Mellowyellow
Well-known member
- Joined
- 12 Dec 2017
- Messages
- 4,758
It’s not the selling of the players I object to. Shandon is a fantastic young player who will play at PL level - if not with Brentford then his next club - assuming he can stay fit. And we’ve known about Fosu’s release fee so, as others have pointed out - not a lot that can be done.
My frustrations are firstly the timing. It’s crap. It hurts us enormously and I’m not buying those that have downplayed their contributions. Fosu’s form in the first half of the season was a big part of why we looked so good and got so high in the table. Baptiste makes goals and assist were a big part of us having a successful Xmas periods with wins and progress in the cups. He was just getting back to full form and fitness and would have contributed heaps more in the second half of the season.
To let Shandon go for what is, even according to the more optimistic of the guesstimates on here, just about market rate (or lower) with no time to adequately restock the squad is devastating and NOT the sign of a board who are chomping at the bit to get promoted.
Second frustration is the inbound business. We started this window needing an RB to replace Cadden, and a forward to help Taylor given that Mackie’s particular skill set doesn’t include goalscoring and clearly the manager thinks Agyei is one for next season. To end the window with some (admittedly extremely decent - but crucially only loaned) new midfield talent, no RB, no forward and the loss of Fosu and Baptiste for again - at best market rate is tough to swallow. All this assumes - as is reported currently - nothing happens by the way of incomings in the next few hours.
It has been decades since the Championship looked as close as it did over Christmas time. It may still happen. But a GOOD January window could have really brought it within reach. It may still happen, but barring any last gasp transfer window wheeler dealing miracles...it does feel further away (amplified by our recent stutter on the pitch too).
And all this is before a seemingly inevitable rebuild job again in the summer if/when Cam Bran and Dickie (plus Eastwood and insert any other ‘definitely leaving’ rumoured player name here) follow them through the exit door to a championship club which we ‘aspire’ to join at an indeterminate future date.
Still - we’d all much rather this scenario than watching Hutchinson, Trainer, Matt Day, Gnohere, Brevett and their ilk in the conference! Fingers crossed this (in my view understandable) negativity dissipates quickly and we get back to cheering KR & the lads on. Their job of delivering a successful season has been made harder and they need our backing.
It all comes down to the total lack of ambition of the board, and their clear failure to back KR, as clear as daylight. They speak bullsh*** about having ambition and wanting to get us to the championship, they mislead the manager about backing him to get us there.
They lie about not having to sell players, to the point that I can genuinely see KR leaving, and wouldn't blame him. He has become a very attractive prospect, as Malaga alluded to.
As an Oxford fan you spend all day in anticipation, only to end up with that gutted feeling in the pit of your stomach, furious with a board of directors and chairman who you truly believed were taking you on a genuine journey, only to feel shafted again.
The hard work this season was already done to get up there for the final push with a couple of obvious additions needed, in the belief that players did not have to be sold. At least now, as with previous boards, fans know not to believe a single word the liars come out with.
COYY....