Away Match Day Thread 12/03/24 - L1: Bolton Wanderers v OUFC

[Northstandboy]

Post Match Pack

Post Match Discussion

Interview - Des Buckingham

Interview - Owen Dale

Match Lowlights

Match Report

Ref Watch

Fans View

 

[BrockBuster]

Agree with most of what you say re; players etc, but felt we could and should’ve gone 2 up top, and the player I would’ve replaced was Rodrigues.

We needed to pin Bolton back more, so by playing on the front foot with their defence having to worry (well sort of!) about Harris and Goodwin it may have created a bit more time for our slow/ponderous defenders to have a bit more time! on the ball, whereas, last night they pressed high and we all know we’re shite when teams do that to us.

In answer to you questions 1) I just think the players knew their roles better, when to hold and when to press, whereas, now there doesn’t appear to be a plan or if there is one the players are not all on the same sheet at the same time. Take their first goal for example, McGuane comes across when there was no need to, but then completely vacated to middle of the pitch leaving our 18 yard line area completely free, so one ball across the middle and they’ve opened us up in a dangerous position. Stevens then comes across, again when he didn’t need to as Moore was there, and again completely leaves his man in acres of space to pick his spot. We seriously got it wrong by not getting a proper CDM (Gorrin style) who always seemed in the right place at the right time to block/make tackles (proper tackles) and then gave the ball to the more creative players (Brannagan etc). So basically the difference is, Manning had analysed everything to the nth degree and drilled what he wanted into the players. Plus he had Hogg who knew what he wanted too to get that message across. I almost get the feeling that Des is battling this on his own.

Re; question 2) I personally haven’t been that impressed with Pompey, but they find a way of winning e.g. like when we played them down there, hence, why we looked better than we are. I also think that Mousinho might be similar in management/coaching terms to Manning, (maybe a little more expansive though), in that they (Pompey) stay in the game and find moments in a game to click, but overall they’re not that pleasing on the eye, neither was Manning’s team. Whereas, the 2 best teams I’ve seen this season so far are Bolton & Derby. They also play expansive football which is more entertaining, but goes wrong at times (mores times than Pompey at the moment!), hence Wanderers comments earlier in this thread, whereby, he says that Bolton were still creating, but it just wasn’t clicking into place, but it did last night!! We were all hoping that after the Pompey performance that we’d turned a corner, but it was so evident on Saturday against Cheltenham that we hadn’t. Ben Purkiss got it right on the Dub the other week (post Pompey game) when he said the real test would be the Cheltenham game in terms of whether we’d turned the corner performance wise as the Pompey game was a sort of one off e.g. playing the top of the league in front of 20k fans with nothing to lose/expectancy, basically a free hit, so who couldn’t get themselves up for a game like that!! I’ll also hazard a guess that apparently Port Vale are the worst Performing team in the league at the moment, but that will change Saturday when they play us!!

Like you said, we’ve got a lot of weak players who don’t perform on a consistent basis or are/have been injured (Browne, Murphy, Henry, Bodin, Matete, McGuane, Rodrigues, McEachran and even Goodwin to a lesser extent). Most of these players are players that we need to be playing in the front foot, but they’re just not reliable enough and takes up a high number of places in the squad. You could also add Edwards, Smyth, Thorniley and possible Negru to this list, but I do rate the latter. I would have him along side Moore. We played well/better when those 2 played together.

I questioned at the time whether the January transfer window had been good or not, but it appears to have been poor, what with Goodwin not being able to start games, Matete doesn’t look good/or fit enough, Edwards, not available, Bennett on the bench, Cummings not much different to Eastwood/not as good as Beadle.

This is the team I’d start with Saturday;

Cummings (but could easily be Eastwood)
Stevens, Moore, Negru (if fit), Bennett
Brannagan
Dale, McGuane (just), Leigh
Goodwin
Harris
4-1-3-1-1

Just think this team would be more robust.

Subs;
Eastwood, Brown, Murphy, Goodrham (if fit), Bodin, Rodrigues and Long

Anyone who has McGuane in a starting XI for the weekend either hasn't been paying close attention the last half a dozen games or interprets football completely differently to me.

And by no stretch of the imagination am I saying my opinion is better or more correct than yours, just for me he's not performing any of the tasks required from a FL midfielder and wouldn't have him anywhere near the starting XI right now. Even with the limited other options we have.

 

[holdsteady]

I don’t care who the manager is on Saturday - major changes required. Thorniley, Burey, Bennett, Goodwin, Matete all start. I would seriously consider Eastwood too, Cumming is a liability but Eastwood is a lesser one in my opinion.

