General General Feeling

daveoufc said:
My Issue is with the board as a whole and their motives I dont like it that there is seemingly huge finance avaliable for a stadium and land deal but not for giving the squad a little extra promotion push when I can see it slipping away.
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don't you think the board have done enough already this window? We should not be overreaching ourselves steady as it goes. A right back would be good and even a striker, although we have scored more goals than most.
 
Fred said:
don't you think the board have done enough already this window? We should not be overreaching ourselves steady as it goes. A right back would be good and even a striker, although we have scored more goals than most.
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Meh not really so far I like the sound of the Atkinson lad for the future. Great to see Browne back and Holland looks decent but was really hoping we would have a right go at it and dont think we have yet. If we can not sell anyone and pay the fee to buy Taylor I would say its been a good window and would hope to grab a playoff spot.
 
ZeroTheHero said:
We could do without a left or right back. But IMO we really DO need a striker, especially if Taylor is (for some reason I don't understand) unable to start every game and play 90 minutes. Mackie's hassling the defence is useful and occasionally entertaining but not enough to actually win games and Agyei seems not to be considered good enough. If course, the chances of picking up (or being able to afford) a top, fit, L1 quality striker in January who is banging in the goals are very slim indeed.
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If we don't pick up a full back, then we are reliant on Ruffels and Long to play every game for the remainder of the season.
If either of them get injured or suspended, then we'd have to stick someone out of position in there (Hanson, Mous?) or one of the kids.
That's a big risk......at least up front, we have some senior options in Mackie & Agyei - even if they're not looking great at the mo.


Otherwise, agree with PRB. It's been a great season. Probably the best since 95/96 (although 97/98 had some great moment on the pitch.....it was rather soured by events off it).
 
Jerome'SAle said:
For me it is because the current owner had a rocky start and I am still unclear what the strategy and end game is. And despite clear improvement on and off the pitch, this means there remains a niggling element of doubt. When Eales and Ashton came in communications improved massively, and that continued until things got iffy at the end. They sold us the journey.
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I think this response has hit the nail on the head.
 
I have a slightly different perspective, being 11,500 miles away in New Zealand. But (having visited the UK over Xmas and attended 3 games) I have a good feeling about the club at the moment. Probably as good a feeling as I could realistically expect to have about Oxford United, given our often precarious existence since I've been following the club (ie, Maxwell onwards). Scotch Egg summed it up pretty well earlier actually. On the pitch, we aren't in that rich vein of form from pre-Christmas - how could we maintain that, really? But, given our squad, and likelihood of important players returning from injury, I'm optimistic that we will have a decent last third of the season, and make the play-offs at least. I've had my occasional doubts about KR, but as far as I can make out, he's a good manager, and a decent guy - again, for all the reasons stated by Scotchers. In particular I think he manages his players really well. I think he has a great feel for when it's the right time to give players responsibility. For example, I know a lot of people are calling for Agyei to start games, but I think KR is holding him back for a reason, and wants to build his confidence up (in the right way). I like the way he shares around the captaincy too - a nice way to boost players' self-belief. As for the board... who would know? Approach with caution, of course, we've been burned before. But after Tiger's early PR disaster of a press conference, and the winding up petitions of last season, I've been somewhat won over by the current board. They seem very focused on achieving success for the club. If they're not, then they are doing a very passable impression. Tiger seems as engaged with the playing side of things as any OUFC chairman I can think of, and he has some seemingly very capable and savvy fellow board members alongside him. Zaki in particular seems a very canny operator - very careful not to overpromise and sometimes needing to temper Tiger's enthusiasm, but at the same time positive about the future, and also engaged with the on the field stuff, in a seemingly very genuine way.
Maybe I'm a bit over optimistic. But let's at least say that things could be worse!
 
