Humiliated on Sky TV

Post match I faced the Selfie microphone. I think I managed to restrict my language to just the one “bloody” and held in numerous words which are ten times worse that I would loved to have used on air to describe what I’d just witnessed. A jellyfish has better shape and quite possibly more tactical awareness and spine than the Oxford United that made a complete spectacle of themselves in front of the cameras. Southend played well but they had nothing to play against. Their first win in 12 was so very easy for them.

I’m going to borrow from one thread on Facebook and I think these guys were quite restrained too:

• Awful.
• Terrible.
• Embarrassing.
• The players didn’t give a toss.
• No quality at all.
• F’kin useless.
• We are carrying deadwood and that deadwood was safe under ML & AM.
• We were lucky to get nil.

Well said each and every one.

I usually try and avoid the blame game, but hell no, not now.

We obviously can’t blame Gary Waddock who has only been here a matter of minutes. I liked his post match comment that you learn more about players in a game like that than if we had won. A penny for what he’s really thinking. You’ve got one almighty job on here Gary.

Ryan Clarke saved us from an even worse humiliation. No blame to be laid on his goal keeping gloves. And I’m always reluctant to blame the youngsters. That leaves the chairman, the coaching staff and the more senior players.

I’ve never felt cause to say anything negative about Ian Lenagan until now, but the gap between Chris Wilder going and Gary Waddock coming in was far too long and allowed a complacent rottenness to infect the squad. By not setting tighter deadlines we’ve blown our chances of automatic promotion and our current form suggests that there’s more chance of a 4th stand appearing at the fence end than us going up via the play-offs.

In mitigation (what am I saying, have I gone soft?) it is not helpful when a few players are played out of position. But more than that, it’s the whole stinking mindset of the way we play that is the problem. That stench needs washing away. Good luck with your attacking football Gary.

Again – and I feel I say this almost every game – we get a free kick on the half way line and knock it sideways and backwards and before we know it the opposition have a chance. Going backwards I could possibly understand a bit if we were protecting a lead but it is even more baffling when you are losing. What coaching manual do we use – one for Muppets?

I hate it when someone in the crowd shouts shoot every time we get the ball even when there is not the remotest chance of scoring. But an effort on goal every now and then that had a bit more venom than an average back pass would be nice. If we have the ball on the edge of the box we usually show as much intent on working it out wide as fashioning an immediate scoring chance.

Beano’s finishing was nowhere near up to standard. Again. And as for Deane Smalley, at best he looks average. I doubt there is a worse front two in L2 on current form? Not possible you would have thought but Alfie was even less effective than DS and why he remained on when the marginally better Sean Rigg departed is not for us to know. Danny Rose looked well out of sorts too.

I appreciate that David Connolly probably didn’t have another 90 minutes in him after his commendable efforts against Hartlepool but what was the point of the 10 minutes at the end? He’s never come on and salvaged such a lost cause for us. Wouldn’t it have been more sensible to have started with him and seen how far he could go? Who knows, we might even have taken the lead.

The same goes for Andy Whing and the game may well have been too quick for him but I can see no logic in having him sat on the bench not to be used. If he was fit enough he should have been out there at some stage. If not, he should not have been one of the subs.

But whilst we’re not world beaters, we’re better than this, both individually and collectively and we can but pray that in the few games left Waddock leads this rabble on a path of rediscovery.

Under Chris Wilder we were not an attacking team but a slow tempo passing team. Whilst this eventually infuriated the majority there was no overlooking the fact that he brought a welcome defensive solidarity to the side. This was good enough to get us “there or thereabouts” but what was needed was the attacking edge to go with it to be sure of really getting there and to hell with the thereabouts.

What’s happened whilst Mickey and Mel have been minding the shop is that we appear to have got worse at everything. Some are still blaming Wilder, saying it is his team and his tactics. My first reaction is no way but then I remember previous seasons of completely blowing up on the last lap. But I am convinced that we would have picked up more points than we have done if he was still in charge. Whether that would have been enough to placate the masses is of course debatable.

Before our visit to Roots Hall I’d looked at the league table and noted that whilst our defensive record was still amongst the very best, the top three had all scored ten or more goals than us. But now not only do we look incapable of scoring (m)any to close that gap we’re leaking at the other end. All very disconcerting.

Tuesday: The day after the humiliation on Sky TV

Rochdale, Scunthorpe, Chesterfield, Burton, York and Southend now all have a better defensive record than we have. And Chesterfield have played a game more. “Top of the League and we f****d it up.” “Best defence and we’ve f****d that up” too.

Wednesday: Two days after the humiliation on Sky TV

I’m trying to get four people interested in the Dagenham trip to get a group saver on the train. It’s proving difficult. To quote one: “I’m going to a wedding in Blackpool. That’s got to be better than watching Oxford away hasn’t it? I turned the telly off at half time against Southend and went to bed”.

Thursday: Three days after the humiliation on Sky TV

It gets worse – yes, really. Johnny Mullins out for the season. Very bad.

And whilst I’m not a fan of loan signings for the sake of it, given the state of us at the moment and the fact that not one of the current lot can be deemed Waddock’s, I find it mildly concerning that there was no action on this front.

I’m also hearing a rumour that the only reason we didn’t get Paul Tisdale was that we didn’t want to pay compensation which would have been due as he still had two years on his contract at Exeter. But, hey rumours are, well, just rumours and I can’t even be bothered to check out if he is indeed tied to the Grecians for another 24 months. But that could explain the lapsed time in getting things sorted and it was pointed out that MK Dons played ball with us and we didn’t have to slip them anything to get our man.

I’ve given up trying to get a party for the train. Driving it is with but one passenger. The appeal of the yellows on the road just isn’t what it used to be.

