Away Match Day Thread 25/10/2025 - MDT: Sheffield Wednesday v OUFC

[Northstandboy]

 

[WRox]

so the first half was what won us the game and the second half was what nearly lost it.
The players seemed to have no idea what to do in the second half a repeat performance of the first half at Wrexham.
Could Rowett and the coaching staff not see who was pulling the strings for Wednesday surely they did. The players must have but no one did anything about it. No one organising on or off the pitch. Once in a matter of days maybe but twice. Enjoyed the three points and six out of the last available nine is great. But can’t carry on like that.

There’s a theme to our performances… credit to the coaching team and the players for switching to a back 3 so effectively yesterday. I’m not sure Davies and Brown have ever really played together and it was a new balance to our midfield as well. You wouldn’t have known and Sheffield Wednesday didn’t look like they were expecting it.

Like you say though, in-game changes were really slow and I get we’d had two go off injured, but Krastev and Lankshear were gassed long before they went off and we never really reacted tactically to Bannan’s positioning in the second half.

We were perfectly set up for Derby, so I could forgive us getting it wrong from the off against Wrexham but it was obvious after 5 or 10mins Moore was winning everything, James was picking up second balls, their wing backs were getting way too much space and our wingers didn’t know what to do. We didn’t react and solve that problem until it was half time and 0-1.

We won yesterday because we were set up very well for the game, but it’s fair to question whether Rowett needs to be more reactive and decisive during games.

 

[Marked Ox]

Might be something in this… last year on Boxing Day, Hull were third bottom with 19 from 23 and finished fourth bottom on 49.

The year before QPR were on 20 from 23 and it took 51 points to stay up.

It’s probably a combination of league table pressure and opportunity to improve in January, but the league has closed in after Christmas the last couple of seasons.

Burton do it every season it seems like. They're actually doing better this year rather than being rock bottom.

 

[Bath Yellow]

We have two teams in every match, brilliant in one half shite in the other, every game you can see the difference to each half

 

[holdsteady]

There’s a theme to our performances… credit to the coaching team and the players for switching to a back 3 so effectively yesterday. I’m not sure Davies and Brown have ever really played together and it was a new balance to our midfield as well. You wouldn’t have known and Sheffield Wednesday didn’t look like they were expecting it.

Like you say though, in-game changes were really slow and I get we’d had two go off injured, but Krastev and Lankshear were gassed long before they went off and we never really reacted tactically to Bannan’s positioning in the second half.

We were perfectly set up for Derby, so I could forgive us getting it wrong from the off against Wrexham but it was obvious after 5 or 10mins Moore was winning everything, James was picking up second balls, their wing backs were getting way too much space and our wingers didn’t know what to do. We didn’t react and solve that problem until it was half time and 0-1.

We won yesterday because we were set up very well for the game, but it’s fair to question whether Rowett needs to be more reactive and decisive during games.

I think the last paragraph is a fair point, especially having dwelled on it a bit this weekend, we do look done in with a bit of the game still to play. Which leaves you to wonder are we making the most of the 5 subs available to us for both tactical and fitness reasons? If I was asked if Rowett has a weakness I would probably say it’s that, he doesn’t really use the subs as effectively as he could for me.

Hopefully we can improve in that respect, could see us gain some vital extra points doing so.

 

[Eric Blair]

My God! Yes we got the win and an important three points today, but if people can't see how concerning our performances at this level consistently are, then I despair!

It seems that ever since we were promoted to The Championship, that a large percentage of people on this forum have buried there heads in the sand, and hoped for the best, and anyone with a more ambitious mindset, are considered negative, and too demanding.

Well I'm on the side of the fence that thinks we should be pushing to progress, otherwise we won't be at this level for long. As I've said before, if you circle the plughole for too long, eventually you'll get sucked down.

OK, part of the problem is that we were so far off this level when we arrived, that we have needed to improve and progress at a faster rate than other clubs at this level, which makes it bloody difficult to begin with, nobody is denying that, or saying its easy.
But on the pitch, we're not progressing at all, we're still as bad as we have always been, even our better performances have only been ok at this level. It's just not good enough to keep staying up.

