Pre-Season 26/07/2025 Oxford United v Bristol Rovers

[Emilio]

Only tuned in for the final 15 mins of the game on RadOx. Has there been any mention today about the whole ancient woodland or charity stories?

Gonna repeat this question

 

[Symp59]

That's been removed the woodland complaint but it's put the meeting back 2 weeks ,hopefully it will be passed and we can start digging

 

[Emilio]

That's been removed the woodland complaint but it's put the meeting back 2 weeks ,hopefully it will be passed and we can start digging

No, I know that I mean was the whole debacle covered at all on the show? Particularly Colon Middlefinger's flying off the handles?

 

[Londox]

The game today left me deeply concerned for the season proper. A few observations ...

Mark Harris was totally absent (again). He missed a one-on-one with their keeper and barely won a ball. It was easy to forget he was playing for a lot of the game. Kioso is a liability, he leaves acres of space for attackers and doesn't have the pace to catch them when they exploit it. Dembele showed a couple of sparks of ingenuity, but is too easily brushed off the ball. De Keersmaecker gives away too many fouls. I watched Campbell carefully, he made some good runs and got into open positions - but nobody would pass to him despite him constantly calling for the ball. Placheta created some decent chances, but he panics when he nears the box. On a more positive note, Currie had an excellent game and worked hard. Sibley also made some decent efforts. O'Donkor showed some promise, I'd certainly start him over M Harris.

If you're advocating for GO'D starting over Mark Harris you've also got me deeply concerned!

 

[MiddleBartonYellow]

I reckon in 50 odd years of following united I’ve seen at least 100 friendly games and I still couldn’t tell you whether they mean anything or not. It’s very easy to get carried away one way or the other and I won’t lose sleep over it.

 

[Essexyellows]

When did football become so complex/technical?

Big lump at Number 9 causing chaos while the poacher snaps up the chances.

How I yearn for the simplicity of Hamilton & Aldridge with wingers and midfield peppering the oppo box.................

Simpler times without all this XYZ/high press stuff......

 

[BTCW]

Not sure it really taught us much. Bristol Rovers are also 7 days further into their prep than us. Let’s see what the next week brings versus 2 decent sides.

 

[LowerSouth]

Just left The Blenheim after 3 pints of Titanac ales .
I no longer have that sinking feeling.
Bring on Aug 9th

 

[bicesterox]

When you book ticket half way down there is an option for ST holders to buy

But remember to buy before match day to get ST rate, my son bought a ticket for today at the ticket office but had to pay full price despite being an ST holder

 

[holdsteady]

We should have invested big time like Birmingham to avoid this happening, could have lost 3-0 to Northampton today then.

 

[BTCW]

We should have invested big time like Birmingham to avoid this happening, could have lost 3-0 to Northampton today then.

Birmingham played at Port Vale today I thought and won 2-0.

 

[HillBilly]

I thought Bristol Rovers stole it for sure and we were pretty dominant without going hell for leather. They were more organised and match ready as you'd expect, but there were plenty of positives for a friendly game, especially from the new boys.

• De Keersmaecker played deep in the first half and controlled the play well. When Cam came on, he pushed much higher up, and stopped them having any time on the ball. I can see those two forming a mean partnership in midfield if they're allowed to interchange a bit.
• Currie will be a real asset. That's clear. Defended strongly (including one immense tackle in the second half) but took a high position in a similar way to Leigh and linked up promisingly with Tyler. They look like another great pairing in the making.
• Luke Harris played some threatening short passes around the box and took up good positions. Looks like a cool head. It was all set up for a Harris to Harris goal early on, but the less said about that the better.
• Spencer is a beast. Wasn't afraid to get into the box a couple of times, but you can see he loves to make a challenge and protect his area. If Placheta plays in front of him, things could get fiery on that side of the pitch.

We really should've taken at least one of 3 or 4 good opportunities in the first 20 minutes. It was actually comical. But it's preseason - and thankfully the stewards managed to quieten down the one bloke in the away section who thought he was at a cup final.

 

[christenedinjericho]

I wouldn't even cross the road to watch a pre season friendly. They're basically training sessions. All that matters is how we play against Pompey in two weeks.

Then let's hope nobody crosses over the road on Tuesday and next Saturday and the 50 or so stewards there clap the yellows out onto pitch. That would be swish.

And all the b*****s that the club is behind in terms of catching up is piff. Premier clubs are often the other side of the world pre season and travel much in the same class as the United squad did so I haven't bought this excuse. The side obviously needs a striker and have done for the best part of last season right from MH's early season goal drought. His shooting boots were parched and threadbare and therefore...and therefore Mr Cratchit we are going to raise our transfer record salary and get a decent bod in.

And, then we could play Harris in a less pressurised role behind this new geezer and I'm sure this would all auger well for the team.

Off the record - I reminded a German speaking uber driver in Brunn yesterday that we won the world cup in '66. He then proceeded to slap my legs in the front seat. I felt a Chevvy Chase European vacation coming on and the whelp marks were well worth the cheap mileage lol.

