Away Match Day Thread 23/04/2022 L1: Rotherham United v OUFC

[arthurturner]

To next season then , been some great results this season , just fell short at the end! The problem as been the last 6 games , as last season we won the last 4 out 5 , that says it all.

The problem has been not learning from last season and unless we do we will fall short again next season.

 

[Symp59]

Yes we haven't moved on from last season in fact defensible we are much worst. We have been close but once again poor results against the bigger teams. But on he other we have all got to be careful what we wish for . There again I don't think the owners will be happy with the end of the seasons results. I hope Karl is tough enough to make the big decisions he needs to make .

 

[SSU Dozer]

We have been competitive all season, Plymouth at home was pretty much the only time we looked likely to not get something out of a game. Yesterday we did lack bite in the centre of midfield but it was two poor, individual errors that cost us both goals. Robbo, understandably, waiting until half time to sub an injured Kane did not help.

 

[Manorlounger]

Yes we haven't moved on from last season in fact defensible we are much worst. We have been close but once again poor results against the bigger teams. But on he other we have all got to be careful what we wish for . There again I don't think the owners will be happy with the end of the seasons results. I hope Karl is tough enough to make the big decisions he needs to make .

I think the "big" decisions will be made further up the food chain!

 

[uptheus]

We have been competitive all season, Plymouth at home was pretty much the only time we looked likely to not get something out of a game. Yesterday we did lack bite in the centre of midfield but it was two poor, individual errors that cost us both goals. Robbo, understandably, waiting until half time to sub an injured Kane did not help.

Should have subbed him the first time he tried to be too clever and got caught with the ball. If not then, he should have hauled him off when he went down injured.

 

[uptheus]

Yes we haven't moved on from last season in fact defensible we are much worst. We have been close but once again poor results against the bigger teams. But on he other we have all got to be careful what we wish for . There again I don't think the owners will be happy with the end of the seasons results. I hope Karl is tough enough to make the big decisions he needs to make .

If he isn’t tough enough then hopefully the board are.

He’s got to stop being to emotionally attached, care yes, but not to allow his emotions to take over.

 

[bazzer9461]

Sorry, but struggling to see why there’s so much dislike for me? I know we can’t all be lucky and support Swindon (1969 League Cup winners, former Premier League team and the only team in the FL with no letters of the word ‘mackerel’ in) but please. Have some respect. All I ask. Thank you.

Respectjust f**k off and carry on plying your trade in L2.
1969 league cup winners 1 season in the premiership wow.
1985/86 Milk cup winners and 3 seasons in the old first division.
As I said earlier just jog on and enjoy life in L2 and be grateful you won’t be League 1 next season and having to face the mighty Oxford whilst we take 6 points of you.

 

[ECYellow]

Having slept on it, I think it is now clear what is required to move us forward next season.

A better GK who can distribute the ball better and command his area with authority.

Two new first choice full backs. SL is a romantic choice as he is local but would he get into any of the 7 teams above us? I doubt it. Seddon hasn’t been up to the standard required.

Send Kane back and don’t pursue his signature. His inability to read danger and attempt bloody cruyff turns in dangerous areas has cost us on various occasions (Morecambe and yesterday to name a couple).

Sykes can go. He’s not been interested for a while now and I’m not sure his output has been especially outstanding or irreplaceable.

We must find a midfielder who can dictate terms in midfield and can impose himself on games - we have lacked this all season, after identifying it as an issue during the play off abomination last year!

Whyte and Holland can return to their parent clubs. Neither have done enough to warrant a contract with us, Whyte has arguably been the biggest disappointment of the season.

Sign Bodin. He is excellent and deserves a contract.

Robinson needs to evolve. He needs to be adaptable in his approach and accept that he’s got the recruitment wrong this time. It’s a squad that is imbalanced and heavily reliant on Taylor’s goals. I’d not be against a sporting director coming in. I think Robinson could do with having more accountability for his performance and decision making.

Next week, I’d love to see O’Donker, Anifiwose and Tyler Goodrham get a game. Donny are down and we can’t go anywhere so let’s throw the young lads in and see what they’ve got about them.

 

[m]

Having slept on it, I think it is now clear what is required to move us forward next season.

A better GK who can distribute the ball better and command his area with authority.

Two new first choice full backs. SL is a romantic choice as he is local but would he get into any of the 7 teams above us? I doubt it. Seddon hasn’t been up to the standard required.

Send Kane back and don’t pursue his signature. His inability to read danger and attempt bloody cruyff turns in dangerous areas has cost us on various occasions (Morecambe and yesterday to name a couple).

Sykes can go. He’s not been interested for a while now and I’m not sure his output has been especially outstanding or irreplaceable.

We must find a midfielder who can dictate terms in midfield and can impose himself on games - we have lacked this all season, after identifying it as an issue during the play off abomination last year!

Whyte and Holland can return to their parent clubs. Neither have done enough to warrant a contract with us, Whyte has arguably been the biggest disappointment of the season.

Sign Bodin. He is excellent and deserves a contract.

