Went to bed at 10 as was knackered and just had the gut feeling nobody else would come in. I’m bitterly disappointed.
I’m usually sat two rows behind Scotchers on the positive bus, but it would not be an effective assessment of the window to say that this is good enough.
The negatives:
Firstly, the 3-5-2 has been stumbled across and not planned for. We simply can’t play 4-2-3-1 due to lack of wingers, so any comments from Robinson regarding planning for this shape are embarrassing. We have to run with 3-5-2 atm but when (if) everyone is fit, we will no doubt change shape again to accommodate where most of our budget has gone.
I can cope with no CDM coming in. I can just about cope with no striker coming in. But the inability to not find a left back all summer is shambolic. Let’s not forget the 3-5-2 came about last season because KR lost all faith (rightly so) in Seddon. Truth be told, Seddon is just not good enough. He’s a bottom end L1 footballer at best. We changed the entire way we played last season because he was so poor. This is negligent to not sort that position out.
Most of the signings we have made have excited me on paper, but in reality we are now in September and the only ones who have proved their worth as effective play off standard minimum ability players are Findlay and Brown. I accept that not all players hit the ground running, especially the young lads like Joseph and Bate who seem like they will get better, but the games and months will pass and we will fall further behind the teams with the points in the top 6. I won’t start on the players unavailable because it’s been done to death.
KR’s PR this window has been awful. I actually thought last season he had started ti master the PR stuff - less is more, don’t say stupid headline statements etc - but he has gone back ti his early OUFC days and I’d even liken the comments on Jones to the times he threw Hanson/Sykes etc under the bus. Of course, the responsibility lies with the player too, but it’s the way KR has handled it.
The positives:
When the injured players are back, potentially we could have a very powerful frontline which can do damage to all teams in this division. I’m still positive and looking forward to seeing Browne, Wildschut, Murphy, Taylor, Baldock being supplied by Cam and Mcguane etc.
The board. Massive credit to the obvious money they have stumped up. This is way more important than the ‘they haven’t put the right team in place’ chat. Their commitment, vision and finance is evidence and I’m sure they will have learnt lessons from this window and will rectify in time.
The manager. Feel so let down by him this window (I am a KR fan) and yet still I’m gonna back him. The reason being is that he has put this squad together. It’s now his job to get the best out of them. I will absolutely afford him time to train and work on shape, tactics etc and to prove how good of a manager he really is. If he can’t, he will be found out and that will be that.
The talk of relegation on here is nonsense. There isn’t a poster on here or any genuine OUFC fan who genuinely believes we will go down. Sadly, I’ve had to temper my own expectations for the season. Even with the chat of ‘top 4 budget’, I was be happy with play offs and would probably have accepted just missing out if we ran it closer than last year (that probably is a little negative on my part!)
Now I would consider a top 8 finish a good season, with a top 10 finish probably just about right with the quality of other sides and our slight decline in squad quality and depth.
I hope KR can get the maximum out of the squad and make us believe we can do something special, but if we can’t compete near the top third then it will be time for him to depart nearer to Christmas for me.
