Home Match Day Thread 12/02/2022 L1: OUFC v Bolton Wanderers

One thing to bear in mind for the first goal was that it went through Long's legs so Stevens probably didn't get sight of it until it was well on its' way, not saying he shouldn't save it but just giving a different angle to the debate.

Also why is it that every player that isn't in the team (in this case Gorrin) suddenly becomes the answer to all our problems, had we nicked that 3-2 his name wouldn't have been mentioned.

Absolutely correct about the fall out had we won 3-2 - which we could very easily have done. It’s like pundits, they change like the wind about the PL. Gorrin wouldn’t be the answer, he’d be an added option just like Browne will be when fit. I didn’t see Gorrins name mentioned when we won equally late games v Sheffield Wednesday and Pompey but lose on the counter late on to Bolton and he’s the missing piece.
 
Bakayoko evades Elliott Moore to tap in from the centre of the goal
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Excellent dissection of Bolton's 3rd by @NorthWestOx here

It wasn't just this goal either and there is a worrying pattern in how we conceed. Often not one person to blame but a series of events that all contribute in the build up...and very often as a breakdown of one of one of our attacks. Palyers out of position and others caught in two minds as to what to do where to go...Taking nothing away from Bolton because it was well executed on their part. We knew what an attacking threat they were ahead of the game and that they are bang in form, but I think we could've made it a whole lot more difficult for them.

If I were KR and the coaching staff, I would be spending the vast majority of time in training this week working on transition from attack to defence, because we get caught so often in similar circumstances. We need to learn to defend leads, because the philosophy of putting right conceeding by going and scoring another will come unstuck too many times against better and particularly defensively savvy teams for us to be true contenders.

I also hope Taylor is on the bench next weekend, simply because he is being over-used at present and as great as his intelligent movement is and what it brings to the team, he is currently missing the cutting edge of the goalscorer. Pretty sure he would want to start every single game, but he has played an awful lot of football lately and he can still come off the bench and create/score the winner against Charlton;)
 
The radio phone-in was embarrassing.

Whining about Stevens and criticising him and Eastwood as being the problem. The problem is the ever changing defence, new partnerships and mistakes prior to the ball heading towards our net. Never felt so angry listening to a phone-in and disappointed that the presenters were encouraging/debating the point instead of cutting the plonker off the line.

We also had the old age debate about winning ugly. Seriously? Oxford fans, for 40 years have demanded a style of football. We have been witnessing that attack minded style for some significant time. As a result, you let goals in. We all know the uproar if we got Talbot or Atkins back in charge or managers of a similar style, winning ugly 1-0 won't wash for very long.

We have a great philosophy and it's Robinson's philosophy that mirrors what the fans like to see. If we fall short, then I have thoroughly enjoyed how we approach games, the value for money, the goals, the entertainment. We're a bit like West Ham fans, who expect similar.

Robinson isn't exempt from criticism and I'd like to have seen us shore up central midfield but that said, you then sacrifice the players we all demanded to be signed or kept - Cam and Kane. We can't have everything.

We have a young kid in defence who is making a few mistakes but he looks a great prospect. We have a young GK with a great future who is miles better than Eastwood, coming back from a serious illness. We have signed a Championship striker and added a sensible mid-term Championship winger in Browne (not a great short term one) but one to replace the players who will depart at the end of their loan spells.

If we manage play-offs, which I think we will, then that's another good season. Next season will be harder again (this season is harder than last), with the likes of Derby and Reading likely to fall. I would have liked us to spend the Browne money on a quality CDM but we didn't. Having found out we have a year extension on Moore, the need for a CB wasn't that important.

We're having a superb season, we've lost a couple of games again but I've been very happy with what the side have done this season.
 
I would add, it's Short and Mous' job as defensive coaches to sort the defence and out of possession play. Easy to blame 21yr, 22yr old lads for mistakes.
 
Also why is it that every player that isn't in the team (in this case Gorrin) suddenly becomes the answer to all our problems, had we nicked that 3-2 his name wouldn't have been mentioned.

A player in the Gorrin style, CDM, has been spoken about and said needed since Gorrin got injured, not just after Saturday!
 
A player in the Gorrin style, CDM, has been spoken about and said needed since Gorrin got injured, not just after Saturday!

