i'll start then.
I think a number of Us were concerned about this game after the terrific performances against swansea and milwall. in the end I didn't think we looked physically tired - I was impressed with the attacking verve that baldock, macdonald, roofe, and sercombe showed - having all played the week's two previous games.
I did think we were unlucky to lose, but to give the gas their due, they had taken notes from what wycombe did to Us, the weaknesses that milwall exposed but (so far) failed to exploit, and that we've seen against other big, physical teams. they came with a plan and pressed, harried, and hassled - and we had a referee seemingly happy to let strong tackles go and disinclined to issue yellow cards when he did pull players up for crossing the line.
where I think we saw the after effects of the week was in the sharpness of play and passing from oxford. it certainly wasn't at the heights of earlier this week. that's an observation, not a criticism.
my criticism is that i'm not sure brining on o'dowda when taylor was injured was the right choice. hylton or hoban for that kind of physical game i thought. we do have a terrific passing game and we can play around and through teams - but not all the time.
my second criticism would be of the referee. the penalty was a big call. having seen it again, i think it is a penalty. however, he'd given so little earlier on in the match i was very surprised to see him give that - and if that deserved a penalty kick, then surely the earlier incident that brought o'dowda down did too.
still. it's been a remarkable season so far but we will get beaten at points. rovers were organised and competitive and we have an achilles heel against sides like that - we can beat them, but need to improve at dealing with them in my view. looking at the table and fixtures now brings the unwelcome realisation that this is going to be a nerve-wracking season...
...on to my first visit to fratton park then. COYY.
A home defeat
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Werthers Original
- Dashing young thing
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- Joined: Sat Dec 30, 2006 8:30 pm
- Location: Oxford
Re: A home defeat
Yes I was surprised not to see Hylton or Hoban come on for Taylor. We do an awful lot of fannying around on the edge of the box, which looks great when it comes off, but is frustrating when it doesn't. By the time we've finished beating all the defenders three times over, the whole of the other team is in the area, so any cross tends to be blocked, even if there is a forward there. When Hylton and Hoban did get on it was too late and they didn't have a chance to get into the game.
Anyway, mustn't start moaning! We're still pretty damn good and I'm sure we'll bounce back.
Anyway, mustn't start moaning! We're still pretty damn good and I'm sure we'll bounce back.
Re: A home defeat
I thought the referee was instrumental in how the game panned out. I thought Rovers' players were very 'good' at little pushes here, tugs back there, which much of the time totally broke up our rhythm and flow. Inevitably, because the ref let so much go, they carried on doing it. The passage of play that led up to Maguire being booked was simply a case of our players doing the same thing, and in the space of a couple of minutes, seeing such challenges get worse, until the point that when he did get around to penalising a challenge, it had reached the point of being a booking. Extremely poor game management.
On this basis, I was not in the least bit surprised that the challenge on COD was not punished with a penalty decision, because to my eyes it was no worse than many other challenges he had let go all afternoon.
As for their penalty, I agree totally with Matt. I was not sure, but the brief TV highlights suggest that it was a penalty. Those penalties are always soft, but they are (more or less) always given.
Likewise, I was surprised when Appleton brought on COD for Taylor. But given that he did make that decision, I thought it was even more strange when he seemed to go into Taylor's spot, rather than have Roofe or Maguire play more centrally and COD go out wider.
The top of this division is turning out to be extremely competitive. The way the teams around us are playing, we cannot afford to drop too many points, and the next few games against them are turning into vital 6-pointers.
On this basis, I was not in the least bit surprised that the challenge on COD was not punished with a penalty decision, because to my eyes it was no worse than many other challenges he had let go all afternoon.
As for their penalty, I agree totally with Matt. I was not sure, but the brief TV highlights suggest that it was a penalty. Those penalties are always soft, but they are (more or less) always given.
Likewise, I was surprised when Appleton brought on COD for Taylor. But given that he did make that decision, I thought it was even more strange when he seemed to go into Taylor's spot, rather than have Roofe or Maguire play more centrally and COD go out wider.
