Home Match Day Thread 17/11/2020 L1 OUFC v Crewe Alexandra

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The problem I think is under KR we always start slowly losing more than we win it’s happened since he walked through the door 🤔 I’m also wondering whether the players are struggling to play with no fans in the ground clutching at straws I know but after last night need to try and find something because KR certainly don’t know why we’re so s**t
I think you have answered your own question in there. We have had bad starts under KR since he took over so its very unlikely the lack of fans.
More to do with
Pre- season
Players leaving and not being adequately replaced. Which ties in with late and rushed recruitment. Leading to bringing in players who were probably not on the 'wish list' in the first place. And consequentely for a while at least having to play players out of position with what is an imbalanced squad, especially with a few injuries.
 
It’s a combination of shirking responsibility but also not knowing how to play their roles. There was one instance in particular in the second half last night when Henry was desperate for Clare to make an overlapping run as he was shielding the ball from two players, which had taken them out of the game and opened up the entire final third down the right side, and Clare just sort of ran up to him, shuffled infield and stood about two yards away from him looking completely lost. Luckily Henry won a foul but it blew a completely open run towards and into the right hand side of the penalty area, and if Crewe had nicked the ball instead of pushing Henry over we would’ve had two of them running freely into a gaping hole at right back. We see that sort of thing too often this season. McGuane is also a total liability even when only coming off the bench for 10 minutes or so (that he recently started a couple of games on the wing is absolutely insane). Does nothing but spin around like a bottle top, fall over or pass the ball backwards to the defence. It allows their entire team to get back behind the ball, sit in and watch on bemusedly as he makes himself dizzy, trying to spin away from players who are only half challenging at best because they know he’s got no interest in beating them or driving towards the box. Nobody is covering themselves in glory lately but Jesus Christ, how some of these things are being allowed to continue is just ludicrous. I would love to know whether nobody actually picks up on these things in terms of analysis, or whether the players are just doing what they want instead of what they’re told.
This is the biggest question for me. You could send out any mix of players, squads in an array of formations but if these basic instructions and fundamentals are not being carried out then we have no chance. Are the players ignoring instructions from the management, or are we not working on these in training? Is it being done on purpose at request of the management or are we genuinely so poor we can't even pass and move?

Maybe the loss of Fazackerley is bigger than we thought?
 
This is the biggest question for me. You could send out any mix of players, squads in an array of formations but if these basic instructions and fundamentals are not being carried out then we have no chance. Are the players ignoring instructions from the management, or are we not working on these in training? Is it being done on purpose at request of the management or are we genuinely so poor we can't even pass and move?

Maybe the loss of Fazackerley is bigger than we thought?
It’s not about formations or specific players on the evidence of last night, there seems to be a general lack of confidence and certainty in the team. Much as I like him, you’re in trouble if your best player is Sam Long.
 
Not helped by the total lack of critical questioning from CW
To be fair, when you work for the club (and your office is at the training ground for good measure), and you’re only paid your salary to work on its behalf, you don’t really have much scope to give it the old, “Well we’ve been complete bloody garbage lately, haven’t we? What are you going to do about it, eh?!” It would be a bit like expecting Cummings to drag Johnson out into the street and start laying into him in front of some waiting television cameras. They’re on the same side. Or at least they were until recently, in Dom’s case.

DISCLAIMER: I’m not directly comparing Chris Williams to Dominic Cummings. CW isn’t as dangerous to society (for the most part) and has a much better physique.
 
I think you have answered your own question in there. We have had bad starts under KR since he took over so its very unlikely the lack of fans.
More to do with
Pre- season
Players leaving and not being adequately replaced. Which ties in with late and rushed recruitment. Leading to bringing in players who were probably not on the 'wish list' in the first place. And consequentely for a while at least having to play players out of position with what is an imbalanced squad, especially with a few injuries.

I think that's the thing that makes this season different to the last two. There are too many players who can 'do a job' in a few positions rather than specialising in one.

Long has already played RB, CB and LB this season, Forde can play RW, CM, RB and Karl still can't decide whether Henry & Sykes are wingers or central midfielders. Add into the mix not knowing whether Clare is actually a right back, whether Karl has signed Obita as a LB or LW, McGuane playing CM and LW, Agyei being moved around the front three and Osei Yaw being used as a winger/striker and then bombed out of the squad shows there's so much muddled thinking with the squad.

