Home Match Day Thread +++ 11/1/2020 OUFC V Rotherham United L1 +++

[ECYellow]

A few thoughts...

Fosu needs a break. When was the last time he positively influenced a league game?

Dickie has now had a couple of bad games on the trott. He and Moore as a pair looked leaderless.

Browne and Holland look excellent additions.

Neither fullback was good in either defence or attack today and serious competition for both places is required ASAP

Brannagan didn’t look fit. If he isn’t fit, it begs the question why the medical team/KR allowed him to start the game.

Baptiste was poor in and out of possession - his poorest game for a while. At 21 it’s to be expected.

Sykes was good. He was positive and did a good job. He’s one we need to keep in amongst the squad.

Taylor over Mackie for meis a must!


No dramas after today, but it’s important to bounce back Tuesday. Get there and support the boys if you can.

COYY’s!

 

[Scotchegg]

I know I hold the default positive position on here, but some of the flapping is frankly embarrassing. We didn't play well. The team selection was wrong. Eastwood looked rusty. Brannagan wasn't fit. We set up to hassle them and it didn't work. Rotherham were the best side I've seen here for a long time and it's no surprise that they've gone top. But, we more than gave them a game in the second half and could/should have got something from that game.

It's gone, we move on, and if we match the last 45 minutes on Tuesday then we should beat Ipswich and get back on track. We've got some big games coming up and we need to stick together and give everything on and off the pitch to get the success we all deserve. The towels being thrown in by some is the sort of thing we've been laughing at on the Sunderland forum and is a bit below us!

 

[werthersoriginal]

It was just one of those, as they say. Sykes never stopped and deserves a lot of credit. We need a striker like Vassell, both strong and fast. Taylor was caught offside a couple of times and had to score that chance. But how good were Rotherham? The big number 17 was like the PE teacher in Kes.

 

[uptheus]

A few thoughts...

Fosu needs a break. When was the last time he positively influenced a league game?

Dickie has now had a couple of bad games on the trott. He and Moore as a pair looked leaderless.

Browne and Holland look excellent additions.

Neither fullback was good in either defence or attack today and serious competition for both places is required ASAP

Brannagan didn’t look fit. If he isn’t fit, it begs the question why the medical team/KR allowed him to start the game.

Baptiste was poor in and out of possession - his poorest game for a while. At 21 it’s to be expected.

Sykes was good. He was positive and did a good job. He’s one we need to keep in amongst the squad.

Taylor over Mackie for meis a must!


No dramas after today, but it’s important to bounce back Tuesday. Get there and support the boys if you can.

COYY’s!

Completely agree.

Mousinho and Taylor need to come back in for Tuesday. Also need to start Browne and possibly Holland.

Poor goals conceded. Think Eastwood should have done better for their first two goals, especially the second one and Moore should have cleared his lines deep into injury time first half.

Not sure why Baptiste didn’t shoot when he was through on goal. If he scores that and Taylor scores his then who knows what might have happened.

On the positive side I’m just glad we made account of ourselves in the 2nd half as I was concerned it could have been a lot worse.

On a negative side, our fans in the east stand are extremely poor. Very very quiet with no direction on singing. They can’t even decide what song to sing on corners!

Should be ‘come on you yellows’ followed by ‘yellows, yellows’ etc.

 

[brassmonkey]

I didnt think Rotherham were all that. They won the midfield battle mainly due to the very poor displays of Baptiste and Brannagan. All 3 goals were schoolboy errors that my kids team would be embarrased letting in.

 

[OX14]

What a terrible first half that was. Fair play to rottherham they looked a league above us the way they played. Eastwood looked worse than anytime Archer has played in goal, ruffles and long were useless, Dickie wouldn't get in any top half league 1 teams let alone championship on that showing, moore was better than Dickie but only just, Brannagan should of stayed on the bench, Gorrin looked like he was doing to be sent of and lost the midfield battle, Baptiste kept turning in to traffic, fosu didn't look as bad but that's probably because everyone else around him were woeful, sykes was probably are best player in the first half, Mackie is not good enough (sorry but if we aspire to go up he needs to be dropped).

Second half Holland and Browne looked good, Taylor should have scored but done more than Mackie bringing other players in to play. Overall we were 2nd at the races today and on that showing we will be lucky to make the play offs.

As for the stadium, shocking atmosphere and was a real wind tunnel today. I would prefer us to get the stadium issue sorted and concentrate on that rather than going all out for promotion.

 

[Gary Baldi]

Firstly, we were rubbish today, too many players off the boil and maybe a bit complacent. The errors from Eastwood made their life too easy, one is forgivable, the other though, more of a challenge at this level - your keeper cannot clown about that like that. We looked ponderous in the first half and the ball was far too slow. We allowed ourselves to be picked off by a team willing to put the effort in without making them work for it. Long's distribution needs a lot of work on it - he caused us some issues early on but by no means the only culprit. Fosu needs to go down the outside occasionally if only to make the full back think more. I feel sorry for Baptiste and Dickie for the treatment they get that is unpunished. Brannagan needs to be more honest about his fitness - no harm done waiting to play.

