Home Match Day Thread 23/09/2023 L1: OUFC v Exeter City

[Northstandboy]

Lets get back to winning ways in the League!

 

[Swaby39]

Under the previous moron we had in charge, who obviously interfered too much in the coaching side of things, our defence was a shambles last season, and Eastwood was one of the main reasons we DIDN'T get relegated last season. Our goal difference was so superior to all the other clubs around us because of Eastwood, who kept the score from being a cricket score every game, and we came away from a number of games with a point, thanks to his saves, which ultimately saved us.
Yes it was time for an upgrade, but I think you're being very disrespectful to someone who has been a great servant to our club.

You keep referring to the Cambridge game, but it was the very first game of the season, and the team was still settling in, and very few teams seasons are reflected by their first game, and to be used as a reference to support your argument 7 games later, when we've been superb ever since, is clutching at straws somewhat.

I also don't know what games you're watching, to suggest Long and Brown are always giving the ball away and conceding possession. Players lose possession all the time, all over the pitch, and I will in fact put money on it that they've conceded possession no more often than any other player in the side, probably even less so in fact.

Long and Brown will be at fault for some goals conceded this season, as will Moore, Thorniley, Negru and Beadle, that's what happens when you're a defender. There will also be games when they will provide quality assists for goals we score, but as things stand, they're performing very well , and until we start seeing a pattern of costly mistakes from either of them, I think you need to give them a break.

Enjoy your coffee

Crikey, now there’s a glass half full view of ever I’ve seen it. For me and many others Eastwood, particularly in the first half of the season, was at the forefront of why we were down there doggy paddling for our lives. If Beadle were at the club last season I’d fancy our season to be 5-10 points better off and spared the end of season panic. We’ll never know.

I only mentioned the Cambridge game since you completely discounted it to make your argument. First game or not, it’s still relevant because to this day, Cambridge are the best side defensively we have played. They completely nullified our wingers and destroyed our full backs - let’s not say we weren’t at it because the reality is they did a job on us. Carlisle attempted a similar thing and nearly got a point, they should have gone in front and got a lot of joy down Sam Long’s side which they clearly targeted. Since then we have changed things around a bit with different personnel (Edwards, McGuane, Mills etc) and improved radically, that’s very much to our credit but I haven’t seen a massive improvement in Long or Brown, just a better balance across the team and some real gems pulling us forward.

Going in to specifics of their on the ball issues is a rabbit hole we’ve been down before. It really is a pointless discussion - all I’m saying is they could offer a lot more than they do but I get it, they’re loyal boys, work really hard so leave them alone etc etc etc.

I’ll give them (and myself) a break from this as it’s becoming exhausting to have an opinion that goes against the grain.

 

[werthersoriginal]

No criticism of anyone whatsoever from me, but imagine if we had Devante Cole or someone like him as another squad striker option right now. That additional quality and pacy squad striker would make us almost unplayable at times.

I do wonder if Perkins will be returned in Jan, not even making the bench yesterday you’d have to question whats happening with him, as once Harris is back and GO’D fit again, then he’s going to struggle for any game time whatsoever based on his time with us so far.

Yeah I did think we needed another striker but we seem to be doing OK, it just makes me laugh the way some people bang on so confidently.

 

[Scotchegg]

Manning has pretty much spoken from day 1 about being a TEAM. We have seen this season that it's not always easy to pick out a stand out performer and (most) couldn't identify those having a poor game.

Many people have spoken about Beadle's confidence and how that is having a positive impact on the back 4. But equally, having a solid if not spectacular back 4 allows Beadle to be better. We've had 29 shots on target against us in the league this season. So the defence as a unit are working much better and all deserve equal praise.

Beadle has been excellent, but it's no coincidence that Eastwood also looked better after Manning arrived. Defending as a team, and reducing the number of shots a team has against us, and keeping these from dangerous areas has as much of an impact on keeping clean sheets as the goalkeeper alone.

It's the same with scoring goals. Create more, with many different threats and we score more goals. Attack as a team, defend as a team. Win as a team, lose as a team. Playing with technically limited full backs or 4 centre backs, and without having signed a striker is working pretty well so far!

 

[Marked Ox]

I quite agree. Sometimes I’ll even walk down to the toilets before I do so.

Coincidentally, I missed the only goal against Carlisle and our first at Derby as I needed to go to the toilet.

Until we got the second at Derby (which I did see) I was starting to wonder if I was going to miss every single one of our goals all season

You need to go to the toilet more often. I blame you for Port Vale now.

 

[Oldman159]

OM159 view. - For what it’s worth…..

“Right. Listen very carefully…I will probably say this only once….

The ref was quite good today. Consistent and seemingly unbiased. Pity the SS Lino was a bit behind the play in the first half…”

Good game between two pretty evenly balanced and skilful teams who wanted to play football. Unusual in this league.