Robinson needs to evolve. He needs to be adaptable in his approach and accept that he’s got the recruitment wrong this time. It’s a squad that is imbalanced and heavily reliant on Taylor’s goals. I’d not be against a sporting director coming in. I think Robinson could do with having more accountability for his performance and decision making.

Next week, I’d love to see O’Donker, Anifiwose and Tyler Goodrham get a game. Donny are down and we can’t go anywhere so let’s throw the young lads in and see what they’ve got about them.

I'm not sure that Sykes is uninterested.

He's been here for for 3.5 years and has basically been gash for 3 years of it. A good first half of this season but that's been it if we're honest.

He's undoubtedly got some talent but I'll be amazed if he ever fulfills it.

 

[Jster]

It's odd how divisive Sykes is - I think some of it must come down to fans cooling on him when it became apparent he wasn't gonna sign a new contract. I didn't see anything of yesterday's game, but I've seen a fair few of the more recent ones in which Sykes has come in for criticism (especially for supposed lack of effort/interest), and I've seen nothing to make me feel it's justified. Yes, he's not in the scinitllating form he was in earlier in the season, but he stil puts in a hell of a shift, and is definitely one of the players I'd like to see play for us next season (even if it seems unlikely now).

 

[ECYellow]

It's odd how divisive Sykes is - I think some of it must come down to fans cooling on him when it became apparent he wasn't gonna sign a new contract. I didn't see anything of yesterday's game, but I've seen a fair few of the more recent ones in which Sykes has come in for criticism (especially for supposed lack of effort/interest), and I've seen nothing to make me feel it's justified. Yes, he's not in the scinitllating form he was in earlier in the season, but he stil puts in a hell of a shift, and is definitely one of the players I'd like to see play for us next season (even if it seems unlikely now).

Doesn’t like a tackle, doesn’t do enough off the ball and generally doesn’t look all that interested to me.

I’m not generally bothered whether a player acknowledges supporters or not, however it cannot be overlooked that Sykes does not engage with supporters at all.

He’s scored 8 and assisted 5 in 40 games. I’d argue that return isn’t irreplaceable.

 

[bazzer9461]

It's odd how divisive Sykes is - I think some of it must come down to fans cooling on him when it became apparent he wasn't gonna sign a new contract. I didn't see anything of yesterday's game, but I've seen a fair few of the more recent ones in which Sykes has come in for criticism (especially for supposed lack of effort/interest), and I've seen nothing to make me feel it's justified. Yes, he's not in the scinitllating form he was in earlier in the season, but he stil puts in a hell of a shift, and is definitely one of the players I'd like to see play for us next season (even if it seems unlikely now).

Sorry have to disagree, Sykes heart isn’t with this club and has been disappointing since the time n of the year. He’s had his best goal return this season and I honestly thought and probably even mentioned on here this season for the club to go all out and sign Sykes. But alas he’s been nothing since Xmas and yes he may have had his head turned by another club but he isn’t one for us next season.

 

[Symp59]

I said quite a few weeks ago we need a clear out. If Karl trys to keep most of them together we will probably be in a worse place next season. Taylor is getting older he's been brilliant again considering it's been virtually him all season with very little help. We've done really well considering the team is not balanced . I know Karl said he was numb after yesterday's result how come the fans have seen this coming for a while we are not in the top 6/7 teams for a reason . There is alot of work to do quickly. I like Henry but we need younger stronger players we need two full backs two CBs Gorrin and a spare .I shall be pleased to see Sykes there are better out there.I think league one next year will be stronger. Derby ,Peterborough ,Barnsley two of Sunderland Sheff we'd ,Ipswich ,and Portsmouth or all of those four We are going to struggle if Karl trys to keep this squad together it's been weaker than last year and it would be weaker again. Karl has got a tough job I know we are told we have the money but can it be spent like a to manager can spent it time will tell

 

[uptheus]

Having slept on it, I think it is now clear what is required to move us forward next season.

A better GK who can distribute the ball better and command his area with authority.

Two new first choice full backs. SL is a romantic choice as he is local but would he get into any of the 7 teams above us? I doubt it. Seddon hasn’t been up to the standard required.

Send Kane back and don’t pursue his signature. His inability to read danger and attempt bloody cruyff turns in dangerous areas has cost us on various occasions (Morecambe and yesterday to name a couple).

Sykes can go. He’s not been interested for a while now and I’m not sure his output has been especially outstanding or irreplaceable.

We must find a midfielder who can dictate terms in midfield and can impose himself on games - we have lacked this all season, after identifying it as an issue during the play off abomination last year!

Whyte and Holland can return to their parent clubs. Neither have done enough to warrant a contract with us, Whyte has arguably been the biggest disappointment of the season.

Sign Bodin. He is excellent and deserves a contract.

Robinson needs to evolve. He needs to be adaptable in his approach and accept that he’s got the recruitment wrong this time. It’s a squad that is imbalanced and heavily reliant on Taylor’s goals. I’d not be against a sporting director coming in. I think Robinson could do with having more accountability for his performance and decision making.

