Away Match Day Thread 23/12/2023 L1: Northampton Town v OUFC

[Carpy]

Another 3 points would be very welcome!

COYY

 

[ZeroTheHero]

When we and most sides play tippy tippy football from the back. Have you noticed the opposition doesn't have the ball?

Not sure that matters much if we don't do anything with it, does it? Yesterday we certainly did very little, and what we did do was so slow that it created absolutely no threat.

 

[Oxfordpete]

I’m sure it’s already been talked about but to give away 2 goals, 2 headed goals, especially one where Moore is against one of the shortest players says it all about our defence

 

[Horse]

Sorry if I missed it on here, but what happened before the game when a load of supporters were ejected for standing in a group seemingly chatting?

 

[Paul Cannell]

I’m sure it’s already been talked about but to give away 2 goals, 2 headed goals, especially one where Moore is against one of the shortest players says it all about our defence

Not quite all. The moment where one of their attackers had the ball under dispute on their right and 2 of our defenders ran out of our box to him followed by Moore, who looked like he thought he might miss the last biscuit, past their other striker who was strolling to Northampton's left, got the pass in an acre of space and passed it past the post spoke volumes about players, training and basic understanding of football.

Manning had the defence (esp. Moore) looking almost competent. How's that changed back to hapless and lost so quickly?

 

[WRox]

Easy to point fingers at the defence, but we lost yesterday because we had absolutely zilch off the bench and invited waves of pressure for the final 15 minutes. Brown and Moore have shown themselves to be perfectly competent in a functional cohesive system, nothing more and nothing less.

Desperately need January and a couple of pacey forwards who can pin teams back and allow us to play in their half. That’s when we’re dangerous.

 

[TheDukeOfBanburyshire]

.

I’ve never seen a win at Northampton - barely seen a goal scored in fact - in ten matches there. Never seen a decent performance there either.

Cambridge too - seldom that we win there or play well there over the years.

Two footballing graveyards for OUFC.

We have a poor record at Cheltenham also.

Hold on, I'm having a timely Christmas epiphany.

We're actually s**t aren't we!

 

[Banbury2018]

.





Hold on, I'm having a timely Christmas epiphany.

We're actually s**t aren't we!

At those grounds yes. Fifth in the league would say different over almost half a season.

 

[PottersRightBoot]

Our midfield didn’t turn up yesterday, so add a virtually non existent striker and most teams would struggle.

One player I think we missed yesterday was Bodin. I’m not a great fan of his as he’s too slow, but he does at times knit the midfield to the forward line.

Also felt Mills had a very poor game yesterday, add to that that Murphy rarely has an end product (been saying this for months), then doesn’t bode well for creating chances.

We were poor again yesterday, but didn’t feel we were as poor as when we played Reading.

Regarding the injured players, the only really miss to the squad for me is Edwards and possibly Bodin, from an offensive perspective which we’re really struggling with at the moment. We’re just not creating good chances.

Leigh, Negru, sick note Browne, Bodin, Edwards are real misses. There’s your 5.

 

[Eric Blair]

Some much going on at the club and so much debate here so I thought I'd summarise my views here on everything that is happening yellows related.

Des - for me he is 100% the right man. He has a good coaching record and that doesn't disappear overnight. He has emotional intelligence which also counts for a lot. The current inconsistency around form (we were great the other day against Burton) is because of injuries (see below), lack of backroom staff, some individual player errors (GOD giving away the foul against Northampton, Rodrigues two yellows) and us not being as good as we thought we might be. These will be fixed in time. The backroom staff point needs to be fixed sooner rather than later. Imagine starting a new high pressure job and not having a team around you. That must be incredibly tough for Des.

Injuries - despite a few comments the injuries have made a world of difference and revealed the thinness of the squad. Granted that Leigh and Edwards might be the only starters but (cliché klaxon) games are won by squads not the starting 11. Great example here was when we were getting over-run in the Bolton game (I think it was) and Des brought on Negru and switched to three at the back and we looked so much better. These injuries have made a big big difference.

Jan window - think we are all agreed. Two strikers in and maybe GOD sent out on loan. Easy for me to write, harder to actually do.

Club communications - I'm not as close to all of this and I know there is disappointment at the lack of fans forum. I dont know the politics but it seems to me that both OxVox and OUSP all want the same thing - success for OUFC. I do get the frustration with communications with the fans and the chairman and CEO could do more.

