Away Match Day Thread +++ 17/09/19 L1: Bolton Wanderers v OUFC +++

[PottersRightBoot]

Bolton showed a lot of spirit and were well organised at the back. This is a team with some decent players now. Their finishing was woeful though. Far superior to Tranmere and technically on a par with Peterborough . When we look back on the season this might be considered to be a decent point.

However. We were one paced and predictable for most of the game. Ruffs appeared to be playing in slippers, while Woodburn, Gorrin and Henry all seemed to be in hiding.

If it hadn’t been for Eastwood it would have been two or three. A very worrying first half followed by a slightly better second half.

We lack pace throughout the team and half of them lacked bottle and appetite.

Cadden was ok I guess.

I’d bench Woodburn for Saturday, I’d give Sykes a go, he must be pissed off seeing some of those selected in front of him playing with such lack of sparkle.

Taylor gets in good positions and I feel with the right selection in midfield he could prosper.

 

[Big Ronaldo]

Oh how I miss Mapp’s promotion winning team. f*****g hell, we were one hell of a side. We turned up and you just knew we were gonna win.

 

[RyanioBirdio]

For some reason KRs teams seem to go on runs, either dismal or great. Hopefully we can go on a storming one and win 7 out of 8 - no doubt followed by losing the next three.

Unfortunately you don’t tend to achieve anything with that sort of yo-yo form. It can all be very exciting to watch but it’s a bit Bournemouth; goals flying in all over the place (including an awful lot at the wrong end) peppered with a few thrilling wins. But at the end of the season you don’t end up doing anything or really moving forward much. Our best form last season, when we clawed away from the drop, came from being tighter and more compact and hitting teams on the break. It wasn’t overly negative, it was just pragmatic and very effective - we actually scored quite a lot of goals as well. My concern, and it is very much a criticism of KR, is that he spends too much time obsessing over his ideal style of play and not enough time looking at the players he has, and figuring out the most effective way to achieve results with them. I think he’s a dreamer, but the problem with dreamers is that if left unchecked for long periods they can turn into fantasists, and when that happens things can get very ugly, very quickly. I suppose it depends what sort of football people prefer as to how big of a deal they consider it. I don’t believe we’re anything more than a top half League One club these days - potentially we could be more than that, but not right now - and I’m alright with that. I’d just like to see us give ourselves the best chance of seeing what our potential actually is, because I do feel like under KR everything plays second fiddle to his own desires.

I think that’s fairly measured and reasoned. I’m not frothing at the mouth and I’m not saying we definitely can’t achieve anything, but I’m certainly sighing a lot and going, “Oh, Karl... you don’t half make this difficult sometimes.”

 

[BigCrompy]

LMFAO “gelling” is a myth. Created by managers who can’t work out or put together a decent side. Did we take time to gel against Sunderland, Blackpool or Peterborough. If so we must have ungelled somehow.

This, 100%.

Amongst the most ridiculous bollocksy cliches in football. It literally means....nothing.

 

[AbsoluteZero]

Our away results have been abysmal for about 2 years now so even going to a club with a team effectively created 2 weeks ago was never going to be a stroll in the park. In some ways we should be grateful we didn't lose and face total humiliation and ridicule, that would have created headlines on all the news reports and we just about managed to escape that. But we should be thankful that we don't play Bolton in 3-4 weeks by which time they will probably have sorted themselves out. Likewise we probably couldn't pick a better time to play Lincoln away, but you can't be hopeful of winning that one either. Even when we are given good opportunities we can't take them. Lack of ruthlessness is apparent.

Maybe we should be trying one or two of the kids in what is almost a free season which unusually has a lesser than normal chance of relegation. Not only gives the kids experience to see if they are up to the task, but if they do prove themselves it creates an asset with sell on value. We need something positive to spark this team, whether it is a kid coming from nowhere and being a genius, or Taylor going on a scoring run. We don't score anywhere near enough scruffy goals, and don't even create chances to take scruffy goals. Taylor's made a career out of doing this. KR needs to decide whether to tweak his tactics to give him the opportunity to do this or keep to the same tactics and we keep meandering through the season without any real intent and a very safe that will do attitude in a style which seemingly doesn't really suit Taylor. If we can find the key to getting Taylor scoring then we could still do well this season, but this does require a change of tactics. If we keep doing the same safe thing its got to be worth a gamble to see if by the end of the season the likes of Baptiste or Sykes or one of the kids can be worth a couple of million by proving their worth in the side and then the season won't be a total waste.