Cummings or Eastwood is a choice that is making me sympathetic towards the yanks when they have to choose between Biden or Trump, like choosing which bollock you want cut off.

 

[bazzer9461]

One things for sure Buckingham will bee here next season. But I won’t

Bloody hope not

 

[dickwalton1964]

Cummings or Eastwood is a choice that is making me sympathetic towards the yanks when they have to choose between Biden or Trump, like choosing which bollock you want cut off.

Yes, I agree, it’s not exactly ideal. I just think Eastwood might be that louder, familiar voice that’s needed and I genuinely don’t think there’s much difference in their ability.

 

[uptheus]

Anyone who has McGuane in a starting XI for the weekend either hasn't been paying close attention the last half a dozen games or interprets football completely differently to me.

And by no stretch of the imagination am I saying my opinion is better or more correct than yours, just for me he's not performing any of the tasks required from a FL midfielder and wouldn't have him anywhere near the starting XI right now. Even with the limited other options we have.

I agree, but who would you put in there?

 

[ExclusiveOxnews]

Anyone who has McGuane in a starting XI for the weekend either hasn't been paying close attention the last half a dozen games or interprets football completely differently to me.

And by no stretch of the imagination am I saying my opinion is better or more correct than yours, just for me he's not performing any of the tasks required from a FL midfielder and wouldn't have him anywhere near the starting XI right now. Even with the limited other options we have.

I'm with you on this and think he has been given a free pass for while now vs others more easier to 'scapegoat' e.g Long. I think his attitude has been nothing short of a disgrace and i just hope he's been carrying a knock in some ways as it gives him an excuse. What is his 'impact' on a game? He doesn't control it anymore through passing, he doesn't tackle, he doesn't score or assist, he doesn't drive through the lines, he isn't a leader. I'd drop him without question. The raw tools are all there, and if he has downed tools due to a new manager for whatever reason then that just makes it even worse

 

[ExclusiveOxnews]

I agree, but who would you put in there?

.......a much tougher question to answer!

 

[uptheus]

Just as an aside, we’ve only had 92 votes for the travelling fans to last night’s game being voted as MOTM, so can the other 131 who attended please cast their vote too. Would be good to get it to 223 who actually attended.

ps may be they’re still in bed thinking it was all a bad dream!! Spoilt alert, I’m afraid to say it actually happened.

 

[uptheus]

.......a much tougher question to answer!

Maybe it would be better to play with 10 men! Or put it this way, it couldn’t be much worse!

 

[Yellow There!]

The stat that @SirAndyOfCrosby put is so telling.
Not a single win against top half (not top six or top 4) opposition.
I am by no means a Des hater, but support staff or no support staff, whatever excuses, that is simply disgraceful.
Even under meltdown Karl last season we went to Bolton and won 3-1.
It’s so disappointing, when this season promised so much.

 

[ChamonixOx]

There are no similarities between Buckingham and Manning tactically.

Manning played either 3421 or 4231 with one winger tucked in. Both formations created a four man ‘box’ midfield with two at the base and two at the top. It allowed us to control most games and made it rare that we were overrun in the middle of the pitch, as well as creating layers and pockets of space.

Buckingham plays a 433, not a 4231 as many seem to think, with both wingers pushed wide. We’re a man down in the centre of the pitch and have no way of playing through lines as a result. That’s why under Buckingham we seem to play so many long balls, because we can’t actually play through the thirds. It’s the exact same formation and tactics, and is producing the same results and performance levels, as the final year under Robinson did.

We have regressed to the same hopeless side that didn’t win a game for three months last season. We’ve won two games in the last 12, and on Saturday we were bloody lucky to have nicked one against probably the worst team in the division. Our form since late November is every bit as bad as last season’s horror show.

Nothing is the same as under Manning, on any level.

The point about why we are so light in midfield under Buckingham is spot on. Two midfielders in effect, McGuane and Brannagan, with Dale, to be fair, adding a little more ballast at times. But when you have Murphy, Rodiguez, and Dale from the start, it will be hard to win the initial battles and start to control the game. Players like Murphy and Rodriguez are players best suited for when the game opens up, not before! Buckingham's lack of tactical nous is worrying!

 

[IsleofWightYellow]

I'm with you on this and think he has been given a free pass for while now vs others more easier to 'scapegoat' e.g Long. I think his attitude has been nothing short of a disgrace and i just hope he's been carrying a knock in some ways as it gives him an excuse. What is his 'impact' on a game? He doesn't control it anymore through passing, he doesn't tackle, he doesn't score or assist, he doesn't drive through the lines, he isn't a leader. I'd drop him without question. The raw tools are all there, and if he has downed tools due to a new manager for whatever reason then that just makes it even worse

Are you joking?