Atmosphere at games - people complain about the lack of atmosphere at games. Part of this is the way the ground is set up and part of this is that you need to really organise a group of ultras (for want of a better word) to create a singing section. Other than that I think it's the way of the world and generally there is less of a desire from the youngsters to sing and chant like we did. Booing of players (just a small minority) is something I will never understand especially (as someone pointed out) we are fifth.

Lots of reasons for hope:
- First and foremost Oxford Utd is a brilliant football club steeped in history. We have some much that others cant hope to replicate and the culture amongst the supporters (in my experience) very welcoming and supportive.
- Secondly we are fifth and I think have a manager who knows where the team needs to improve and (i think) has the resources to do it
- Third, the new stadium designs are amazing and will herald a new era for the club and the local community if passed

That's it from me. Have a brilliant and peaceful Christmas. Look after yourselves and your families. I cant make the Cambridge game but will be there for the Derby one where we will see an invigorated Sonny Perkins bag a hat-tick.

Happy Christmas.

 

[Nadi-]

Saturday was another example, of knowing how the game was going to turn out. After only a couple of minutes.
It’s like every third doesn’t have faith in the other. And maybe some looking after themselves rather than the team.
A real worry, was the site of our captain floundering when Simpson made up 20 yards on him. And still got to the ball with 10 yards to spare.

 

[mooro]

Couple of observations from my part..

Is our increased susceptibility to headers at the back linked to the fact that we are now only playing two centre backs in the back four rather than 3 or 4 (Leigh/brown at LB, long at RB)?

Felt for Harris, as the best holdup striker in the world would struggle consistently having to deal with balls fired in to him chest high with three opponents around him. He's much better on the floor so interested to see what he can do out wide or behind another striker.

(Not the thing to be saying at Christmas but..) GOD needs pulling out of the spotlight, before any more harm can be done to his confidence. The near silence that greated his introduction yesterday would have been hard to take and he is not going to learn anything playing like this. Just give anyone else a run out for the last ten minutes, whether Perkins or the rangers lad perhaps..

Oh, and Guinness have confirmed that the chap next to me did indeed break the world record for the number of times the phrase " f*ck*n sh*t" can be shouted across a two hour period.
They went on to say that while most in attendance felt the same way by the end of the game, they wanted to particularly commend him for his usage while referring to the order in which he players came out of the tunnel, both the losing and winning contestant in double it or bottle it, ànd the overly bright glare off the scoreboard during substitutions.

But overall can I again commend the community spirit of all involved at oufc for bringing some Christmas joy to the otherwise miserable lives of 6000 people who would normally have little to look forward to in their lives.....

 

[ZeroTheHero]

I have had to go to hospital - apparently I got radiation poisoning from that scoreboard.

 

[Golden Dr Otto]

Leigh, Negru, sick note Browne, Bodin, Edwards are real misses. There’s your 5.

Generous based on Negrus most recent efforts.

Bodin and Rodrigues play the same position and we lack sufficient pace when they both play

Edwards and Browne similar positions and hard to really even count Browne as a starter given his record plus we have Murphy playing an equivalent style and standard . You could make the same case for Edwards although he appears superior

 

[headingtonoldboy]

I think Perkins should be given a place in the squad. At least he's actually scored this season!!!!

 

[werthersoriginal]

I think Perkins should be given a place in the squad. At least he's actually scored this season!!!!

It’s very odd, he didn’t look terrible or uninterested in that game. Presumably he’s already gone back

 

[West Oxon U’s]

 

[Yellowecky]

Ouch! That certainly brought us all down to earth with a bump after Burton. I think it’s far too soon to pass judgement on Des though. What worried me more was we seemed to run out of legs after 65 minutes and that was without a midweek game. That doesn’t bode well for Boxing Day, insufficient time to recover. Let’s hope for a draw.

 

[PottersRightBoot]

Generous based on Negrus most recent efforts.

Bodin and Rodrigues play the same position and we lack sufficient pace when they both play

Edwards and Browne similar positions and hard to really even count Browne as a starter given his record plus we have Murphy playing an equivalent style and standard . You could make the same case for Edwards although he appears superior

Add Longy as well. Merry Christmas.

 

[dickwalton1964]

Leigh, Negru, sick note Browne, Bodin, Edwards are real misses. There’s your 5.

Right. Who’s the five you leave out from yesterday to make way for them ?

 

[LowerSouth]

Right. Who’s the five you leave out from yesterday to make way for them ?

If all available, whoever starts, means you still have a bench of subs who would make a difference