Home Match Day Thread 16/4/24 Oxford United v Lincoln City

[Northstandboy]

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COYY

Let’s do this!

 

[ZeroTheHero]

A disappointing night, obviously. We were Ok in the first half and could have had a couple (although the one that Harris had from the Dale cross was a pretty difficult chance with the speed that ball was going across him) but Lincoln had a couple of headers and a break down their left that they should have done better with. I can't claim to know whether their pen *was* a pen from the East Stand, but I thought the foul on Harris continued into the box and certainly should have been one.

But we were worryingly toothless in the second half - apart from Brannagan's shot from distance, I am not sure we threatened at all. Dead ball kicks were woeful, too much fannying about at the back again, not quick enough to move the ball (walking football for too much of the time), players too happy to pass the ball back to where it came from. Goodrham's substitution was a mistake as he was one of the few players looking to carry the ball forwards at any speed. And while we are talking about substitutions, McGuane contributed the square root of f-all. Leigh was poor and lost the ball far too many times. I am not sure we had a Man of the Match really.

Lincoln were dirty buggers, and surprisingly direct - hoofing the ball up to the forward. They won't go up even if they get into the playoffs.

I can't make Friday night and am not going to Exeter - let's hope I have at least a couple more games to go to this season!

 

[werthersoriginal]

I thought Lincoln were plain dirty. As bad as the ref was he did dish out 7 yellows and a red There is problem with the laws of the game that allows teams to commit professional foul after professional foul with impunity. I'd prefer a rule change that penalised teams who go over fixed quotas with points deductions. Say 6 or more professional fouls in a game equals -1 points or more than 4 professional fouls against a single player in a game equals -1 point. Scourge of the game.

Lincoln basically just cheated. You're right that bookings aren't enough of a sanction for deliberate professional fouls, if the players are canny enough only to do one each and the ref is as hopeless as yesterday's was. Wasn't that why the sin-bin idea was suggested? Though that would slow the game down even more.

I wish Lincoln, their manager, and the fan with the drum only bad things. You have to say that they might scrap their way to promotion,but so what? They'd get a year or two making up the numbers in the Championship while everyone hated them and wondered what Lincoln was for. The Crazy Gang ain't gonna win the FA Cup again.

 

[werthersoriginal]

A disappointing night, obviously. We were Ok in the first half and could have had a couple (although the one that Harris had from the Dale cross was a pretty difficult chance with the speed that ball was going across him) but Lincoln had a couple of headers and a break down their left that they should have done better with. I can't claim to know whether their pen *was* a pen from the East Stand, but I thought the foul on Harris continued into the box and certainly should have been one.

But we were worryingly toothless in the second half - apart from Brannagan's shot from distance, I am not sure we threatened at all. Dead ball kicks were woeful, too much fannying about at the back again, not quick enough to move the ball (walking football for too much of the time), players too happy to pass the ball back to where it came from. Goodrham's substitution was a mistake as he was one of the few players looking to carry the ball forwards at any speed. And while we are talking about substitutions, McGuane contributed the square root of f-all. Leigh was poor and lost the ball far too many times. I am not sure we had a Man of the Match really.

Lincoln were dirty buggers, and surprisingly direct - hoofing the ball up to the forward. They won't go up even if they get into the playoffs.

I can't make Friday night and am not going to Exeter - let's hope I have at least a couple more games to go to this season!

I thought Leigh was good, always available and energetic. The person who gave the ball away a few times in dangerous areas was Rodrigues - he can do great things but he can also be a real liability.

 

[holdsteady]

Was gutted last night but it was never going to be easy, as a club we just don't do that. Massive game against Stevenage now, everyone needs to just get behind them for that game.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

I thought Leigh was good, always available and energetic. The person who gave the ball away a few times in dangerous areas was Rodrigues - he can do great things but he can also be a real liability.

I thought he repeatedly kicked to ball into areas where it went straight to Lincoln, and I don't think he did so well going forwards either. Now it may be that there wasn't anyone free for him to pass to (our movement off the ball was poor) and that he was staying back under orders - but I thought he was very ineffective (and I say that as someone who thinks he is generally very very good).

 

[Foley]

We miss Moore especially in both boxes.
From our dead balls, Moore is always capable of winning headers, causing problems.
It sounds as if he is doubtful for Friday, which could be an issue against the Stevenage barrage.
It seems as if Negru is out of favour and I assume that it won't happen, but Des must think about this especially v Stevenage.