foghorn said:
I have a slightly different perspective, being 11,500 miles away in New Zealand. But (having visited the UK over Xmas and attended 3 games) I have a good feeling about the club at the moment. Probably as good a feeling as I could realistically expect to have about Oxford United, given our often precarious existence since I've been following the club (ie, Maxwell onwards). Scotch Egg summed it up pretty well earlier actually. On the pitch, we aren't in that rich vein of form from pre-Christmas - how could we maintain that, really? But, given our squad, and likelihood of important players returning from injury, I'm optimistic that we will have a decent last third of the season, and make the play-offs at least. I've had my occasional doubts about KR, but as far as I can make out, he's a good manager, and a decent guy - again, for all the reasons stated by Scotchers. In particular I think he manages his players really well. I think he has a great feel for when it's the right time to give players responsibility. For example, I know a lot of people are calling for Agyei to start games, but I think KR is holding him back for a reason, and wants to build his confidence up (in the right way). I like the way he shares around the captaincy too - a nice way to boost players' self-belief. As for the board... who would know? Approach with caution, of course, we've been burned before. But after Tiger's early PR disaster of a press conference, and the winding up petitions of last season, I've been somewhat won over by the current board. They seem very focused on achieving success for the club. If they're not, then they are doing a very passable impression. Tiger seems as engaged with the playing side of things as any OUFC chairman I can think of, and he has some seemingly very capable and savvy fellow board members alongside him. Zaki in particular seems a very canny operator - very careful not to overpromise and sometimes needing to temper Tiger's enthusiasm, but at the same time positive about the future, and also engaged with the on the field stuff, in a seemingly very genuine way.
Maybe I'm a bit over optimistic. But let's at least say that things could be worse!
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Good post. Pretty much sums up my feelings too. Lets all just enjoy the remainder of the season with cautious optimism and see where it takes us. We might end up with nothing - that’s football - but, as others have said, it’s all a damn sight more fun than a relegation scrap or getting dumped out of the cup by bloody Marlow!
 
I am happy to watch attractive football in the top half of div1. Anything higher is a bonus
 
I'm delighted with the season so far.

The only worry I have is that we have actually pushed the boat out a little too much to get the likes of Holland and Browne in.

We can't turn down having a crack at getting to the Championship now we are playing so well and have, until very recently, been getting results but I do not think we are ready for the Championship on and off the pitch despite making improvements in both aspects.

Let's not forget that Sunderland pushed the boat out to guarantee promotion with the purchase of Will Grigg this time last season.
 
The other thing to think about when comparing to previous seasons is that it is hard to remember exactly how it felt at the time. Having a similar exile’s view to @foghorn, I think a difference between this season and our recent promotion season is that we hear less from the current chairman and we hear more from the current manager. It feels to me like we’re in a better situation overall now and it is all less fragile. Back then there was a bit more “all or nothing” about it. That maybe made it more exciting, but I certainly don’t think I had any less anxiety about our chances of promotion under Appleton, or our chances of security under Eales.
 
Scotchegg said:
But that happen most years with most clubs. The point was that if not promoted "everyone knows" that we'll lose Dickie, Baptiste, Brannagan, Gorrin and Fosu.
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The first three will be off if we don’t get promoted but I’m not so sure about Gorrin and especially Fosu. The one consistent in Fosu’s good form throughout his career has been Robinson, first at Charlton and now here
 
daveoufc said:
Hey mr chuckles reminds me of the smiths song the joke that isnt funny anymore
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Made 4million quid off of an inconsistent winger and a midfielder that doesnt start when we are at full strength. What song are you referring to? Remind me...
 
LeftSideBoy said:
Made 4million quid off of an inconsistent winger and a midfielder that doesnt start when we are at full strength. What song are you referring to? Remind me...
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Maybe another of manchesters finest then Fools gold..
 
Interesting how a whole season of positivity seems to be consumed in such a short space of time.
After all the high drama of Newcastle
We had a director saying we are not financially equipped for the Championship, followed by the teams humbling at Peterborough.
Easty tells the Oxford Mail this morning that the automatic places are likely out of reach and with that, the whole dynamic of our season seems to have shifted to hovering precariously over the porcelain. Funnily enough, it didn’t feel like anything had changed On the terraces either Tuesday night or for that matter at Peterborough,
On the whole, I felt it was just a bad day at the office.
But that may not be the case at all.
Perhaps I am reading too much negative stuff on here but it does feel like the show is coming to a grisly and untimely end.
I really hope that the team can find something within themselves to keep fighting. Keep believing in this season.
Losing a couple of games should not be a wall we cannot climb over.

Our season should not be defined in this way. We have been far too good to let it just slide away.
I believe that This team have it in them to drag themselves back to the top, but only if that is truly what they all want.
How far they are willing to go will soon be answered.
 
It will be interesting to see/hear the general atmosphere at Burton tomorrow. I haven’t looked forward to an away game less all season. Not my favourite ground, either.
 
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