Last season, I knew we would be so far off the level, so I accepted it wasn't gonna be pretty to watch, so I didn't get too disheartened or despondent as the season progressed and we continued to struggle.
But I hoped we could somehow survive and make it to a 2nd season, and when we did, I then expected us to kick on.

We brought in a number of new players that on paper, has improved the squad, but the style and quality of football hasn't changed. That's really disappointing. We should be aiming to play a better brand of football now, with the players we have.

Off the pitch, we're showing true ambition and performing miracles, but on the pitch, we're just going through the motions, never really pushing on or progressing, just scrabbling around picking up the odd result here and there, with a view to it hopefully being enough to keep us up come the end of the season, and we seem to have an increasing number of fans, particularly on here, who seem happy for that to be the new status quo.

Off the pitch, we, little Oxford, have shown ourselves to be fierce, fearless, positive and productive, a real force to be reckoned with, and as a result we've made the seemingly unthinkable happen, I just wish we could show the same qualities ON the pitch as well.

Why do you keep calling us little Oxford?

 

[Cass63]

A while back someone described CamBran as bang average for the division, all I could think was can we have 11 bang average championship players as that would be big improvement for us. Realistically we are and have a below average team and players, but after 25 plus years below that level why would we not?
We came up with a team that got 77 points in a much weaker league, Birmingham City got record points in that division and are bang average at this level (at best) even with improvements. We have improved but we struggle to make big steps due to the perception of us from outside and the financial limits we are under with FFP.

Barring a stroke of luck in recruitment or someone coming through the youth team who is a bit special (unlikely in the academy era) it’s, as you say, going to be a slow build to improve, that’s not even guaranteed as the list of teams in league one who have been in this division and tried that is half the division.

Radio oxford said Wednesday would have loved seeing cam bran going off injured, it would have lifted the team, so he’s not exactly bang average.
He’s a championship player and one of the best players we’ve got.

 

[Eric Blair]

Our xG so far this season is 11th in the league. Last season it was 23rd. I don’t know how you can watch our first dozen games this year and not think we’re massively improved. We’re creating far far more opportunities than we did.

We are also wildly inconsistent - often within the same game - so there’s still a ton of work for Rowett to do to get us to play a good 90 minutes every week (so far, we’ve only done it twice - Derby & Bristol). But it is progress, even if it doesn’t feel like it when we play a clunker like we did at Wrexham (and much of the 2nd half today)

This. Once again @tonyw comes up with the goods.

 

[sideshowrob]

Still no highlights on the club site. Did someone forget to put their clocks back?

 

[Marked Ox]

It depends what sort of deal the administrator cuts to get them back on their feet (if indeed, he can). If they don’t pay their creditors back above a certain percentage, then they get an extra -15.

Which I think is all a bit irrelevant anyhow; they’ve not got enough decent players to get 60 points this season, let alone 75. They’re done for.

I would hope (probably forlorn) the EFL wouldn't ignore their own rules. Of course in reality they likely will especially for a larger club as they've proven in the past.

 

[chuckbert]

Yep, if we had come out in the 2nd half, put in a solid display, scored another goal to finish them off, then shut up shop to see the game out, I would've been absolutely fuming. Because I just love to moan about Oxford United.

Look back at any of my posts over the years, you'll see I always heap praise upon the players and manager, when they deserve it, which has been rare this season.

Last season, I cut them some slack, as nobody expected us to suddenly be in The Championship, having sneaked in the back door the way we did, and as a result we were clearly punching well above our weight, so all season I was realistic with my expectations and reactions to results and performances, even though I still felt we could've done more and been more positive and productive in some games, but I fully understood the situation we were in, so was less critical.

But this season, with the players we've brought in to improve the squad, and a whole Championship season under our belt, I feel we should be doing better and competing more in games, and should be more positive and productive than we're currently being.

Did I moan when we put in a solid 90 min performance against Derby? Nope, I heaped praise on the entire team AND Rowett, but then we reverted to type in the week, and I was fuming, and rightly criticised them. They f*****g deserved it!

I was positive at half-time yesterday, but concerned we would come out too negative in the 2nd half and f**k it all up, and we did, but luckily Sheff Wed didn't quite have enough to complete the comeback, but against anyone else at this level, playing like we did in the 2nd half yesterday, we would've lost that game in the end.