 

[Dubai Yellow]

I thought Lincoln were plain dirty. As bad as the ref was he did dish out 7 yellows and a red There is problem with the laws of the game that allows teams to commit professional foul after professional foul with impunity. I'd prefer a rule change that penalised teams who go over fixed quotas with points deductions. Say 6 or more professional fouls in a game equals -1 points or more than 4 professional fouls against a single player in a game equals -1 point. Scourge of the game.

Yeah it was a joke. Games should be reviewed post match perhaps and teams should receive penalties or points deductions, like you say for taking the p***! And not limited to professional fouls. Time wasting, kicking the ball away etc, goalkeepers taking an age…

(When Cam got taken out that was a yellow/orange card all day long, their player not even looking at the ball. And How there no6 only got a yellow so late on was also a mystery. He was at it all game.

 

[Swaby39]

Long was out of position too much and we ended up with huge amounts of space to exploit. Stevens there closes those holes and Long plays well in his (natural?) position. With Long at RB and Cam Bran in there instead of JM you lose some of the shape and create too much space. IMO

The trouble with Cam is his decision making and recognising when to take a back seat. He’s been fantastic for this club but shouldn’t be immune from criticism and in my opinion he made us worse yesterday. He needs to realise there are good players in this team who can win us games just as well as he can.

He hits a fantastic diagonal ball which has its uses to get wingers on the ball quicker but it’s his first thought when it needn’t be. He often stifles attacks with long shots (when was the last time one went in?), dominates set pieces and it has always bugged me how much he throws his arms around in temper tantrums. I have often felt as good as he is, there is always a cloud of thunder and lightning around him which must rub off on others. Erhahon saw him coming a mile off and wound him up within minutes. It’s poor.

McEachran doesn’t need the limelight and just does a very sensible and effective job in there. He brings a steely calmness to the team which is probably the most crucial quality for that position. Urgency is great, being erratic is not. On Friday I’d be sticking firmly with him if he’s got it in the legs.

We all know Cam’s strengths and how important he is so I don’t expect this to be a popular view - I just think he cancels himself out at times.

 

[werthersoriginal]

The trouble with Cam is his decision making and recognising when to take a back seat. He’s been fantastic for this club but shouldn’t be immune from criticism and in my opinion he made us worse yesterday. He needs to realise there are good players in this team who can win us games just as well as he can.

He hits a fantastic diagonal ball which has its uses to get wingers on the ball quicker but it’s his first thought when it needn’t be. He often stifles attacks with long shots (when was the last time one went in?), dominates set pieces and it has always bugged me how much he throws his arms around in temper tantrums. I have often felt as good as he is, there is always a cloud of thunder and lightning around him which must rub off on others. Erhahon saw him coming a mile off and wound him up within minutes. It’s poor.

McEachran doesn’t need the limelight and just does a very sensible and effective job in there. He brings a steely calmness to the team. Urgency is great, being erratic is not. On Friday I’d be sticking firmly with him if he’s got it in the legs.

I gotta say that (having missed Saturday) McEachrean was a revelation, and I really liked the way he stuck to his position.

 

[MadridYellow]

Frustrating result that one! Lincoln always going to be a tough side to break down, especially when they have a lead to cling on too. Really worry about our lack of Plan B when the wingers aren't on it. Can have all the possession in the world at the back but when the off the ball movement in the middle of the park is so poor, we are always going to struggle to break down teams like this. On to friday and another sh*thouse team to who are going to come and play anti-football against us. Bit more productivity from the wingers and I think we do it! COYY

 

[Swaby39]

I gotta say that (having missed Saturday) McEachrean was a revelation, and I really liked the way he stuck to his position.

Cam has a tendency to do what he wants and it’s hard to knock him for that - he’s all action and wants to effect games. It’s natural instinct. But that’s not what the role asks for and he lands other people in trouble. He’s part of a team.

McEachran just seems more mature in every aspect - he knows how much he’s affecting the game without being a goal threat and smashing Hollywood passes just because he can. I’m not sure where the position is for Cam in this team at the moment.

As an aside - Fin Stevens probably has the best delivery at the club. Is he not worth a shot on set pieces?!

 

[oxfordfan1]

Everything good about last Saturday just wasn’t there last night, we allowed them time on the ball to do as they wish. Missed a couple of sitters, Leigh wasn’t great and Harris didn’t show the same intensity onto Friday let’s hope we can get the win.

