Home Match Day Thread 23/02/2021 L1 OUFC v Portsmouth

And I will counter that we’ve been very poor
In the last 2 games and unless there is a major shift in tactics and shapes on the field then I sadly can’t see any improvements.
is that not the point though so were Pompey in their previous 2 yet somehow you don't see them dropping many points, they had a blip why is it so different for us?
Surely the whole point is that in this League we're all capable of beating each other and that's why you cannot just write us off just because of the last couple of games.
 
is that not the point though so were Pompey in their previous 2 yet somehow you don't see them dropping many points, they had a blip why is it so different for us?
Surely the whole point is that in this League we're all capable of beating each other and that's why you cannot just write us off just because of the last couple of games.
We’ll see, I hope I proved wrong.
 
Having looked at the next 4 games I reckon we can get max points, MK, Peterborough, Swindon and Charlton, all winnable for sure, COYY’S, bring Dan back, he offers something different.
 
Having looked at the next 4 games I reckon we can get max points, MK, Peterborough, Swindon and Charlton, all winnable for sure, COYY’S, bring Dan back, he offers something different.
Not sure I agree but it’s great to see some optimism! We’re very unpredictable and in our day can beat anyone. I will say that it’s much harder watching us lose on my own! It’s much better with a couple of mates to discuss it with.
 
We do not have any big strong units in midfield, save maybe currently Gorrin and that’s where many of our defeats come from. We regularly come out second best in tackles and challenges.

The lack of pace through the middle is also alarming. Man mark our best players and you are on the way to a result.

Also think the dry, bobbly pictures at this stage of the season don’t help our passing style.

The new players aren’t particularly hot on teamwork - yet - and that’s causing problems as well.

Against this defence is doing very well save Ruffs who needs a week or two off. Stevens is class above Eastwood, he was excellent again tonight.

Pompey weren’t all that. They stuck to their game plan well though. Still think we have a chance of the play offs but Agyei’s got to be brought back. I guarantee he would have caused the lumbering Pompey back line more hassle than our star strikers tonight. He did in the Fratton Park game after all. COYY
 
The only time we played through the lines in the first half with Moore to Lee and then a cute touch to Henry we nearly scored. Why we dont do that more often is beyond me. Nobody is looking for the forward pass consequently it just goes back to the defence who pass it around a bit until the pressure forces someone to hoof it towards our giant target man. We didnt manage to pick out Shodipo once with any sort of decent pass. Sykes looked understandably tired,why Kelly did not feature is a bit of a mystery. Karl is not having one of his better weeks. Barker has shown that he can carve through any defence, we need to be set up to make that happen.
 
It has become a really difficult one to work out, we have all got very excited with 9 wins in a row and us getting to the edges of the play offs. But it needs almost as good a run to stay there, and most importantly definitely not lose to your promotion rivals to stay in with a chance.

The reality is that 16 points from the first 16 games has hurt us and left us with too much to do. And having got to a position where we may actually create a miracle we have suddenly bottled it when the pressure of knowing it could actually be done became a reality. The free flowing football when not under pressure has stopped and the team is more anxious about not conceding a goal to lose a game rather than score 2 or 3 in the first 30 minutes and put the game to bed. And the managers tactics and team selections seem to be getting muddled in this mindset too. At the moment we have stopped passing the ball with the same accuracy, stopped getting forward quickly, stopped putting crosses in the box, stopped getting decent shots on goal, we suddenly look less fit than the opposition and have become fearful of what they can offer rather than imposing what we can do to them.

But even when we were winning every game the massive and unnatural contribution to goals coming from our full backs maybe was masking the fact that there was a lack of contribution from the rest of the team to really threaten a serious promotion challenge. And now the full backs' contribution has unsurprisingly dropped off no one else has really stepped up to take charge and make their own telling contribution, nothing from Brannagan, nothing from Kelly, nothing from Winnall, nothing from Sykes, nothing from Forde, very little from Henry, and a really bad patch from Taylor, a bad 15 minutes in a game for Agyei has seen him out of the team despite him contributing with goals and assists before that. But really we can only complain that we only got 16 points from our first 16 games, even if we had underachieved and only got 22 we would be comfortably in the play offs. The early and significant underachievement unfortunately has still outweighed the recent overachievement of this team and the effort of catching up seems to be weighing the team down now. We should still be surprised that we are in with a chance.
I think these two things have defined our season really. I fear that we're now going to go on a sustained poor run of form again like we have at times for the past three years now. The only caveat I'll give at the moment is that the bad run hasn't been too long so far and we have played tough teams recently, but the evidence of bad runs followed by good runs followed by bad runs seems to be striking again.

I think there is a little bit of muddled thinking going on, trying to play players in uncomfortable positions, I just hope it doesn't get to a stage where like earlier in the season we had Clare at RB, Long at CB, Kelly DM, Henry and Forde both playing in the centre and McGuane on the left. It does seem like there's very little in the way of structure when it comes to having a defined first XI and suitable back-ups for them be it for rotation, injuries or form.

Take the right wing for example. Lee's playing kind of on the right but he's better behind the striker, Henry and Sykes play in the centre of midfield more now, Forde covers a lot of positions but hasn't made any his own and Hall sadly isn't good enough. It begs the question why Clare was loaned out really. In midfield we don't have recognised backup for Gorrin and look lost when we need to rest him or he gets booked. Playing Hanson/Bran/Kelly there isn't really a solution. To his credit, Karl has been naming a stable back four and goalkeeper when fit, but two or so injuries could render that a problem. If two of Long/Moore/Atkinson/Ruffels get injured, can we really trust Forde/Hanson at RB for any length and Grayson to cover both CB and LB? For me, it comes back to squad building, and I don't think the balance of the squad is quite there, and Karl's had more than enough time to get it right really.
 