I'm sick of people criticising others simply for highlighting where things are clearly repeatedly going wrong, particularly when those people are not relentlessly negative, and always heap praise and positive feedback on the players and manager, when it's deserved. But when they deserve criticism, why the hell should they not be criticised?

Do you think Alex Ferguson would've been happy after yesterday's game, regardless of the win? He would've gone f*****g mental at them, THAT'S why they were winners, they knew that they had to get the win, but they also knew they had to do their f*****g jobs on the pitch as well, and perform well, and not encourage the opposition, by repeatedly handing them the initiative.

If you're on top, you do whatever you have to to stay on top, and if you're behind, you dig in and drive forward, doing whatever you have to do to get back into the game. We're way too passive in games, regardless of whether we're in the lead or behind. We're so easy to play against, that's a mentality thing, and starts with the manager. It needs f*****g sorting.

Nobody is asking for a gung-ho approach, which someone has accused me of asking for (which I never once have) but simply an approach that makes us more capable of protecting a lead, or getting back into a game when we're losing, rather than just trying not to get thrashed.
We need more attitude, more bite, more aggression, more urgency, more ruthlessness, more positivity, and more confidence in our ability to get on the front foot more, and take the game to the opposition.

The teams in this league aren't unbeatable, and if we played with a bit more belief, I think we'd be surprised by what we could achieve in games, and if we'd done that a number of results this season could've been very different. There's nothing wrong with being critical when we're approaching games in such a negative defeatist way, it's getting f*****g boring, and understandably people are gonna moan.

There's too many on here these days, who think a pat on the back and a little rosette should be given, regardless of results or performances. We shouldn't expect more, or criticise, we should just be happy we're here in The Championship.

b*****s to that! I wanna see us compete!

We can still compete, without leaving ourselves open to a thrashing, which so many seem to think is what will happen if we try to have a go, we'll just get picked off, b*****s, it just takes a bit of tactical nous, something I'm not sure Rowett has, and that's the problem.

Nobody is expecting miracles, and I'm not saying we should be aiming for the playoffs or anything silly like that, we know it's a slower process at this level for a club like ours, but I want to see progress, there are a lot better sides in this league this season than last season, when we finished 17th, so I'd be looking for another finish of 17th-13th, which in my eyes would show progress.

But some seem to think we should still be aiming for 21st! Well I think that's a negative and defeatist attitude!

We've shown we're capable of a more positive approach to games, and playing on the front foot, even against the high flyers like Leicester, Bristol City and Coventry, but somehow those of us who want to see more of this positive approach, and less of the usual negative approach, are actually the ones being accused of negativity!

Madness!

I can't quite imagine Rowett doing this:

I do like Rowett's reasonably objective appraisal in post match interviews, like about the game yesterday he said something like the second half was a difficult watch and no one wants to see the team playing like that.

 

[90syeIlow]

Yep, if we had come out in the 2nd half, put in a solid display, scored another goal to finish them off, then shut up shop to see the game out, I would've been absolutely fuming. Because I just love to moan about Oxford United.

Look back at any of my posts over the years, you'll see I always heap praise upon the players and manager, when they deserve it, which has been rare this season.

Last season, I cut them some slack, as nobody expected us to suddenly be in The Championship, having sneaked in the back door the way we did, and as a result we were clearly punching well above our weight, so all season I was realistic with my expectations and reactions to results and performances, even though I still felt we could've done more and been more positive and productive in some games, but I fully understood the situation we were in, so was less critical.

But this season, with the players we've brought in to improve the squad, and a whole Championship season under our belt, I feel we should be doing better and competing more in games, and should be more positive and productive than we're currently being.

Did I moan when we put in a solid 90 min performance against Derby? Nope, I heaped praise on the entire team AND Rowett, but then we reverted to type in the week, and I was fuming, and rightly criticised them. They f*****g deserved it!

I was positive at half-time yesterday, but concerned we would come out too negative in the 2nd half and f**k it all up, and we did, but luckily Sheff Wed didn't quite have enough to complete the comeback, but against anyone else at this level, playing like we did in the 2nd half yesterday, we would've lost that game in the end.

