13/08/22 - L1: Bristol Rovers v OUFC

[uptheus]

The best period of the game was when Henry was wide, allowing Browne to underlap generating cutbacks. That evaporated and so did our threat. I always worry when our tactics appear to be - get it wide and spam the box with crosses. Is a classic default to look like you're doing something useful, when you are for the most part, wasting possession.

Aside from the above, I'm unsure of our tactics this year? Only standouts across 3 league matches are the diagonal balls from our CB's to wide wingers. Playing two holders nullifies Brannagan's strengths. Eastwood, Long and Seddon don't have the quality on the ball to play the ball out from the back. We don't have the patterns of play we had last year, no doubt down to the late start to assembling the squad.

Still plenty of works needed on the squad in the remaining weeks.

I just wish we did deliver the ball into the box, but we didn’t.

 

[uptheus]

What’s more worrying is Karl thought we played well!!

 

[MC Yellow]

After reading some of the posts on this thread I feel I'm not really adding anything by ranting, but I need to for my own mental health.

We all know what a Joey Barton team will do... and these were the kind of teams we failed to get enough points against last season....and its f*****g happened again. We haven't f*****g learnt anything have we? .... Its f*****g painful and incredibly naive.

And where is the passion, urgency and the basic performance levels that pass these men of ours as pro footballers? I saw some yellow cards for being little bitches, but not for valid reasons like going in strong or aggressively, breaking a line or for facing up properly to the opposition who were trying to get our man sent off.

Tonight I'm questioning everything. Our fans are quiet, our manager is regularly talking absolute gibberish and I am starting to doubt whether KR is the man for this inflated budget if ours.

Hope you feel better

 

[battman]

Whilst angry about today’s performance - I don’t want Robinson out. He has got the start wrong in my view, and now needs to acknowledge it, reflect, and put it right. He needs to be clear how he wants us to play and why it will work, and get on with delivering it. He has the passion, just needs to bring some structure and clarity to his thinking, PDQ.

But he won't though, will he? He has a history of throwing players under the bus, not acknowledging his own shortcomings and not fixing problems with the side. Case in point: the full backs. We all knew this was an issue last season, and yet Karl has shown very little desire to have more than the single full back in each position. It's why I've wanted him out for a while, because I've seen enough evidence that he either can't change or won't change.

 

[Davox]

Definitely one of the areas we easily overlook is how much Dickie, Atkinson and subsequently McNally used to be a massive part of the game plan in dribbling out from the back and causing chaos with players being able to find more space on the wings particularly. Neither Findlay not Moore look comfortable in that role. I definitely feel we need to go to the 3-5-2 as Brown looks more capable in doing that role and as our new wingers are out, it makes complete sense to go with 3 in CM and 2 up front to get support to Taylor. Now we have Joseph we may as well go back to that and I think it’ll allow us to use players in their best positions. Henry and Bodin can just not play 4-2-3–1 in wide positions. Browne is way more effective in the 10 role and so is Bodin.

 

[SirAndyOfCrosby]

Same problems, different reasons. It happens. No idea what's going wrong at MK - nor do I really care - but you have to say, yet again, we look unprepared for the start of the season and that is surely down in no small part to the recruitment (or slow nature of it).

More than the speed, it's the nature of it - specifically the signing of players seemingly without any clear concept of how they fit into our preferred system (assuming even that has been identified).

Leaving aside the injury risk element, there is not a bad player among them - but I don't believe that KR starts from a basis of knowing his formation and the type of player he wants for each role.
I believe he quite simply likes players he likes - whether he has previous with them, admires them from afar or they just tick his boxes (usually in terms of attacking intent).
What he doesn't appear to do is make a distinction between someone being a good footballer/lad but ultimately not fitting his system (again assuming he has one) and doing so.

A case in point - my biggest frustration today - Marcus Browne. Look at the calibre of player and the money spent on him? Who can honestly say that KR is getting the best out of him? Will it be the same for Murphy, for Jones, for Wildschut?

Is it too much to ask for the manager to know their system and itentify (with all the modern tools/data at their disposal) the best attainable players to make it work?
By the same token, to not sign a load of players (however good individually) and hope you can cobble a cohesive team together.

The thing is, despite all this you'll probably win a fair few matches anyway (the quality will often shine through) but it's not getting the best out of players or the budget. It's the opposite of management.

 

[werthersoriginal]

I just wish we did deliver the ball into the box, but we didn’t.

We sort of delivered it over the box, for some reason

 

[werthersoriginal]

McGaune has been the leading light so far this season. Put Kane and Brannagan with license either side of him.
Others have said we’re missing the energy of Sykes, Williams and Whyte.
Haven’t seen anything from Taylor, Bodin or Henry that warrants a place so far.
A Browne/ Whyte flank brings that creativity energy we’re missing.