The second McGuane stopped putting in MOTM performances as he did for the first 10-15 games of the season or so he was immediately questioned and castigated on here. Sam Long has never once put together a run of games as good as McGuane did (actually maybe once under Robinson), he’s just managed to be solid for a while, and still gets less criticism/more defenders on here.

Last night McGuane was no worse than Rodrigues or Leigh and yet he’s been singled out for far more criticism. He’s been terrible for the last few months but so have many other players who manage to get away with it.

 

[Foley]

So in Buckingham words, they are back in training on Thursday. Unbelievable get the fuckers in today or are they to tired from travelling. 222 travelling fans are back at work today

There is sports science now.
They have to do what is best to try and get a win Saturday.
Not punish the players if it means this chance is lower due to it.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

Not sure we can base much on the individual performances last night. Everyone in an electric blue shirt was poor - it ranged from incompetent to 'couldn't give a f**k'. Nobody came out of it with any real credit.

 

[chuckbert]

Just watched the “highlights”.

Fuk.

 

[Sheik djibouti]

Anyone who has McGuane in a starting XI for the weekend either hasn't been paying close attention the last half a dozen games or interprets football completely differently to me.

And by no stretch of the imagination am I saying my opinion is better or more correct than yours, just for me he's not performing any of the tasks required from a FL midfielder and wouldn't have him anywhere near the starting XI right now. Even with the limited other options we have.

Could not agree more. I have defended McGuane in the past and really thought the way he started the season showed his true potential. However, there's a very good reason he's been a nearly man wherever he's been and that I'm afraid is almost entirely down to his mentality.

And if he really is not playing for the manager as has been suggested, then that is bordering on criminal.

And to think a former Arsenal academy coach predicted that three players from his time there would go on to great things. They were McGuane, Saka and Nelson. Everybody initially thought McGuane was ahead of the other two and would be the first to realise that potential with his Barca move, but I think we can all now see why it didn't work out (and neither has anything since).

Certainly a criminal waste of talent, that much is evident.

 

[chuckbert]

I like Dale’s interview a lot. Captain material there.

 

[ExclusiveOxnews]

Are you joking?

The second McGuane stopped putting in MOTM performances as he did for the first 10-15 games of the season or so he was immediately questioned and castigated on here. Sam Long has never once put together a run of games as good as McGuane did (actually maybe once under Robinson), he’s just managed to be solid for a while, and still gets less criticism/more defenders on here.

Last night McGuane was no worse than Rodrigues or Leigh and yet he’s been singled out for far more criticism. He’s been terrible for the last few months but so have many other players who manage to get away with it.

to be fair you have a point, maybe its my own frustration as I've seen what is is potentially capable of yet isn't producing it and regression is huge. Long is limited at best and always has been. I would say though i haven't heard much dissent for MM is the stands, much more for Long and even Ruben, but might just be where it sit

 

[Swaby39]

Yes, I agree, it’s not exactly ideal. I just think Eastwood might be that louder, familiar voice that’s needed and I genuinely don’t think there’s much difference in their ability.

I don’t think chopping one nervous wreck for another one is going to make the slightest difference.

Also, Cumming didn’t do a whole lot wrong. It should never have got as far as him. Once it does, Leigh just needs to head it out for a corner. I love Greg Leigh but he’s an experienced player who should just take no chances. Why he doesn’t is anybody’s guess, but he is unrecognisable from the player we had in the early part of the season, like so many. Mind you, he probably made save of the season early in the game as well.

Putting Eastwood in is just a complete and utter waste of time. He’ll not help the cause one bit and while Cumming’s distribution hasn’t been great (it was excellent when he joined), he is at least happy to take the ball under pressure. We do not need a nervousness in that department right now. The question is why is a well regarded goalkeeper whose previously performed very well at this level, including for us, hurtled in to a mini form crisis? Why are so many players regressing or not featuring at all? We’re becoming a scrap heap for good players.

Patience for Des has gone far enough. If the players have no interest in giving their best effort/form for the manager then there is only one solution. Putting Des first puts us at risk of another Robinson era.

 

[WEYellow]

I like Dale’s interview a lot. Captain material there.

I liked it too, but a sad indictment of the group of players that the latest recruit is the one pushed out to do media duties. We needed a senior figure to face up, captain or vice captain ideally.