Away Match Day Thread *** 4/8/2018 Barnsley FC v OUFC match day thread ***

[Dubai Yellow]

I knows its only one game, and we will get better, but Barnsley certainly set the bar today and we were some way below it. if Tiger wants instant success then it could be a very expensive week for him. Carruthers is a hammer blow, he has been our stand out performer preseason.

 

[The Hawk]

We also need to start wearing
The navy socks with the home kit

 

[ttg17]

Just on the long train back to London.

Few positives to take from that. I thought we competed well with the starting XI put out and it’s a shame our game plan and shape had to change with the injury. Eastwood again making some unreal saves. Hall’s cameo clearly the standout though, I love how he came on seemingly with a point to prove after being left out of the starting XI / not swapped as a like for like with Carruthers. Love that mentality. As others have said, it’s the first game of 46, our players are still gelling, and that will probably prove to be the most difficult league match of the season - Barnsley away is probably the equivalent of a Blackburn or Wigan away from last year. Our season will not be defined by our result in this fixture, and I’m not nearly as concerned as I would be if we had put in that performance against, say, a mid table side in November, once the side is more settled.

However.

It wasn’t so much the ‘rustiness’ if players that concerned me, as that can be addressed. It was the fact that we seemed unbelievably lightweight. We were getting outpaced and outmuscled all over the park, and a player’s physique isn’t going to be resolved by ‘gelling’ with their new teammates. Perhaps that was just Barnsley and their players - there will be few strikers, if any, in this league who can dominate Nelson the way Moore did today. But after being so excited about the prospect of Holmes all week, I can’t help but think I’d rather get in some proper units to make us a bit more robust. The number of chances they had from set pieces was shocking. I was also unfortunately really unimpressed with all the new players (bar Carruthers, but should perhaps withhold judgement given he played such a short amount of time). Garbutt and McMahon were quite routinely passed by their wingers, and I don’t think Mackie offered anything. Is he a winger? I wasn’t under the impression he’s ever had much pace, let alone at the age he is now.

There will be better games to come. Personally, I enjoyed the day out, the Barnsley fans I met were great, the stadium was excellent and one of the best I’ve been to, and I love that football is back. Onwards and upwards. COYY

 

[North Wales Yellow]

Not all doom and gloom from me. Barnsley are a strong talented team. Their number 8 ran the match. They harried us all match. Overran us in midfield. Barnsley will be top 6 at least this season. We have some good attacking players but there is is no point in having them if they don't get the ball. Hall was more of a threat in his 30 mins than obika and Mackie combined. Obika is not good enough. Last season showed that. He crumbles when chances come his way. Should have been 1-2 then bang 0-3. Not impressed with Garbutt. Their right winger got round him time and again. Need 2 strong midfielders if this team is going to work.

Their number 8 didn’t come on until they 75th minute?

 

[Pete Burrett]

As @ttg17 suggests in his report above, I thought we were out-paced, out-muscled and out-thought all over the park today.

Perhaps strangely, I don't feel too deflated though. Great ground, excellent away parking, and all the Barnsley fans and club staff I talked to were decent.

Shout out to our own fans too. Created a superb atmosphere early on, although it was difficult to keep that going when 0-2 down and getting swamped. Didn't hear any booing myself, but there were some very angry Oxford fans around at the end.

Hopefully that's the season's disaster out of the way and we look like a new side on Saturday against Barton's lot.

 

[Concretebob]

Back home. Totally outclassed on all levels today - Barnsley were a classy outfit and deserved that - their side was championship quality.

Robbie Hall coming on was our only really glimmer. Feel like we need a response against Fleetwood!

 

[Jimmy Ike]

Stopped at Woodall Services on the way back - saw a pissed-off looking Shaun Derry in there getting a couple of coffees then coming out and getting into a car with someone who looked an awful lot to me like KR. Is that usual, would the management and players travel up separately?

Might well be the way we do things but it just seemed a bit odd.

Anyway. s**t match, looked like eleven players who'd just met each other on the bus to the ground that afternoon. Might have been five or six but for Eastwood. And Jon Obika's got the pace and maneouverability of a Coke fridge. Can we f**k him off please.

 

[Deleted member 222]

Stopped at Woodall Services on the way back - saw a pissed-off looking Shaun Derry in there getting a couple of coffees then coming out and getting into a car with someone who looked an awful lot to me like KR. Is that usual, would the management and players travel up separately?

Might well be the way we do things but it just seemed a bit odd.

Anyway. s**t match, looked like eleven players who'd just met each other on the bus to the ground that afternoon. Might have been five or six but for Eastwood. And Jon Obika's got the pace and maneouverability of a Coke fridge. Can we f**k him off please.

After matches it is usual for players and staff to go back separate ways. They will all travel to the game together but afterwards players and staff usually go off to other parts of the country.

