Too nice?

[werthersoriginal]

Ive noticed this season our players chatting a lot to opposition players at the end of games and even in breaks in play. After Bury our lot didn’t look gutted, they just chatted to their Bury mates. Obika in particular seems to know everyone. Obviously you’d talk to ex colleagues at a work do, but I bet Westley’s Stevenage didn’t chat. A symptom of us being too nice and lacking the will to win?

 

[gingerox]

Think an example of this is in game with the treatment Thomas gets most weeks, defenders seem to rough up him up early, hands in the back the kind of the stuff that's a borderline foul but doesn't tend to get given at this level. Our defenders don't seem to enjoy the physical side, Mous especially. He might be good technically but he's poor in the air and I never seem him getting rough with opposition and he doesn't seem to want to get into a physical battle, e.g. Walsall's second goal with a player half his size. Big difference from Dunkley last year.

 

[battman]

I think we're definitely missing a nasty streak in the side - in the past few years we've had the likes of Hylton and Maguire, players who would rough up and annoy the opposition. I think it's a reflection on the managers too, Appleton you could always tell had the ability to have a nasty side to him if the players weren't putting in the performances, but Pep didn't have that.

 

[windmill]

This is a good thread. It reminds me of a chat I had with Hugh Curran a while back. More often than not an opposition player was targeted for special treatment as he put it. In this particular case Hugh was playing for Norwich City (probably mid sixties) Anyway, the opponents were Birmingham City with a chap called Herriot between the posts. Hugh and "Big" John Manning were given specific instructions to rough him up a bit. Before long he was off the pitch with a bad head wound. A little later he returned with his head heavily strapped, to a standing ovation. Trouble was he was scared to come off his line. Crosses were whipped in to the far post where Hugh and John were waiting. 1,2,3,4 up in no time at all. It takes a bit for Hugh to laugh but he began to giggle uncontrollably and soon had the place rockingwith laughter. As he said, no time to have weeks on the sidelines. Pain killing injection and get out there..I do think we have a soft underbelly.

 

[yellowbow]

Can we change title of this thread? Every time I read it I end up with The Beats Too Nice To Talk To going round in my head ( although it is a good song to be fair)

 

[Scotchegg]

We need to get nasty with ourselves too. We need leaders on the pitch who can gives others a kick up the a**e and make us more disciplined. We wander around like a kids team at times without anyone taking the game by the scruff of the neck.

 

[Marked Ox]

We need to get nasty with ourselves too. We need leaders on the pitch who can gives others a kick up the a**e and make us more disciplined. We wander around like a kids team at times without anyone taking the game by the scruff of the neck.

Agree about leaders on the pitch. Whenever they make a pathetic error, they all just shrug their shoulders and walk back. No player has a go at them. Jake Wright wasn't the most demonstrative but he would bollocking players for needless, stupid errors on the pitch on occasion. The most demonstrative I've seen a player this season was a few home games ago when Carroll was demanding the ball from Thomas (iirc).

 

[Sarge]

Leaders on the pitch? ....Big Ron Atkinson, Malcolm Shotton ...one from the 60s, one from the 80s ....proper leaders !

 

[Cass63]

As Cyril Bevon said, ‘I’ll let the ball go past me or the player go past me but never both at the same time.

 

[Oldham]

Leaders on the pitch? ....Big Ron Atkinson, Malcolm Shotton ...one from the 60s, one from the 80s ....proper leaders !

You forgot Dave Roberts from the 70s!

 

[Shropshire U]

Good thread! Quiet teams win 'nowt and this season not enough players are geeing each other up or demanding that heads stay up after conceding a goal.
And we definitely lack the presence of someone who will step up and inject a bit of aggressive energy.
I don't mean that players should court bookings, but pretty much every player in the squad could be playing closer to an edge.
It's not the full story, but we are at number 17 in the League 1 'fair play' table (where 1 denotes the worst record).

 

[Sarge]

You forgot Dave Roberts from the 70s!

One of my all time fave OUFC players.... cheers for the reminder @Oldham ....and oh yes. Dave Roberts was a(nother) proper leader

 

[werthersoriginal]

We need someone like Mike Ford or Matt Elliott shouting and clapping his hands!

 

[Sarge]

We need someone like Mike Ford or Matt Elliott shouting and clapping his hands!

Agreed .... another couple of examples of leaders

 

[Marked Ox]

Les Robinson would be considered a hard a**e leader compared to our current lot. As he would on occasion chew out a teammate for stupid errors.

 

[Jason N]

Watching the Peterborough vs Leceister FA Cup tie. Can't help but think that we'd have conceded 8 against them!.