Home Match Day Thread +++ 7/12/2019 OUFC V Shrewsbury Town +++

[BristolOx]

Hall was a no-show unfortunately.
Tactically we didn’t set up right. Mous said we had prepared for a different set up.

Hindsight says we should have gone Long RB, Cadden RW, Mous in DM.
Sykes and Hall on the bench.

 

[werthersoriginal]

Hall was a no-show unfortunately.
Tactically we didn’t set up right. Mous said we had prepared for a different set up.

Hindsight says we should have gone Long RB, Cadden RW, Mous in DM.
Sykes and Hall on the bench.

They’d done their homework and set up to stop us passing and to isolate Fosu. Almost worked but we rejigged well - and Mackie almost inspired us to a win.

 

[RyanioBirdio]

I really don’t want to see Henry play defensive mid again. He’s our top scorer every season and his movement further forward drags markers around and creates space for the attackers to get the ball and the defence to move through. The CDM essentially drops in as a third centre back in this system - Gorrin is forever dropping back as the last man which allows Dickie or Mousinho (or Moore on occasion) to carry the ball forward and move through the lines. I think Robinson has tried to be too clever for his own good on this one by sitting Henry in, and that Mousinho deep with Moore behind him from the off was the simple and obvious choice. Round pegs in round holes. I think he absolutely failed to do the simple stuff tactically today, when doing less would actually have given more.

However, given the horrendous situation that seems to be unfolding on the injury front, mixed in with Gorrin being out, the important thing today was to try to get through it and at least come away with something. That’s been achieved, and results were largely kind around us. Frustrating that we couldn’t nick a goal from somewhere as we’d have gone third, and I think Shrewsbury really aren’t a good side at all, but you have to try to take the positives from a really tricky set of circumstances. Hopefully by next weekend one of Baptiste and Brannagan will be able to return as well as Gorrin. Absolutely rotten luck, though. Hanson and Forde finally get back in recent weeks and now they’re both out for a good while again.

Probably the worst game I’ve seen at the wind tunnel in years, with an equally shocking referee for good measure, but you get them every now and then. Hopefully MK next weekend will be a little more like it.

 

[Cass63]

I’ve just got in, heard Robbo,s interview and could agree more.
How anti football was that, they made Wycombe look like Barcelona, I’d be ashamed of being a shrews fan tonight, they did a job but fuckin hell they got away with murder, the ref was shocking and they were worse.

 

[Kidlington Jim]

Say what you will about Wyscum, but they are effective at what they do and Pikey Ainsworth has got the firing on all cylinders, which is why they are top. Not sure Robinson has got ghe same motivational skills to keep our season on track. This is where managerial prowess comes into play!

 

[werthersoriginal]

Say what you will about Wyscum, but they are effective at what they do and Pikey Ainsworth has got the firing on all cylinders, which is why they are top. Not sure Robinson has got ghe same motivational skills to keep our season on track. This is where managerial prowess comes into play!

Can we stop the ‘pikey’ nonsense? It’s an offensive word and he’s doing a good job

 

[greatunclekip]

I really don’t want to see Henry play defensive mid again. He’s our top scorer every season and his movement further forward drags markers around and creates space for the attackers to get the ball and the defence to move through. The CDM essentially drops in as a third centre back in this system - Gorrin is forever dropping back as the last man which allows Dickie or Mousinho (or Moore on occasion) to carry the ball forward and move through the lines. I think Robinson has tried to be too clever for his own good on this one by sitting Henry in, and that Mousinho deep with Moore behind him from the off was the simple and obvious choice. Round pegs in round holes. I think he absolutely failed to do the simple stuff tactically today, when doing less would actually have given more.

However, given the horrendous situation that seems to be unfolding on the injury front, mixed in with Gorrin being out, the important thing today was to try to get through it and at least come away with something. That’s been achieved, and results were largely kind around us. Frustrating that we couldn’t nick a goal from somewhere as we’d have gone third, and I think Shrewsbury really aren’t a good side at all, but you have to try to take the positives from a really tricky set of circumstances. Hopefully by next weekend one of Baptiste and Brannagan will be able to return as well as Gorrin. Absolutely rotten luck, though. Hanson and Forde finally get back in recent weeks and now they’re both out for a good while again.

