Home Match Day Thread 03/02/2024 L1: OUFC v Reading

[Carpy]

POST-MATCH PACK

Post Match Discussion

Interview - Des Buckingham

Interview - Cam Brannagan

Interview - Reading manager

Match Highlights

Match Report

Ref Watch

Fans View

 

[Bicester Yellow]

People will say it’s overreacting but that’s our shot at playoffs done this season. Too many teams with games in hand, we will need to go on an exceptional run. This season has come one season too early in terms of us getting rid of the dead wood out of the squad. If this season was playing out next year we would have much more flexibility in the transfer market. Sad but true, can see us finishing 9th. We are too inconsistent. To get playoffs we will need to win 10 of the last 16 in my view. Just isn’t going to happen.

 

[Upthecowboys]

I think we need some perspective.

There were a couple of strong performances today, ‘Retail’ put in their best performance of the season and ‘Match Day Activations’ were simply outstanding.

Some of you lot are so ungrateful.

 

[MiddleBartonYellow]

Also today was probably the day where we had our strongest team available for the first time in many weeks if not months along with the new signings plus against very weak opposition. We likely won’t get an easier opportunity to grab 3pts the rest of the season. Definitely missing Long and there’s still a few players to return but that was a huge opportunity missed today and the way we played was so poor as was general approach. Not sure if Des is playing it safe or if he really lacks tactical scope and flexibility. There is enough personnel in there to really mix thing s up and make it his own but I just don’t know if he has the experience or ability.

Strongest team, how can it be with 10 out injured.

 

[CCYellow]

Burey the best player for me. Once he went off we had nothing. Hope he's fit enough to play the full 90 next Saturday.
As I said on the ref watch thread, the ref didn't help at all. 36 should have been sent off for a second yellow, when he slid Goodrham from behind. The tosser didn't even give a free kick, then 2 mins later books Goodrham for a firm but fair shoulder barge.

Rodrigues may not have had one of his best games, but he still had some dangerous shots and started off really well, getting stuck in to every tackle.
Not going to bash Des. He still needs time, and we're not going to replace him this early after paying a fee for him anyway. I don't think we've seen enough to be booing after the game. I think it's quite pathetic that this started a month into his tenure.

Des desperately needs some help. The Chuckle Brothers/Dumb and Dumber/Harry and Marv need to pull their fingers out. They keep hiring pretentious, busybody, useless commercial directors (Benson/Goddard), yet can't hire an assistant manager or a director of football.

 

[MiddleBartonYellow]

Hope he doesn’t read this forum, it would probably make him suicidal.

 

[joshua]

Agree with that. I'm actually considering not renewing my season ticket next season and just picking and choosing games as they come. Dull as dishwater recently.

Same here

 

[Bicester Yellow]

Thought Negru, McGuane, Rodrigues & Goodrham were poor today.

Ciaron Brown has been off it for good few weeks now. Time for Thorniley to be given a chance?

Ciaron Brown was and has been awful for weeks like you say. Literally don’t remember him winning one ball in the air vs smith. Always on the back foot. I don’t rate him at all

 

[OX14]

And yet somehow he’s still not been picked up by any of the clubs who’ve sacked their managers recently. Could it be that he wants Championship football not League One.

We were second in league one when Manning left. No other club that has been looking for a manager since has been in as good position. He should of been our chosen one and we should of pumped the money it took to get Des out of his Mumbai contract in to a better contract to land Eustace.

We can blame injuries but I would of expected a decent manager to pick up more points than Des has.

Cheltenham , Northampton, Bristol rovers losses were very poor.

Then the two draws against Reading in their situation is pathetic.

Even the loss to Barnsley who looked rubbish.

So many dropped points has cost us and it could of been alot worse hadn't it been for last minute goals against Cambridge and Pompey.

 

[Bicester Yellow]

Agree with that. I'm actually considering not renewing my season ticket next season and just picking and choosing games as they come. Dull as dishwater recently.

Agreed. What will happen with me. I’ll probably get a membership as it stands. Won’t make all games as it is so season ticket for me would be a waste of my money to watch below par performances.

 

[Bicester Yellow]

In fairness, Ciaron has had a few pretty average games by his standards. His distributions has been poor and he's been bullied by a few players half his size.

I'm surprised that Elliott Moore hasn't got more credit for today but with Negru and Brown either side of him, he gad to work his socks off and was still giving everything to the end.

Moore has been putting in 8/10 performances since the turn of the year. Deserves praise as he’s defending for 2 people with brown next to him. He is okay as a squad option but we should be looking to upgrade in the summer & sign another CB.

