Home Match Day Thread +++ 20/01/2018 OUFC v Bury match thread +++

[Dubai Yellow]

Quite possibly. But I bet it’s a dam sight easier to take in the warmth of Dubai with a nice cold beer, than it is in wet miserable oxford where my toes still haven’t defrosted [emoji6]

The weather is nice but it still ruins my day if we lose!.

Ill be back in February to suffer like the rest of you, for a game or two at least

 

[beyondthefourth]

Digging up this article on Pep from just after he was hired, because I remembered reading the testimonies of him, which I'm just not seeing evidence of as a manager:

From his time as assistant at Malmo:

“Pep had this great radiance, a charisma. He was more temperamental and showed his feelings."

“He used to hand out rebukes left and right,” said the 26-year-old. “But it was always thought out. If he thought we were too complacent in a certain exercise, he screamed at us. He was very unpredictable, but it kept you listening.”

Tiki-taka was encouraged by dividing the pitch into tiny squares, so congested that no player could move without touching an opponent. Like Guardiola, Clotet encouraged total discipline in the first two thirds, total freedom thereafter.

With Garry Monk at Swansea:

During matches, Clotet would sit in the stands, dividing matches into five-minute segments and analysing them to spot developing trends or threats.

When the pair were sacked – just weeks after Clotet spurned Brentford – they re-watched every single game, determined to identify mistakes.


From that last one I can only assume he is going to wait to expertly rectify our horrific defence until after we sack him.

 

[Oldham]

Average squad, poor manager for me

 

[RATC]

Digging up this article on Pep from just after he was hired, because I remembered reading the testimonies of him, which I'm just not seeing evidence of as a manager:

From his time as assistant at Malmo:

“Pep had this great radiance, a charisma. He was more temperamental and showed his feelings."

“He used to hand out rebukes left and right,” said the 26-year-old. “But it was always thought out. If he thought we were too complacent in a certain exercise, he screamed at us. He was very unpredictable, but it kept you listening.”

Tiki-taka was encouraged by dividing the pitch into tiny squares, so congested that no player could move without touching an opponent. Like Guardiola, Clotet encouraged total discipline in the first two thirds, total freedom thereafter.

With Garry Monk at Swansea:

During matches, Clotet would sit in the stands, dividing matches into five-minute segments and analysing them to spot developing trends or threats.

When the pair were sacked – just weeks after Clotet spurned Brentford – they re-watched every single game, determined to identify mistakes.


From that last one I can only assume he is going to wait to expertly rectify our horrific defence until after we sack him.

The bloke don't show any emotion the most he did was stand there with his hands in his pocket. If he was the same as he was at Plymouth for the 4-0 win showed the passion he did then, maybe results would change. Look at burys manager today up out of the area screaming at his players and that reflected in the end.

 

[Deleted member 462]

Quite possibly. But I bet it’s a dam sight easier to take in the warmth of Dubai with a nice cold beer, than it is in wet miserable oxford where my toes still haven’t defrosted [emoji6]

The weather is nice but it still ruins my day if we lose!.

Ill be back in February to suffer like the rest of you, for a game or two at least

House swap [emoji106]

 

[Osei Yaw]

There are so many parallels with Appleton's first season in charge, he turned out alright didn't he?

 

[Deleted member 462]

There are so many parallels with Appleton's first season in charge, he turned out alright didn't he?

Not so sure.

Under Appleton we slowly improved.

Appleton always said it how it was, no waffle or we will try harder.

And certainly no sssssshh ing of fans.

Points wise and overall feeling is probably similar, but I don’t think pep will get as long

 

[uptheus]

The legacy of our summer recruitment or lack of it is to blame which Darryl has to take some blame for.

Add to that, we don't have a midfield, no pace and no creativity meaning the ball goes backwards and sideways.

The forward line is poor, with Obika not able to hold the ball up which is very frustrating, especially as he appears to be strong and athletic.

Pep go to take some blame too, but I think he's been badly let down by Darry.

 

[bigdel]

Sorry to say enough is enough, players crap management crap at this moment l don’t want to see another game. Only problem is my love for the club is massive for christ sake give a break.

 

[PNE]

I mean if you want a new manager I'm pretty sure Simon Grayson is available. He get us from a position like you are in and changed us to a mid table championship team. It wasn't pretty football but it did the trick.

 

[The mighty Aldo]

They have lost the last eight and haven't scored in five

Either 1 1 draw or 1 0 win for them

Calls for Pep to resign become more vocal on Radox after the game

Unfortunately most of this was right

That was embarrassing from start to finish.

They are the worst side in the league and they made us look poor.
Our passing was woeful we looked disjointed and hardly created anything.

We will be relegated if Pep does not go by the end of the month

 

[Osei Yaw]

Not so sure.

Under Appleton we slowly improved.

Appleton always said it how it was, no waffle or we will try harder.

And certainly no sssssshh ing of fans.

Points wise and overall feeling is probably similar, but I don’t think pep will get as long

We improved under Appleton after the January window when he got players like Baldock, MacDonald and Skarz in. Then Roofe turned up in February I believe. Pep has made a better start and I feel he's now getting the players that will hopefully move us on, like Brannagan on a 3 year deal. But he's been stuck with quick fixes, much in the same way Appleton was. I don't think Pep is stupid, he will know players like Williamson and Tiendalli aren't the future, hence why they got 1 year deals.

