Home Match Day Thread 13/02/2024 L1: OUFC v Wigan Athletic

[Northstandboy]

POST MATCH PACK:

Post Match Discussion

Interview - Des Buckingham

Interview - Cameron Brannagan

Interview - Shaun Maloney (Wigan Manager)

Match Highlights

Match Report

Ref Watch

Fans View

 

[Marked Ox]

Getting a win always makes us feel better. Yes, the performance wasn't up to the standards we should expect but, the result was a win. Sometimes that's how it is. A positive to take from yesterday is the improving squad number with, at last, choices to make even before kick off. Ridiculous to regard that as a luxury!
Side note, Chairman Ferguson, in his program notes, talks about "a local derby at Wycombe" - are we happy with the description?

No, it is just a game that happens to be localish.

Also on the performance. I don't think conditions were conducive to a good performance and I think that showed with both teams.

 

[Eric Blair]

Really enjoyed watching the game yesterday. Some random thoughts in no order:

- The players work so hard. There is no way they aren't playing for Des. Yes, there were individual mistakes here and there but overall I'm very proud of them. They represent the shirt well.
- Elliott Moore had a rare off game. Not sure what was going on there. Was he struggling with Matete in front of him? It didnt really make sense. Sam Long struggled as well. Dale wasnt great but lets give him time.
- Mark Harris - he never stops running.
- Enjoyed the foul against Josh Murphy about twelve minutes in. The Wigan defender reminded me of how I used to play when up against a winger who had me on toast. "Ummmmmmm, i cant do anything. I'll just have to foul him, take a yellow and then sh*t myself for the rest of the game".
- Talking of shitting yourself. Every time Goodrham cut in it was a joy to see the panic in the eyes of Wigan. He is one of our own and the Cowley Road Messi.
- Matete showed some quick thinking to take the free kick when he was still on the floor. If memory serves it led to the first goal.
- I will get abuse for this. Is there a scenario where we offer Josh another contract? I know his legs are made of glass but he is almost unplayable in League One when he is on form. Regardless, I'm chuffed to bits for the lad.
- We will get into the play offs. We're just going to get stronger here on in.

 

[maidenheadox]

I didn't think the first half was terrible and thought 1-1 at HT was fair enough. Remember that Brannagan hit the post as well. Dale was disappointing and there were a bunch of missed passes. I felt a lot of this was down to players not quite being on the same wavelength (especially Matete) but that will come, and hopefully pretty quickly. I think he's the real deal.

Wigan set out to spread the field wide and they were very good at it. There were always people on the touchline and they played some excellent cross-field balls. Ultimately though I felt it was their only tactic.

Murphy was outstanding. Great to have impact subs coming off the bench as well, and it gives Harris etc. the liberty to run their legs off.

Long had a shocker in the first half. He was good against Blackpool but it's a weakness for us against teams that set up like Wigan.

Overall a good result and thought we just about deserved it. Still a work in progress but it feels like most of the pieces are there.

 

[RyanioBirdio]

And the goal they scored! Long was done far too easily, there was no covering defender at all, and Cumming was all over the shop and should have done better. Long didn't do well, but he wasn't helped out by his team mates.

Can’t agree with that - it was a Long disaster class. It all started with him blindly charging after the ball like a Labrador chasing a tennis ball, despite Moore already being nearby, and leaving the entire flank exposed behind him. This then led to absolute chaos as Dale tried to make up ground, Moore tried to get across to fill the gap, and the entire team shape collapsed. Long eventually got back over and then got skinned with ease, Moore was struggling to get back into position centrally having handed the man back over (although to be fair he probably shouldn’t have done that), and then the shot deflected off Moore’s heel leaving Cumming with no chance. It all came from Long charging out like a lunatic. He did the exact same thing again in the second half before sprinting back and pushing their guy over, giving away a free kick right outside the box.

He was “better” in the second half, but only because he went from abysmal to poor.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

Can’t agree with that - it was a Long disaster class. It all started with him blindly charging after the ball like a Labrador chasing a tennis ball, despite Moore already being nearby, and leaving the entire flank exposed behind him. This then led to absolute chaos as Dale tried to make up ground, Moore tried to get across to fill the gap, and the entire team shape collapsed. Long eventually got back over and then got skinned with ease, Moore was struggling to get back into position centrally having handed the man back over (although to be fair he probably shouldn’t have done that), and then the shot deflected off Moore’s heel leaving Cumming with no chance. It all came from Long charging out like a lunatic. He did the exact same thing again in the second half before sprinting back and pushing their guy over, giving away a free kick right outside the box.

He was “better” in the second half, but only because he went from abysmal to poor.

You may well be right - I haven't as yet watched any highlights, so it was just my thoughts from what I saw (or perhaps *thought* I saw!) last night. I do agree that he improved somewhat in the second half, but from a very low base!