Friday: One day before our first chance to make some kind of amends

Note the slight move away from total pessimism. Then I look at the league table and am well aware that come 5 o’clock tomorrow we could be out of the top seven. It’s been coming. I also note that the five teams currently above us have won more games both home and away than we have. We have not won away since 18 January. We have let in three goals in four of our last five away games. Is there no comfort to be had anywhere? Not really is there? That cloud of gloom won’t leave me.

Dagenham and Redbridge

In need of major renovation. (Like our team?)

Well, we weren’t as bad as we had been at Southend and it took a goal with one of the biggest fluke factors you’ll ever see to give the home side the win with seconds to go. So does this give any crumbs of comfort for the future? Absolutely not.

The tipping point has been reached and the only way the balance can be swung back on to, at best, an even keel as far as most fans are concerned is now win after win with goals, goals and more goals served up in a passionate format that excites us. This is not going to happen is it?

Even if we had not let that goal in we would have come away with just one miserable solitary little point against a team that were not very good.

This supposed boost a new manager (head coach) is supposed to give any team even if it is just in the very short term is noticeably lacking. Does this mean that GW cannot motivate what he has been left with? If that is the case we really are in trouble and this season might as well be written off now. And the evidence we’ve seen since CW decamped to Northampton is that this would be a sensible conclusion to make. (Northampton 0 Bury 3 – thought I’d throw that in).

And not for the first time us fans were left shaking their heads when we heard the names on the team sheet. GW said he had made his selection based on what he had seen at Roots Hall and in training. A couple of those names must have performed like Messi and Ronaldo on the practice ground.

One of the names on the team sheet never made the start having pulled up injured in the warm up. I know this occasionally happens at top flight clubs too but given all this sports science stuff this should never happen. So there was no Alfie. I wonder what Ryan Williams was thinking. This new guy doesn’t rate me. I know which one I would have picked.

We had Deane Smalley ahead of Beano with David Connolly down the middle on his own. He’s tiny and we are not Barcelona. As it is “too early to judge” our new coach I suppose it would be unfair to say not impressed so far.

There’s a D&R fan who from time to time posts on the Yellows Forum under the name of Dagger. “Sitting deep trying to make sure you don’t lose, and hoping to nick a goal to sneak a 1-0 win seriously lacks ambition”. He also posted, “Thought Smalley is a bit of a donkey….why didn’t Constable start”?

And the neutral view wasn’t very complimentary about the game either. We had Murph our Charlton supporting mate with us. After half an hour had passed he turned to me and said, not one player has beaten an opponent. He was right, it wasn’t inspiring stuff. Then Williams went past his man a couple of times and set things up. This was better but when half time arrived my verdict was that we had not been good enough to be winning nor bad enough to be losing.

This guy slept through quite a bit of the game. Probably not the worst decision he has ever made.

I didn’t understand the substitutions. Wouldn’t it have been sensible to have given Connolly some time with a battling Beano down to middle? It couldn’t have been less effective than what had gone before. I would have left Williams on until the end, but I am a big fan so am probably biased. For the record I clapped Smalley as he came off. I feel quite sorry for him. And to be fair to Beano he did pretty well and came within a few inches of scoring a chance he fashioned himself. There wasn’t much fashioning going on though and other than a spell of a couple of minutes when we gave the impression of pressing, finding space and passing the ball around just outside the D&R box that was it.

On reflection I don’t think there were (m)any players who were 100% woeful, it was that no one shone at all and the way we are playing doesn’t encourage shining. The defence had looked quite solid again and in midfield I though the returning Scott Davies did pretty well and Andy Whing was steady but it is all chop and change and no creativity.

At the end of the game it was a no win situation. (Pun totally intended)

When Gary Waddock walked towards the travelling Oxford fans at the end of the game I’d forgotten that’s where the tunnel was. I thought he was going to stand before us and say something like, “I understand your pain and frustration, I’ll sort it”. A quick wave, some clapping from the fans and he was gone. Should he have stayed out there and come off with the troops he has inherited to show that they are all in it together? (Perhaps they’re not).

If the players had come off without applauding the fans they would have been castigated but I thought that by actually applauding we would get close to something akin to Mr O’Reilly smiling at Sybil Fawltey. Which we did. I think what happened next was the release of significant tensions that have built up over time as we’ve thrown away a glorious chance of going up automatically. Facing the pitch I was to the right of the tunnel cover as most of the action was going on to my left. I don’t know what was said and I don’t hold with vile abuse of individuals but fans have a right to express themselves, and as I’ve said, that tipping point has been reached.

As for Jake Wright’s reaction, totally understandable and in my opinion no more should be made of it. That too shows passion and frustration. He’d all but done his job defensively. It’s not his fault that we’re so inept at the other end of the pitch.

My say at the end of the game was something like this – “Four away games and we’ve not scored one goal. Not good enough. The coaching is a joke”. I meant it then and I mean it now. I noticed a perplexed young Aussie stood there. “Not aimed at you mate. You should never have been taken off”. But I would say that wouldn’t I?

What next?

Should GW read the riot act or put an arm around the boys? What I would do is get the squad together, no pissing about, point out what they already know that we’ve been a disgrace having picked up just five points from the last 24 but that they must be the luckiest bunch of footballers around to still have it in their own hands to make the play-offs.

It couldn’t be tighter or harder really but that’s our own fault. We’re now only hanging on to 7th slot because we’ve scored three more goals than York. The Minstermen visit on Good Friday. If Plymouth win their game in hand they’ll be a point behind us. We visit Home Park the game before that and our next game is Fleetwood who have all but secured a play-off berth. Oh, and on Easter Monday we go to Scunny. They’re going to finish in the top three.