Away Match Day Thread +++ 23/02/2019 Blackpool v OUFC Match Day Thread +++

[AbbeyOx]

cracking free kick from Graham. really hope we can get him for next season.
pitch looked awful

 

[Jonny G]

Thanks for the replies. I firmly believe whatever division we are in next season, we need a completely new back 4 (assuming Nels is going). Our full backs are ok, but nothing more than cover in my opinion.

I actually disagree with this regarding Dickie. He's 22 and has played less than 100 games in professional football (so excluding loans at Basingstoke etc.) and all but one of those have come in the last 18 months. So he's very green and still learning his trade.
IMHO centre back is hardest place for a young player to play, if you're learning on the job as an attacking player people will forgive the mistakes if you're still doing good things even 50% of the time, if you're a wide player and create a chance with 1 out of every four opportunities in the final third people will be raving about you.... If you're a young striker who converts one good chance in three then you'll be a 15 goal a season striker at a young age.
I agree that Dickie is frustrating, but the frustration comes from seeing his promise alongside errors. If we were to get rid of a centre back at 23 - as he'll be in the summer - after 18 months and approx. 60 matches then there is no point in signing those type of young defenders. We may as well go back to signing the likes of Roget, Raynes, Martin who'll do a job for one or two years, but will never grow with us up the leagues, or enable us to sell them for a profit and help the club grow - like the old Eales / Ashton model. I guess these days we could say sell a player to fund the tax bill or stadium service charge
As an example of what I'm trying to get at is with Dunkley, when we signed him in Nov 2014 he'd made about 180 appearances at Conference / conference north level, so had far more experience than Dickie and was a year older than Dickie was when he signed. Dickie has been with us for 13 months, at the same stage in Chey's development he had a horror show on Boxing Day 2015 against Exeter when he made several errors, should have been red carded and then MApp wisely took him off at half time.... by the end of the season four months later he was our starting centre back, keeping either Wright or Mullins out of the team and the next season was one of the best defenders in League One as shown by Wigan snapping him up on their way to winning the league we're in now.
I'd never get rid of a defender who shows as much promise, or causes as much frustration as Dickie at this early stage of his career.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

Good post. While accepting that Dickie makes mistakes sometimes (although possibly less than the vastly experienced Mousinho does when playing in the same position!) some of his defensive work is excellent. The comparison with Dunkley is a sensible one - there were many people who said (quite loudly) that Dunkley was a liability, and maybe early on on is his time with us he was exactly that. But look how he improved in a relatively short time. And Dickie is still learning his trade - I'd say that he is on an upward curve and to bin him now when he is improving would be a bit daft. I know it's all about opinions but sometimes people make up their minds very early in a player's career with a club and then stick with that opinion come hell or high water, no matter what a player does.

 

[Marked Ox]

The other thing is Dickie has to play on the left because Nelson can't. Dickie has always looked better on the right; so if we signed a left sided centre half, then I reckon Dickie would improve from that alone and be far more comfortable in his natural position.

 

[Shosho]

Dickie is similar to Dunkley in that he is decent in the air and a threat in the opposition box also, however if you are the opposition you would let him have the ball all day long. He isnt great on the ground, but much like Dunkley that can be developed/you bring a midfielder/defender that can play that role instead.

I've not seen much of Curtis Tilt, however he plays left side CB, is 27, out of contract in the summer. Sinclair gave him a tough time on saturday however Tilt is very much in the mould of Nelson...just plays on the other side.

 

[Marked Ox]

Jake Wright alongside Dickie would have been a good combo.

 

[RCYellowRC]

The other thing is Dickie has to play on the left because Nelson can't. Dickie has always looked better on the right; so if we signed a left sided centre half, then I reckon Dickie would improve from that alone and be far more comfortable in his natural position.

Exactly! i've said this a few times, Dickie was very very good when Nelson was injured last season on the right side of the defence. He's right footed and his left is non existent so he always takes an extra touch or two to shift onto his right and by that point the centre forward is within 5 yards of him and he makes an error.

If i was KR i'd be all over Jake Wright right now as his contract expires in the summer and if they get promoted to the premier league he'll move on. He is exactly what Dickie needs next to him.

EDIT: You beat me too it!

 

[ZeroTheHero]

The other thing is Dickie has to play on the left because Nelson can't. Dickie has always looked better on the right; so if we signed a left sided centre half, then I reckon Dickie would improve from that alone and be far more comfortable in his natural position.

Yes of course that is also a good point. Presumably Nelson feels that he cannot play on the left! As Nelson won't be with us next season, you'd hope that we would be looking for a naturally left-sided defender to sign in the summer and to move Dickie to the right.