The top of this division is turning out to be extremely competitive. The way the teams around us are playing, we cannot afford to drop too many points, and the next few games against them are turning into vital 6-pointers.
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Kairdiff Exile
- Mid-life Crisis
- Posts: 711
- Joined: Mon Jun 17, 2013 3:59 pm
Re: A home defeat
I can only assume Danny Hylton must've run over Appleton's dog or something. I'm all for resting players occasionally, but this is getting silly now. Will he ever start a game for us again‽
Not a surprise to see us lose. In some ways, maybe over the two games against Roverzzz things evened themselves out a bit. At the risk of stating the bleedin' obvious though, we could use back-to-back league wins.
Don't forget, Newport v Blackburn is on S4C tonight, kick-off 7.15pm, for those of you wanting to see our next FA Cup opponents in action.
Not a surprise to see us lose. In some ways, maybe over the two games against Roverzzz things evened themselves out a bit. At the risk of stating the bleedin' obvious though, we could use back-to-back league wins.
Don't forget, Newport v Blackburn is on S4C tonight, kick-off 7.15pm, for those of you wanting to see our next FA Cup opponents in action.
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GodalmingYellow
- Senile
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Re: A home defeat
I think it shows how far Taylor has developed since the start of the season, that we missed his aerial threat and hold up/link play when he went off. He might not be the most prolific of strikers, but he is a very good team player.
I too felt the substitution was a mistake. I would have brought on Hylton for his guile on the ball, as well as his strength and goal scoring threat, which Hoban doesn't really have.
Having seen the video several times, I would say that the referee got it wrong and that Slocombe got a hand on the ball. Sure you might argue that Slocombe should not have given the option to the ref, but a much more over-riding argument is that the ref should not have given a penalty without being certain that it was one. Giving a penalty isn't a guessing game on the balance of probabilities. And if fans have to look at the replay multiple times and cannot give a definitive answer, it is very difficult to understand how the ref can honestly say it was a definite penalty. Ergo, that goes down as a serious refereeing error.
Then there is the O'Dowda incident. I've not seen replays of that yet, but with my matchday tinted spectacles on, I felt it was a cast iron penalty at the time. Our various other penalty claims were much more of the dubious variety.
The ref spoiled this game, and it showed that he was a Conference referee being promoted for the day. His lack of understanding of what constitutes a foul, or a booking, was barely believable. The amount of climbing on Sercome and Taylor in particular was terrible, not to mention the amount of holding, shirt pulling, kicking the ball away. All niggly stuff that the referee did little about, and was very inconsistent with the decisions he did take. Brizzle have organised themselves to rotate the niggly fouls, so as to minimise yellow cards, but also to disrupt play. They play in a very similar vein to Wycombe and it is ugly to watch their disruptive play.
For our part, I think we played more than well enough to win the game. We were the stronger side (but Rovers were decent too). Our counter attacking has one issue in that once we get within shooting distance, we slow the counter attack down, allowing the opposition to catch up and get men behind the ball. We need to be more ruthless than that.
There are quite a few teams that have sussed out how to play us now, and we need a plan B to take them by surprise.
Last season I took to describing Appleton as TippyTappy. It is clear now that was an early stage in the development of the players to his way. When I read of Bristol City's apparent interest in him, I was quickly concerned. I don't want Appleton going anywhere.
I too felt the substitution was a mistake. I would have brought on Hylton for his guile on the ball, as well as his strength and goal scoring threat, which Hoban doesn't really have.
Having seen the video several times, I would say that the referee got it wrong and that Slocombe got a hand on the ball. Sure you might argue that Slocombe should not have given the option to the ref, but a much more over-riding argument is that the ref should not have given a penalty without being certain that it was one. Giving a penalty isn't a guessing game on the balance of probabilities. And if fans have to look at the replay multiple times and cannot give a definitive answer, it is very difficult to understand how the ref can honestly say it was a definite penalty. Ergo, that goes down as a serious refereeing error.
Then there is the O'Dowda incident. I've not seen replays of that yet, but with my matchday tinted spectacles on, I felt it was a cast iron penalty at the time. Our various other penalty claims were much more of the dubious variety.
