Manager/Coach Robbo out. Thread number 2

[holdsteady]

Is there much difference in having to recruit a load of new players because you get promoted than having to recruit a load of new players because you didn’t get promoted? Our squad changes every season, so don’t get that argument against promotion.

Doncaster were up around the playoffs the year before last and will be in league next season, not certain there is much evidence in gradual improvement actually working given the level of player turnover, you nearly start afresh every season.

Oldham had 22 seasons at this level, never even made the playoffs, they improved so much that not long after getting relegated out of this league they were relegated again to joys of the conference.

 

[nige01ox]

Absolutely. Imagine the season WWFC had that year, the grounds they went too, the money they made.

And their fans saw precisely none of them

 

[holdsteady]

And their fans saw precisely none of them

The only enjoyable part of there promotion.

 

[Oxford84]

Luton managed to stay up and now have a chance of making the play offs.

they were champions of league one, only lost 6 games yet the first season in the championship they just missed relegation after being in the relegation zone all season and only stayed up on the last day of the season. if we were to stay up once weve got there,wed need to be better than that.

 

[Sarge]

wonder what effect that 7-0 spanking by Fulham yesterday will have had on Luton's playoff campaign?

 

[bazzer9461]

Dreams can sort of come true.never did I think at the time we would win back to back promotions to the top fight in the 80s.As for reaching a cup final at Wembley as well to top it off, was in every Oxfords fans wildest dreams. Just keep the faith it could happen again you never know.

But to be fair @Scrongo back then it was football today it’s money

 

[bazzer9461]

wonder what effect that 7-0 spanking by Fulham yesterday will have had on Luton's playoff campaign?

But also will they be flirting with relegation next season? Probably. Which goes to show how crazy football is with money involved at the highest level.
Now here’s a scenario what if Sky and Bt pulled out……

 

[yellowbow]

No disrespect for your opinion but, when those clubs, or any for that matter, come down to League 1, it's because they are NOT championship clubs any longer. (nor for that matter are they Premiership sides any more)
They have not played well enough to win enough to remain Championship sides. I can't stand this notion that they are bigger and better than OUFC simply because, in recent times, they played in a division higher. Forget not that OUFC once played in the First Division now the Premiership, that doesn't make us any better nor does it give us any enhanced status - quite right too.

League 1 is only fun if we are winning enough games to not worry about relegation and it becomes a delight when we are winning enough to achieve promotion. Remember the elation we all felt when getting out of League 2? I want that feeling, and more besides, when we get out of League 1.

I totally agree. If we won promotion to the championship I wouldn’t give two shits about whether we’re good enough or ‘ready’ for it! I would be walking on air all summer looking forward to trips to Forest, Birmingham, West Brom and Norwich. I’ll probably get shot down for this but there seems to be an element on here that have decided they’d rather have Karl Robinson as manager over promotion and are justifying their stance with talk of us

‘not being ready’

‘entertaining is more important than winning

‘we’re where we should be’

‘I remember when we were in the conference’

‘We need stability’

I’ve already stated that, in my view, Robinson deserves another crack at it but I’m also in the camp of having my doubts about whether he can take us any further. I do get that we don’t have any entitlement to get promoted and it will be tough but if Robinson continues to show that he isn’t learning any lessons from our near misses or preparing to alter his views on certain aspects then he also has no entitlement to be manager here for ever. I we’re stumbling around mid table or lower by Christmas then I will see signs of a club just treading water at best and that will be it for me. Time for change. I was surprised to learn today that KR has failed in the playoffs in seven attempts. If next year it’s eight then, harsh as it might seem to some, I think that would also signal a need for a new direction.

I also saw today ‘Clotet’ being held up as another reason for not considering change. That, I would say, seriously underestimated the competency of our owners.

This summer is going to be an interesting one and huge for Robinson, but I would hope that he himself would agree that nobody is above scrutiny in any walk of life. He’s a big boy, he’s knows how cut throat football management is. People with a far greater success rate than him have fallen under the axe. He now has a chance to push on with the support of the majority of supporters. Let’s all hope he gets it right.

 

[horseman]

if we forget opinions on the current manager for a moment.

I still fail to see why "Any" Oxford manager would be expected/demanded to be in Top 2 by Christmas given where we have finished in the last 2/3 seasons.

Many fans had Play Offs as their hope for the season just ended which we failed to reach and yet some expect a massive turnaround when our budget will still be Top 6 at best.

There are 3 stronger teams above us that will remain in League 1+ Ipswich Pompey Charlton + Bolton who would be expected to be right up there

 

[Oxford1996]

if we forget opinions on the current manager for a moment.

I still fail to see why "Any" Oxford manager would be expected/demanded to be in Top 2 by Christmas given where we have finished in the last 2/3 seasons.

Many fans had Play Offs as their hope for the season just ended which we failed to reach and yet some expect a massive turnaround when our budget will still be Top 6 at best.