 

[RyanioBirdio]

I will get abuse for this. Is there a scenario where we offer Josh another contract? I know his legs are made of glass but he is almost unplayable in League One when he is on form.

We can’t carry on paying circa £6,000 per week to a player who might turn up two or three times a season. We really can’t - it’s got to stop. Goodrham is on a quarter of the money and contributes so much more. It would have to be on far less money for no more than a season. If he got a multi-year extension and/or stayed on the money he’s on now for a second longer than his current deal, purely because he might do a football occasionally, I could never understand it.

He’s occasionally contributing positively and that’s fine, but he’s done nowhere near enough, regularly enough, to warrant talking about keeping him.

 

[WEYellow]

Murphy needs to play like he did last night for the remaining 14 games to even be in with a chance of a new contract, for me. We cannot fall into the trap yet again of rewarding someone for 2/3 good games, where they may only feature in 10/15 games across the season. I'm delighted for him on a personal level that he has started to show himself but unless it's on significantly reduced terms then he needs to be away in the summer.

 

[Victor1986]

Can’t agree with that - it was a Long disaster class. It all started with him blindly charging after the ball like a Labrador chasing a tennis ball, despite Moore already being nearby, and leaving the entire flank exposed behind him. This then led to absolute chaos as Dale tried to make up ground, Moore tried to get across to fill the gap, and the entire team shape collapsed. Long eventually got back over and then got skinned with ease, Moore was struggling to get back into position centrally having handed the man back over (although to be fair he probably shouldn’t have done that), and then the shot deflected off Moore’s heel leaving Cumming with no chance. It all came from Long charging out like a lunatic. He did the exact same thing again in the second half before sprinting back and pushing their guy over, giving away a free kick right outside the box.

He was “better” in the second half, but only because he went from abysmal to poor.

Unfortunately I have to agree Ryanio. He's been a great servant but not up to what we want atm..

 

[Osei Yaw]

We were poor in the first half but we didn't do ourselves any favours in possession. Dale had a poor half but he was also getting the short straw. I lost count of the amount of times we shuffled the ball across the back, out to Long who then moved it forward to Dale who was then stuck facing his own goal, inside our own half and with nobody to pass to. It was madness to continue with that all half.

 

[RyanioBirdio]

Unfortunately I have to agree Ryanio. He's been a great servant but not up to what we want atm..

To be fair, he tries his balls off and never hides, and even when he’s having a bad game he keeps battling, but we really do need a better option. People used to argue that talk of improving on Ciaron Brown at left back was insanity because he won POTY there, but as we’ve seen with both Leigh and Bennett coming in this season, we were merely making do. It’ll be exactly the same when we (hopefully) get a better quality right back - people will see that Long isn’t as good as it gets.

And that’s not ‘scapegoating’ him, before anyone starts that tired old routine. Every team always has weak links that need improving, whether you’re Macclesfield Town or Manchester City. He is one of ours, and it’s fine to say that and doesn’t mean it’s some sort of hate campaign or personal assault.

 

[TailsWeWin]

Can’t agree with that - it was a Long disaster class. It all started with him blindly charging after the ball like a Labrador chasing a tennis ball, despite Moore already being nearby, and leaving the entire flank exposed behind him. This then led to absolute chaos as Dale tried to make up ground, Moore tried to get across to fill the gap, and the entire team shape collapsed. Long eventually got back over and then got skinned with ease, Moore was struggling to get back into position centrally having handed the man back over (although to be fair he probably shouldn’t have done that), and then the shot deflected off Moore’s heel leaving Cumming with no chance. It all came from Long charging out like a lunatic. He did the exact same thing again in the second half before sprinting back and pushing their guy over, giving away a free kick right outside the box.

He was “better” in the second half, but only because he went from abysmal to poor.

Unfortunately it’s clear that opponents target him from Minute One (literally last night). He was, and often is, the clear weak link in a capable defence. How long should we go on making excuses for him? He cost us the first goal and that’s not a unique scenario this season. A good ‘Oxford Boy’, yes. Willing and hard-working certainly. But good enough for a top six team? Absolutely not.

 

[Followtheox1]

Really enjoyed watching the game yesterday. Some random thoughts in no order:

- The players work so hard. There is no way they aren't playing for Des. Yes, there were individual mistakes here and there but overall I'm very proud of them. They represent the shirt well.
- Elliott Moore had a rare off game. Not sure what was going on there. Was he struggling with Matete in front of him? It didnt really make sense. Sam Long struggled as well. Dale wasnt great but lets give him time.
- Mark Harris - he never stops running.
- Enjoyed the foul against Josh Murphy about twelve minutes in. The Wigan defender reminded me of how I used to play when up against a winger who had me on toast. "Ummmmmmm, i cant do anything. I'll just have to foul him, take a yellow and then sh*t myself for the rest of the game".
- Talking of shitting yourself. Every time Goodrham cut in it was a joy to see the panic in the eyes of Wigan. He is one of our own and the Cowley Road Messi.
- Matete showed some quick thinking to take the free kick when he was still on the floor. If memory serves it led to the first goal.
- I will get abuse for this. Is there a scenario where we offer Josh another contract? I know his legs are made of glass but he is almost unplayable in League One when he is on form. Regardless, I'm chuffed to bits for the lad.
- We will get into the play offs. We're just going to get stronger here on in.