 

[BicesterU]

I agree about the get it forward brigade. They soon moaned when it did go forward and didn’t get us anywhere. Lincoln’s plan was to always have several players around our wingers and really hassled them. Also their number 18 closed Greg down immediately throughout the game.

Yep - as soon as the ball went to either full back, they closed off the ball down the line and forced us back in to the congested midfield area. We looked at our best when McEachran was inter-changing quick passes with the CB then full back, and moving laterally to create an overload on any given side, but even then they swamped us and slowed everything down. Harris lost out a lot to their CB pairing too, which meant long balls up to him wasn't much of an option either.

 

[WEYellow]

The trouble with Cam is his decision making and recognising when to take a back seat. He’s been fantastic for this club but shouldn’t be immune from criticism and in my opinion he made us worse yesterday. He needs to realise there are good players in this team who can win us games just as well as he can.

He hits a fantastic diagonal ball which has its uses to get wingers on the ball quicker but it’s his first thought when it needn’t be. He often stifles attacks with long shots (when was the last time one went in?), dominates set pieces and it has always bugged me how much he throws his arms around in temper tantrums. I have often felt as good as he is, there is always a cloud of thunder and lightning around him which must rub off on others. Erhahon saw him coming a mile off and wound him up within minutes. It’s poor.

McEachran doesn’t need the limelight and just does a very sensible and effective job in there. He brings a steely calmness to the team which is probably the most crucial quality for that position. Urgency is great, being erratic is not. On Friday I’d be sticking firmly with him if he’s got it in the legs.

We all know Cam’s strengths and how important he is so I don’t expect this to be a popular view - I just think he cancels himself out at times.

Agree with this, we all know how good he is/can be, but in this system he doesn't have anywhere near the effect as JMc, RR and Tyler. The diagonals are a good weapon to have but there was about 5 times last night where he spread it wide when there was a short pass into the feet of Harris on, the airtime allowed Lincoln to regroup and prepare themselves for a dinked ball into the box. I mentioned previously that this system is great if you have players who can play quick, incisive one touch passes (JMc + RR are great at this) but it's never been one of Cam's strengths and as long as we are playing this way then his place in the XI has to come into question.

 

[BicesterU]

Yep, he messed that one up completely. To make it worse pretty sure he actually gave a subtle 'advantage' gesture at the first foul outside the box, let play continue so Harris could wriggle away then pulled it back when he was finally pulled down in the area. He struggled badly all night. He got their pen wrong but can see why it was given and another reminder that Rubin should be strongly discouraged from doing anything in and around our own penalty area. His fetish for dropped balls was quite funny though.

Overall it was a decent enough performance but with every player 10% off it against a Lincoln team who gave absolutely everything they had in every area, including mind games and the ugly stuff. I'm going to try and find a feed of their game against similarly desperate Cheltenham on Saturday - that should be tasty.

To beat Stevenage and Exeter for playoffs is a challenge our squad should be relishing. It's one of those where failure would mean we really don't deserve a spot, especially given the financial gap between the teams. Success would mean going into them on a high and with the best form. Can't wait for Friday

We could do with Agent Taylor doing us a favour on Saturday.

 

[Benox]

Cam has a tendency to do what he wants and it’s hard to knock him for that - he’s all action and wants to effect games. It’s natural instinct. But that’s not what the role asks for and he lands other people in trouble. He’s part of a team.

McEachran just seems more mature in every aspect - he knows how much he’s affecting the game without being a goal threat and smashing Hollywood passes just because he can. I’m not sure where the position is for Cam in this team at the moment.

As an aside - Fin Stevens probably has the best delivery at the club. Is he not worth a shot on set pieces?!

I'd agree with that with Cam. I thought his 30 minute cameo must have been quite difficult for him. He spent 10 mins in a number 10 role, 15 minutes in the holding role and then was moved back to the number 10. Overall I thought that constant switching resulted in quite a disjointed performance after the subs were made. Would probably have been better to do Browne, Bodin and Cam at the same time rather than the constant chopping and changing that killed any rhythm. I'm also surprised that given their right back was quite capable and not on a booking, we didn't switch Murphy to the right for 5 minutes to see if he had any joy. It made it a bit easy for Lincoln. I think you could probably sum it up as a lack of plan B, just keep doing the same thing and hope at some point it worked, but to Lincolns credit they had a good gameplan and organisation, alongside just wanting to foul anyone that got the ball.