There were quite a few posters on here saying that it was almost a blessing as it meant we could now play the best three footballing midfielders - Kane, Brannagan and McGuane. Football is often a horses for courses approach but I'm not sure Gorrin would have been a necessity on Saturday, free scoring Oxford at home to mid-table Bolton ? I don't think it's one that would have had anyone calling for Gorrin at the expense of a Sykes or Bodin. Rotherham or Wigan away maybe but I think our approach was spot on on Saturday and our performance, in general, very good.
 
The radio phone-in was embarrassing.

Whining about Stevens and criticising him and Eastwood as being the problem. The problem is the ever changing defence, new partnerships and mistakes prior to the ball heading towards our net. Never felt so angry listening to a phone-in and disappointed that the presenters were encouraging/debating the point instead of cutting the plonker off the line.

We also had the old age debate about winning ugly. Seriously? Oxford fans, for 40 years have demanded a style of football. We have been witnessing that attack minded style for some significant time. As a result, you let goals in. We all know the uproar if we got Talbot or Atkins back in charge or managers of a similar style, winning ugly 1-0 won't wash for very long.

We have a great philosophy and it's Robinson's philosophy that mirrors what the fans like to see. If we fall short, then I have thoroughly enjoyed how we approach games, the value for money, the goals, the entertainment. We're a bit like West Ham fans, who expect similar.

Robinson isn't exempt from criticism and I'd like to have seen us shore up central midfield but that said, you then sacrifice the players we all demanded to be signed or kept - Cam and Kane. We can't have everything.

We have a young kid in defence who is making a few mistakes but he looks a great prospect. We have a young GK with a great future who is miles better than Eastwood, coming back from a serious illness. We have signed a Championship striker and added a sensible mid-term Championship winger in Browne (not a great short term one) but one to replace the players who will depart at the end of their loan spells.

If we manage play-offs, which I think we will, then that's another good season. Next season will be harder again (this season is harder than last), with the likes of Derby and Reading likely to fall. I would have liked us to spend the Browne money on a quality CDM but we didn't. Having found out we have a year extension on Moore, the need for a CB wasn't that important.

We're having a superb season, we've lost a couple of games again but I've been very happy with what the side have done this season.
Good post Simon. I agree with every word.

We are now one of the top League One sides, everyone knows that. We're not a one season wonder either, we've done it for three years running now, and we've done it our way. Halfway through the second half on Saturday, with the score level, and the game just beginning to slow a little, I thought to myself that if we end up drawing this, and if we end up not going up, I bloody well enjoy coming to games now, which certainly has not always been the case in years gone by. I want to win as much (if not more) as the next man, but I can enjoy winning most, but not all, games. I can enjoy being at the right end of the table, playing the right way. I enjoy going into the season with genuine hopes of success. I enjoy hearing other team's fans say what a good footballing side we are, and feel proud once again of our club. A large part of that is the entertainment provided by the way we play. Would I swap with a Wycombe? No, not in a million years.

Coincidentally Brian Talbot was a guest in the Boardroom on Saturday. When ex players and managers are introduced they always get a polite cheer and a round of applause, some more than others obviously. But Talbot's introduction was greeted with barely a murmur, Timmy f*****g Mallett got a better response! I think that tells us all we need to know.
 
Good post Simon. I agree with every word.

We are now one of the top League One sides, everyone knows that. We're not a one season wonder either, we've done it for three years running now, and we've done it our way. Halfway through the second half on Saturday, with the score level, and the game just beginning to slow a little, I thought to myself that if we end up drawing this, and if we end up not going up, I bloody well enjoy coming to games now, which certainly has not always been the case in years gone by. I want to win as much (if not more) as the next man, but I can enjoy winning most, but not all, games. I can enjoy being at the right end of the table, playing the right way. I enjoy going into the season with genuine hopes of success. I enjoy hearing other team's fans say what a good footballing side we are, and feel proud once again of our club. A large part of that is the entertainment provided by the way we play. Would I swap with a Wycombe? No, not in a million years.

Coincidentally Brian Talbot was a guest in the Boardroom on Saturday. When ex players and managers are introduced they always get a polite cheer and a round of applause, some more than others obviously. But Talbot's introduction was greeted with barely a murmur, Timmy f*****g Mallett got a better response! I think that tells us all we need to know.
I know it goes against the grain and fans all want and see things differently but in the Wilder era i posted many times about a 100 mile + trip to often be sat spending more time staring at my feet..
The Pompey "Name" game still riles me when pre match against a Pompey side who were struggling he kept on about the name and we proceeded to endure 90 minutes negativity trying not to be beat.