The ref spoiled this game, and it showed that he was a Conference referee being promoted for the day. His lack of understanding of what constitutes a foul, or a booking, was barely believable. The amount of climbing on Sercome and Taylor in particular was terrible, not to mention the amount of holding, shirt pulling, kicking the ball away. All niggly stuff that the referee did little about, and was very inconsistent with the decisions he did take. Brizzle have organised themselves to rotate the niggly fouls, so as to minimise yellow cards, but also to disrupt play. They play in a very similar vein to Wycombe and it is ugly to watch their disruptive play.
For our part, I think we played more than well enough to win the game. We were the stronger side (but Rovers were decent too). Our counter attacking has one issue in that once we get within shooting distance, we slow the counter attack down, allowing the opposition to catch up and get men behind the ball. We need to be more ruthless than that.
There are quite a few teams that have sussed out how to play us now, and we need a plan B to take them by surprise.
Last season I took to describing Appleton as TippyTappy. It is clear now that was an early stage in the development of the players to his way. When I read of Bristol City's apparent interest in him, I was quickly concerned. I don't want Appleton going anywhere.
Re: A home defeat
On GYs point about attacks slowing down, I would also add that a lot of the passages of play out of defence that involved Skarz also did. He is a solid enough defender (although the ease with which he was passed for the cross that led to their first goal was depressing), but he is scarily one-footed and any attempt by him to keep the ball moving forwards is all too easily blocked. Ultimately, given how Appleton is getting the team to play, I am increasingly of the view that Skarz is rather limited as a footballer.
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joepoolman
- Mid-life Crisis
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- Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2011 11:22 am
Re: A home defeat
While it wasn't a terrible performance I don't think we were good enough yesterday and for whatever reason, even when we went ahead, I never really fancied Us, and I felt that both the fans and players of Rovers wanted it a little bit more.
As for the penalties, at the time (from a long way away) I felt Slocombe got a hand on the ball for their's, but I think the replays show that he connected with the player at the same time as the ball. I would argue there's a case for offside in the build up, I think the Rovers player that ends up winning the penalty goes to pass the ball, realises that the other player is offside and runs on to the ball himself. I don't know the exact current interpretation of "active" but I feel the player certainly took some of our defenders' attention. At the other end I felt that O'Dowda left the ground under his own duress, and jumped into the Rovers player, rather than the other way round. There was one on Hylton on the edge of the box which I thought was a better shout.
The decision to bring on O'Dowda on for Taylor was at best bizarre, and you have to wonder what the thoughts of Hylton and Hoban would've been as we played with a winger and a winger/number 10 up front. I felt it was one of O'Dowda's poorest performances, capped off by him trying to beat the keeper at the near post, when a fairly simple pull back would've almost certainly led to a goal, shortly before Rovers' penalty.
Bristol are a horrible team, led by Taylor who is the king of the little fouls Dr Bob referred to, but rolls around and spits his dummy out as soon as anyone goes near him. Goalscorer or not I don't wish he was still wearing yellow.
If it wasn't already, Pompey is a massive game now. If we lose to them I feel our chances of finishing in the top 3 of a league that we should win by at least 4 or 5 points, on the evidence of the last 2 cup games, would be at best 50/50.
As for the penalties, at the time (from a long way away) I felt Slocombe got a hand on the ball for their's, but I think the replays show that he connected with the player at the same time as the ball. I would argue there's a case for offside in the build up, I think the Rovers player that ends up winning the penalty goes to pass the ball, realises that the other player is offside and runs on to the ball himself. I don't know the exact current interpretation of "active" but I feel the player certainly took some of our defenders' attention. At the other end I felt that O'Dowda left the ground under his own duress, and jumped into the Rovers player, rather than the other way round. There was one on Hylton on the edge of the box which I thought was a better shout.
The decision to bring on O'Dowda on for Taylor was at best bizarre, and you have to wonder what the thoughts of Hylton and Hoban would've been as we played with a winger and a winger/number 10 up front. I felt it was one of O'Dowda's poorest performances, capped off by him trying to beat the keeper at the near post, when a fairly simple pull back would've almost certainly led to a goal, shortly before Rovers' penalty.
