Home Match Day Thread 29/12/23: L1 - OUFC v Derby County

[Northstandboy]

Huge game today, COYY!

Let’s leave 2023 on a high!

 

[PottersRightBoot]

Reading some of these posts, think I must have been at a different game. When exactly were we ‘cruising’?

 

[Leysboy]

Who else was he supposed to bring on?

I would have left Harris up top, because he at least offers something, even if it isnt goals.

I would of borough on McEachran, then pushed McGuane up with CamBran.

As it was he took off the potential outlet, and it allowed Derby to camp in our half, and it caused us to suffocate, and give the ball away everytime we got it.

The whole attitude changed the moment them players walked back on that pitch for the second half. In comparison to the lads that walked off for half time.

The manager is to blame!

 

[Scrongo]

BOTTLERS

 

[Followtheox1]

I would have left Harris up top, because he at least offers something, even if it isnt goals.

I would of borough on McEachran, then pushed McGuane up with CamBran.

As it was he took off the potential outlet, and it allowed Derby to camp in our half, and it caused us to suffocate, and give the ball away everytime we got it.

The whole attitude changed the moment them players walked back on that pitch for the second half. In comparison to the lads that walked off for half time.

The manager is to blame!

Harris was out of gas. Knackered. Tired. It was obvious. We need him again in three days.

 

[Jster]

Agree that McEachran seemed the obvious sub, especially after doing well in the previous match.

 

[werthersoriginal]

That really was little Oxford United against top team Derby. We’ve got half of a small squad available, there’s only so much Des could have done. With hindsight it might have been better to keep an attacker on and introduce Smyth. What a rag bag by the end!

 

[Upthecowboys]

I thought Moore Brown Bennett and Brannagan were the only players who played well tonight

I thought Harris did OK, won the penalty and he didn’t go missing. He certainly seems quite resilient, with his lack of goals it would be easy to hide / not make himself as available as he does.

Agree with the other 4 you mentioned, they seem like proper solid pros who are trying to hold things together.

What about our younger players, should our academy not be producing more players capable of doing a job in circumstances like this?

 

[Paul Cannell]

BOTTLERS

Spoken like a ten year old.

 

[Scrongo]

Spoken like a ten year old.

Yep bottlers

 

[unification]

Paul Warne’s teams have won every match they’ve ever played at the Kassam Stadium.

You know exactly what they’re about and it’s damn hard to stop it.

 

[greatunclekip]

BOTTLERS

They didn't bottle it, they were left unable to respond by poor forward recruitment, a mad injury list, and the tactical prowess of Des Kemp.

 

[m]

I would have left Harris up top, because he at least offers something, even if it isnt goals.

I would of borough on McEachran, then pushed McGuane up with CamBran.

As it was he took off the potential outlet, and it allowed Derby to camp in our half, and it caused us to suffocate, and give the ball away everytime we got it.

The whole attitude changed the moment them players walked back on that pitch for the second half. In comparison to the lads that walked off for half time.

The manager is to blame!

Part of me thinks you actually believe this. Worrying.

 

[ttg17]

Strangely not even that annoyed after that. At one point it was almost amusing. The Arsenal cup game a year ago was less one-sided than that. As soon as they scored that first it was written, I’m surprised the goals took as long to come as they did.

I’ve not been hugely impressed with Des so far but I’m struggling to pin too much on him today. The subs in isolation made sense - we were losing our heads in possession so you bring on two experienced, technical ball players in MacEachran and Henry to try and calm things down a bit. You’re getting balls pinged into the box like machine gun fire so you bring on another CB to help deal with that. The problem is the former plan just didn’t work at all - if anything we got more headless - and the second we just didn’t have the personnel for. If you have a Negru or a Long fit, you can play 3atb as they’re natural RCB players in that formation. With the two left footers we have fit, you have to put Moore in there as the only right footer, which just doesn’t work at all.

I am also of the opinion that I’m not sure what else he was supposed to do with the players available. I’d maybe have brought GOD on earlier just to have an out ball, but it’s difficult to imagine he would have made much of a difference. That said, if you’re going to change the shape or plan, commit to it. We looked completely shapeless second half, and MacGuane popping up on the right wing was reminiscent of the worst KR moments.

Conceding from set pieces is becoming a worrying theme. I think the big miss with Greg Leigh and Long both being out is that we suddenly have a very small, aerially weak team. Moore and Brown aren’t going to win everything every time. As good as Bennett is (and I thought he was very good again today), he’s just not got that presence. Steven’s is ok under a high ball but never going to win anything from a set piece. That’s four almost identical goals in three games now (set pieces to the back post). Can’t be an accident.