 

[Jimmy Ike]

After matches it is usual for players and staff to go back separate ways. They will all travel to the game together but afterwards players and staff usually go off to other parts of the country.

Aha, fair enough. Cheers.

 

[Deleted member 222]

As @ttg17 suggests in his report above, I thought we were out-paced, out-muscled and out-thought all over the park today.

Perhaps strangely, I don't feel too deflated though. Great ground, excellent away parking, and all the Barnsley fans and club staff I talked to were decent.

Shout out to our own fans too. Created a superb atmosphere early on, although it was difficult to keep that going when 0-2 down and getting swamped. Didn't hear any booing myself, but there were some very angry Oxford fans around at the end.

Hopefully that's the season's disaster out of the way and we look like a new side on Saturday against Barton's lot.

Like you Pete i'm not too deflated after that defeat. Yes it was poor but that result in a funny way could be the best thing for our season. You can bet your house on a few of those players not being in the next few starting 11's.

I can't see Ruffles playing once we get a new defensive midfielder in. Mackie didn't do himself any favours, nor did Obika and I think Henry won't be at the club this time next week.

 

[Concretebob]

After matches it is usual for players and staff to go back separate ways. They will all travel to the game together but afterwards players and staff usually go off to other parts of the country.

Yep, Simon Eastwood got a train from the station to see his family apparently.

I think it's worth pointing out Barnsley have kept pretty much all their players from last season - it certainly did tell.

 

[Concretebob]

Sod it another point - I think we struggled with how wide the pitch was too. Barnsley have definitely made theirs as big as possible.

I thought everyone at Barnsley was very friendly, it is the north after all

 

[Marked Ox]

Listen to the interview again Holmes only had to sign but didn’t and the agreed fee player only had to sign.

Holmes had agreed, it was Sheffield Utd directors/an authorised person not being available to sign off the deal. Jerome or Nathan was talking about their directors being all over the place. Hence why Holmes had been training with us.

The agreed fee player, they haven't agreed terms with the player yet but are getting closer.

 

[Marked Ox]

For those criticising Mackie, tbf to him he wasn't supposed to start, as he isn't fully fit. It was a forced change and he his lack of a full pre-season was probably showing. I think he'll turn out to be a good signing but he'll need time to get properly fit.

 

[Deleted member 222]

Holmes had agreed, it was Sheffield Utd directors/an authorised person not being available to sign off the deal. Jerome or Nathan was talking about their directors being all over the place. Hence why Holmes had been training with us.

The agreed fee player, they haven't agreed terms with the player yet but are getting closer.

Beat me to it. I didn't hear the interview but it seems a few people have got mixed up with the 2 deals.

The interview on the Oxfordmail website makes it a lot clearer.
Hopefully this player we are paying good money for can make a difference.

 

[Concretebob]

For those criticising Mackie, tbf to him he wasn't supposed to start, as he isn't fully fit. It was a forced change and he his lack of a full pre-season was probably showing. I think he'll turn out to be a good signing but he'll need time to get properly fit.

Also worth pointing out Nelson probably isn't fully fit either

 

[makv]

For those criticising Mackie, tbf to him he wasn't supposed to start, as he isn't fully fit. It was a forced change and he his lack of a full pre-season was probably showing. I think he'll turn out to be a good signing but he'll need time to get properly fit.

Also worth pointing out Nelson probably isn't fully fit either

Why?

(All that booze on Love Island maybe?)

 

[Paul Cannell]

Hopefully

To Mr Wig.

 

[Whingit]

Dunno if it's been mentioned yet, but does anybody remember the score of last season's first game and whether that foreshadowed what was to come?

 

[tonyw]

On the one hand, today's result doesn't completely deflate me about the prospects for the season. Barnsley are clearly an excellent side who will be there or thereabouts at season's end. So that's likely one of the season's toughest games out the way early.

It does, however, depress me a little about the state of football nowadays. There's always been a bit of a gap between the Premier League and Championship, but there was never much of a gulf between the bottom of the Championship and League One. Now there seems to be a chasm. With teams in the division above us paying fees for players, on a semi-regular basis, that are bigger than our annual revenue.

Last year the three teams that came down went straight back up again; Bolton did it the season before; You'd have to think that Barnsley & Sunderland will be strong favorites to do the same this year....with only the fact that Burton were punching above their weight for a couple of years leaving a spot open for someone else.

Makes you wonder what hope we have in the medium term to better our lot significantly. Unless someone takes us over with sufficient resources to sort through the stadium issues, then a solid finish in League One and a good cup run would seem to be about the summit of our realistic ambitions at the moment. Which isn't the worst thing in the world - it's a good league, with some fun opponents - but hardly matches the dreams of the 80s or even 90s.

Modern football, eh?