 

[FalmouthOx]

Toothless - tippy tappy - so many corners and zero penetration - we must score about 1 in 100 goals from corners and our free kicks aren't much better - but hasn't that been the trouble for the last three years? - We are too reliant on the midfield and I honestly don't know how the "coaches" have kept their jobs because we never try anything a bit different - just hoofing it aimlessly on to the back of heads. We are too predictable and that is worrying and so easy to play against. Dickie looked class at times, Fosu started well but went out like a candle in the wind, Easty had a good game and earned us a point but there was never a moment when we looked dangerous up front and when Agyai came on he played way too deep. The rest were anonymous and were dancing on ice. Studs lads? We could have got hammered and the closest we came was deflected shot from Henry - when Brannagan doesn't fire neither do we. Sack the coaching staff. Freshen it up with some new ideas to at least make us less predictable, and tell KR to hold his hands up to his own failures and not spew bollox with a pre-prepared script blaming officials, throw in decisions and then applauding poor teams. New contract or not, Tiger needs to set 5 game targets like we had under MaPP and act swiftly when we under achieve - if his real ambition matches his words - I'm not sure any knowledgeable fans on here would have less points if they were managing this team. Bolton are poor but they wanted it more. On paper we should be right up there but it takes leaders and we don't seem to have any. The fans are getting short changed week after week. Painful.

 

[StEbbesYellows]

One on one with a defender. Went down rather than getting round him. useless

Yes, that was not impressive. When Adyei came on I thought he might inject a bit of steel up front but instead he came over all John Obika, hearing that reference my neighbour at the match told me to wash my mouth out with soap and water. Hall coming on instead of Sykes was very odd IMO; sorry to say that Robbie looks like he's five minutes away from the end of his career.

 

[MiddleBartonYellow]

I don’t think we’ll be in danger of getting relegated but I do think we’ll fall a long way short of where we should be. The squad does seem to be in a bit of a muddle along with the head coach’s thinking.

Mid Table all day long in my opinion.
Not acceptable for most people but I think that’s where our budget puts us.

 

[North Wales Yellow]

Oh how I miss Mapp’s promotion winning team. f*****g hell, we were one hell of a side. We turned up and you just knew we were gonna win.

Or, at least you knew we’d have a right good go.

 

[Teddydee1980]

I think it's all on the Lincoln game for some perspective. A loss and these two games look like lucky points for a side playing badly...a win and it's not an bad week in the grand scheme of things.

 

[TailsWeWin]

Mid Table all day long in my opinion.
Not acceptable for most people but I think that’s where our budget puts us.

It’s where our coaching puts us. The players are good; the tactics are poor = bang average.

 

[West Oxon U’s]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1174079986539651083

 

[West Oxon U’s]

 

[West Oxon U’s]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1174082758081208320

Bolton journalist Marc Iles’ verdict:

 

[horseman]

we managed a 0-0 against a side that has had 4/5/6 put past them most games

As for all this "Gel" and "Budget" crap, they are professional footballers.

Looks like another season where the only realistic target is the Mickey Mouse Cup, still that'll keep the 20.000 happy...Roll up Roll up don't forget to buy your tickets for Gillingham on the 28th !

 

[West Oxon U’s]

MOUSINHO : “ we could have been 4-0 down at the break “

https://twitter.com/x/status/1174171184998559744

 

[West Oxon U’s]

 

[Oxfordpete]

After that dire performance, i would rate most players at 4, Eastwood did everything asked of him so 6, Fosu showed effort so another 6, Woodburn made one good run, Dickie made some awful passes, the full backs were awful, Cadden was ok going forward, Taylor was awful, Agyei ran a lot but did little, he made one run with the ball, but instead of trying to go round the defender, but ran straight into him..... Gorrin needs to learn to pass forward, and you know you’re in trouble when Robbie comes on, Sykes must start Saturday

 

[bazzer9461]

Robinson has got to man up and admit he’s got it wrong over his formation and tactics and some of his signings. How long do we have to endure the poor football we are witnessing?

Sykes has shown that he is capable of playing in the team and in this league, so he is on the bench but he could come on at 60 mins and be a breathe of fresh air, so what does Robinson do? Wait till the 89th minute and he brings on Hall, does he think that a player who is looking very disappointingly are going to make a dufference.

 

[TailsWeWin]

God, that makes for some depressing viewing.