We seem like a very emotional club at the moment. Concede a last minute winner at Northampton and we play completely within ourselves for 45 minutes of the next game. Flying after the last minute winner at Cambridge we smash into Derby early; concede a goal and we go utterly into our shells. I know it’s cathartic to make jokes about AI Manning and look back on how perceivedly boring we were under him, but we always seemed controlled and focused under him. We seem all over the place at the moment.

Would be churlish not to comment on Derby, who, even before we let them have the run of the pitch, I thought looked really good. Wilson is a brilliant player, that 6 at CB was pure class and their attacking midfielders were running the show. The ball in for the second goal was absolutely perfect. Shame about the fans - from where I’m seated in the East, the Derby fans are over the goal, and there was someone shining a green laser into Beadle’s eyes at every set piece. Pathetic.

We are absolutely gasping for January. These players need a rest and we need reinforcements in. We are at our lowest ebb right now, and the players and management will know they’re struggling. Let’s get behind them on Monday and hope 2024 is much better than what has been, apart from an exciting few months in the autumn, a pretty bleak 2023.

 

[Common Villager]

The only bit of that performance that you couldn't predict when the starting lineup was released was that we'd actually go 2-0 up in the first place.

Mills, McGuane, Goodrham, and (to some extent) Bennett were leggy from the off today. We are having to ask young players like Mills and Goodrham to play 75+ mins game in game out at present as there simply isn't another option. Bennett didn't have a club for the first 4 months of the season, and has been great, but 3 x 90 mins in a week must be tough.

Stevie Wonder could've looked at the bench before the match and see there was literally no option to add pace or an outlet at any point during the match. When a half-retired James Henry is your biggest attacking threat on the bench you know it's going to be a slog.

For me, the one thing Buckingham got wrong was not starting McEachran instead of McGuane, but I suppose to an extent it was justified by us going 2-0 up.

Those saying we should've left Mills on are well off it. He was having a poor game and looked like he could barely run or jump.

My biggest frustration is that we conceded just before HT. Had that not gone in I think we might've been able to see out the game.

One last comment from me @OUSP Secretary, there were away fans in the 'VIP' section behind the directors box again today. Openly celebrating Derby's goals and joining in with songs on occasion. I thought the club was doing something about this? I'm really starting to wonder whether paying for the Premium SSU section is actually worth it!

 

[Jster]

Paul Warne’s teams have won every match they’ve ever played at the Kassam Stadium.

You know exactly what they’re about and it’s damn hard to stop it.

Not sure that's true. We drew with Rotherham when down to bare bones due to COVID, with the likes of Jamie Hanson filling in. I think Warne was still in charge then?

 

[Steve Gilbert]

Pep Guardiola wouldn’t be able to do anything with a attack off Goodrham/Henry Harris and mills worst attack in the league we need our proper wingers back Browne and edwards and if they ain’t coming back then two wingers is needed and two strikers

Edwards isn’t coming back.

 

[OUFCwaffle]

Just feel so deflated after that. When your only impact players are Henry, McEachran, Thorniley and O'Donker you know you're in the s**t. I don't even blame Des because he's got f**k all to work with.

The whole squad looks completely shattered and key players are dropping like flies. How on earth does this keep happening to us season after season? Every game we're losing someone at this rate. Goodrham out with a tight hamstring tonight, so that leaves us with only one winger.

Come Monday it will be 4 games in TEN days. EFL need to seriously look at the ridiculous fixture scheduling over the holidays, but will they f**k.

 

[PQ]

“and there was someone shining a green laser into Beadle’s eyes at every set piece. Pathetic”.. if so very worrying.

 

[Osei Yaw]

Losing Goodrham at half time was a blow but as soon as Mills went off I thought we were screwed. From that point we completely lost any sort of outball and barely got out of our half.

I think GO'D should have come on sooner to try and tussle with their centre backs and win free kicks to take the pressure off, but aside from that I think Buckingham really had his work cut out tonight. A bench where your 2 attacking options are a raw 19 year old who needs a loan at least 2 leagues below and a 34 year old who is on his last legs tells all we already know really, which is that January is a pivotal month. When it's all said and done, we've still finished 2023 in the playoffs. If we see some reinforcements through the door in the first week of January then it's still on this season.

Come on Ed, work your magic.

 

[TheDukeOfBanburyshire]

Yep bottlers

What a pile of s**t that is. The players are out on their arses. We came up against a very good, well organised Derby side at a time where we are depleted, short on resource and confidence.

Surely you only had to look at the personnel on the pitch, and the positions most found themselves having to play in to see how injury affected the side is?!

I just can't see how 'bottling it' comes into it.