Fan's View - Rotherham away

[Paul B]

Fan's View - Rotherham away

 

[Sarge]

It's starting to look desperate.
Lack of leadership anywhere both on and off the pitch isn't helping. It's still my team, who I support irrespectively, and I HOPE we get a decent result against Argyle. Supporting Oxford United since '62 Ive placed a lot of hope on the U's over the decades. Up the Manor

 

[PottersRightBoot]

Crikey, we are not doing well currently but let’s not talk ourselves into relegation.

There is no way on earth that this team should be near the bottom 4.

We will pull well clear.

And he said ... tempting fate .. feel free to bookmark.

 

[Manorlounger]

Shotts was very astute in his comments. Clearly we are lacking leadership and firm directions. I just hope we can, somehow, pick up enough points to stay up and start over.

 

[Paul B]

Crikey, we are not doing well currently but let’s not talk ourselves into relegation.

There is no way on earth that this team should be near the bottom 4.

We will pull well clear.

And he said ... tempting fate .. feel free to bookmark.

Tim, only someone who was not there would feel able to say what you've just said.
If we show that we have some fight in us against Argyle I reserve the right to revise my opinion once more. But I've seen so much that cannot be ignored thus far.
Please tell me how we'll pull clear. it will make me feel a whole lot more relaxed.
How do we plug the gaps in the defence?
Strike force?
Etc.

 

[PottersRightBoot]

Tim, only someone who was not there would feel able to say what you've just said.
If we show that we have some fight in us against Argyle I reserve the right to revise my opinion once more. But I've seen so much that cannot be ignored thus far.
Please tell me how we'll pull clear. it will make me feel a whole lot more relaxed.
How do we plug the gaps in the defence?
Strike force?
Etc.

True, I wasn’t there.

But I was at Charlton. I was at
Walsall. I was at the Bury game. All matches we should have won.

We have ability. We will appoint a new manager. We will get players returning from injury.

We shouldn’t talk ourselves into a blue funk.

We will avoid the bottom 4. By a distance.

 

[HeyMcAleny]

It feels to me as though the loanees have just not worked out, and have instead made matters worse. IBR in particular is nowhere near good enough.

 

[Oxford84]

Tim, only someone who was not there would feel able to say what you've just said.
If we show that we have some fight in us against Argyle I reserve the right to revise my opinion once more. But I've seen so much that cannot be ignored thus far.
Please tell me how we'll pull clear. it will make me feel a whole lot more relaxed.
How do we plug the gaps in the defence?
Strike force?
Etc.

Its a good job that we may need only 3 wins to stay up, as if it was anymore, wed have no chance.

 

[Paul B]

True, I wasn’t there.

But I was at Charlton. I was at
Walsall. I was at the Bury game. All matches we should have won.

We have ability. We will appoint a new manager. We will get players returning from injury.

We shouldn’t talk ourselves into a blue funk.

We will avoid the bottom 4. By a distance.

Should have won - but we have a great ability to not win them. Not even draw them. But lose them. Charlton was a massive exception to the rule. We've been awful in many games. Could you be in denial?

I hope you are right, obviously, regards avoiding the bottom 4 by some distance. On current evidence that is a great leap of faith.

 

[CheltenhamYellow]

Crikey, we are not doing well currently but let’s not talk ourselves into relegation.

There is no way on earth that this team should be near the bottom 4.

We will pull well clear.

And he said ... tempting fate .. feel free to bookmark.

I admire your optimism. Where are the points actually coming from? We have the best teams in the league yet to play away, and a few tricky fixtures elsewhere. We won’t beat Plymouth with the form they’re in; we all know what happens at Northampton every year, and so it goes on. In a couple of weeks our confidence will be shot and the youngsters will be looking forward to returning to their parent clubs. Ledson, Rothwell and Eastwood will have their heads elsewhere.
Blimey, I’ve just read this back to myself. Where’s the kitchen knife?

 

[Dave T]

Crikey, we are not doing well currently but let’s not talk ourselves into relegation.

There is no way on earth that this team should be near the bottom 4.

We will pull well clear.

And he said ... tempting fate .. feel free to bookmark.

Tim, only someone who was not there would feel able to say what you've just said.
If we show that we have some fight in us against Argyle I reserve the right to revise my opinion once more. But I've seen so much that cannot be ignored thus far.
Please tell me how we'll pull clear. it will make me feel a whole lot more relaxed.
How do we plug the gaps in the defence?
Strike force?
Etc.

I think the key point is we’re not in a relegation battle, so we don’t need to pull clear, we are clear. And because of that we need to do far less than those currently occupying those positions to remain clear. We need 3 wins from 14. Take our last very poor 5 games. We picked up 3 points, continue that terrible form and we’re safe. We can even worsen if those down there continue their equally poor form.

