Away Match Day Thread 23/04/2022 L1: Rotherham United v OUFC

[Manorlounger]

You believe that every single player who has had discussions with OUFC recently but ultimately refused to sign "turned down the chance due to Robinson"?

Did I say that? No. Don't be silly.

 

[Manorlounger]

Many reasons players don't sign for clubs, but you stated that many didn't want to play for a KR team. That's an odd thing to say unless you're implying that KR is the reason?

What would be odd about not wishing to play for a KR team? Players can have their reasons for not joining a particular team, all sorts of reasons and, one of them may well be that they do not wish to be a part of a KR team. Is it so difficult for you to accept that KR is not everyone's cup of tea?

 

[The Mighty Aldo]

You believe that every single player who has had discussions with OUFC recently but ultimately refused to sign "turned down the chance due to Robinson"?

Agree with this

If we turn it on it’s head, there are plenty of very good players here that want to play for Robinson
I will go further and say many players have said they are really loving it here including Baldock Bodin and Williams who have recently joined
Also there is the questions of agents, money and location when it comes to signing for a club.

 

[m]

Did I say that? No. Don't be silly.

Well I hoped that wasn't what you meant, but you can see how it looked like you were at least suggesting it!

Who do you believe has turned down the chance to play for Oxford due to Robinson?

All those who didn't say yes?

 

[DevilsAvocado]

It may be that, along with others, he is suffering under the KR influence and constantly being asked to play in different roles.

However, if there is better out there and, if they want to play for a KR team (something I believe many have said no to) then let's go for them.
This summer is going to be an incredibly tense and potentially disappointing time for fans. June 10th window opens, KR claims to have plans already, I doubt they are firm plans.

What would be odd about not wishing to play for a KR team? Players can have their reasons for not joining a particular team, all sorts of reasons and, one of them may well be that they do not wish to be a part of a KR team. Is it so difficult for you to accept that KR is not everyone's cup of tea?

So just a load of crap then ?

 

[Mellowyellow]

Not silly at all, seems like a decent question following the accusation and i would like to hear
the answer to this as i suspect its baloney.

I get that people don`t like KR but adding made up things as part of the reasoning is just b/s.

Baloney or b/s? Make your mind up. It's not too difficult to believe, if he talks to players in private the way he throws them under the bus.

 

[Scotchegg]

What would be odd about not wishing to play for a KR team? Players can have their reasons for not joining a particular team, all sorts of reasons and, one of them may well be that they do not wish to be a part of a KR team. Is it so difficult for you to accept that KR is not everyone's cup of tea?

As others have pointed out, your assertions that many players don't want to play for a KR team is complete conjecture.

There are loads of things to criticise Robinson for without having to make things up.

 

[werthersoriginal]

What would be odd about not wishing to play for a KR team? Players can have their reasons for not joining a particular team, all sorts of reasons and, one of them may well be that they do not wish to be a part of a KR team. Is it so difficult for you to accept that KR is not everyone's cup of tea?

He seems quite well liked by players, a lot have spoken well of him, though obvs not everyone will feel the same

 

[Paul Cannell]

There are loads of things to criticise Robinson for without having to make things up.

I agree. Can you name 7?

 

[TailsWeWin]

I agree. Can you name 7?

You’re asking Scotchers to CRITICISE KR?!?!

 

[Thomas/Brock/Jones]

While understanding the disappointment of missing out of the play offs and some squad imbalance the tone of some posters on hear is extremely unwarranted however you feel about KR . He is 100% committed to the job and has made some errors obviously but doesn't need to get personal.
We are in a very decent league now and the next step is a very big one , its going to be a tough ask to get us promoted and KR has got us bloody close .
Some respect please .

 

[DevilsAvocado]

Baloney or b/s? Make your mind up. It's not too difficult to believe, if he talks to players in private the way he throws them under the bus.

My mind is made up, the original statement was baloney, using it as a reason to hit KR with is b/s, clear enough ?

Just because something might be believable to you it doesnt make it true.

As for throwing players under a bus, apart from Agyei who are we talking about ?

 

[uptheus]

You’re asking Scotchers to CRITICISE KR?!?!

Close the thread down

 

[horseman]

What would be odd about not wishing to play for a KR team? Players can have their reasons for not joining a particular team, all sorts of reasons and, one of them may well be that they do not wish to be a part of a KR team. Is it so difficult for you to accept that KR is not everyone's cup of tea?