I'm sick of people criticising others simply for highlighting where things are clearly repeatedly going wrong, particularly when those people are not relentlessly negative, and always heap praise and positive feedback on the players and manager, when it's deserved. But when they deserve criticism, why the hell should they not be criticised?

Do you think Alex Ferguson would've been happy after yesterday's game, regardless of the win? He would've gone f*****g mental at them, THAT'S why they were winners, they knew that they had to get the win, but they also knew they had to do their f*****g jobs on the pitch as well, and perform well, and not encourage the opposition, by repeatedly handing them the initiative.

If you're on top, you do whatever you have to to stay on top, and if you're behind, you dig in and drive forward, doing whatever you have to do to get back into the game. We're way too passive in games, regardless of whether we're in the lead or behind. We're so easy to play against, that's a mentality thing, and starts with the manager. It needs f*****g sorting.

Nobody is asking for a gung-ho approach, which someone has accused me of asking for (which I never once have) but simply an approach that makes us more capable of protecting a lead, or getting back into a game when we're losing, rather than just trying not to get thrashed.
We need more attitude, more bite, more aggression, more urgency, more ruthlessness, more positivity, and more confidence in our ability to get on the front foot more, and take the game to the opposition.

The teams in this league aren't unbeatable, and if we played with a bit more belief, I think we'd be surprised by what we could achieve in games, and if we'd done that a number of results this season could've been very different. There's nothing wrong with being critical when we're approaching games in such a negative defeatist way, it's getting f*****g boring, and understandably people are gonna moan.

There's too many on here these days, who think a pat on the back and a little rosette should be given, regardless of results or performances. We shouldn't expect more, or criticise, we should just be happy we're here in The Championship.

b*****s to that! I wanna see us compete!

We can still compete, without leaving ourselves open to a thrashing, which so many seem to think is what will happen if we try to have a go, we'll just get picked off, b*****s, it just takes a bit of tactical nous, something I'm not sure Rowett has, and that's the problem.

Nobody is expecting miracles, and I'm not saying we should be aiming for the playoffs or anything silly like that, we know it's a slower process at this level for a club like ours, but I want to see progress, there are a lot better sides in this league this season than last season, when we finished 17th, so I'd be looking for another finish of 17th-13th, which in my eyes would show progress.

But some seem to think we should still be aiming for 21st! Well I think that's a negative and defeatist attitude!

We've shown we're capable of a more positive approach to games, and playing on the front foot, even against the high flyers like Leicester, Bristol City and Coventry, but somehow those of us who want to see more of this positive approach, and less of the usual negative approach, are actually the ones being accused of negativity!

Madness!

I don’t often agree with you, but you make some good points here.

There is definitely an underlaying mentality issue and no amount of ‘new signings’ can change that.

 

[jaybeachjump]

Our xG so far this season is 11th in the league. Last season it was 23rd. I don’t know how you can watch our first dozen games this year and not think we’re massively improved. We’re creating far far more opportunities than we did.

We are also wildly inconsistent - often within the same game - so there’s still a ton of work for Rowett to do to get us to play a good 90 minutes every week (so far, we’ve only done it twice - Derby & Bristol). But it is progress, even if it doesn’t feel like it when we play a clunker like we did at Wrexham (and much of the 2nd half today)

Exactly this. And our league position versus xG backs up Rowett's assertion that we should have won more points and games than we have done. Over the course of a full season the luck tends to even out and xG will convert to points. Witness Liverpool this year who should have lost or drawn more of their first five. They are now demonstrating those underlying weaknesses with a run of losses.

 

[Toucan]

Don't you just love a smart a**e.oh is smart a**e one word or two?

After the full stop you should be using a capital O for your Oh word. Had you put a space in after the full stop your predictive text would probably have done it for you.

 

[Chippy]

Yep, if we had come out in the 2nd half, put in a solid display, scored another goal to finish them off, then shut up shop to see the game out, I would've been absolutely fuming. Because I just love to moan about Oxford United.

Look back at any of my posts over the years, you'll see I always heap praise upon the players and manager, when they deserve it, which has been rare this season.

