Home Match Build-Up 15/02/25: Championship - OUFC v Portsmouth

[Orkney Islands Yellow]

Feels like a must win to me even though it mathematically isn't. Some hard fixtures upcoming, could really do with 3 points.

 

[headingtonoldboy]

I completely agree we should win this game. What worries me is where are the goals coming from? We've only scored 1 in the last 4 games and have lacked creativity. A bit of a concern to me. Let's hope I end up eating humble pie Saturday afternoon!!

 

[werthersoriginal]

Stuff about form and league position isn t that relevant as it’s pretty much a local derby, and those tend to be close.

 

[dickwalton1964]

See, I watch Cam play and I think he's way more comfortable going left to right with his long diags. He likes to open up his body, cut across the ball and play it with a big, booming fade.....and he's absurdly accurate with it.

It may sound weird, but I don't think he's anywhere near as good playing them right to left, because the same technique has the ball arcing towards the keeper and/or the defenders rather than away from them (and getting the ball going the other way requires a whole different technique that Cam hasn't mastered in the same way) and I don't see him play the long diags in that direction with the same pinpoint accuracy.

RR maybe.....but I still think I'm going Dembele left, Goodrham right and giving Cheese a breather for this one.

Good observation ! It’s a bit like the draw and fade in golf, most golfers are stronger at one than the other ! Cam can certainly fade it but needs to work on bringing it in on the other side.

 

[Swaby39]

Home to a Pompey side who are below us in the table and have a crap away record, and some of you are happy with a draw?

FFS fucking grow a pair, we can, and should, beat these.

Wholeheartedly agree. This is a game we should be looking to grab by the scruff of the neck and win. We’re more than capable of bossing large portions of this game and doing the job required no matter what version of Pompey turns up. We’re good enough.

The lack of self belief in our club across this season at times has been painful. No reason we shouldn’t belong at this level but we need to snap out of this small club mentality if we’re going to grow.

 

[lodeyellow]

I completely agree we should win this game. What worries me is where are the goals coming from? We've only scored 1 in the last 4 games and have lacked creativity. A bit of a concern to me. Let's hope I end up eating humble pie Saturday afternoon!!

Lack of goals must be a massive concern. With the exception of the Luton game (where we scored three), in our eight games this year we’ve scored just one in five of them and none in the other three. It’s disappointing after we saw three goals scored against Cardiff and two against Plymouth in the Christmas period.

 

[derek]

When we're winning 5 nil, I'd like to hear us sing: "play up Pompey, Pompey play up"

 

[Toe knee]

Oxford home win, aim high not low.
I won't accept a draw , especially as it's Pompey.. HELLO SAILOR, HELLO SAILOR

 

[Orkney Islands Yellow]

Hoping Rowett switches back to the black cap, results haven't been as good since he started wearing the navy one!

 

[Littlemore Local]

Hoping Rowett switches back to the black cap, results haven't been as good since he started wearing the navy one!

Gary Rowett's magic, he wears a magic hat.

 

[werthersoriginal]

Wholeheartedly agree. This is a game we should be looking to grab by the scruff of the neck and win. We’re more than capable of bossing large portions of this game and doing the job required no matter what version of Pompey turns up. We’re good enough.

The lack of self belief in our club across this season at times has been painful. No reason we shouldn’t belong at this level but we need to snap out of this small club mentality if we’re going to grow.

I don't really get this sort of post, is it some kind of weird male thing I don't understand? You probably saw us on Tuesday, at this level we're a pretty bad side though we should hopefully have enough to get past Portsmouth at home. But if we're just chatting we don't have to strut around beating our chests and making out we're something we're not.

 

[90syeIlow]

Home to a Pompey side who are below us in the table and have a crap away record, and some of you are happy with a draw?

FFS fucking grow a pair, we can, and should, beat these.

They outplayed Sheff UTD at Bramall lane and Murphy is on fire at the moment while we can’t seem to score.

A draw would be fine.

 

[Basham Wonderland]

For me, the last four or five games have been really poor. We've really struggled to look like a side worthy of the division.

Obviously a win to stop our recent decline would be ideal, but perhaps more importantly is that we play with some level of attacking threat. Because if we don't start doing that, then we risk slumping to a run of low point games.

We're so close to pulling ourselves out of trouble, and i'll be gutted if I see Harris playing alone up top for more than 45 minutes on Saturday. We need to have a go at this game.

 

[Foley]

I don't understand? You probably saw us on Tuesday, at this level we're a pretty bad side

I think that is a bit harsh. Nobody can judge a team on one game, and 1 defeat in 10 hardly suggests a pretty bad side.

 

[Belgium Yellow]

They outplayed Sheff UTD at Bramall lane and Murphy is on fire at the moment while we can’t seem to score.

A draw would be fine.

Sheffield Utd lost 3-0 at Brammall Lane to Hull so I wouldn’t read too much into that.

 

[90syeIlow]

Sheffield Utd lost 3-0 at Brammall Lane to Hull so I wouldn’t read too much into that.

Fair point

 

[dickwalton1964]

I think that is a bit harsh. Nobody can judge a team on one game, and 1 defeat in 10 hardly suggests a pretty bad side.

Agree, no way are we a ‘pretty bad side’. We are comfortable in this league against 75% of the teams, doesn’t mean we are better than them or that some won’t hammer us but we are more than competitive in virtually every game of those 75%. We are just lacking a bit of cutting edge out wide and up top.

 

[Colin B]

They outplayed Sheff UTD at Bramall lane and Murphy is on fire at the moment while we can’t seem to score.

A draw would be fine.

I might as well stay at home then, as they sound like prime Real Madrid with Vinicius Junior about to rip us a new one.

