unification
Well-known member
- Joined
- 7 Dec 2017
- Messages
- 7,190
Firstly, ratings:
Mitchell 7 - Thought his handling was very good against a series of tough players. Not a huge amount to do overall. His kicking and distribution still needs work although we all knew that already.
Norman 7 - I like him. Positive in attack and sound in defence. Looked to have a growing partnership with Whyte in the first half.
Nelson 8 - Really solid today. Barely missed a header. Looked better for not having the captaincy.
Mousinho 6 - Reasonable. The occasional laspse of judgement could have cost us though
Garbutt 6 - Still looks vulnerable in defence but getting there. Thought his set pieces were put in the right areas although without much threat from those attacking them.
Brannagan 6 - Good to know he's ok. Not really on long enough to generate much of a rating.
Baptiste 7 - The usual mix of study midfield play and quick feet tricks. I thought his performance dropped in the second half and that's something to watch (his letting-the-ball-roll-by-him trick could well get cottoned on to soon).
Henry 6 - Quiet by his standards and spent much of the game passing sideways. Useful as an outlet, but we've seen more exciting performances from him.
Holmes 7 - Lasted better that I expected and caused problems. Frustrating that he held the ball too long on more than one occasion.
Whyte 8 - Tired for the last 20 minutes or so as the exciting runs started to dry up, but prior to that he was worth the entrance fee alone. Mixed direct attacking play with intelligent runs and jinking tricks. What a player we have here.
Obika 5 - Oh, Jon. I can't knock the effort. He does try. He just isn't good enough for League 1. His first touch was good and yet he seemed to have no idea what to do with the second. Some fruitless headers suggests he just isn't up to this level.
SUBS
Ruffels 7 - Settled into the CM role nicely and kept things ticking if not being particularly dynamic.
Browne 6 - Some direct runs without a great deal of end product.
Smith 7 - A brief cameo and not a great deal to show what he can do. He cushioned one volley back into the danger area which suggested he has a great first touch on him
OTHERS
Mackail-Smith's hair 0 - Woeful.
Ref 3 - When both sets of fans boo you off, you know you've done a poor job. What wasn't a testy affair was made one by his leniency and that made tensions boil over. Whyte was cynically hacked down in the first half and Smith was brought down by a terrible attempt at a challenge by Jombati (I think?) that went unpunished (although it wasn't a penalty). Browne should have been booked for diving and yellows given at the right time would have calmed the game down. He was poor for both sides.
I feel I've said this time and time again - but Oxford United's 2018-19 season will go nowhere unless some final bits of the jigsaw are sorted. We have no decent striker, we have a weak left hand side of defence and we lack muscle in midfield. The most important is the striker position. I saw some evidence that Sam Smith could play that role but we look painfully short of a poacher who can be in the right place at the right time. We can bemoan our luck today but a good side would have made some. It's going to feel like a long, long time until January.
As for Wycombe, four teams will be relegated this year from League 1 and, whilst not certain, I think they'll be one of them. Zero technical ability barring Fred Onyedinma and Mackail-Smith, no attempt to press, no attempt to pass on the ground, whinging, moaning and negative. They're anti-football and barely deserved their point.
Mitchell 7 - Thought his handling was very good against a series of tough players. Not a huge amount to do overall. His kicking and distribution still needs work although we all knew that already.
Norman 7 - I like him. Positive in attack and sound in defence. Looked to have a growing partnership with Whyte in the first half.
Nelson 8 - Really solid today. Barely missed a header. Looked better for not having the captaincy.
Mousinho 6 - Reasonable. The occasional laspse of judgement could have cost us though
Garbutt 6 - Still looks vulnerable in defence but getting there. Thought his set pieces were put in the right areas although without much threat from those attacking them.
Brannagan 6 - Good to know he's ok. Not really on long enough to generate much of a rating.
Baptiste 7 - The usual mix of study midfield play and quick feet tricks. I thought his performance dropped in the second half and that's something to watch (his letting-the-ball-roll-by-him trick could well get cottoned on to soon).
Henry 6 - Quiet by his standards and spent much of the game passing sideways. Useful as an outlet, but we've seen more exciting performances from him.
Holmes 7 - Lasted better that I expected and caused problems. Frustrating that he held the ball too long on more than one occasion.
Whyte 8 - Tired for the last 20 minutes or so as the exciting runs started to dry up, but prior to that he was worth the entrance fee alone. Mixed direct attacking play with intelligent runs and jinking tricks. What a player we have here.
Obika 5 - Oh, Jon. I can't knock the effort. He does try. He just isn't good enough for League 1. His first touch was good and yet he seemed to have no idea what to do with the second. Some fruitless headers suggests he just isn't up to this level.
SUBS
Ruffels 7 - Settled into the CM role nicely and kept things ticking if not being particularly dynamic.
Browne 6 - Some direct runs without a great deal of end product.
Smith 7 - A brief cameo and not a great deal to show what he can do. He cushioned one volley back into the danger area which suggested he has a great first touch on him
OTHERS
Mackail-Smith's hair 0 - Woeful.
Ref 3 - When both sets of fans boo you off, you know you've done a poor job. What wasn't a testy affair was made one by his leniency and that made tensions boil over. Whyte was cynically hacked down in the first half and Smith was brought down by a terrible attempt at a challenge by Jombati (I think?) that went unpunished (although it wasn't a penalty). Browne should have been booked for diving and yellows given at the right time would have calmed the game down. He was poor for both sides.
I feel I've said this time and time again - but Oxford United's 2018-19 season will go nowhere unless some final bits of the jigsaw are sorted. We have no decent striker, we have a weak left hand side of defence and we lack muscle in midfield. The most important is the striker position. I saw some evidence that Sam Smith could play that role but we look painfully short of a poacher who can be in the right place at the right time. We can bemoan our luck today but a good side would have made some. It's going to feel like a long, long time until January.
As for Wycombe, four teams will be relegated this year from League 1 and, whilst not certain, I think they'll be one of them. Zero technical ability barring Fred Onyedinma and Mackail-Smith, no attempt to press, no attempt to pass on the ground, whinging, moaning and negative. They're anti-football and barely deserved their point.