Appleton didn't shush the fans, but he did refer to them as 'white noise', which went down like a sack of s**t at the time. People vowed not to go back whilst he was in charge but they had to eat their words when it turned out he knew what he was doing.

 

[Deleted member 462]

Not so sure.

Under Appleton we slowly improved.

Appleton always said it how it was, no waffle or we will try harder.

And certainly no sssssshh ing of fans.

Points wise and overall feeling is probably similar, but I don’t think pep will get as long

We improved under Appleton after the January window when he got players like Baldock, MacDonald and Skarz in. Then Roofe turned up in February I believe. Pep has made a better start and I feel he's now getting the players that will hopefully move us on, like Brannagan on a 3 year deal. But he's been stuck with quick fixes, much in the same way Appleton was. I don't think Pep is stupid, he will know players like Williamson and Tiendalli aren't the future, hence why they got 1 year deals.

Appleton didn't shush the fans, but he did refer to them as 'white noise', which went down like a sack of s**t at the time. People vowed not to go back whilst he was in charge but they had to eat their words when it turned out he knew what he was doing.

I just have a gut feeling this ain’t going to go the same way. Be delighted if he does, not calling for him to be sacked, but just got a lingering feeling he’s going to fall into the great coach not so great manager bracket. Will that be his fault or a lack of backing I don’t know. But we were playing much much better when he had worked with the players less in training [emoji6]

 

[Lundinsponytail]

There are so many parallels with Appleton's first season in charge, he turned out alright didn't he?

Lazy claim/post. Appleton inherited a demoralised bunch of has beens and never weres. He started disastrously, but from November - as he weeded out some of the worst non-achievers and tweaked his system - we gradually improved. In Jan he brought in Roofe, MacDonald, Baldock and Skarz. All very good at that level. By the end of the season we were a team on the up.
Whereas, Pep inherited a youthful team of achievers, who just 2 or 3 months beforehand had been hammering Millwall away.
Unlike Appleton, his team started brightly and in place of improvement he has gradually brought uncertainty, tactical inertia and lack of motivation to those same players whilst chucking in a bunch of ageing crocks, most of whom are picking up a last six figure pay cheque, to 'add experience.'
So in actual fact, far from being the same as Appletons first season it is the opposite.
We are now 6 points or so clear of a dank and nasty place, after a run of games against bottom 8 teams. Looking at points totals to date it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if 54 points are required for 20th place. That means 16 points from the next 16 games (don't fancy needing something from Blackburn on the last day). Sounds fine until you realise that we have 32 points from our last 27. And we need to play almost all the top 10.
I think we will make it and end up in something like 18th place, with 58 points and thanking our stars for the first two games of the season.
The wild cards are the new players. If Pekalski, Ricketts and Brannegan can swiftly inject pace and authority then it could be an easier ride. But the form sample with current manager and tactics is deeply worryingly. We have not been much off a point a game since September.

 

[Jason N]

Apart from some poor results at the start of Appletons reign, I see very little difference.

I remember really enjoying the style of football even when we were losing. We played with pace and created chances but were left open at the back too often. Appleton inherited a shite squad and the recruitment team wasn't in place.

The recruitment in the summer was Pep's doing and has shown to have been a massive mistake. Worst than that we are not learning from the same mistakes over and over again. Pep sees a different game to the majority watching.

 

[Marked Ox]

Well that was utter dog turd against a team of utter dog turd. Entirely predictable. Same errors, can't defend set pieces etc.

The biggest worry for me was the lack of passion or imagination, it was like they were playing football by numbers.

 

[Common Villager]

I know the manager usually takes the blame after poor results (more often than not, correctly), but we must acknowledge just how bad the team that we were able to put out today. That starting 11 must be the worst we’ve seen in the last three years?

Tiendali
Martin
Carroll (at the moment)
Ruffels
Henry
Mehmeti
Obika
Mowatt (still not convinced by him)

All of the above are players that ‘can do a job’ (just about) at this level, but you can’t have a whole team of players that fall into that category and expect to be any higher than mid table.

Of course, Clotet has a lot to answer for with regards to some of the players we’ve brought in, but I definitely think the situation he landed in during the summer was a key factor in some of the more rushed signings.

Also, I hate to use it as an excuse, but the number of injuries we’ve had over the course of the season has been unusually high. Had the likes of Nelson, Hall, Raglan, Rothwell, Pekalski, and Brannagan been available today, I expect we’d have seen a different outcome.

So, on the whole, I don’t think Pep should be sacked. I still think we’ll end up around or abouts where we are now. Which I don’t think is a bad outcome, given the chaos of the summer and the constant uncertainty off the pitch.

That said, he needs to prove that he is learning and that he can get the team performing on a more consistent basis.

 

[TailsWeWin]

Walsall and Bury have been low points...and who can forget Wigan. Surely that’s enough for Clueless Clotet to get his marching orders.
I think we need someone with more experience but maybe Chrissy Allen longer term as he has done well in his role before

And Port Vale.... disgraceful

 

[Dubai Yellow]

Poor form, low morale, angry fans and shushing from our own players and management. Thats the reality right now folks!

 

[Concretebob]

And Port Vale.... disgraceful

Cheltenham too?

You could argue that that's where it went wrong.