And yes Mr Northernyellow, we owe the poms a gnashing and it is of course the game that really matters - but support for any OUFC friendly isn't something to be completely dismissed imho and I have tickets for the next two.

COYY'S.

 

[m]

So just catching up with the day's events and frankly it makes for shite reading compared to yesterday.

 

[Stranger]

I thought Bristol Rovers stole it for sure and we were pretty dominant without going hell for leather. They were more organised and match ready as you'd expect, but there were plenty of positives for a friendly game, especially from the new boys.

Really? They scored with pretty much their only shot, while their GK had to make two or three decent saves, plus we missed a couple of great opportunities. I thought Rovers were pretty dire, tbh, but they've probably got enough about them to do well in L2 next season.

 

[Londox]

We have a terrible record v Rovers. They're our bogey team. We never seem to beat them even at Grenoble Rd.

 

[Oldman159]

Good entertainment, beats the sh*t out of gardening……enjoyed it, apart from the continual and loud negative rubbish spewing out from 3 seats down… (Why do these people bother?)

As an aside can I suggest we rename the fence end “The Ancient Woodland” stand?

After all…. Someone said there was a stand there, but when we checked there was sweet FA!…

 

[Bicester Yellow]

The game today left me deeply concerned for the season proper. A few observations ...

Mark Harris was totally absent (again). He missed a one-on-one with their keeper and barely won a ball. It was easy to forget he was playing for a lot of the game. Kioso is a liability, he leaves acres of space for attackers and doesn't have the pace to catch them when they exploit it. Dembele showed a couple of sparks of ingenuity, but is too easily brushed off the ball. De Keersmaecker gives away too many fouls. I watched Campbell carefully, he made some good runs and got into open positions - but nobody would pass to him despite him constantly calling for the ball. Placheta created some decent chances, but he panics when he nears the box. On a more positive note, Currie had an excellent game and worked hard. Sibley also made some decent efforts. O'Donkor showed some promise, I'd certainly start him over M Harris.

The keeper gifted Harris half of the goal to aim at and he still missed.

He has some qualities but finishing isn’t one of them.

 

[holdsteady]

Birmingham played at Port Vale today I thought and won 2-0.

Must have played two in one day then as I saw they lost 3-0 to Northampton as well, not a clue what sort of side they put out in either.

 

[90syeIlow]

If you're advocating for GO'D starting over Mark Harris you've also got me deeply concerned!

Imagine if 3 years ago a poster said we would be in our second season in the championship and our main starting striker would be Gatlin O'Donkor 3 years later.

He'd have thought you'd have walked out of a mental asylum.

 

[West Oxon U’s]

It was a Birmingham XI that played in Sam Hoskins testimonial at Northampton and the Cobblers won 3-0.

The first team squad won at Port Vale.

 

[HillBilly]

Really? They scored with pretty much their only shot, while their GK had to make two or three decent saves, plus we missed a couple of great opportunities. I thought Rovers were pretty dire, tbh, but they've probably got enough about them to do well in L2 next season.

They stole it (the win). We were pretty dominant. I think that's what I said isn't it?

Just thought they were closer to match readiness (as you'd expect since they start next week).

A couple of ours, like Dembele, looked like they'll benefit from the extra week's training.

 

[Stranger]

They stole it (the win). We were pretty dominant. I think that's what I said isn't it?

Just thought they were closer to match readiness (as you'd expect since they start next week).

A couple of ours, like Dembele, looked like they'll benefit from the extra week's training.

Yeah, sorry. I misread what you wrote to read that Bristol were dominant, not us. Serves me right for posting after a Saturday night drink or three

 

[Joey]

My god you lot are miserable. So reactionary. It's a friendly. They're working on more complex facets than simply trying to blow Rovers away. It's not about that.

It's about patterns of play, of shape with and without the ball.

Chill out everybody, please.

I'll caveat at this from the get go that I didn't see any of the game tonight but I'm not a fan of these type of posts. We see it in the transfer window thread too and it can come off as very condescending, as if people who see it negatively simply don't grasp the intricate details of what goes on. It's possible to understand all that but still be disappointed with what we're doing. There are a handful who go too far but everyone on here wants us to be successful.

On that note it's not really fair to call it reactionary. There are plenty of people on here, and I'm certainly one of them, who are very concerned with how little we create from open play and also don't have much faith in our current strikers to put away what we chances we do give them. If you then turn in a performance (again didn't see it, just going from here) where we create little apart from a great chance that our striker doesn't score then it's proof of what people have been saying for a while, the opposite of reactionary.

It's ok to say you're concerned. I don't think relying on set pieces and worldies all that sustainable, we created incredibly little generally under Rowett last season and I'm wouldn't be confident we'll get away with that again this year. It's part of the reason I've said that as good as Currie is I'd be reluctant to drop Leigh because we can't afford to lose the goals he brings.