 

[holdsteady]

Hope he doesn’t read this forum, it would probably make him suicidal.

Watching his team play football is starting to have that effect on me.

 

[Scotchegg]

People will say it’s overreacting but that’s our shot at playoffs done this season. Too many teams with games in hand, we will need to go on an exceptional run. This season has come one season too early in terms of us getting rid of the dead wood out of the squad. If this season was playing out next year we would have much more flexibility in the transfer market. Sad but true, can see us finishing 9th. We are too inconsistent. To get playoffs we will need to win 10 of the last 16 in my view. Just isn’t going to happen.

There's still a third of the season to go. I know that we've been poor during this second third, but it's madness to write off any hope with 16 games to play.

We could set up like this next weekend,



And we could have the likes of Goodrham, Dale, McGuane and Murphy on the bench.

I'm not saying that things are perfect, but I also can't understand the defeatist attitude.

 

[OX14]

There's still a third of the season to go. I know that we've been poor during this second third, but it's madness to write off any hope with 16 games to play.

We could set up like this next weekend,

View attachment 17719

And we could have the likes of Goodrham, Dale, McGuane and Murphy on the bench.

I'm not saying that things are perfect, but I also can't understand the defeatist attitude.

How is Matete going to start a game a week from now when today he was only deemed capable of the last 7 minutes?

 

[dickwalton1964]

There's still a third of the season to go. I know that we've been poor during this second third, but it's madness to write off any hope with 16 games to play.

We could set up like this next weekend,

View attachment 17719

And we could have the likes of Goodrham, Dale, McGuane and Murphy on the bench.

I'm not saying that things are perfect, but I also can't understand the defeatist attitude.

 

[ExclusiveOxnews]

Mcguane has been absolutely dire for about 4 months IMO (superb, albeit almost meanlingless, goal against Burton aside). If it was Long, Moore, O Donkor or anyone else who didn't quite look as fancy as MM on the ball i reckon he'd be getting some serious stick, but apart from recycling the ball reasonably well (still gave it away a few times today misplacing simple passes) his actual 'impact' on the game is so poor. Small number of goals and assists and not good defensively. Drifts through games in third gear and its so frustrating as he all the tools. I'd drop him and give him a proper 2/3 game rest see if it fires him up a bit

 

[Scotchegg]

How is Matete going to start a game a week from now when today he was only deemed capable of the last 7 minutes?

Just because he only came on with 7 minutes to go, doesn't mean that he couldn't have played longer. And, we can start players and replace them with fresher legs later in the game.

But either way, you miss the point. SIXTEEN games to go, and we could be putting out a hugely different side in just 7 days. There are no guarantees, and we still have to find a way to get the best from them. But the idea of giving up at this stage of the season is as bizarre to me as it was when people were saying that we'd definitely go down last season.

We've heard people bemoaning the atmosphere in a derby today, but when you see that some posters on here have given up already then it's no wonder that games feel as flat as they do.

 

[Followtheox1]

There's still a third of the season to go. I know that we've been poor during this second third, but it's madness to write off any hope with 16 games to play.

We could set up like this next weekend,

View attachment 17719

And we could have the likes of Goodrham, Dale, McGuane and Murphy on the bench.

I'm not saying that things are perfect, but I also can't understand the defeatist attitude.

I admire your optimism but would be absolutely amazed if Goodwin starts next weekend.

 

[Scotchegg]

I admire your optimism but would be absolutely amazed if Goodwin starts next weekend.

And that's why I said "could". My point still stands that we've got plenty to still fight for, and plenty of players who can come in to give us something to fight for.

 

[Eric Blair]

So all these Des haters, who’d you have instead? And, how much better would they have done with nearly half the first team squad out injured.

As soon as we led L1, people were thinking we’d won the league. As were Port Vale, Cambridge, Exeter etc. We are in the playoffs, have had a great window and have players returning from injury. The teams above us Pompey, Peterborough, Bolton are playing really well, but shortly with a nearly full squad, we’ll be pushing. We were never going to be in the automatics, but the playoffs are still there for us to prosper.

And add to that - given where we were last season to be targeting the playoffs is amazing progress

 

[Eric Blair]

I'm not a Des hater and will continue to back him as he has only been here three months and I don't thinks it's helpful booing etc and can be counter productive. However, he has definitely made some mistakes and does appear a bit lost at times. Hopefully things will pick up. While we still need to fight for the playoffs I definitely don't think we are the favourites to get there.

I wasn’t there today annoyingly. Was there booing?