A nice moment at the end as the yellows left the pitch. Yanik stayed outside the tunnel and shook the hands of every one of them and all the managing staff respect.

 

[Leysboy]

Next week we will have played 4 of the other 5 clubs in the top six. So perhaps some easier games statistically coming up, that will yield a good points haul. Let’s hope so!

 

[MJB]

You need to go to the toilet more often. I blame you for Port Vale now.

I was in the North Stand yesterday, so I could have caught up on all the hottest gossip too.

 

[SirAndyOfCrosby]

Next week we will have played 4 of the other 5 clubs in the top six. So perhaps some easier games statistically coming up, that will yield a good points haul. Let’s hope so!

Yeap, we've already beaten some decent and well fancied sides.

Sets us up really well to try and nick draws against the likes of Shrewsbury, Cheltenham, Burton and Northampton.

I am sensible.

 

[Oldman159]

Leysboy ‘Easier games’ have a habit of biting us in the Rs. Specially with the clogging reputation of some of the non footballing teams below. But let’s be positive, and believe that, like the Manager of the Month award, that has finally changed.

…however, it’s the ‘slug’ next, isn’t it?

 

[Mad Dog]

Crikey, now there’s a glass half full view of ever I’ve seen it. For me and many others Eastwood, particularly in the first half of the season, was at the forefront of why we were down there doggy paddling for our lives. If Beadle were at the club last season I’d fancy our season to be 5-10 points better off and spared the end of season panic. We’ll never know.

I only mentioned the Cambridge game since you completely discounted it to make your argument. First game or not, it’s still relevant because to this day, Cambridge are the best side defensively we have played. They completely nullified our wingers and destroyed our full backs - let’s not say we weren’t at it because the reality is they did a job on us. Carlisle attempted a similar thing and nearly got a point, they should have gone in front and got a lot of joy down Sam Long’s side which they clearly targeted. Since then we have changed things around a bit with different personnel (Edwards, McGuane, Mills etc) and improved radically, that’s very much to our credit but I haven’t seen a massive improvement in Long or Brown, just a better balance across the team and some real gems pulling us forward.

Going in to specifics of their on the ball issues is a rabbit hole we’ve been down before. It really is a pointless discussion - all I’m saying is they could offer a lot more than they do but I get it, they’re loyal boys, work really hard so leave them alone etc etc etc.

I’ll give them (and myself) a break from this as it’s becoming exhausting to have an opinion that goes against the grain.

Look, if we carry on at this rate, me and you are gonna have to get a room, so let's stop flirting eh?

 

[holdsteady]

We drew as many games as second place Ipswich last season (14), they are currently second in the championship so it didn’t hurt them. Obviously we need to win those 17 extra games that they did, we are 4 along on that already though.

 

[Golden Dr Otto]

Was there a plethora of posters telling us that we'd take a point against Exeter?

The only negativity since the Barnsley/Derby wins has generally been a bit tongue in cheek - "I predicted defeats for those games, so I'll keep my run going!"

There is a quiet confidence amongst our fanbase that hasn't been seen in years, if at all this early in to a season. Whatever a "professional winning mentally" looks like for a fan is already shared by thousands.

The second half yesterday started slowly with us conceding space and possession to Exeter. We appeared content to let them have the ball in our half but to keep them to less dangerous areas. The first 20 minutes of that half, we barely got out of our half. But the crowd didn't panic or get on the teams back. They could see that playing with discipline and patience would allow us to both contain a decent Exeter side and also create opportunities to play on the break with numbers when the chance arose. And we did exactly that with two of three excellent moves before the late penalties.

As a fanbase, we have evolved in the same way as the team under Manning and there is a calmness and confidence at every level on matchdays now.

But that doesn't mean that "not getting ahead of ourselves" is nonsense. There are 38 games to go and there's absolutely nothing wrong with just being able to enjoy each game for now after the last 18 months.

We're making good teams look ordinary, and I'm confident that we'll do the same against Stevenage and come away with all three points. I'm as positive as anyone, and have taken stick for this approach from many on here for years. But even I'm holding back on plans for a promotion parade and just living in the moment for now. It's still a great place to be.

Very good post

 

[behindthegoal]

OM159 view. - For what it’s worth…..

“Right. Listen very carefully…I will probably say this only once….

The ref was quite good today. Consistent and seemingly unbiased. Pity the SS Lino was a bit behind the play in the first half…”

Good game between two pretty evenly balanced and skilful teams who wanted to play football. Unusual in this league.

A nice moment at the end as the yellows left the pitch. Yanik stayed outside the tunnel and shook the hands of every one of them and all the managing staff respect.

Sorry, pardon, could you repeat?