 

[uptheus]

I thought he repeatedly kicked to ball into areas where it went straight to Lincoln, and I don't think he did so well going forwards either. Now it may be that there wasn't anyone free for him to pass to (our movement off the ball was poor) and that he was staying back under orders - but I thought he was very ineffective (and I say that as someone who thinks he is generally very very good).

Totally agree, but his first touch doesn’t help, seems to get the ball stuck under himself too often so needs another touch or two to then be in a position to pass and by that time he’s closed down. Did do a great run in the first half which led to the Goodrham chance. Just wish he’d do more if that.

Dale was having a poor game (trying too hard), but felt we should have kept him and Goodrham on and taken off Rodrigues and Harris who was spent. Or could have tried Browne (replacing Rodrigues) in behind Harris for 10-15mins to see how that went. Lincoln seemed to have it sewn up on our wingers, so probably needed to go through the middle, but as Rodrigues was having a very poor game (losing/giving the ball away), not really creating anything, I felt it needed a change in that area to give Lincoln something else to think/worry about.

Oh, and our set pieces. How many bloody times did we put the ball in from corners that were too close to their keeper

 

[Swaby39]

Agree with this, we all know how good he is/can be, but in this system he doesn't have anywhere near the effect as JMc, RR and Tyler. The diagonals are a good weapon to have but there was about 5 times last night where he spread it wide when there was a short pass into the feet of Harris on, the airtime allowed Lincoln to regroup and prepare themselves for a dinked ball into the box. I mentioned previously that this system is great if you have players who can play quick, incisive one touch passes (JMc + RR are great at this) but it's never been one of Cam's strengths and as long as we are playing this way then his place in the XI has to come into question.

The diagonal balls look fantastic… but in practice what you then have is a winger quite isolated 1vs1 with a lot of work to do. I could understand it more if Cam striking the ball triggered the full back to make a lung-buster to get beyond the winger to make a 2vs1 but we didn’t attempt that.

We’ve all had a good moan about the referee but why is Cam stood there arguing with him and the Lincoln players at every opportunity when it’s clear he won’t give us the time back? He wasn’t born yesterday and should know better. Walk away and let’s get on with it.

God knows where we’d be without him at times this season (and last) but he did his selection hopes for Friday no favours imo.

 

[uptheus]

Everything good about last Saturday just wasn’t there last night, we allowed them time on the ball to do as they wish. Missed a couple of sitters, Leigh wasn’t great and Harris didn’t show the same intensity onto Friday let’s hope we can get the win.

They didn’t allow us to press them like we did Saturday e.g. leading to our first 2 goals. Lincoln just went route one and put 3 banks of players in front of us, so basically allowing us to have the ball, but also saying you’ve got to get past us. And if we did they just fouled us!!

We needed to move them about as they just had 3 banks of players to break down. To do this someone had to break through the lines, a bit like Leigh did in the first half for Goodrham’s chance, but we didn’t do this enough. Just not sure if a number of our players were spent after Saturday’s game, thus not making the movement required. I just think Rodrigues not being at the races caused us a lot of issues, especially as we needed that movement throughout the middle as Lincoln were doing a job on Murphy and Dale!

I also think where we don’t allow our fullbacks to bomb forward at times, causes us problems with teams like this, especially as we need to break the opposition’s lines down from deep e.g. if Leigh goes on the outside of Murphy, then suddenly Lincoln have another issue to manage, thus potentially freeing up space for Murphy to exploit or he passes to Leigh if he’s not tracked etc. Same for the other side (Stevens/Dale). This then starts to break-up their lines, thus creating opening and spaces to exploit. Dale and Murphy just had to try and do it on their own unfortunately, and most of the times they had 2-3 players to beat which ended up with them losing possession most of the time.

 

[Oxford84]

They didn’t need a second in all fairness. Plan A was just the ticket.

I suspect if we’d found the first goal or an equaliser they’d have changed things around. They had to win that game and found the way to do it from the off. This ‘do plan A better’ thing is a cute arrogance to have when you’ve got world class players capable of anything but it should shock nobody that in league one, you need a plan B. You hope you don’t need it, but when you do it’s there. I was disappointed to see us change so little.

Lincoln were a horrible watch but they’re obviously very sure of themselves defensively and only someone very stupid would come to the Kassam in the form we’re in and swing haymakers at us. It was rancid to watch and we could’ve done with a ref that didn’t look like it was his first day in the job in awe or footballers, but they were exceptionally well drilled, played the smart game and saw out the second half alarmingly comfortably.

You guess they’ve got something else,I bet they’ve got nothing else,totally limited one way of playing cheat ball team.