Not top anymore

[Baboo]

We were lucky today but nowhere near as lucky as some were making out. Weymouth were on top for most of the game – they were big, strong and powerful (everything we’d been led to believe Northwich were) and played some reasonable football. But for all that Turley only had to make one proper save. And what a save (again).

The wind didn’t help and although Weymouth coped better with it than we did they never mastered it either. It’s all well and good everyone yelling to keep the ball on the floor but when you’re under pressure with no passing option on it has to be a hoof. Anyone who has ever played the game will know a hoof goes skywards.

Our game plan wasn’t helped by Yemi having to come on so early – no secret (well not so secret anymore) weapon to come on later. He still looks like a 45 minute man to me.

In the first half any flicks Duffy (and he wins a lot less than he should imho) got were whipped away by the wind and Yemi never got on the end of anything that I can remember. Basham never looked like getting anywhere near being close to the end of anything in the few minutes he was on. Was he injured from the start? We need another decent forward more than ever but the old clock is ticking rather too quickly for my liking.

Our game plan wasn’t helped either by Weymouth not tiring quite like the other Conference sides we’ve played so far although I did think we were just slightly starting to peg them back when they (we) scored (for them) – if that makes sense. Was it all Johnson’s fault or should Turley have stayed on his line? Perhaps Johnson should have tried to flick the ball out for a throw.

Loved Hargreaves battling style again today – he is made for games like this and when he is up for it (which he didn’t seem to be that much last season) is worth a starting place. He fought to the very end and deserved his goal.

If we had not conceded I think the score would have remained at 0-0. It was only after we went one down that we went for it with a more purpose.

Given the size of our support today I was disappointed that we didn’t get behind the team more. Some of the criticism and negativity near me was ridiculous – we were top of the league playing the only other team with a 100% record on their patch, holding them to 0-0 and it was moan moan moan. They weren’t the sort of people that I wanted to argue with though. And why Turley got some wicked abuse when he was going to clear a ball I’m nowhere near fathoming out.

[DLT]

I think the fact we didn't get behind the team more was mainly due to the fact that 75% of our fans we nursing shocking hangovers.

[Baboo]

I think the fact we didn't get behind the team more was mainly due to the fact that 75% of our fans we nursing shocking hangovers.

Didn't stop them critisising the team though.

[Resurrection Ox]

I think the fact we didn't get behind the team more was mainly due to the fact that 75% of our fans we nursing shocking hangovers.

Didn't stop them critisising the team though.

The comments from supporters around me were pretty reasonable. Some of the team deserved criticism after all didn't they?

I mean what was Johnson doing when he decided to head the ball back to Turley in that wind?

Catering update. Had a cheese and ham roll at the back of the stand that tasted like wet cement. I would prefer sausage chips and beans at £12.50 at OIUFC every time.


Sigh.

Saw DLT there looking suitably hung over.

Hey whats this about us being lucky? Draw a fair result. Game was a complete drudge ruined by the wind. I.m happy with a point.

I predict York will be our biggest challengers. Grays and Weymouth will run out of puff.

[Baboo]

The comments from supporters around me were pretty reasonable. Some of the team deserved criticism after all didn't they?

I must have been stood well away from where you were RO. We were on the side.

Yes the team did deserve some critisism but not in the manner it was delivered near us. I know it is chicken and egg but I still think the vocal support could have been better.

A draw may have been a fair result but if either team was to be awarded the game on points they would have shaded it imho.

[Snake]

Nice to be home at last but some scary stuff today.

York City have four wins and a draw but are still only fourth in the table, so it shows just how difficult it’s going to be to get out of this small pond at the first time of asking. Should we go on one of our ‘bad runs’ of maybe six games (not massively unusual for Oxford United) then that may be it in terms of us not clinching the championship of this horrible league come May.

We’ve got out of jail on all three of our travels this season, and long may it continue, though I’d rather we could have looked back at D&ampR, Burton, and Weymouth and said we really deserved to get seven points from those games.

I was a tad disappointed with the facilities for away fans this afternoon, what with no beer or food available for Us in the close vicinity of the ground (the food inside the ground was fab, however) though parking was relatively easy, given the attendance. Did anyone on this board use/find the bogs btw?

A pity the game was half-ruined by the strong wind but at the end of the day I guess it’s how happy you feel when you start the long trek home that is the true indication of an ‘away day/weekend’ like today – and the game did not disappoint given that it was an own goal that we may well see on a “Classic Own Goals 2006 DVD

[Matt D]

Nice to be home at last but some scary stuff today.

