Away Match Day Thread +++ L1 29/12/2019 AFC Wimbledon v OUFC +++

[Norwayyellow]

Lambert never turned out for interview, hes probably gone!

Tell me more. who is he?

 

[Shropshire U]

Bostin'!!!

 

[DannyW]

Tell me more. who is he?

The Ipswich manager!

 

[Norwayyellow]

The Ipswich manager!

thanx

 

[Score in a minute......]

Get on the away train as it’s going to be a great ride......see you all at Donny

 

[LeftSideBoy]

Lambert never turned out for interview, hes probably gone!

I love the fact that the proverbial is hitting the fan with all of the supposed 'big boys' but as smug as I am, I wouldnt want to win the league solely due to their problems. However, when mixed with us playing some amazing football, it does make for a lovely cocktail! ?

 

[Northernyellow]

Archer 8 - Couple of good saves, first time he's been tested, distribution mostly good.
Ruffels 7 - As ever, solid. Credit to his fitness for another 90mins.
Moore 7 - Shaky start but settled down.
Dickie 8 - Brilliant again. Targeted off the ball which is a credit to his ability.
Long 7 - Great cross for our 1st but could have done better theirs
Gorrin 8 - Stopped so many of their counters and started so many of our attacks.
Brannagan 7 - Did well especially considering early booking, long passing impressive especially.
Baptiste 8 - Unbelievable assist + hardworking defensively, one outstanding tackle in particular first half.
Hall 6 - Unfortunately don't think he took his chance, thought the game mostly passed him by.
Sykes 8 - Looked good out wide again, some lovely touches to go with a great finish.
Mackie 8 - His work rate seems to improve game on game, was still sprinting at their GK in the 90th min. Hold up play was also better than usual.

Fosu 6 - Looked refreshed coming on vs tired legs, hopefully can continue against Doncaster
Mous + Taylor - Not on that long


Agree with all, apart from Mackiee. 6 at best. I love the effort, but his legs have gone, and he's not good enough to play 90 minutes in a team that genuinely wants to go up. 10-15 minute cameos at the end of a game. At best. Almost zero goal threat.
On a slightly more positive note, an all round vv classy team. Best since the mid 90's. Dickie is our best defender since Matt Elliott.
KR 10 - Spot on with his rotation and subs, freeing up Baptiste to assist the 2nd and managed the game flawlessly (shame we switched off at start of 2nd half). One of our most important assets.

 

[Northernyellow]

I do know it's spelt Mackie, btw! Autocorrect....

 

[Oufcrealist]

That was a very good win make no mistake.
Dickie and Baptiste showing real class. Gorrin was very good again. Archer some good saves and pleased for Sykes who I think has bags of potential.
Wish Mackie would cut the unnecessary fouling out. A couple of set pieces were wasted because of it.
On to Donny!!

 

[Scotchegg]

We have different types of players, and they offer different things. Mackie might not be a serious goal threat, but he runs his legs off to disrupt the defence and buys time for our midfield to control the game. Taylor may have got a half chance or two, but mainly plays between the two centre backs. He is easier to play around which allows the ball to be cleared quicker and bypass our midfield, putting pressure on our own defence.

Equally Long and Sykes are very different to Cadden and Henry, but can be just as effective. Often Henry plays inside, leaving space outside for Cadden to play in. This gives more attacking options but it can also leave a big gap behind. Having Gorrin, Mous or Dickie covering means that we rarely get punished, but it can be a weakness. Long is 90% right back, 10% wing back. His first job is to defend, and he does this very well. This means that Gorrin can focus on defending the middle of the pitch rather than having to cover to the right. It also means that Sykes has the freedom to play a free role on the right, knowing that he has cover behind. He can play on the shoulder of the last defender like we saw with his goal today and can also find space through the middle. This is why Sykes doesn't play so well in front of Cadden, and why Long and Henry are not a great match.

Both Mackie and Long/Sykes worked well today against a team like Wimbledon. However, you would imagine that Taylor and Cadden/Henry will return against Doncaster who are a more natural footballing team.

 

[CornishOx]

We have different types of players, and they offer different things. Mackie might not be a serious goal threat, but he runs his legs off to disrupt the defence and buys time for our midfield to control the game. Taylor may have got a half chance or two, but mainly plays between the two centre backs. He is easier to play around which allows the ball to be cleared quicker and bypass our midfield, putting pressure on our own defence.