 

[Pete Burrett]

True, I wasn’t there.

But I was at Charlton. I was at
Walsall. I was at the Bury game. All matches we should have won.

We have ability. We will appoint a new manager. We will get players returning from injury.

We shouldn’t talk ourselves into a blue funk.

We will avoid the bottom 4. By a distance.

No lose situation for you then, Tim.

If we avoid the bottom four, you told us so. If we get relegated, it's due to the negativity on here and in the stands, presumably transmitted to the players by osmosis.

As only a very occasional live viewer of our matches this season, I hesitate to make too many bold statements, but I was singularly unimpressed at Rotherham. Physically too flimsy and too easily bullied off the ball by Rotherham. Did we win a single shoulder to shoulder? Apart from the excellent move leading to our goal and the late tip over by the Rotherham keeper I saw impotence up front: single striker not working, midfield static with no movement or making space. Defence untrustworthy and easily pierced.

Rotherham were good, but not Wigan or Blackburn, yet made us look third rate. And do the Premier League loanees really want to be at the club? It would appear not.

I think we will stay up, but it could end up being close and the club needs to sort out ownership and associated management appointment issues as soon as possible.

 

[PottersRightBoot]

So you agree with me.

Look it’s not a ‘great leap of faith’ to say we are going to stay up. Really it isn’t.

A new manager nearly always delivers a bounce. We need 12 more points to be safe I’d say. There are 14 games to go. 3 wins , 3 draws.

We’ll do it . Easily.

 

[Paul B]

I have not written this season off as one where relegation is a certainty. But those who say we'll stay up - a) which matches will provide the required points? b) what will change / how will it change to ensure we don't let in 2 or 3 goals every game c) - same regarding striking potency?
Don't lose on Saturday and I'll feel more confident. But if we do lose it will be, yes well Plymouth are a good side on a good run so nothing to worry about here.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

We’ll do it . Easily.

You'd hope so - and logically it would be so. But watching us recently, it is very hard to be quite so sanguine. I am also not sure that the squad contains enough of anything much that a new manager could make a silk purse out of this particular sow's ear.

Will I get cramp if I keep everything crossed until May?

 

[Dave T]

I have not written this season off as one where relegation is a certainty. But those who say we'll stay up - a) which matches will provide the required points? b) what will change / how will it change to ensure we don't let in 2 or 3 goals every game c) - same regarding striking potency?
Don't lose on Saturday and I'll feel more confident. But if we do lose it will be, yes well Plymouth are a good side on a good run so nothing to worry about here.

Charlton are a good side on a good run. Football doesn’t work like that. Ever put accumulators on? It’s hard enough to predict the results on five games on a match day. Let alone 14 matchdays and 24 teams results. Even people with mr methvens footballing knowledge have predicted wrong outcomes. Who would have thought last season we would have picked up enough to win the last 6 was it.

It’s possible but unlikely we will get relegated. If we do we do. And as someone once said - we go again

 

[Pete Burrett]

So you agree with me.

Look it’s not a ‘great leap of faith’ to say we are going to stay up. Really it isn’t.

A new manager nearly always delivers a bounce. We need 12 more points to be safe I’d say. There are 14 games to go. 3 wins , 3 draws.

We’ll do it . Easily.

Well, not really. I agree we will stay up, but not 'easily', as you do. I anticipate some nail-biting Saturdays in April. (Even more nail-biting than normal supporting OUFC).

 

[PottersRightBoot]

We will see.

It’s never boring watching us lot is it?

We have to be a candidate as most schizophrenic club in Britain.

 

[Paul B]

Charlton are a good side on a good run. Football doesn’t work like that. Ever put accumulators on? It’s hard enough to predict the results on five games on a match day. Let alone 14 matchdays and 24 teams results. Even people with mr methvens footballing knowledge have predicted wrong outcomes. Who would have thought last season we would have picked up enough to win the last 6 was it.

It’s possible but unlikely we will get relegated. If we do we do. And as someone once said - we go again

Absolutely. But how many Charltons / Peterboroughs / Plymouths etc v Wigans / Cheltenhams / Vales / etc. Direction of travel and all that.
If an outcome was a given would we still go? Win, lose or draw?
No one who thinks we'll be okay has explained how - other than we only need x points, we've unexpectedly beaten Charlton in the past etc.
A key issue is getting confidence back - who will do that? Faz? New manager? The players themselves, most of whom won't be here next season?

 

[Maggiesdad]

I was at the game on Tuesday and my biggest concern was how disjointed it all was. There were too many players pointing to others about where they should be BUT not doing their own job first. Players, especially fullbacks, MUST block crosses. Too often, they were not close enough. I don't know if this is because of a fear of getting skinned (lack of pace)?

I hate using the phrase "back to basics" - they should never be left behind in the first place.