Probably the worst game I’ve seen at the wind tunnel in years, with an equally shocking referee for good measure, but you get them every now and then. Hopefully MK next weekend will be a little more like it.

Spot on. The initial tactical set up was ludicrous and it reminded me of Robbo tactics of old.

Just completely beyond comprehension to play Henry at CDM.

 

[bazzer9461]

They’re in meltdown in Sunderland, over 2000 messages and 80 pages on their days game

 

[Bacon]

if anyone thinks that Sykes is good enough for a promotion chasing League One team, then I am well and truly baffled. Awful performance. Got pushed off the ball 5 times in the second half alone today.

 

[Oufcrealist]

Daft of KR to play Henry as a DM. Complete waste of his talent and as a consequence a waste of a half where we could have gone in losing. Should have started Mous there it was the obvious thing to do for one game. Much better 2nd half but a combination of Shrews awful tactics and once again a very poor ref made it a really frustrating game.
Ricketts is entitled to play that way but he's gone down in my estimations.
Hope Henry is not too badly injured as he will be a big miss. And we need Cam back asap, we really miss him.

 

[Kidlington Jim]

Can we stop the ‘pikey’ nonsense? It’s an offensive word and he’s doing a good job

You’re right, Ainsworth is doing a great job for them. My point is that my concern is is fact that lot down the road turn us over just before Christmas and take the wheels off our season in the process!

 

[Paul Cannell]

Spot on. The initial tactical set up was ludicrous and it reminded me of Robbo tactics of old.

Just completely beyond comprehension to play Henry at CDM.

Yep. And playing Hall at all is folly.

 

[Sarge]

if anyone thinks that Sykes is good enough for a promotion chasing League One team, then I am well and truly baffled. Awful performance. Got pushed off the ball 5 times in the second half alone today.

an even half capable referee would've stopped all Shrewsbury's 'gamesmanship' antics ... including physically stopping any of our players , Sykes included.... a number of our players were far from their best today, and that wasnt all down to a very poor referee failing to make the right decisions

 

[werthersoriginal]

Yep. And playing Hall at all is folly.

Sykes and Hall can be effective as wingers coming off the bench, no more. Hope we can look at getting another wide player in January

 

[m]

A good point all in all.

As long as we can pick it up against MK...

At the risk of stating the obvious I'm expecting Wycombe to be Shrewsbury, but also able to play a bit - will be a stern test.

 

[jambon46]

A good point all in all.

As long as we can pick it up against MK...

At the risk of stating the obvious I'm expecting Wycombe to be Shrewsbury, but also able to play a bit - will be a stern test.

Have to agree, based on our makeshift midfield a point wasn't bad. Fair play to Ricketts and his preparations it paid off for them and I'm sure GA will be looking at similar tactics in a couple of weeks, that said hopefully we have a different team by then.
Now looking forward to a visit to MK!

 

[Paul Cannell]

Sykes and Hall can be effective as wingers coming off the bench, no more. Hope we can look at getting another wide player in January

So why have U23s when we trot out the donkey. It's not like he covers, moves or gets involved. Hall.

Sykes is barely better, but he's there for the team.

Get the kids in.

 

[werthersoriginal]

So why have U23s when we trot out the donkey. It's not like he covers, moves or gets involved. Hall.

Sykes is barely better, but he's there for the team.

Get the kids in.

Yeah maybe. Sykes was sensational against West Ham and Hall still strikes the ball well, but they’re both better coming in when things are already going well

 

[jambon46]

Yeah maybe. Sykes was sensational against West Ham and Hall still strikes the ball well, but they’re both better coming in when things are already going well

Both looked lost today

 

[unification]

I don’t get KR simply refusing to play Mousinho as DM should Gorrin not be available. He did it for a lot of last season and was one of the reasons we looked a lot steadier. He doesn’t have to commit to the idea for long but he seems determined not to go back to it.

We’ll have to start getting creative with team selections in the coming weeks. Just getting through 90 minutes without someone limping off would be something!