I’d be very happy to see Whyte back but imagine we’ve signed enough wingers.

 

[Wallop]

He never played at a reasonable level - that's why.
Love him to bits but he ain't gonna move us on.

Nor did Arsene Wenger or Roy Hodgson (I could go on) but they seem to have what it takes.

 

[Eaststanding]

Anyone who still thinks Robinson is the right man to turn this club into a ‘Top 30’ team in Roy Keane’s words is ‘living in Cuckoo land’

Oh dear. After only three games as well…

 

[yellowbow]

Whilst angry about today’s performance - I don’t want Robinson out. He has got the start wrong in my view, and now needs to acknowledge it, reflect, and put it right. He needs to be clear how he wants us to play and why it will work, and get on with delivering it. He has the passion, just needs to bring some structure and clarity to his thinking, PDQ.

Id understand that argument if we were talking about a manager who had come in at Christmas but, ffs, after 5 years shouldnt that be a given by now?! I was all for giving him another season after getting us close for several seasons, but the worrying thing for me is, despite this so called top six budget, we’re quite simply weaker going into this season than how we finished last season. The recruitment seems to have been a muddled balls up. Its as if the manager is having to deal with a squad put together by a total stranger..?

 

[QR]

Oh dear. After only three games as well…

Or four sessions and three games depending on how you want to look at it.

 

[Eaststanding]

Or four sessions and three games depending on how you want to look at it.

How about we follow the long established principle of judging our league position after ten games rather than having a meltdown after three games shall we?!
It wasn’t great today but take a deep breath…..please..

 

[SirAndyOfCrosby]

How about we follow the long established principle of judging our league position after ten games

Because historically, under KR, those ten games have always cost us dearly. Always.

 

[uptheus]

How about we follow the long established principle of judging our league position after ten games rather than having a meltdown after three games shall we?!
It wasn’t great today but take a deep breath…..please..

It’s not be great for all 3 games in the league.

 

[Mellowyellow]

Oh dear. After only three games as well…

After only three games.....and 4 years!

 

[Coffin dodger]

We'll never get anywhere playing Compo, Cleggy and Foggy up front.

 

[uptheus]

Bar last season we always start badly under Robinson. Between 18/19, 19/20 and 20/21 the highest we ever were in the table after nine games was 17th, which was the 19/20 campaign. The other two seasons we were in the bottom four at that stage. That’s just how it goes most of the time. That said, two home games coming up in the space of a few days against teams most would expect to finish in the bottom half provides a great opportunity to get some points on the board. Win them both and suddenly it looks like a pretty decent start points wise; get a win and a draw and it looks steady albeit unspectacular. We won’t know whether we’ve had a decent start or a bad start until towards the end of September.

What I’m most confused by currently, having just listened back to the RadOx post-match from today which included calls and texts, is the amount of people questioning where the goals will come from. Sorry? Where’s this suddenly come from? Taylor is one of the league’s top scorers every year - he’s actually scored more goals each season than he did the season before since he arrived three years ago. I’ve seen and heard numerous people call Browne, Bodin and Henry players of Championship quality. Plus the likes of Murphy and Baldock to come back in the next month or so, plus the lad Joseph who chose us over Sheffield Wednesday, plus players like Brannagan and Bate pulling the strings in midfield. And that’s not even including Jones. How is anybody looking at that and going, “Cor, blimey, I don’t know how we’re meant to score goals with such a lack of threat and creativity”? Yes, we need a bit more direct pace, but I’m really struggling to understand how anybody could look at the players that are here on paper and think it looks a bit dry and unadventurous. We have done almost nothing but sign attacking players this window, as per usual. If there isn’t any proper goal threat then most of the window has been a total waste. Which is it?

I think the main problem is that we’ve got a bunch of players in based on individual characteristics and ability, rather than anything being tailored to a specific system or formula. We seem to collect shiny players and then try to fit them all together later, which is never a good way to build a balanced squad. When you’ve had the same manager for nearly half a decade that simply shouldn’t be happening. It’s really poor in that regard.

Let’s see where we are next Saturday at 5pm. Two wins and everything looks a lot better.

That’s my concern.

Browne was absolutely awful/disinterested today. There was a time in the 2nd half when the ball was rolling towards the touch line near the Oxford fans, with Browne being in favour of getting to the ball say (80/20), and he nonchalantly went towards the ball, but their player ended up winning the ball.

 

[BigCrompy]

We'll never get anywhere playing Compo, Cleggy and Foggy up front.

Think I’d rather have Nora Batty at left back.

 

[YellowinBirmingham]

That’s my concern.

Browne was absolutely awful/disinterested today. There was a time in the 2nd half when the ball was rolling towards the touch line near the Oxford fans, with Browne being in favour of getting to the ball say (80/20), and he nonchalantly went towards the ball, but their player ended up winning the ball.

No, he was knackered.