Pompey worked hard for their win, closed Oxford down and didn't let us play, I got the feeling this was a change of tactic to get back to winning ways. When teams do that we struggle to cope, hence all the passing along the back four or generally passing backwards, so I would like to see Robinson adopt the same ploy at MK, grind the result out, Close the opposition down, don't let them play and hit them on the break, even if it means playing defensive minded players on the wing. One other point is, stop giving needless stupid free kicks away, do most of the team not know how to tackle or defend? Just giving the ball to the opposition and we are on the back foot again.
 
no it's player preferences from fans rearing it's head despite the preferred option being below par.

The fact that Winnall again received no service matters not if his face don't fit only a hat trick every week will do
I disagree. The guy runs like a teddy bear, he’s so slow.

He’s had months of training and game time now, and has only showed slight improvements in his fitness levels.

Robbo has a history or bringing in broken players, who haven’t played for ages, and need “mini pre seasons” and it’s costing us, because when our existing first choice players lose form or get injured, they’re then replaced with crocks or players who clearly aren’t up to it anymore.

Winnall should never have been brought into the club, we needed a fully fit, ready to go striker, to provide proper competition for Taylor, but instead Robbo brought in a player who was so unfit, that even after 6 months, he’s still not up to it.

It’s beyond infuriating
 

I think a side truly looking to get promoted scores some of those half chances.

You would have thought from reading this thread that we did nothing at all. We had some chances and on another day could have taken a point from it.

Pompey’s goal is a good one. You don’t see many headers like that when the scorer comes from so far back to meet it. Of course we can criticise the defending - ball watching and not preventing the cross - but it’s a good goal regardless.
 
I’d argue until I am blue in the face that Mark Sykes and James Henry cannot play as central midfielders , in fact they simply are not midfield players at all. It was a risk last night deploying them with Brannagan. They contributed very little and the midfield as a whole did not supply Lee and Shodipo. Atkinson did not bring the ball out last night either. Agree that Ruffels seems to be suffering.

These games are coming thick and fast and it’s a brutal schedule. Plenty more twists and turns to come.

Sykes can press but he cannot win the ball without fouling and Henry lacks precision with his passing. Kelly frustrates but he is a centre midfielder who keeps the game ticking over. He can pass it short and pick a longer pass.

MK will be another test at their place and seem to be playing three at the back.Then Peterborough who look as if they will go up this season.
 
If you ask me we are a decent mid table team we are to good for the teams below us but aren’t quite as good as SOME of the teams above us in fact we can’t beat the teams above us so I predict this season we will finish somewhere between 9th and 13th
 
When Brandon Barker came on he enlivened us down the left He’s blisteringly quick, two-footed and knows how to get the right angle before
delivering the cross. Barker should be a centre forward’s dream with the undoubted quality he has. We just need to get him match fit for
regular 90 minute football. Defenders at any level fear raw pace and trickery.
 
I don't see what Shodipo brings on the right, yeah he's quick and tricky but you can't play two players who blow hot and cold on each side.
Barker or Shodipo out left, Lee out right and one of Sykes, Kelly or Henry in the middle.
I'd much rather have Lee playing in midfield than Sykes or Henry, both of whom showed again last night that they have very little positive effect on the team when played there.

I thought Shodipo did okay with the ball when he was eventually given it. Apart from the Henry chance (set up by Lee), most of our other few chances involved Shodipo or Barker.
 
No complaints about the result, I thought Pompey did a good job on us. Excellent goal as well. With so many games every team is struggling for consistency and it is inevitable that you can't put out your strongest 11 for every game, assuming you know what it is. With that said I didn't like starting with CB as the holding midfielder, I think you need Gorrin or Kelly in that role. We weren't strong enough in the middle to unlock the front three, but I still thought they were poor. Long looked a bit off the pace as well. Top 2 not going to happen, but we are still very capable of reaching the play-offs.
 
Having looked at the next 4 games I reckon we can get max points, MK, Peterborough, Swindon and Charlton, all winnable for sure, COYY’S, bring Dan back, he offers something different.
Really?
 
No complaints about the result, I thought Pompey did a good job on us. Excellent goal as well. With so many games every team is struggling for consistency and it is inevitable that you can't put out your strongest 11 for every game, assuming you know what it is. With that said I didn't like starting with CB as the holding midfielder, I think you need Gorrin or Kelly in that role. We weren't strong enough in the middle to unlock the front three, but I still thought they were poor. Long looked a bit off the pace as well. Top 2 not going to happen, but we are still very capable of reaching the play-offs.
Agree apart from holding mid if Gorrin is out then I think then Hanson needs to fill in as otherwise very very lightweight !!
 
When Brandon Barker came on he enlivened us down the left He’s blisteringly quick, two-footed and knows how to get the right angle before
delivering the cross. Barker should be a centre forward’s dream with the undoubted quality he has. We just need to get him match fit for
regular 90 minute football. Defenders at any level fear raw pace and trickery.
This happens when Shodipo’s on the bench and comes on too. They have good pace/agility so will tend to be good against tiring defenders
 
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