Imagine Jim Smith and the like with such a mindset, would never happen.
 
A player in the Gorrin style, CDM, has been spoken about and said needed since Gorrin got injured, not just after Saturday!
I'm not one for constant whinging and questioning the coaches but I've felt all season that we need a stronger presence in midfield. Failing that we maybe need to have a
Good post Simon. I agree with every word.

We are now one of the top League One sides, everyone knows that. We're not a one season wonder either, we've done it for three years running now, and we've done it our way. Halfway through the second half on Saturday, with the score level, and the game just beginning to slow a little, I thought to myself that if we end up drawing this, and if we end up not going up, I bloody well enjoy coming to games now, which certainly has not always been the case in years gone by. I want to win as much (if not more) as the next man, but I can enjoy winning most, but not all, games. I can enjoy being at the right end of the table, playing the right way. I enjoy going into the season with genuine hopes of success. I enjoy hearing other team's fans say what a good footballing side we are, and feel proud once again of our club. A large part of that is the entertainment provided by the way we play. Would I swap with a Wycombe? No, not in a million years.

Coincidentally Brian Talbot was a guest in the Boardroom on Saturday. When ex players and managers are introduced they always get a polite cheer and a round of applause, some more than others obviously. But Talbot's introduction was greeted with barely a murmur, Timmy f*****g Mallett got a better response! I think that tells us all we need to know.
I very much agree with you on the whole, but this game felt a bit different to some recent ones in that Bolton weren't that great - they gave the ball away as much as we did - and the goals we conceded were sloppy rather than the result of a ruthless, superior side pummeling us. We can stay an exciting, attacking side and just tighten up a bit, especially by giving the defence more protection.
 
The radio phone-in was embarrassing.

Whining about Stevens and criticising him and Eastwood as being the problem. The problem is the ever changing defence, new partnerships and mistakes prior to the ball heading towards our net. Never felt so angry listening to a phone-in and disappointed that the presenters were encouraging/debating the point instead of cutting the plonker off the line.

We also had the old age debate about winning ugly. Seriously? Oxford fans, for 40 years have demanded a style of football. We have been witnessing that attack minded style for some significant time. As a result, you let goals in. We all know the uproar if we got Talbot or Atkins back in charge or managers of a similar style, winning ugly 1-0 won't wash for very long.

We have a great philosophy and it's Robinson's philosophy that mirrors what the fans like to see. If we fall short, then I have thoroughly enjoyed how we approach games, the value for money, the goals, the entertainment. We're a bit like West Ham fans, who expect similar.

Robinson isn't exempt from criticism and I'd like to have seen us shore up central midfield but that said, you then sacrifice the players we all demanded to be signed or kept - Cam and Kane. We can't have everything.

We have a young kid in defence who is making a few mistakes but he looks a great prospect. We have a young GK with a great future who is miles better than Eastwood, coming back from a serious illness. We have signed a Championship striker and added a sensible mid-term Championship winger in Browne (not a great short term one) but one to replace the players who will depart at the end of their loan spells.

If we manage play-offs, which I think we will, then that's another good season. Next season will be harder again (this season is harder than last), with the likes of Derby and Reading likely to fall. I would have liked us to spend the Browne money on a quality CDM but we didn't. Having found out we have a year extension on Moore, the need for a CB wasn't that important.

We're having a superb season, we've lost a couple of games again but I've been very happy with what the side have done this season.
Why don’t you go on Bradders? Tired old callers aren’t they? 😉
 
I'm not one for constant whinging and questioning the coaches but I've felt all season that we need a stronger presence in midfield. Failing that we maybe need to have a

I very much agree with you on the whole, but this game felt a bit different to some recent ones in that Bolton weren't that great - they gave the ball away as much as we did - and the goals we conceded were sloppy rather than the result of a ruthless, superior side pummeling us. We can stay an exciting, attacking side and just tighten up a bit, especially by giving the defence more protection.
Yes, don't get me wrong, I want to see those things corrected too. I was trying to add a bit of context to what Brahma said regarding not wanting to throw it all out because of a couple of losses, and revert to Talbot/Atkins style of football.

I want to see us continue in the way we play, but tighten up a couple of areas, and if it's possible do that without compromising our principles. We are 95% of the way there, we don't need to panic and throw away three years of good work, we just need to get the other 5% right.
 
I'll be honest, before I read this thread I didn't even recognise that Brian Talbot had a style of football.
 
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