Last season, I cut them some slack, as nobody expected us to suddenly be in The Championship, having sneaked in the back door the way we did, and as a result we were clearly punching well above our weight, so all season I was realistic with my expectations and reactions to results and performances, even though I still felt we could've done more and been more positive and productive in some games, but I fully understood the situation we were in, so was less critical.

But this season, with the players we've brought in to improve the squad, and a whole Championship season under our belt, I feel we should be doing better and competing more in games, and should be more positive and productive than we're currently being.

Did I moan when we put in a solid 90 min performance against Derby? Nope, I heaped praise on the entire team AND Rowett, but then we reverted to type in the week, and I was fuming, and rightly criticised them. They f*****g deserved it!

I was positive at half-time yesterday, but concerned we would come out too negative in the 2nd half and f**k it all up, and we did, but luckily Sheff Wed didn't quite have enough to complete the comeback, but against anyone else at this level, playing like we did in the 2nd half yesterday, we would've lost that game in the end.

I'm sick of people criticising others simply for highlighting where things are clearly repeatedly going wrong, particularly when those people are not relentlessly negative, and always heap praise and positive feedback on the players and manager, when it's deserved. But when they deserve criticism, why the hell should they not be criticised?

Do you think Alex Ferguson would've been happy after yesterday's game, regardless of the win? He would've gone f*****g mental at them, THAT'S why they were winners, they knew that they had to get the win, but they also knew they had to do their f*****g jobs on the pitch as well, and perform well, and not encourage the opposition, by repeatedly handing them the initiative.

If you're on top, you do whatever you have to to stay on top, and if you're behind, you dig in and drive forward, doing whatever you have to do to get back into the game. We're way too passive in games, regardless of whether we're in the lead or behind. We're so easy to play against, that's a mentality thing, and starts with the manager. It needs f*****g sorting.

Nobody is asking for a gung-ho approach, which someone has accused me of asking for (which I never once have) but simply an approach that makes us more capable of protecting a lead, or getting back into a game when we're losing, rather than just trying not to get thrashed.
We need more attitude, more bite, more aggression, more urgency, more ruthlessness, more positivity, and more confidence in our ability to get on the front foot more, and take the game to the opposition.

The teams in this league aren't unbeatable, and if we played with a bit more belief, I think we'd be surprised by what we could achieve in games, and if we'd done that a number of results this season could've been very different. There's nothing wrong with being critical when we're approaching games in such a negative defeatist way, it's getting f*****g boring, and understandably people are gonna moan.

There's too many on here these days, who think a pat on the back and a little rosette should be given, regardless of results or performances. We shouldn't expect more, or criticise, we should just be happy we're here in The Championship.

b*****s to that! I wanna see us compete!

We can still compete, without leaving ourselves open to a thrashing, which so many seem to think is what will happen if we try to have a go, we'll just get picked off, b*****s, it just takes a bit of tactical nous, something I'm not sure Rowett has, and that's the problem.

Nobody is expecting miracles, and I'm not saying we should be aiming for the playoffs or anything silly like that, we know it's a slower process at this level for a club like ours, but I want to see progress, there are a lot better sides in this league this season than last season, when we finished 17th, so I'd be looking for another finish of 17th-13th, which in my eyes would show progress.

But some seem to think we should still be aiming for 21st! Well I think that's a negative and defeatist attitude!

We've shown we're capable of a more positive approach to games, and playing on the front foot, even against the high flyers like Leicester, Bristol City and Coventry, but somehow those of us who want to see more of this positive approach, and less of the usual negative approach, are actually the ones being accused of negativity!

Madness!

Don’t beat about the bush any more, say what you really mean!

 

[BigAlan]

Mark Harris is no striker, well not in the real world we live in, oh and offer him out as well as the bearded one as well.

As for Tyler, keep him and let him sweat for a while.

 

[holdsteady]

Radio oxford said Wednesday would have loved seeing cam bran going off injured, it would have lifted the team, so he’s not exactly bang average.
He’s a championship player and one of the best players we’ve got.

If he is bang average then he is a championship player, be happy if we had 11 bang average players at this level.
My point is more that it’s not an insult to any of our players, we haven’t finished mid table at this level in over a quarter of a century.