You've solved it

We now know what those outside things Kr has alluded to are

Players came to talk without any intention of joining

(yes i am aware you didn't mean it how it sounded ) well i hope you didn't

 

[bazzer9461]

While understanding the disappointment of missing out of the play offs and some squad imbalance the tone of some posters on hear is extremely unwarranted however you feel about KR . He is 100% committed to the job and has made some errors obviously but doesn't need to get personal.
We are in a very decent league now and the next step is a very big one , its going to be a tough ask to get us promoted and KR has got us bloody close .
Some respect please .

Well he has next season in which to achieve promotion

 

[horseman]

Well he has next season in which to achieve promotion

why have we become city or Liverpool who are capable of turning around 15-20pts deficit whilst ignoring those already above us and 1 or 2 others who certainly have underachieved this season?

 

[Mellowyellow]

My mind is made up, the original statement was baloney, using it as a reason to hit KR with is b/s, clear enough ?

Just because something might be believable to you it doesnt make it true.

As for throwing players under a bus, apart from Agyei who are we talking about ?

Err, there was Eastwood, Sykes has been. Worst of all was the disgraceful way he treated Pekalski, on air. Asked if he would play for the team again, he said he would have to learn to kick a ball first. The player had been on loan abroad if I remember and hadnt seen his family over Christmas, asking for a couple of days to go home, to his native country to see them, before returning to the squad.
Lets not conveniently forget the blame he shifts onto others when it suits him, when interviewed.

 

[battman]

As for throwing players under a bus, apart from Agyei who are we talking about ?

I distinctly remember Karl saying that "people tell me Sykes is a good player" after our home defeat to Swindon. Completely inappropriate when it was his poor subs which changed the game, and his choice to pick and then out-of-form Eastwood over Stevens.

 

[Scotchegg]

Err, there was Eastwood, Sykes has been. Worst of all was the disgraceful way he treated Pekalski, on air. Asked if he would play for the team again, he said he would have to learn to kick a ball first. The player had been on loan abroad if I remember and hadnt seen his family over Christmas, asking for a couple of days to go home, to his native country to see them, before returning to the squad.
Lets not conveniently forget the blame he shifts onto others when it suits him, when interviewed.

You might want to recheck your facts there.

Pekalski was on loan at Halmstad and had been allowed to stay in Sweden for Christmas. He had been playing regularly but when Robinson asked about him returning to Oxford he said that he wasn't fit enough and wanted to stay in Sweden. Robinson gave him an ultimatum to either find a club in Sweden when their season started again in January or return to Oxford. Considering we were paying his fairly substantial wages, that's not unreasonable.

Robinson had made the threat to have him running every day to get fit, and based on the fact that Ivo had been open about his mental health issues, it could have been handled better. But we also had a contracted player who had never played a competitive game and was refusing to return to the club who were paying his wages.

The references to Eastwood and Sykes have been absolutely bog standard comments that could have been made by every manager in the land.

There's a weird belief that fans can give dog abuse to players week in, week out, on here and social media, but Robinson is out of order if he says someone has had a bad game. Regarding the above, Sykes, Shodipo and Agyei were f*****g awful when they came on and didn't look interested. On top of Eastwoods error, I'm not sure how any could expect to avoid criticism for that game.

 

[MJB]

As for throwing players under a bus, apart from Agyei who are we talking about ?

KR’s comments about Hanson, stating that he had never wanted to sign him, were rather undiplomatic for a Manager to say in public.

Plus, you really don’t need to throw Hanson under a bus to cause him damage. A stray raindrop would probably lead to him being out for 12 weeks.

 

[bazzer9461]

why have we become city or Liverpool who are capable of turning around 15-20pts deficit whilst ignoring those already above us and 1 or 2 others who certainly have underachieved this season?

How long do you give? Anindia has said a couple of years with the second being next season

 

[RyanioBirdio]

To get back to the topic of the thread for a moment, I didn’t go on Saturday because it was my best friend’s birthday, or rather it would have been had he not passed away from cancer shortly before Christmas, aged just 36. Instead I went to see his mother, sister and brother-in-law for the weekend, who are all based between Leeds and York, which meant that I was on the M1 up to Yorkshire at the same time as many of our fans even though I stayed on the motorway for a few extra junctions. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t have a little bit of a lump in my throat seeing so many OUFC scarves sticking out of car windows. Our support can be truly superb at times, regardless of people’s individual opinions or whether they agree with each other about this or that. The result might have been a season ender but fair play to all those who went and got behind the team. It sounds like there wasn’t much in the way of reward but I always love seeing so much yellow and blue on the road.