 

[Bacon]

I actually disagree with this regarding Dickie. He's 22 and has played less than 100 games in professional football (so excluding loans at Basingstoke etc.) and all but one of those have come in the last 18 months. So he's very green and still learning his trade.
IMHO centre back is hardest place for a young player to play, if you're learning on the job as an attacking player people will forgive the mistakes if you're still doing good things even 50% of the time, if you're a wide player and create a chance with 1 out of every four opportunities in the final third people will be raving about you.... If you're a young striker who converts one good chance in three then you'll be a 15 goal a season striker at a young age.
I agree that Dickie is frustrating, but the frustration comes from seeing his promise alongside errors. If we were to get rid of a centre back at 23 - as he'll be in the summer - after 18 months and approx. 60 matches then there is no point in signing those type of young defenders. We may as well go back to signing the likes of Roget, Raynes, Martin who'll do a job for one or two years, but will never grow with us up the leagues, or enable us to sell them for a profit and help the club grow - like the old Eales / Ashton model. I guess these days we could say sell a player to fund the tax bill or stadium service charge
As an example of what I'm trying to get at is with Dunkley, when we signed him in Nov 2014 he'd made about 180 appearances at Conference / conference north level, so had far more experience than Dickie and was a year older than Dickie was when he signed. Dickie has been with us for 13 months, at the same stage in Chey's development he had a horror show on Boxing Day 2015 against Exeter when he made several errors, should have been red carded and then MApp wisely took him off at half time.... by the end of the season four months later he was our starting centre back, keeping either Wright or Mullins out of the team and the next season was one of the best defenders in League One as shown by Wigan snapping him up on their way to winning the league we're in now.
I'd never get rid of a defender who shows as much promise, or causes as much frustration as Dickie at this early stage of his career.

Can’t argue with that. Fair play

 

[DannyW]

Good post. While accepting that Dickie makes mistakes sometimes (although possibly less than the vastly experienced Mousinho does when playing in the same position!) some of his defensive work is excellent. The comparison with Dunkley is a sensible one - there were many people who said (quite loudly) that Dunkley was a liability, and maybe early on on is his time with us he was exactly that. But look how he improved in a relatively short time. And Dickie is still learning his trade - I'd say that he is on an upward curve and to bin him now when he is improving would be a bit daft. I know it's all about opinions but sometimes people make up their minds very early in a player's career with a club and then stick with that opinion come hell or high water, no matter what a player does.

How true, Dunkley was also made to play in the left, and has been almost a constance precense for Wigan who always play him on the right. Dickie will turn out to be an excellent CB imo, needs support not the mindless stuff some.our support throws at him. I name Mouse and Henry who had the same treatment.

 

[Oufcrealist]

The other thing is Dickie has to play on the left because Nelson can't. Dickie has always looked better on the right; so if we signed a left sided centre half, then I reckon Dickie would improve from that alone and be far more comfortable in his natural position.

A very significant point. And one which I raised pre-season!!

 

[AbbeyOx]

Isn't fiacre kelleher left sided? wonder if we'll ever see him play for us

 

[windmill]

Jake Wright alongside Dickie would have been a good combo.

Still could be!!!

 

[Foley]

Still could be!!!

Wright is getting on from a footballing perspective.
He was linked with a loan move to a Northern club in the last transfer window but stayed put.
I would be surprised if he moved away from Sheffield and he is unlikely to get more than a one year contract now I would have thought.
I think that we need to look elsewhere for Nelsons replacement.

 

[Shaun Rice]

I did say the other day he’s like a cat with 9 lives!

Told you

 

[MJB]

Wright is getting on from a footballing perspective.
He was linked with a loan move to a Northern club in the last transfer window but stayed put.
I would be surprised if he moved away from Sheffield and he is unlikely to get more than a one year contract now I would have thought.
I think that we need to look elsewhere for Nelsons replacement.

Wright will blatantly go into coaching soon. Just not likely here, unfortunately.

 

[PottersRightBoot]

As opposed to going into coaching surreptitiously ? ?

 

[MJB]

As opposed to going into coaching surreptitiously ? [emoji57]

Indeed. Those shadowy covert coaches are the worst.

 

[Shaun Rice]

Told you

Actually I watched the first 45 minutes in full on yellow player and we were very lucky. How many ball did they put in our box? 20 odd and not one cross was blocked, not one! Sometimes the player was doubled up and still got the ball in. We were just lucky they had an off day or it’d been all over within 30 minutes.

 

[Shosho]

Actually I watched the first 45 minutes in full on yellow player and we were very lucky. How many ball did they put in our box? 20 odd and not one cross was blocked, not one! Sometimes the player was doubled up and still got the ball in. We were just lucky they had an off day or it’d been all over within 30 minutes.

Blackpool had 24 crosses from open play...9 successful.

In total they had 8 shots...1 on target. Half of the shots they attempted were from corners (they had 7 corners in total).