Bristol are a horrible team, led by Taylor who is the king of the little fouls Dr Bob referred to, but rolls around and spits his dummy out as soon as anyone goes near him. Goalscorer or not I don't wish he was still wearing yellow.
If it wasn't already, Pompey is a massive game now. If we lose to them I feel our chances of finishing in the top 3 of a league that we should win by at least 4 or 5 points, on the evidence of the last 2 cup games, would be at best 50/50.
Re: A home defeat
Before kick off I was less than optimistic about this one. The euphoria of the 2 cup games has induced a false sense of invincibility, and Bristol are most definitely one of our bogey teams, with an excellent away record. Given Pompey's excellent form at home, I feel that avoiding defeat on Saturday would be a great result. Older fans, like myself, must realise that this defeat fits in with the Oxford way of progressing through a season. The 3 wins on the run since New Year is just not what we expect. I'm also concerned about the rumours starting to circulate about COD and Roofe (& MApp) moving on. The team need to close ranks, and shut themselves off from all of this in preparation for the big games ahead (and the lesser ones, like Morecambe on Feb 13). #COYY!
Bring back the black away shirt!
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Matt D
- Middle-Aged Spread
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- Location: Stayed at the Manor.
Re: A home defeat
i'm very confident appleton won't be going anywhere until the end of the season and extremely confident about roofe.Mr T wrote:I'm also concerned about the rumours starting to circulate about COD and Roofe (& MApp) moving on.
o'dowda, sercombe, or lundstram are the ones I worry about.
Re: A home defeat
Judging by the lack of game time / starts, I'd guess that the club are already preparing for COD moving on.Matt D wrote:i'm very confident appleton won't be going anywhere until the end of the season and extremely confident about roofe.Mr T wrote:I'm also concerned about the rumours starting to circulate about COD and Roofe (& MApp) moving on.
o'dowda, sercombe, or lundstram are the ones I worry about.
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Kernow Yellow
- Grumpy old git
- Posts: 3075
- Joined: Thu May 11, 2006 5:16 pm
Re: A home defeat
Indeed, especially as the detailed paper talk all seems to revolve around COD. If we have to lose anyone, I'd rather it was him than Sercs or Lundstram - the latter particularly has come on so much this season that we could have a serious, serious prospect on our hands.slappy wrote:Judging by the lack of game time / starts, I'd guess that the club are already preparing for COD moving on.Matt D wrote:i'm very confident appleton won't be going anywhere until the end of the season and extremely confident about roofe.Mr T wrote:I'm also concerned about the rumours starting to circulate about COD and Roofe (& MApp) moving on.
o'dowda, sercombe, or lundstram are the ones I worry about.
Re: A home defeat
COD also represents the exact sort of player we should be selling - youth team breaks into first team, does a good job and impresses scouts then departs and inflates the coffers, with potential for sell-on fees etc.
Re: A home defeat
Can't help thinking that COD has one eye on the £10k a week his dad is reportedly trying to get for him ...
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GodalmingYellow
- Senile
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- Joined: Tue May 16, 2006 10:22 am
Re: A home defeat
What is the average wage in the Championship? 2 seasons ago it was £9,347 per week.
Re: A home defeat
Interpretation 1: he is happy at United, but would leave if remuneration was huge.
Interpretation 2: enough clubs have been reported as scouting him that he (and/or his dad) believes someone will offer this much in order to get him.
Interpretation 2a: as above, but qualified by their total lack of understanding of basic economics.
Interpretation 3: he (or his dad) is a greedy bugger.
If he can get it, then good luck to him. I have serious doubts, but since when did basic economic rationality play a role in football? And part of the answer is definitely not since 1992.
Interpretation 2: enough clubs have been reported as scouting him that he (and/or his dad) believes someone will offer this much in order to get him.
Interpretation 2a: as above, but qualified by their total lack of understanding of basic economics.
Interpretation 3: he (or his dad) is a greedy bugger.
If he can get it, then good luck to him. I have serious doubts, but since when did basic economic rationality play a role in football? And part of the answer is definitely not since 1992.