Now, back to everybody pulling each other’s hair. Nobody has even mentioned Jonathan Mitchell.

 

[Marked Ox]

To get back to the topic of the thread for a moment, I didn’t go on Saturday because it was my best friend’s birthday, or rather it would have been had he not passed away from cancer shortly before Christmas, aged just 36. Instead I went to see his mother, sister and brother-in-law for the weekend, who are all based between Leeds and York, which meant that I was on the M1 up to Yorkshire at the same time as many of our fans even though I stayed on the motorway for a few extra junctions. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t have a little bit of a lump in my throat seeing so many OUFC scarves sticking out of car windows. Our support can be truly superb at times, regardless of people’s individual opinions or whether they agree with each other about this or that. The result might have been a season ender but fair play to all those who went and got behind the team. It sounds like there wasn’t much in the way of reward but I always love seeing so much yellow and blue on the road.

Now, back to everybody pulling each other’s hair. Nobody has even mentioned Jonathan Mitchell.

I'd forgotten about Jonathan Mitchell. Not surprised he is playing for a team relegated tbh.

 

[PSGsupporter]

Hello you ppl who follow the rough & tumble and dangerous sport of soccer. Blinking lost again on Saturday, to flippin Rothurum. Maybe Robinson needs a cattle prod at training to get the players running more, we can't be fit enough, surely we've got the quality, lacking in the physical, that's my intuition in any case. Maybe OUFC should employ Bellamy, the Melbourne Storm coach to get the players to their physical peak.

 

[Mellowyellow]

You might want to recheck your facts there.

Pekalski was on loan at Halmstad and had been allowed to stay in Sweden for Christmas. He had been playing regularly but when Robinson asked about him returning to Oxford he said that he wasn't fit enough and wanted to stay in Sweden. Robinson gave him an ultimatum to either find a club in Sweden when their season started again in January or return to Oxford. Considering we were paying his fairly substantial wages, that's not unreasonable.

Robinson had made the threat to have him running every day to get fit, and based on the fact that Ivo had been open about his mental health issues, it could have been handled better. But we also had a contracted player who had never played a competitive game and was refusing to return to the club who were paying his wages.

The references to Eastwood and Sykes have been absolutely bog standard comments that could have been made by every manager in the land.

There's a weird belief that fans can give dog abuse to players week in, week out, on here and social media, but Robinson is out of order if he says someone has had a bad game. Regarding the above, Sykes, Shodipo and Agyei were f*****g awful when they came on and didn't look interested. On top of Eastwoods error, I'm not sure how any could expect to avoid criticism for that game.

He undermined him on the radio, threatened him with running every day to get fit (your words not mine).
Do you agree thats extremely poor management from kr? The fact he was paid a lot of money is neither here or there. That does not give him the right to treat him the way he did. By your reckoning kr can treat a player not performing or injured, as he wants.
The comments made about Eastwood, Sykes and other players are said by other managers, I agree, but behind the changing room door, not broadcast to the nation

So again by your reckoning if a player is "f*****g awful," kr can say they had bad games to the nation, rather than keeping it in the dressing room.
Kepalski had mental health issues that kr knew about, yet still treated him with total disdain when interviewed, and here we are today kr suddenly getting involved in a community health campaign.

Intetested to know where you stand on how kr passes the blame so effortlessly, so often.

 

[uptheus]

Hello you ppl who follow the rough & tumble and dangerous sport of soccer. Blinking lost again on Saturday, to flippin Rothurum. Maybe Robinson needs a cattle prod at training to get the players running more, we can't be fit enough, surely we've got the quality, laking in the physical, that's my intuition in any case. Mayne OUFC should employ Bellamy the Melbourne Storm coach to get the players at their physical peak.

They say if you put the first and last letter of a word you can generally read it/make sense of what someone has written, so I’m pleased to tell you I was still able to read your comments.