 

[Grumpy Git]

Next week will be a completely different type of game. Brown envelope Evans, will be screaming at the ref, going purple with rage and have the St John’s ready with a defibrillator. It will be interesting to see if they stick to the Evans history of kicking lumps out of us or whether they want a game of footy.
I personally detest Evans and believe for what he did he should have been banned for life, however he seems to get sides winning on a crap budget.

 

[Yellowmania]

OM159 view. - For what it’s worth…..

“Right. Listen very carefully…I will probably say this only once….

The ref was quite good today. Consistent and seemingly unbiased. Pity the SS Lino was a bit behind the play in the first half…”

Good game between two pretty evenly balanced and skilful teams who wanted to play football. Unusual in this league.

A nice moment at the end as the yellows left the pitch. Yanik stayed outside the tunnel and shook the hands of every one of them and all the managing staff respect.

And that last paragraph makes the booing of Yanic even more ridiculous, it was Robinson that put him on the pitch unfit, virtually off the plane, when he got that injury.

 

[Gregortheox]

7

Next week will be a completely different type of game. Brown envelope Evans, will be screaming at the ref, going purple with rage and have the St John’s ready with a defibrillator. It will be interesting to see if they stick to the Evans history of kicking lumps out of us or whether they want a game of footy.
I personally detest Evans and believe for what he did he should have been banned for life, however he seems to get sides winning on a crap budget.

I really hope we do a job on Mr Toad and his gang next week.

 

[Jaxon]

I had a similarly unpopular view of Eastwood all of last season as well and I think we can all now see what we were missing out on. Still, people would try and convince themselves he was/is good enough and they would largely be the same people who think highest of Long and Brown (who I maintain have their strengths, just limited). Eastwood was picking up man of the match awards while I stood there wondering how everybody was managing to ignore his regular mis kicks, jelly knees and flappy handling not to mention costly mistakes from long range efforts. For what it’s worth I had no idea we’d get somebody quite as good as Beadle but I knew we’d go nowhere fast with what we had.

It’s only an opinion. Perhaps one I over share admittedly but it just stands out in every game I watch, win or lose. I obviously think I’m right today but doesn’t mean to say I won’t be proven wrong and just with my views on Robinson this time 12 months ago where I was categorically wrong as it proved, I will accept this the same way.

Your opinion but wrong

 

[Jaxon]

In that I tend to have an affinity with long serving players, I was one hundred per cent supportive of Simon Eastwood last season. I was wrong. James Beadle is clearly a different class. I may be missing something (again), but I don't see a comparison with Long and Brown. I can't see that they display the same weaknesses that are now so historically apparent in Eastwood's game. Jelly knees, flappy handling and mis kicks. Where/what are the equivalents in Long and Brown's games? I can't see them.

I can’t either

 

[Jaxon]

So presumably the Cambridge game doesn’t count for this, among the other examples of where that isn’t true this season. Do the 50+ games previous to that become irrelevant as well?

One thing to clarify about my views on this, they are evidently sound enough defenders which everyone will agree is important - they’ve demonstrated they can hold the fort. That’s not to say they’ve been untroubled because they have, and not always coped. But in the main we seem to look and feel more solid when they play.

They are functional and seemingly make a very decent unit at the back for us (which again, I would not change until the point it doesn’t work) but a full back can and should offer more and it’s something we could, if we want to continue to get better, benefit from. That’s all it is, no bigger than that.

Maybe the manager wants the the defence to defend
Therefore as today no goals conceded

 

[Jaxon]

Crikey, now there’s a glass half full view of ever I’ve seen it. For me and many others Eastwood, particularly in the first half of the season, was at the forefront of why we were down there doggy paddling for our lives. If Beadle were at the club last season I’d fancy our season to be 5-10 points better off and spared the end of season panic. We’ll never know.

I only mentioned the Cambridge game since you completely discounted it to make your argument. First game or not, it’s still relevant because to this day, Cambridge are the best side defensively we have played. They completely nullified our wingers and destroyed our full backs - let’s not say we weren’t at it because the reality is they did a job on us. Carlisle attempted a similar thing and nearly got a point, they should have gone in front and got a lot of joy down Sam Long’s side which they clearly targeted. Since then we have changed things around a bit with different personnel (Edwards, McGuane, Mills etc) and improved radically, that’s very much to our credit but I haven’t seen a massive improvement in Long or Brown, just a better balance across the team and some real gems pulling us forward.

Going in to specifics of their on the ball issues is a rabbit hole we’ve been down before. It really is a pointless discussion - all I’m saying is they could offer a lot more than they do but I get it, they’re loyal boys, work really hard so leave them alone etc etc etc.

I’ll give them (and myself) a break from this as it’s becoming exhausting to have an opinion that goes against the grain.

It’s because your wrong