 

[tim lane]

Yep, if we had come out in the 2nd half, put in a solid display, scored another goal to finish them off, then shut up shop to see the game out, I would've been absolutely fuming. Because I just love to moan about Oxford United.

Look back at any of my posts over the years, you'll see I always heap praise upon the players and manager, when they deserve it, which has been rare this season.

Last season, I cut them some slack, as nobody expected us to suddenly be in The Championship, having sneaked in the back door the way we did, and as a result we were clearly punching well above our weight, so all season I was realistic with my expectations and reactions to results and performances, even though I still felt we could've done more and been more positive and productive in some games, but I fully understood the situation we were in, so was less critical.

But this season, with the players we've brought in to improve the squad, and a whole Championship season under our belt, I feel we should be doing better and competing more in games, and should be more positive and productive than we're currently being.

Did I moan when we put in a solid 90 min performance against Derby? Nope, I heaped praise on the entire team AND Rowett, but then we reverted to type in the week, and I was fuming, and rightly criticised them. They f*****g deserved it!

I was positive at half-time yesterday, but concerned we would come out too negative in the 2nd half and f**k it all up, and we did, but luckily Sheff Wed didn't quite have enough to complete the comeback, but against anyone else at this level, playing like we did in the 2nd half yesterday, we would've lost that game in the end.

I'm sick of people criticising others simply for highlighting where things are clearly repeatedly going wrong, particularly when those people are not relentlessly negative, and always heap praise and positive feedback on the players and manager, when it's deserved. But when they deserve criticism, why the hell should they not be criticised?

Do you think Alex Ferguson would've been happy after yesterday's game, regardless of the win? He would've gone f*****g mental at them, THAT'S why they were winners, they knew that they had to get the win, but they also knew they had to do their f*****g jobs on the pitch as well, and perform well, and not encourage the opposition, by repeatedly handing them the initiative.

If you're on top, you do whatever you have to to stay on top, and if you're behind, you dig in and drive forward, doing whatever you have to do to get back into the game. We're way too passive in games, regardless of whether we're in the lead or behind. We're so easy to play against, that's a mentality thing, and starts with the manager. It needs f*****g sorting.

Nobody is asking for a gung-ho approach, which someone has accused me of asking for (which I never once have) but simply an approach that makes us more capable of protecting a lead, or getting back into a game when we're losing, rather than just trying not to get thrashed.
We need more attitude, more bite, more aggression, more urgency, more ruthlessness, more positivity, and more confidence in our ability to get on the front foot more, and take the game to the opposition.

The teams in this league aren't unbeatable, and if we played with a bit more belief, I think we'd be surprised by what we could achieve in games, and if we'd done that a number of results this season could've been very different. There's nothing wrong with being critical when we're approaching games in such a negative defeatist way, it's getting f*****g boring, and understandably people are gonna moan.

There's too many on here these days, who think a pat on the back and a little rosette should be given, regardless of results or performances. We shouldn't expect more, or criticise, we should just be happy we're here in The Championship.

b*****s to that! I wanna see us compete!

We can still compete, without leaving ourselves open to a thrashing, which so many seem to think is what will happen if we try to have a go, we'll just get picked off, b*****s, it just takes a bit of tactical nous, something I'm not sure Rowett has, and that's the problem.

Nobody is expecting miracles, and I'm not saying we should be aiming for the playoffs or anything silly like that, we know it's a slower process at this level for a club like ours, but I want to see progress, there are a lot better sides in this league this season than last season, when we finished 17th, so I'd be looking for another finish of 17th-13th, which in my eyes would show progress.

But some seem to think we should still be aiming for 21st! Well I think that's a negative and defeatist attitude!

We've shown we're capable of a more positive approach to games, and playing on the front foot, even against the high flyers like Leicester, Bristol City and Coventry, but somehow those of us who want to see more of this positive approach, and less of the usual negative approach, are actually the ones being accused of negativity!

Madness!