In my mind (and I concede this may not tally with reality), if you have a squad of 21 (with, say, 2 players under the age limit), that allows you two of every position plus a third striker. When a player gets injured or needs to be rotated, you should already have a backup to come in who plays in that position. At the moment we have far too many versatile players who are moved around to 'do a job', rather than specialised ones who can perform naturally in the position they're assigned. After three years of squad building, to end up with such a disjointed squad, blame has to fall on the manager.
 
Re Clare - the "extended highlights" conveniently snip out the moment Clare just stood & watched leading up to the first goal - dreadful. I would not be surprised that he is not even in the squad on Saturday.
 
Re Clare - the "extended highlights" conveniently snip out the moment Clare just stood & watched leading up to the first goal - dreadful. I would not be surprised that he is not even in the squad on Saturday.
And the annoying thing was he won the ball and then just stood there in a trance.
 
Poor recruitment; poor tactics; too many injured and out of form players; players played out of position; too much chopping and changing; persisting with the same set-up and players and expecting a different result along with the loss of the coaching brains of Faz, results in a s**t storm. Either KR wakes up and acts or relegation is a likely reality.
 
KR is taking questions on tomorrow evenings Radio Oxford 5 min fans forum ( approx 5.30pm)
 
In my mind (and I concede this may not tally with reality), if you have a squad of 21 (with, say, 2 players under the age limit), that allows you two of every position plus a third striker. When a player gets injured or needs to be rotated, you should already have a backup to come in who plays in that position. At the moment we have far too many versatile players who are moved around to 'do a job', rather than specialised ones who can perform naturally in the position they're assigned. After three years of squad building, to end up with such a disjointed squad, blame has to fall on the manager.
Particularly baffling when you listen to what Robinson himself said at Charlton more than three years ago: Starts at 5:08


Everything he uses as an example of how not to recruit and build a squad is how we’ve built and recruited the last three seasons, and everything he says he wants to do is everything we’ve not done.
 
Particularly baffling when you listen to what Robinson himself said at Charlton more than three years ago: Starts at 5:08


Everything he uses as an example of how not to recruit and build a squad is how we’ve built and recruited the last three seasons, and everything he says he wants to do is everything we’ve not done.

Wow, that is baffling. Thinking like that hinges on the manager knowing his best XI and knowing what positions to play them in, and at the moment it seems all at sea. Looks like he knows what the right thing to do is, so it's really strange that he's made it worse than it was last season.
 
Particularly baffling when you listen to what Robinson himself said at Charlton more than three years ago: Starts at 5:08


Everything he uses as an example of how not to recruit and build a squad is how we’ve built and recruited the last three seasons, and everything he says he wants to do is everything we’ve not done.

Are those the chances of us staying up kr?
 
Problem number 1 : KR is arrogant. Having had some (limited) success at MKD and with us last year, he feels he cannot be advised/contradicted. This applies to supporters’ views (which he must be aware of) - while I accept most of us have limited managerial experience, we can see the obvious.
It was clear at the start of the season, and even more so in the weeks leading up to the end of the last window, that our defence was wobbly. But KR knows best. Let’s buy ANOTHER wide man and ignore the problems across the back four. Clare is a case in point: he is not a defender but clearly has some effect running at the opposition with the ball. He is a midfielder. But KR knows best. He was bought as a right back and that’s where he’s going to stay.
Eastwood, Ruffels, Henry and Kelly are out of form and need replacing, at least in the short term. But dropping any of them would be an admission of failure. KR knows best. While he remains stubborn and immovable with his selection (and consequently with his limited tactics) we will be out-thought and outplayed by mediocre to poor League One teams.
Therein lies disaster. And relegation.
Could it be that having been given a new 4 year contract he's trying to get sacked and receive substantial compensation? If so, he's going the right way about it.
 
Could it be that having been given a new 4 year contract he's trying to get sacked and receive substantial compensation? If so, he's going the right way about it.
Would have hoped Tiger and NMW would have a clause written into his contract regarding failure and the compo to be paid if he is sacked
 
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