There are 3 stronger teams above us that will remain in League 1+ Ipswich Pompey Charlton + Bolton who would be expected to be right up there

What a negative mentality that is.

Naming clubs who finished below us this year..

 

[horseman]

What a negative mentality that is.

Naming clubs who finished below us this year..

it is not a negative mentality it is realism which a number of posters on here fail to grasp, Those below us mentioned are bigger who you would expect to improve this season and be in the mix and as with the season just ended there are 12/13 clubs likely to be battling for honours.

As fans we can all hope for a auto promotion push but to be expecting/demanding it, is bonkers imho.

 

[Oxford1996]

it is not a negative mentality it is realism which a number of posters on here fail to grasp, Those below us mentioned are bigger who you would expect to improve this season and be in the mix and as with the season just ended there are 12/13 clubs likely to be battling for honours.

As fans we can all hope for a auto promotion push but to be expecting/demanding it, is bonkers imho.

Bigger? And… we’ll have a budget just as big.

I hope we can challenge for the top 2.
I expect to be in the top 6, if we finish outside of that… we may well see a manager change.

 

[unification]

No disrespect for your opinion but, when those clubs, or any for that matter, come down to League 1, it's because they are NOT championship clubs any longer. (nor for that matter are they Premiership sides any more)
They have not played well enough to win enough to remain Championship sides. I can't stand this notion that they are bigger and better than OUFC simply because, in recent times, they played in a division higher. Forget not that OUFC once played in the First Division now the Premiership, that doesn't make us any better nor does it give us any enhanced status - quite right too.

League 1 is only fun if we are winning enough games to not worry about relegation and it becomes a delight when we are winning enough to achieve promotion. Remember the elation we all felt when getting out of League 2? I want that feeling, and more besides, when we get out of League 1.

I meant as in you get a taste of them as you expect those sort of clubs to be in the second tier or even above. Sunderland are down at this level for only the second time in their 142 year history and Derby haven't troubled the third tier since the late 1980s. Portsmouth, Charlton, Bolton and Sheffield Wednesday are all bigger clubs who you expect to be higher up but aren't for a variety of reasons. I never said they are better but it's hard to argue that on attendances, stadium size and club honours throughout their history that they are more established clubs than us. That we can beat them does show that football doesn't stand still. A mouse can roar on more than one occasion. My point was that you get such a diverse mix of sides in League 1, that there is a lot of madcap enjoyment from seeing Accrington humble Sunderland or Cambridge toppling Ipswich.

 

[Scrongo]

But to be fair @Scrongo back then it was football today it’s money

Yes true, I suppose the dream ,is now to have billionaire owners.

 

[Oxford1996]

Johnnie Jackson has just been sacked as Charlton manager.

Wonder if KR would have him as an assistant here?

 

[Big Ron]

But also will they be flirting with relegation next season? Probably. Which goes to show how crazy football is with money involved at the highest level.
Now here’s a scenario what if Sky and Bt pulled out……

Then umpteen other media companies will be competing for rights - Amazon, Apple, Virgin, the Norwegian company currently picking up rights around the world and a ton of others off of the radar.. These rights are going up in value all of the time - just look at the sort of deals they get of the US, Asia and Australasia.

 

[Marked Ox]

But also will they be flirting with relegation next season? Probably. Which goes to show how crazy football is with money involved at the highest level.
Now here’s a scenario what if Sky and Bt pulled out……

Why will Luton be flirting with relegation next season? The squad has evolved/will continue to do so and they could yet be in the PL (although looking unlikely based on form).

 

[YellowinBirmingham]

Just worth noting we did have pretty bad luck with injuries, covid and Thorniley being recalled as well. At difficult times.

 

[Marked Ox]

they were champions of league one, only lost 6 games yet the first season in the championship they just missed relegation after being in the relegation zone all season and only stayed up on the last day of the season. if we were to stay up once weve got there,wed need to be better than that.

I can chuck in Coventry and Millwall (who went up through the play offs). If the 1st season is about survival then staying up on the last day is fine, we don't need to be better just, at the least, match it. Obviously I would want us to be better than that.

 

[tonyw]

Absolutely. Imagine the season WWFC had that year, the grounds they went too, the money they made.
This was all in the knowledge that, worst case scenario, they may well be relegated but with a hell of a lot of money to cushion another go at promotion. This is with a decent squad, and manager, that, with all his faults, had proven he was worth another season after relegation as he knew how promotion was achieved.

WW only got to see their team winning 11 games out of 46 that season, and only got to see them score 39 goals!
Also worth pointing out that the three biggest grounds that they went to (the team - not the fans, ha ha) that season were Derby, Boro & Wednesday. There's a 75% chance that two of those will be League One grounds next season, and of course Sunderland is substantially bigger than all of them!

There are of course great reasons to get promoted - money, progression, reputation, national exposure. It's very important for the sustainability of the club that we do.
But I genuinely think that, in terms of actually watching the games, the Championship would likely be a massive grind and probably a whole lot less fun than this past League One season was.