You certainly know how to fight your corner and I applaud you for that. However, I'd like to offer a few counter comments, whilst happily acknowledging your claim that you always heap praise on the manager and players when, in your opinion, they deserve it. So: -

- Criticism, it seems to me, and particularly is a sport as passionate as football, is a subjective emotion. We all have different opinions as to the quality of performances and results. You've every right to yours, as does everyone else, without their being accused of naivety and a head in the sand approach.

- Perhaps it's a semantic of language on my part, but the fact that no Championship team has beaten us by more than one goal this season would suggest to me that we are competing.

- You posit Sir Alex Ferguson as someone who would have gone mental after yesterday's second half performance. I dare say one of the greatest managers of all time would have done so. It would appear to have been a major component of his communicative armoury and probably justified, given the pool of talent at his disposal. But we're talking exceptional here and, anyway, how do you know whether Gary Rowett 'went mental' or not at full time?

- You aspire to our finishing between 13th and 17th this season; perhaps even better. If we win our two upcoming home games - I accept that we might not - that's where we're likely to be in the table, at least for the time being. Rhetorically, regardless of the quality and style of the performances, would you be happy with that?

I'm going to give it a rest from here. You've given me food for thought. I hope I've done the same for you.

 

[Swaby39]

Mark Harris is no striker, well not in the real world we live in, oh and offer him out as well as the bearded one as well.

As for Tyler, keep him and let him sweat for a while.

I mean, Harris is a striker, simply because if he tried to be anything else he wouldn’t be a footballer. We need to stop with that - he just happens to be a long way off what you need at this level but he is, and has been for us for a while, quite evidently a striker.

But…. The very least I expected from him yesterday was to come on and hassle Wednesday tirelessly for those 15 minutes. If Harris has ever been good for something, it’s that sort of task. To say he looked leggy would be flattery - he looked downright disinterested. It’s one thing to be out of your depth or low on confidence, but to then look like you can’t be arsed and let players with 75 busy minutes in the legs breeze past you is a whole other problem. Was far from impressed with that cameo.

 

[90syeIlow]

I mean, Harris is a striker, simply because if he tried to be anything else he wouldn’t be a footballer. We need to stop with that - he just happens to be a long way off what you need at this level but he is, and has been for us for a while, quite evidently a striker.

But…. The very least I expected from him yesterday was to come on and hassle Wednesday tirelessly for those 15 minutes. If Harris has ever been good for something, it’s that sort of task. To say he looked leggy would be flattery - he looked downright disinterested. It’s one thing to be out of your depth or low on confidence, but to then look like you can’t be arsed and let players with 75 busy minutes in the legs breeze past you is a whole other problem. Was far from impressed with that cameo.

MH should go and join Ruben’s team as he plays like he doesn’t give a sh*t ever since he left.

 

[Mad Dog]

I can't quite imagine Rowett doing this:

I do like Rowett's reasonably objective appraisal in post match interviews, like about the game yesterday he said something like the second half was a difficult watch and no one wants to see the team playing like that.

I bloody loved Fergie as a manager, it's the exact mentality he shows in that interview, after winning the cup, that is the reason he had so much success in his career, and why his teams were so good to watch.

Every player in the side knew their role, and had to be a leader, and win their individual duels on the pitch, and drive forward as a team to win, win, win. No nonsense, just sheer guts and determination, effort, desire and quality. Nothing less was acceptable.

Perhaps I'm just a little too old fashioned for this modern game mentality

 

[yellowbow]

I just want to put this on here. This is what we were up against. Sheff Weds are a proud old club with massive support and we arrived in the ye of the storm.

It was a bit like when we played Coventry at Wembley. We buckled that day but yesterday we prevailed.

Maybe we do need to accept that yesterday was a crazy day, where football went out the window and emotion was uppermost.

We defended stoutly and left with the 3 points. It wasn’t perfect but I think it was always going to be chaotic given the circumstances

 

[werthersoriginal]

I just want to put this on here. This is what we were up against. Sheff Weds are a proud old club with massive support and we arrived in the ye of the storm.

It was a bit like when we played Coventry at Wembley. We buckled that day but yesterday we prevailed.

Maybe we do need to accept that yesterday was a crazy day, where football went out the window and emotion was uppermost.