Rowett is an excellent manager at this level and for our situation but it's asking a lot to repeat the start of his tenure and the last few games while not slipping into that unbeaten run when we were awful week after week. As @Swaby39 said he's held up his end of the bargain. He'll have done his reputation no harm at all with the job he did here last season, sackings will start in autumn and it wouldn't be a surprise if his name was a popular one. I'd much rather we backed him and ourselves and went big to solve our striker issue. It sounds as if Prelec is close, on the face of it doesn't do a lot as a goalscorer but hopefully he'll up those numbers and bring more to the table as well but it does seem a risk and not in keeping with the money spent earlier in the window.

 

[OohJonnyLager]

The game today left me deeply concerned for the season proper. A few observations ...

Mark Harris was totally absent (again). He missed a one-on-one with their keeper and barely won a ball. It was easy to forget he was playing for a lot of the game. Kioso is a liability, he leaves acres of space for attackers and doesn't have the pace to catch them when they exploit it. Dembele showed a couple of sparks of ingenuity, but is too easily brushed off the ball. De Keersmaecker gives away too many fouls. I watched Campbell carefully, he made some good runs and got into open positions - but nobody would pass to him despite him constantly calling for the ball. Placheta created some decent chances, but he panics when he nears the box. On a more positive note, Currie had an excellent game and worked hard. Sibley also made some decent efforts. O'Donkor showed some promise, I'd certainly start him over M Harris.

The game today left me deeply concerned for the season proper. A few observations ...

Mark Harris was totally absent (again). He missed a one-on-one with their keeper and barely won a ball. It was easy to forget he was playing for a lot of the game. Kioso is a liability, he leaves acres of space for attackers and doesn't have the pace to catch them when they exploit it. Dembele showed a couple of sparks of ingenuity, but is too easily brushed off the ball. De Keersmaecker gives away too many fouls. I watched Campbell carefully, he made some good runs and got into open positions - but nobody would pass to him despite him constantly calling for the ball. Placheta created some decent chances, but he panics when he nears the box. On a more positive note, Currie had an excellent game and worked hard. Sibley also made some decent efforts. O'Donkor showed some promise, I'd certainly start him over M Harris.

Calm down dear, it’s a pre season friendly

 

[Royalstandard74]

We have a terrible record v Rovers. They're our bogey team. We never seem to beat them even at Grenoble Rd.

Stop it, we are championship club.

 

[TheDukeOfBanburyshire]

I'll caveat at this from the get go that I didn't see any of the game tonight but I'm not a fan of these type of posts. We see it in the transfer window thread too and it can come off as very condescending, as if people who see it negatively simply don't grasp the intricate details of what goes on. It's possible to understand all that but still be disappointed with what we're doing. There are a handful who go too far but everyone on here wants us to be successful.

On that note it's not really fair to call it reactionary. There are plenty of people on here, and I'm certainly one of them, who are very concerned with how little we create from open play and also don't have much faith in our current strikers to put away what we chances we do give them. If you then turn in a performance (again didn't see it, just going from here) where we create little apart from a great chance that our striker doesn't score then it's proof of what people have been saying for a while, the opposite of reactionary.

It's ok to say you're concerned. I don't think relying on set pieces and worldies all that sustainable, we created incredibly little generally under Rowett last season and I'm wouldn't be confident we'll get away with that again this year. It's part of the reason I've said that as good as Currie is I'd be reluctant to drop Leigh because we can't afford to lose the goals he brings.

Rowett is an excellent manager at this level and for our situation but it's asking a lot to repeat the start of his tenure and the last few games while not slipping into that unbeaten run when we were awful week after week. As @Swaby39

Thanks @Joey, all fair counter arguments. I'm certainly not a person who wants to appear condescending. I'm embarrassed to think for a moment that my view would be construed as such.

I really do get (and agree with) the lack of creativity from open play. I was spitting feathers at Cardiff at the level of our performance prior to Cameron's incredible equaliser, which was flaccid at best. I understand only too well the reality of our onfield deficiencies. I also understand where the club is relative to others in this league.

Perhaps, as some have mentioned earlier in the thread, that the relatively high amount of 'worldies' we scored last season is entirely unsustainable, which is concerning.

I'm also concerned about GR's comments that the Indonesia tour has set our pre season preparations back, but I still have great faith in his ability and think we'll benefit from a pre season under with management.

Anyway, it's really not about points scoring or anyone's opinion being more valid than anyone else's. I guess at the time I just felt that is fairly pointless judging us before a ball has been kicked in anger and before our recruitment has been finalised.

 

[Emilio]

We should have invested big time like Birmingham to avoid this happening, could have lost 3-0 to Northampton today then.

That was their U21s side. Their first team played against Port Vale (and won 2-0).

 

[pommy80]

Calm down dear, it’s a pre season friendly

I mean the stuff he mentioned, was all on show for us last season.

 

[chuckbert]

And the predictable meltdown ensues. It’s clear we need at least one striker, ideally two and I suspect the recruitment team might just agree with that position.

I would be more relaxed about this if we hadn’t been saying exactly the same thing every sodding preseason since Matty Taylor started looking vincible.