Current Player Owen Dale

Dale.png
Owen Dale 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (On Loan At Wigan)

Signed
: 1st February 2024

 
Last edited by a moderator:
🎶 Owen Dale, Owen Dale, Owen Dale, Owen Dale oooh ooh ooohhhh🎶

To this tune

 
🎶 Owen Dale, Owen Dale, Owen Dale, Owen Dale oooh ooh ooohhhh🎶

To this tune


When I saw this it thought it was to the tune of Robin Hood 🤣
Owen Dale, Owen Dale, running down the wing.
Owen Dale, Owen Dale, makes the punters sing.
Etc etc.
 
what a moving story. He has been such a great addition to the team, a real leader by his actions https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGeXgewMR/
And yet another reminder that when people give footballers absolute pelters, they are real people too and, like all of us, often dealing with difficult situations in their personal lives.
 
Genuinely didn't think I could cry anymore after these last few days, but this broke me! Footballers are heroes and role models to so many, but it's easy to forget that most are still very young men, often miles away from home, where every action is ripped apart and criticised by others. None of us know what they're going through and we can all be a little kinder with what we say and write about them at times.
 
Massive credit to Owen Dale. Hasn't done a lot wrong in an Oxford shirt but regularly written off as not having enough quality. He may indeed lack the quality to consistently perform at Championship level, but on a day where heads were quick to drop and we were completely devoid of desire despite only being one down, Owen changed the mentality. Had he been bought on for Phillips earlier, there's every chance we'd have gone on to win that.

Dale won us a point yesterday, and that's more than you can say about Phillips and Placheta this season; he also stays healthy.

There's a place in this squad for Owen. In a season where we will lack quality, heart will have to do some heavy lifting, and he's shown more than most.
 
Massive credit to Owen Dale. Hasn't done a lot wrong in an Oxford shirt but regularly written off as not having enough quality. He may indeed lack the quality to consistently perform at Championship level, but on a day where heads were quick to drop and we were completely devoid of desire despite only being one down, Owen changed the mentality. Had he been bought on for Phillips earlier, there's every chance we'd have gone on to win that.

Dale won us a point yesterday, and that's more than you can say about Phillips and Placheta this season; he also stays healthy.

There's a place in this squad for Owen. In a season where we will lack quality, heart will have to do some heavy lifting, and he's shown more than most.
100%. Amazed at how quick people are to write players off, especially those who played a huge role in getting us into this league in the first place.
 
Last edited:
I actually wonder if wingback might be a better role for Dale at Championship level - maybe it’s no coincidence that Blackpool put him there quite a lot when he was last up there with them?

I don’t think Dale himself would deny that his best attributes are his workrate, his desire, his tenacity. But when asked to play as a winger in our system, against Championship defences, he has at times looked a little blunt - he’s not a Dembele/Murphy type who will just fly past anyone.

Put him at wingback however and you almost get the best of both worlds - someone who will get up and down, attack his man and put crosses in when he can but also isn’t afraid, unable or unwilling to do the defensive side of things as well, the dirty work. Yes he did well coming on against Millwall (as a left wingback) but as we’ve seen recently with Phillips and Placheta, doing well coming on doesn’t necessarily mean that if you start the next game you’ll have the same success.

With Leigh and Dale as left wingback options and Kioso and Ter Avest as right wingbacks, we’ve suddenly got a squad which looks absolutely stocked in those positions - certainly that foursome are better than any four fullback options that we can currently put out…
 
A reminder of what Des said in his after the match comments. This is about a squad and it’s the most together group of players that he’s ever worked with.

Also the no dickheads policy.
Owen Dale seems a prime example of both. Someone level headed, playing his part as a squad member and ready to try and step up when called on.
 
Great cameo which injected an attacking threat yesterday. Amazing what happens when you play players that are actually match fit!

If he performs well in training this week he will deserve a start next week.
 
I actually wonder if wingback might be a better role for Dale at Championship level - maybe it’s no coincidence that Blackpool put him there quite a lot when he was last up there with them?

