece. Which is fine (although I’d like to see us attack a bit more, especially at home) but if we go behind I don’t feel like we can easily go more attacking…

Agree entirely with this and the problem with this formation, appreciate we can’t keep having push the wingbacks higher but that then leaves you exposed down the flanks.
Problem is feels as though we have recruited to play 3/5 at the back so don’t see us switching from it.

 

[BicesterU]

Wonder if there's a temptation to play Shemmy and Mills as attacking wing backs in some of our home games? I think Shemmy has done it in the past, and the defensive side of Mills's game has looked pretty sound on a few occasions this season.

Alternatively, as George Elek spoke about in the most recent Dub, perhaps there's an opportunity to balance one more naturally defensive wing back with a more naturally attacking WB on the other side?

That would allows us to switch to four at the back in possession, with the more attacking WB playing as a winger, and the rest of the back five rotating in the direction of the attacking WB, ie MIlls plays at RWB when we're out of possession, then when we have the ball he plays as a RW, Makosso moves over to RB. Helik to RCB, Brown to LCB and Currie in to LB?

I'd be more comfortable with Mills at WB than Shemmy.

 

[headingtonoldboy]

As I see it, MB doesn't really have any excuses now. He has brought in his own players to play the formation he wants to play. He has to make it work. Having said that, I fully expect the team to gel pretty quickly, starting tonight. 2-1 to the Mighty Yellows.

 

[Peterdev]

As I see it, MB doesn't really have any excuses now. He has brought in his own players to play the formation he wants to play. He has to make it work. Having said that, I fully expect the team to gel pretty quickly, starting tonight. 2-1 to the Mighty Yellows.

I’d take any sort of win tonight and pray that the two midlands teams slip up

 

[Swinny]

Got to be brave (without being gung-ho) with this one...win seems vital considering what we've got coming up and needing to stay in touch...

Hope to see Jin-Woo at some point...an unknown quantity, but that works both ways if they don't know what to expect as well!