Equally Long and Sykes are very different to Cadden and Henry, but can be just as effective. Often Henry plays inside, leaving space outside for Cadden to play in. This gives more attacking options but it can also leave a big gap behind. Having Gorrin, Mous or Dickie covering means that we rarely get punished, but it can be a weakness. Long is 90% right back, 10% wing back. His first job is to defend, and he does this very well. This means that Gorrin can focus on defending the middle of the pitch rather than having to cover to the right. It also means that Sykes has the freedom to play a free role on the right, knowing that he has cover behind. He can play on the shoulder of the last defender like we saw with his goal today and can also find space through the middle. This is why Sykes doesn't play so well in front of Cadden, and why Long and Henry are not a great match.

Both Mackie and Long/Sykes worked well today against a team like Wimbledon. However, you would imagine that Taylor and Cadden/Henry will return against Doncaster who are a more natural footballing team.

Great post that fully agree with all of it

 

[warksox]

So after watching the Quest coverage, I am more convinced than ever that Colin Murray is a closet Oxford fan!
Unfortunately, the way he was talking up Baptiste, and with Ian Holloway drooling over the pass to Sykes, it'll be a real battle to keep hold of him this transfer window.

 

[ttg17]

We have different types of players, and they offer different things. Mackie might not be a serious goal threat, but he runs his legs off to disrupt the defence and buys time for our midfield to control the game. Taylor may have got a half chance or two, but mainly plays between the two centre backs. He is easier to play around which allows the ball to be cleared quicker and bypass our midfield, putting pressure on our own defence.

Equally Long and Sykes are very different to Cadden and Henry, but can be just as effective. Often Henry plays inside, leaving space outside for Cadden to play in. This gives more attacking options but it can also leave a big gap behind. Having Gorrin, Mous or Dickie covering means that we rarely get punished, but it can be a weakness. Long is 90% right back, 10% wing back. His first job is to defend, and he does this very well. This means that Gorrin can focus on defending the middle of the pitch rather than having to cover to the right. It also means that Sykes has the freedom to play a free role on the right, knowing that he has cover behind. He can play on the shoulder of the last defender like we saw with his goal today and can also find space through the middle. This is why Sykes doesn't play so well in front of Cadden, and why Long and Henry are not a great match.

Both Mackie and Long/Sykes worked well today against a team like Wimbledon. However, you would imagine that Taylor and Cadden/Henry will return against Doncaster who are a more natural footballing team.

Really interesting observations

 

[tonto]

YYYYEEEESSSSS bit late stuck with no coverage in deepest Suffolk maybe Sykes is going to be our next asset. Nothing less than ten million needs to be our mantra for anyone!

 

[Kiewhite]

Yes, defo not one of the worst, but IMO one of the most disappointing games I've seen in 55 years of watching OUFC, given the relative positions of the teams. Anyway, that's behind us, now basking in the warm glow of today's VICTORY!

It’s gonna happen and will happen again a couple more times this Season but when it does like I said after the mk game won’t be anything to worry about

 

[uptheus]

I love the fact that the proverbial is hitting the fan with all of the supposed 'big boys' but as smug as I am, I wouldnt want to win the league solely due to their problems. However, when mixed with us playing some amazing football, it does make for a lovely cocktail! ?

Still a long way to go with many obstacles/ups & downs along the way.

 

[Foley]

I love the fact that the proverbial is hitting the fan with all of the supposed 'big boys' but as smug as I am, I wouldnt want to win the league solely due to their problems. However, when mixed with us playing some amazing football, it does make for a lovely cocktail! ?

Whoever goes up will do so simply because they deserve to.
Whatever happens to the 'big boys' who will have a far bigger budget than we have.
I suspect that Sunderland and Ipswich will spend relatively big again, so let's see what happens.

 

[Lincoln.yellow1]

I would be keeping an eye on Coventry.

Coventry away on Easter (Bank holiday) Monday could be a fantastic event with massive numbers making their way up the M40 to St Andrews.........

 

[beyondthefourth]

Whoever goes up will do so simply because they deserve to.
Whatever happens to the 'big boys' who will have a far bigger budget than we have.
I suspect that Sunderland and Ipswich will spend relatively big again, so let's see what happens.

I'm not so sure about Ipswich, Lambert was complaining about the lack of a summer budget.

Regarding Sunderland, I'm more than happy for them to drop £4 million on another big name striker that fails to impress. Meanwhile they'll ship out McGeady on the cheap and not recruit in the positions that they need to.

 

[Marked Ox]

I'm not so sure about Ipswich, Lambert was complaining about the lack of a summer budget.

Regarding Sunderland, I'm more than happy for them to drop £4 million on another big name striker that fails to impress. Meanwhile they'll ship out McGeady on the cheap and not recruit in the positions that they need to.

I expect they'll have to pay McGeady off and that won't be cheap considering he signed a new contract in the summer.