York City have four wins and a draw but are still only fourth in the table, so it shows just how difficult it’s going to be to get out of this small pond at the first time of asking. Should we go on one of our ‘bad runs’ of maybe six games (not massively unusual for Oxford United) then that may be it in terms of us not clinching the championship of this horrible league come May.

it does seem to have tightened up very quickly. i'd always thought there would be 7/8 teams who would pull away, and the champions would be decided on consistency and the games between those 7/8 teams.

what i'm now starting to think is that consistency isn't, as jim smith was saying on saturday, win your home games and draw your away games, i think it may well be win your home games and get, say an average of 2 points from your away games.

i wonder what points averages the recent conference champions have achieved - something for me to do this lunch hour.

[Isaac]

I've had a quick look into it, Matt - this is the points total for the top 2 from the last 6 seasons

05/06
1st 91
2nd 80

04/05
1st 86
2nd 74

03/04 (difficult year this one!)
1st 92
2nd 91

02/03
1st 95
2nd 78

01/02
1st 84
2nd 84

00/01
1st 86
2nd 80

So, I guess the conference isn't any different to any other league really, which is not surprising. It's worth keeping in mind that these were 42 games a season, so chances are points will be higher this season, but basically most of the time an average of just over 2 points a game would mean promotion.

I think the bunching at the top of the league is largely just random, it just so happens that 4 teams have had good starts to the season.

The teams that won the league usually won all but 5/6 home games in the season though.

[Matt D]

so (apologies if this doesn't format very well):

• 2002/03 yeovil: home point av. 2.52 (16w 5d 0l) away point av. 2 (12w 6d 3l) total points: 95
  2003/04 chester: home point av. 2.48 (16w 4d 1l) away point av. 1.90 (11w 7d 3l) total points: 92
  2004/05 barnet: home point av. 2.38 (16w 2d 3l) away point av. 1.71 (10w 6d 5l) total points: 86
  2005/06 accrington: home point av. 2.43 (16w 3d 2l) away point av. 1.90 (12w 4d 5l) total points: 91

all teams played 42 games.

i suppose it would also be interesting to know who the points were dropped to (i.e. challengers or not?), but you clearly need an extremely good home record, and i wasn't far off with my guess of a 2 point average away record.

[Matt D]

I think the bunching at the top of the league is largely just random, it just so happens that 4 teams have had good starts to the season.

The teams that won the league usually won all but 5/6 home games in the season though.

oops, posting without looking - thanks isaac.

you're right of course, it's very early days, but i do think we'll see a bunch pull away, and oxford, york, and grays i'm sure will be among them.

but i think the 2 points per game thing is still optimistic - teams that won the division got slightly better than that. the thing that worries me from the way things are going so far is that we can't just rely on winning home games and picking up bits and pieces away from home - we need very impressive away form too if the division follows the pattern of previous years.

[Hog]

It is a worry! Down to second and only 42 games to go!

[Hog]

It is a worry! Down to second and only 41 games to go!

[Matt D]

well quite, and there should be root and branch change at the club to rectify this.

but the weekend had also prompted me to think about the different nature of this division, and quite what the polorisation of the two ends of it means in terms of the sort of home and away consistency you need...

perhaps this is old news to everyone else.

[Isaac]

oops, posting without looking - thanks isaac.

you're right of course, it's very early days, but i do think we'll see a bunch pull away, and oxford, york, and grays i'm sure will be among them.

but i think the 2 points per game thing is still optimistic - teams that won the division got slightly better than that. the thing that worries me from the way things are going so far is that we can't just rely on winning home games and picking up bits and pieces away from home - we need very impressive away form too if the division follows the pattern of previous years.

My reasoning for averaging just over 2 points per game is because that sort of average would normally (according to my figures) have you finishing above 2nd place, which is what's important after all. There have been a number of teams winning the league with 90|| points, but only once (03/04) has the 2nd place team got anywhere near that total -generally they get around 80-85 points.

[Mally]

With football league status being so imporant for a club like Oxford United (particularly as it doesn't own its stadium and has a £500,000 rent bill to pay regardless of income) the only objective this season is to finish top and go up automatically.

We've never been in the play-offs and at any level they can be something of a lottery. Because of this the pressure is really on to keep up this level of point scoring. To do this I think we've got to win nearly every home game at the very least. It's going to be dificult to play good football and pick up points at a lot of away games on conference grounds and pitches in the middle of winter. I can see a lot of games ending up 0:0 or being settled by a single lucky goal.