 

[Scotchegg]

He undermined him on the radio, threatened him with running every day to get fit (your words not mine).
Do you agree thats extremely poor management from kr? The fact he was paid a lot of money is neither here or there. That does not give him the right to treat him the way he did. By your reckoning kr can treat a player not performing or injured, as he wants.
The comments made about Eastwood, Sykes and other players are said by other managers, I agree, but behind the changing room door, not broadcast to the nation

So again by your reckoning if a player is "f*****g awful," kr can say they had bad games to the nation, rather than keeping it in the dressing room.
Kepalski had mental health issues that kr knew about, yet still treated him with total disdain when interviewed, and here we are today kr suddenly getting involved in a community health campaign.

Intetested to know where you stand on how kr passes the blame so effortlessly, so often.

Every weekend, dozens of managers up and down the country make comments about their players. To portray this as something that only KR does is insane.

Numerous players have openly spoken about how good Robinson is or has been. This season alone, Holland, Whyte, Browne and Baldock all referenced Robinson as one of their reasons for returning. Thorniley spoke highly of him when he left. McNally spoke about him after being allowed to go back home following the death of a friend.

One of Robinsons strengths is man-management so I don't accept anything that you say.

 

[SirAndyOfCrosby]

You might want to recheck your facts there.

Pekalski was on loan at Halmstad and had been allowed to stay in Sweden for Christmas. He had been playing regularly but when Robinson asked about him returning to Oxford he said that he wasn't fit enough and wanted to stay in Sweden. Robinson gave him an ultimatum to either find a club in Sweden when their season started again in January or return to Oxford. Considering we were paying his fairly substantial wages, that's not unreasonable.

Robinson had made the threat to have him running every day to get fit, and based on the fact that Ivo had been open about his mental health issues, it could have been handled better. But we also had a contracted player who had never played a competitive game and was refusing to return to the club who were paying his wages.

The references to Eastwood and Sykes have been absolutely bog standard comments that could have been made by every manager in the land.

There's a weird belief that fans can give dog abuse to players week in, week out, on here and social media, but Robinson is out of order if he says someone has had a bad game. Regarding the above, Sykes, Shodipo and Agyei were f*****g awful when they came on and didn't look interested. On top of Eastwoods error, I'm not sure how any could expect to avoid criticism for that game.

Perhaps, and this may be controversial, the manager of a football club should be held to a higher standard than supporters?

 

[Scotchegg]

Perhaps, and this may be controversial, the manager of a football club should be held to a higher standard than supporters?

And very clearly is.

 

[Swaby39]

He undermined him on the radio, threatened him with running every day to get fit (your words not mine).
Do you agree thats extremely poor management from kr? The fact he was paid a lot of money is neither here or there. That does not give him the right to treat him the way he did. By your reckoning kr can treat a player not performing or injured, as he wants.
The comments made about Eastwood, Sykes and other players are said by other managers, I agree, but behind the changing room door, not broadcast to the nation

So again by your reckoning if a player is "f*****g awful," kr can say they had bad games to the nation, rather than keeping it in the dressing room.
Kepalski had mental health issues that kr knew about, yet still treated him with total disdain when interviewed, and here we are today kr suddenly getting involved in a community health campaign.

Intetested to know where you stand on how kr passes the blame so effortlessly, so often.

As the manager tasked with getting the best from people and ultimately getting results, I’d argue yes, he can treat players how he wants within reason. It’s his judgement call. Given his job hangs by a thread if he gets it wrong, it’s a calculated risk all managers face. No manager ever gets a team anywhere with a disjointed dressing room full of players who feel they or their team mates are being treated wrongfully.

Given KR teams tend to finish up competing for promotion more often than not it suggests he has a decent knack of managing players. He may call a couple out but I can’t remember it destabilising our football too often so clearly their team mates felt he had a point and/or had little sympathy with them. Or perhaps they were just model professionals about it - either way KR deserves credit for orchestrating that. Just because you would do it differently doesn’t make him wrong - perhaps he tried everything else and in the end he felt there wasn’t much to lose and it was better to do that than freeze them out and give up. I often think when managers go public, that’s a players’ last chance to wake up. Football clubs don’t wait around.

He’s probably worked with north of 100 players here and you’re homing in one 2 or 3 instances that you can use to portray him as something he isn’t for the vast majority that come and play for him - and return to play for him.

Your agenda to pan him is at times every bit as noticeable as you say @Scotchegg’s protection of him is.