He lives on the Cowley Rd?

 

[werthersoriginal]

To be fair, he tries his balls off and never hides, and even when he’s having a bad game he keeps battling, but we really do need a better option. People used to argue that talk of improving on Ciaron Brown at left back was insanity because he won POTY there, but as we’ve seen with both Leigh and Bennett coming in this season, we were merely making do. It’ll be exactly the same when we (hopefully) get a better quality right back - people will see that Long isn’t as good as it gets.

And that’s not ‘scapegoating’ him, before anyone starts that tired old routine. Every team always has weak links that need improving, whether you’re Macclesfield Town or Manchester City. He is one of ours, and it’s fine to say that and doesn’t mean it’s some sort of hate campaign or personal assault.

No, that's fair enough. He'll stay around as a squad man but we clearly need a top right back for next season. Stevens will go and hasn't really impressed me that much.

However, we need to tighten up in midfield and stop giving the ball away so much, it's just inviting the opposition to press the defence. Wigan were very good and quick at that.

 

[Followtheox1]

Can’t agree with that - it was a Long disaster class. It all started with him blindly charging after the ball like a Labrador chasing a tennis ball, despite Moore already being nearby, and leaving the entire flank exposed behind him. This then led to absolute chaos as Dale tried to make up ground, Moore tried to get across to fill the gap, and the entire team shape collapsed. Long eventually got back over and then got skinned with ease, Moore was struggling to get back into position centrally having handed the man back over (although to be fair he probably shouldn’t have done that), and then the shot deflected off Moore’s heel leaving Cumming with no chance. It all came from Long charging out like a lunatic. He did the exact same thing again in the second half before sprinting back and pushing their guy over, giving away a free kick right outside the box.

He was “better” in the second half, but only because he went from abysmal to poor.

Long was only better in the second half because Murphy swapped sides and his pace tracking back helped Long out big time. Buckingham deserves credit if that was one of the reasons he moved Murphy over. He could could have just done it because Goodrham is more effective from the left. When Murphy was replaced by Bodin our right side became a place where Wigan were able to pick us off again. It was no surprise their second goal came from that side. Sides have been targeting our right side all season. Last night Wigan in the first half were just bombing ball after ball to our right side, they had clearly been told to do that in my view.

 

[PottersRightBoot]

Long was really poor in the first half, his passing was disgraceful.

But he was, my opinion, exposed particularly badly because of Dale’s defensive inadequacies. No coincidence that his game picked up after the halftime change. He did ok going forward thereafter.

Long did play rather well on Saturday as well so I’m not going to join the pile- on just yet.

Still not sure why McGuane always plays 90, his performances have been down the pan for months now.

 

[Big Ron]

Very worrying at the moment. Will finish outside the play offs tonight anyway as Stevenage already two up against Bristol Rovers

That one aged well.

 

[Followtheox1]

Long was really poor in the first half, his passing was disgraceful.

But he was, my opinion, exposed particularly badly because of Dale’s defensive inadequacies. No coincidence that his game picked up after the halftime change. He did ok going forward thereafter.

Long did play rather well on Saturday as well so I’m not going to join the pile- on just yet.

Still not sure why McGuane always plays 90, his performances have been down the pan for months now.

Yes Dale was poor. The amount of fouls he gave away. Hopefully It was just a bad day at the office and he will pick up. He would have been sent off if not taken off. It seems whatever combination of players is used down the right, defensively we have struggled all season.

 

[bazzer9461]

No, that's fair enough. He'll stay around as a squad man but we clearly need a top right back for next season. Stevens will go and hasn't really impressed me that much.

However, we need to tighten up in midfield and stop giving the ball away so much, it's just inviting the opposition to press the defence. Wigan were very good and quick at that.

Regarding Wigan who closed down very well and quickly there was one Wigan player a black guy not sure of name but I think midfield who ran our players ragged who impressed me a lot last night

 

[bazzer9461]

Yes Dale was poor. The amount of fouls he gave away. Hopefully It was just a bad day at the office and he will pick up. He would have been sent off if not taken off. It seems whatever combination of players is used down the right, defensively we have struggled all season.

We thought that when he was signed not a tactical but a precautionary one

 

[Berliner]

Both Dale and Long were awful last night, but not alone in the first half. We were sleepwalking.
Credit though to everyone for the reaction in the second half, we rode our luck a bit but four goals tells its own story.