We are playing Portsmouth. That's Portsmouth who occupy18th place in the Championship. The same Portsmouth who's last 12 away games consist of 10 losses, 2 draws, and ZERO wins. They are playing against an Oxford United side who have one defeat in the last 11 Championship games. An Oxford United side who have not lost a single game all season, out of 11 games, against sides from Portsmouth and below in the table. Six of those games were at home and it reads 5 wins and 1 draw.

A draw would not be fine.

 

[greatunclekip]

Agree, no way are we a ‘pretty bad side’. We are comfortable in this league against 75% of the teams, doesn’t mean we are better than them or that some won’t hammer us but we are more than competitive in virtually every game of those 75%. We are just lacking a bit of cutting edge out wide and up top.

“A bit” the art of the understatement.

Gary has doubled down on his no need for reinforcements rhetoric, so we are where we are!

 

[holdsteady]

Pompey lose by a single goal to Sheffield United - they are unbeatable.

We lose by a single goal to Burnley - we are terrible.

Given how quick some of you are to wave the white flag I reckon Oxfordshire must have had an amorous but particularly timid French milkman doing the rounds over the years.

 

[Scotchegg]

we are where we are!

9 points above the drop and our form over the last 6/10 games is significantly better than any of the bottom sides.

So where we are is a pretty decent position thanks!

 

[Steve Gilbert]

I might as well stay at home then, as they sound like prime Real Madrid with Vinicius Junior about to rip us a new one.

We are playing Portsmouth. That's Portsmouth who occupy18th place in the Championship. The same Portsmouth who's last 12 away games consist of 10 losses, 2 draws, and ZERO wins. They are playing against an Oxford United side who have one defeat in the last 11 Championship games. An Oxford United side who have not lost a single game all season, out of 11 games, against sides from Portsmouth and below in the table. Six of those games were at home and it reads 5 wins and 1 draw.

A draw would not be fine.

Exactly this. I can’t believe the amount of people who seem terrified of Murphy playing against us tomorrow. People saying we should double up on him? Doing that not only creates more space for their other players but, we are the home side! Let them worry about Placheta and Dembele.
If we are accepting a draw at home to Pompey tomorrow then we may as well say that defeats away to any side above us is ok.

 

[Toe knee]

Who say's Murphy's on fire ?? & If he was so what.. Our players knows his weaknesses, a nice couple of crunching tackles early on ,should do the trick.

 

[Gregortheox]

They outplayed Sheff UTD at Bramall lane and Murphy is on fire at the moment while we can’t seem to score.

A draw would be fine.

I’m happy to be outplayed by pompey if we can beat them 2-1 on the day.

 

[Common Villager]

It's never popular when I say this, but I really wish minute's applauses were kept to pre-game. Whenever it's done mid-game I'm not really paying attention to what I'm clapping for as I'm focussed on what's happening on the pitch. It seems to happen at grounds most weeks now though, so I know I'm shouting into the wind.

 

[Brahma]

I think that is a bit harsh. Nobody can judge a team on one game, and 1 defeat in 10 hardly suggests a pretty bad side.

Of course we're not a bad side at this level. Having been to Derby, we set up to get a draw. We were comfortable and they couldn't break us down and played across the back for long periods, hence the possession stats. Only in the second half did they have a bit of impetus but that failed to create hardly any clear cut chances.

Having a team able to follow a game plan, doesn't make us a bad side. We went for a draw at least, we got a draw,

 

[derek]

“A bit” the art of the understatement.

Gary has doubled down on his no need for reinforcements rhetoric, so we are where we are!

Could probably remove both of those words - it would make it more realistic.

 

[Swaby39]

I don't really get this sort of post, is it some kind of weird male thing I don't understand? You probably saw us on Tuesday, at this level we're a pretty bad side though we should hopefully have enough to get past Portsmouth at home. But if we're just chatting we don't have to strut around beating our chests and making out we're something we're not.

I’m under no illusions that we are some sort of dominant force in the championship. But at times there’s been almost a resignation to losing or even going back to L1 - particularly when Des was in charge. It’s particularly baffling when we’ve lost only once in 11 games, 5 of which have been at home and we’ve won 4, drawn the other.

We mock other clubs for the ‘teams like Oxford’ drivel they all spout, but there’s an air of that around the forum most weeks. ‘Teams like Oxford can’t expect to compete with X’. It’s nonsense, this is football and on probability alone you can reasonably expect to upset a few bigger sides. But a home game against a side that can’t buy an away victory we should be hurtling in to with confidence. If Pompey turn up and play us off the park despite us throwing our full weight at it then that’s the time to accept we just didn’t have enough. But before the game? No. We can and should believe we can win this game and I hope the players feel that from the crowd on the day.

 

[christenedinjericho]

They outplayed Sheff UTD at Bramall lane and Murphy is on fire at the moment while we can’t seem to score.

A draw would be fine.

And here we draw again.

Draw curtains, draw animals, landscapes, people, draw things to a close.....oh and I couldn’t forget this beaut, let's draw against Pompey!

A draw tomorrow isn't the end of the world granted, but come on...

Only this morning, a 90 year former academic client of mine who used to have no interest in football till she met moi, said she hopes Oxford beats Pompey (yes, she said pompey) tomorrow. No f'cking draws from her 90 year old lips!

COYY'S

 

[Toe knee]

I don't get this draw mentality of our fans nowadays. I don't pay to go & watch my team draw, I.go to Watch them win.
Same as when I played, you play to win.
You accepted a draw now & then, but bloody hell our fans seem happy drawing every game.. no wonder our vocal support & atmosphere & passion isn't like it used to be..