Next week, I’d love to see O’Donker, Anifiwose and Tyler Goodrham get a game. Donny are down and we can’t go anywhere so let’s throw the young lads in and see what they’ve got about them.

Totally agree

 

[Swaby39]

Yes we haven't moved on from last season in fact defensible we are much worst. We have been close but once again poor results against the bigger teams. But on he other we have all got to be careful what we wish for . There again I don't think the owners will be happy with the end of the seasons results. I hope Karl is tough enough to make the big decisions he needs to make .

Is that fair comment? Granted a few silly ones like the late loss to Sunderland but I think Plymouth are the only team above us that we haven’t taken points from home or away. We did the double over MK Dons and Shef Wed. In some of the games against top 6/7 (Wigan away, for example) I thought we were outstanding and deserved more but that’s football… but I acknowledge what you deserve means precious little, it’s what you actually get.

For me the downfall was daft draws/defeats against mid to lower end teams who really caused us very few problems we just didn’t put them away. It’s that ruthless edge that seems to come and go. Regardless of team selection/squad balance, when at our best we are undoubtedly capable of a top 2 finish but consistency is what has separated the likes of Rotherham, Wigan and MK dons.

I for one am again very proud of our season. It was always going to be tougher than the year before when you looked at the spending power among the top 10 or 12 clubs. Next season will be similar with some league one masters returning.

Again I’m going to stick up for KR - I think he has led us to another season of entertainment and we’ve been competitive again right until the very end and just fell short this time. It happens. He did adapt and his change to a back 3 really suited us but injuries meant it was difficult to keep playing that way. I’m not sure he necessarily planned for that with his recruitment so it may be we see a squad geared towards that system in future.

Recruitment/squad balance is his clear area to address because I believe he is tactically perfectly capable at this level but we seemed stretched at times with square pegs in round holes far too often and he’s just making his own job harder - how can you expect to play complex possession football with right backs at centre back and wingers at full back etc. That simply can’t continue if we are serious about automatics.

 

[uptheus]

Karl needs to be ruthless, but not sure if he’s got it in him.

Henry, Winnall, Hanson, Mous, Kane, Holland, Sykes, Long (squad player only), Seddon and I’m not sure about McGuane need to be shipped out.

Sign Baldock

That’s for starters.

 

[Manorlounger]

Doesn’t like a tackle, doesn’t do enough off the ball and generally doesn’t look all that interested to me.

I’m not generally bothered whether a player acknowledges supporters or not, however it cannot be overlooked that Sykes does not engage with supporters at all.

He’s scored 8 and assisted 5 in 40 games. I’d argue that return isn’t irreplaceable.

I'm still in two minds about Sykes. There are times when he really appears to be putting in a shift and others when he is dawdling but, he has some flashes of skill that have obviously caught the attention of others. (International call up, Championship interest)
It may be that, along with others, he is suffering under the KR influence and constantly being asked to play in different roles.

However, if there is better out there and, if they want to play for a KR team (something I believe many have said no to) then let's go for them.
This summer is going to be an incredibly tense and potentially disappointing time for fans. June 10th window opens, KR claims to have plans already, I doubt they are firm plans.

 

[MiddleBartonYellow]

It's odd how divisive Sykes is - I think some of it must come down to fans cooling on him when it became apparent he wasn't gonna sign a new contract. I didn't see anything of yesterday's game, but I've seen a fair few of the more recent ones in which Sykes has come in for criticism (especially for supposed lack of effort/interest), and I've seen nothing to make me feel it's justified. Yes, he's not in the scinitllating form he was in earlier in the season, but he stil puts in a hell of a shift, and is definitely one of the players I'd like to see play for us next season (even if it seems unlikely now).

To be fair, he is a good player I think, but I would agree with Kinniburgh that he isn’t a championship player.
It will be another Ruffles, a step up, more money but not playing.
He would be better off staying with us, but he won’t.

 

[uptheus]

I'm still in two minds about Sykes. There are times when he really appears to be putting in a shift and others when he is dawdling but, he has some flashes of skill that have obviously caught the attention of others. (International call up, Championship interest)
It may be that, along with others, he is suffering under the KR influence and constantly being asked to play in different roles.

However, if there is better out there and, if they want to play for a KR team (something I believe many have said no to) then let's go for them.
This summer is going to be an incredibly tense and potentially disappointing time for fans. June 10th window opens, KR claims to have plans already, I doubt they are firm plans.

Too weak and thinks he’s better than he is, but if he can go and triple his wages, then good luck to him being sat on a bench somewhere else, same as Ruffels. The latter was a great servant to the club though, so more respect for him, but just didn’t think he was Championship level. At times I questioned whether he was League 1 level!!

 

[uptheus]

To be fair, he is a good player I think, but I would agree with Kinniburgh that he isn’t a championship player.
It will be another Ruffles, a step up, more money but not playing.
He would be better off staying with us, but he won’t.

Just made similar post!