We defended stoutly and left with the 3 points. It wasn’t perfect but I think it was always going to be chaotic given the circumstances View attachment 31625

Yes Sheff Wed are a big famous club with a great history, and we went and won there for I think the third time in four games- would have been four if Murphy hadn’t missed that penalty. Like Charlton, they’re a team we seem to do well against.

 

[Steve Gilbert]

I just want to put this on here. This is what we were up against. Sheff Weds are a proud old club with massive support and we arrived in the ye of the storm.

It was a bit like when we played Coventry at Wembley. We buckled that day but yesterday we prevailed.

Maybe we do need to accept that yesterday was a crazy day, where football went out the window and emotion was uppermost.

We defended stoutly and left with the 3 points. It wasn’t perfect but I think it was always going to be chaotic given the circumstances View attachment 31625

Having watched the full 90 minutes I can confirm that football certainly did go out of the window

 

[bazzer9461]

I’m

Yes Sheff Wed are a big famous club with a great history, and we went and won there for I think the third time in four games- would have been four if Murphy hadn’t missed that penalty. Like Charlton, they’re a team we seem to do well against.

although I look at Charlton and I can’t see us beating them like we’ve done in the past

 

[Marked Ox]

I’m

although I look at Charlton and I can’t see us beating them like we’ve done in the past

People said the same about Sheff Utd last season and we were going to get hammered by Coventry this season.

 

[Banbury2018]

Apologies if I have missed it and I enjoy @Colin B posts, but who are we thinking has lower wage bills than us?

If you are assessing where we 'should' finish then I don't think it's just about the wage bill, I do think you need a number of windows to be able to refresh your league 1 squad. So if we have a similar wage bill to club X, but club x have been in the Championship for 5 seasons then club X should be outperforming us as they've had 10 windows to refresh and get it right.

One of the reasons I'm happy with 'just' surviving this year, is that if we line up in the Championship next season we'll have had another 2 windows to refresh the squad. That will then take us to the recruitment team having had 5 transfer windows to build a championship squad.

I think we will stay up and I'll be fascinated to see what happens in the Summer, the likes of Vaulks, Placheta, Ter Avest, Leigh, Negru, Thorniley, GOD, Matty Phillips, Sibley and Tom Bradshaw will be out of contract. We may even see quite a busy January with some of those players wanting to get a head start on securing a new contract. Sparky will be under contract, but I think he'll be off as well (I think he was offered the extension to try and protect a transfer fee).

Yesterday was a huge result. It's amusing some of us are feeling a bit 'meh' about an away win in the Championship. Mboro only managed to edge past them midweek, and yesterday they had the added inspiration of a big crowd roaring them on.

One thing I just thought about is do quoted wages include bonuses signing on fees etc. people like quoting wages and saying where we should finish because of wages but one thing forgotten in al these debates is we may(apparently) be able to match Coventry on wages but we can’t spend the 10plus million on transfer fees they do or pretty well any other club in the league.

 

[stokeu]

Yes Sheff Wed are a big famous club with a great history,

They have won nothing of note for nearly a hundred years. We do not not need to be submissive to a bunch of under achievers.

A small club, clinging to hope for an undeserved draw is not what I want from my team.

There should have seen more salty tears at Hillsborough yesterday, and we should have revelled in it.

Our capitulation second half without Cam was unnecessary, but with precedent and needs to stop.

.

 

[Stranger]

I mean, Harris is a striker, simply because if he tried to be anything else he wouldn’t be a footballer. We need to stop with that - he just happens to be a long way off what you need at this level but he is, and has been for us for a while, quite evidently a striker.

But…. The very least I expected from him yesterday was to come on and hassle Wednesday tirelessly for those 15 minutes. If Harris has ever been good for something, it’s that sort of task. To say he looked leggy would be flattery - he looked downright disinterested. It’s one thing to be out of your depth or low on confidence, but to then look like you can’t be arsed and let players with 75 busy minutes in the legs breeze past you is a whole other problem. Was far from impressed with that cameo.

Uninterested, not disinterested

 

[MarkG]

Pics

 

[Stranger]

I thought the established convention was that a good team is one which plays badly and wins.....

A team that plays well and wins is a good team. A team that plays badly and wins is a lucky team. It's often better to be lucky than good