I don’t think Dale himself would deny that his best attributes are his workrate, his desire, his tenacity. But when asked to play as a winger in our system, against Championship defences, he has at times looked a little blunt - he’s not a Dembele/Murphy type who will just fly past anyone.

Put him at wingback however and you almost get the best of both worlds - someone who will get up and down, attack his man and put crosses in when he can but also isn’t afraid, unable or unwilling to do the defensive side of things as well, the dirty work. Yes he did well coming on against Millwall (as a left wingback) but as we’ve seen recently with Phillips and Placheta, doing well coming on doesn’t necessarily mean that if you start the next game you’ll have the same success.

With Leigh and Dale as left wingback options and Kioso and Ter Avest as right wingbacks, we’ve suddenly got a squad which looks absolutely stocked in those positions - certainly that foursome are better than any four fullback options that we can currently put out…

Really good point. On top of that I wonder if Phillips could prove to be effective upfront as a sort of deep playing target man. Could see him playing Scarlett in behind the back line and causing all sorts of issues with his physicality - as Goodwin seemed to vs Millwall. I’d really like to see us play two up top - especially when our wings just seem flat and out of ideas.

Something like this for Plymouth would be interesting 🤔

3 - 4 - 1 - 2

Cumming
Long/Ter Avest - Moore - Brown
Kioso - El Miz - Brannagan - Dale/Leigh
Goodrham
Phillips - Scarlett

Goodwin on for Phillips at some point in the second half maybe. Ter Avest for Long if he’s out injured.​
 
Last edited:
Really good point. On top of that I wonder if Phillips could prove to be effective upfront as a sort of deep playing target man. Could see him playing Scarlett in behind the back line and causing all sorts of issues with his physicality - as Goodwin seemed to vs Millwall. I’d really like to see us play two up top - especially when our wings just seem flat and out of ideas.

Something like this for Plymouth would be interesting 🤔

3 - 4 - 1 - 2

Cumming
Long/Ter Avest - Moore - Brown
Kioso - El Miz - Brannagan - Dale/Leigh
Goodrham
Phillips - Scarlett

Goodwin on for Phillips at some point in the second half maybe. Ter Avest for Long if he’s out injured.​

I think you have more chance of Ter Avest as a wing back and Kioso on the right side of a back three, our Dutchman is a bit lightweight for a centre back role.

Interesting team though, I think it’s obvious we have to try and innovate at this level with our team and formations, need to try and catch teams out a bit.
 
I will freely admit my heart sank when I saw Dale coming on based on his performances so far this season. This was partly though because I thought it was our last substitution window having forgotten that we made one at HT, as I was hoping to see Goodwin.

Dale was superb, he offered something a bit different and worried Millwall. Well done Owen, keep proving me wrong.
 
I must admit to wondering why Owen Dale is not getting more minutes on the pitch. OK, he's not one of our speedy wingers, who at the moment produce very little in positive results, but he invariably works hard, never let us down in League 1, had and excellent game at Wembley and, perhaps most importantly, is a motivator, both of his team and the fans. I say, give the man a chance.
 
I must admit to wondering why Owen Dale is not getting more minutes on the pitch. OK, he's not one of our speedy wingers, who at the moment produce very little in positive results, but he invariably works hard, never let us down in League 1, had and excellent game at Wembley and, perhaps most importantly, is a motivator, both of his team and the fans. I say, give the man a chance.
Agree, particularly as he changed the game when he came on against Millwall.

Dale's energy and ability to press was a catalyst to our change in fortunes last season imo, and I think we would benefit from it now.
 
It’s an example of worryingly muddied thinking from Des. Against Millwall both Goodwin and Dale changed the game when they came on. Neither then feature in the very next game. That doesn’t make sense and can’t foster much morale in the squad either.

Baffled by his decision making last night tbh
 
Baffled by his decision making last night tbh

To be fair, Dale has looked awful when starting this season and better from the bench. On the whole, I thought the same last season. Having said that from an attacking sense Placheta was about as bad as it gets last night. Defensively he was ok, maybe he will become a LB! Agree about Goodwin though.
 
Back
Top Bottom