The officials were dreadful today, it was a close call between them and us for who was worse. The double standard on what is foul and not was evident, and a lot persistent offending was let go when frankly a better ref would have control of it. Was the 3rd goal as far offside as some said it was? How this crew were of a higher level, I simply don't know. The lad the other week fresh from the Conference was better. As for the Rotherham cheating, I was glad to see Derek Fazackerley get into Warne over it.

Positives for us. Browne looks like he wants to be here and once he gets into the system more, he can be more of an influence. Oh to have a winger with pace; Holland did all you can expect of him and there is a lot more to come. Taylor looked good and while he should have taken the chance, we also looked more menacing when he was on.

 

[Common Villager]

I'm surprised more teams don't employ a high press against us. We seem to struggle against the teams that get in our faces, and if we're going to go up we really need to work out how to counter it.

Rotherham are a undoubtedly a good side. It was very much men vs boys at times in the first half. They looked so much quicker and stronger than us and they took their opportunities well (unlike us).

The introduction of Browne and Holland definitely turned things in our favour but it certainly seemed like Rotherham had decided they had done enough in the first half and were happy to 'contain' in the second. Nonetheless if Taylor had taken that change (I mean ffs, he would do 9 times out of 10) I'm confident that we would have gone on to get another. All ifs and buts though because it was an uncharacteristicly poor finish. Baptise also had a very decent chance but tried to be far too clever when he just needed to smash it.

I think Robinson knows (as well as the entire fan base) that he made a mistake with the starting lineup. Mackie does still have a role to play, but it was never going to be his day against a team as physical as Rotherham. He can bully some teams and create space for others, but not today. Brannagan also should have been nowhere near the starting lineup, he was a passenger all half and, because of his reluctance to tackle, got the wrong side of his man in the build up to the first goal.

Oh well, on to Ipswich. Hopefully we'll see the likes of Browne, Holland and Taylor come into the starting lineup and we'll get back to winning ways. COYY

 

[Gary Baldi]

And this is tin pot from us or the stadco

https://twitter.com/x/status/1216053926161801216

 

[AbbeyOx]

one to forget and move on to Ipswich and hopefully back on track.
still in the play offs.
don’t know what to have for dinner

 

[Barbadosyellow]

it is pretty inexplicable that the man who is comfortably our best striker is benched for one of the biggest home games of the season.

Particularly as he only came on as a sub in the last game, and that was a week ago.

I guess KR doesn't think Taylor can start 2 matches in 3 days and prioritised Tuesday for him.

 

[DannyW]

I think most OUFC fans when today's line up was announced went eh!!!

 

[uptheus]

I didnt think Rotherham were all that. They won the midfield battle mainly due to the very poor displays of Baptiste and Brannagan. All 3 goals were schoolboy errors that my kids team would be embarrased letting in.

Really? They were physical, athletic, tall, organised and has pace out wide/and finishers. No wonder they score goals on set pieces etc.

They won virtually every second ball and at time in the first half it felt like men verses boys. They completely outplayed/muscled our midfield.

They reminded me of Stevenage when they went up and Sheffield Utd.

I was worried at half time as I could see the score being 4, 5 or 6 nil, but a mixture of us stepping up our performance and them content with the score meant we won the 2nd half. Also, at times in the 2nd half we made them look ordinary, especially the last 10-15mins.

Just wish that Baptiste had smashed his chance in front of goal rather than trying to be clever and Taylor taking his what might have been, but least we finished on a high which we needed prior toTuesday’s game.

 

[uptheus]

one to forget and move on to Ipswich and hopefully back on track.
still in the play offs.
don’t know what to have for dinner

Thai take-away!

 

[BristolOx]

I need to apologise to everyone on here.
I wore a new coat today - foolishly thinking it could emulate the success of my old coat.
It’s going on the hook and never returning to the Kassam again, I’ll have my old coat back on on Tuesday.

 

[uptheus]

Exactly this.

Skyes was one of our better players. It’s Brannagan that needs to be rested.

 

[brassmonkey]

Yes really. We made them look good due to our ineptness. How many times did we test their makeshift defence 1st half? 0? We were woeful.

 

[Left Wing Cross]

One point I will raise that I haven't seen here already (apologies if I missed it).

When we took goal kicks in the first half, their front playersimmediately marked Dickie, Moore and Gorrin, which stopped the short pass. This forced Eastwood to punt it long and then they won the second ball. It was a very effective tactic. We will need to come up with an alternative way to counteract this, should another team employ the same tactic.

 

[uptheus]

First half was P**s poor. How s**t was baptiste, brannagan and eastwood. I really hope mackie never starts for us again. Our fullbacks also had a mare..

Our fullbacks are not good enough, especially Long.

 

[BRIGHTON YELLOW]

First home game this season, and first game since fratton park.
Thought we might get a draw 2nd half

Shandon 'going over' too easily (diving)
Cambran not fit (shouldn't have started)
Easty not on it - second goal v poor from him (shouldn't have started)
Fosu tired
Taylor - sort the offside, shocking miss but all strikers miss chances like this
Browne + Holland look decent
Roveram decent but not brilliant