Congratulations

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ty cobb
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Congratulations

Post by ty cobb »

To Roofe for the amazing achievement of getting into a football league team of the year - not quite as impressive as a European team of the week but pretty amazing, as well as being voted the best player in league 2 - which given he was the only league 2 player in the line up was perhaps not surprising.

Congratulations also to our best manager of recent times for not only winning the the football league best manager award, but also taking a team rooted to the bottom of the league, saving them, and then smashing the title in a season where they have nearly gone bust. If any still doubts what he could have done given a brand new pitch with no rugby on it and support in the transfer window you just need to look up the road.

As for Luton, despite Radio Oxford callers seemingly upset about Roofe and Maguire, these two set up our two goals, the problem on Sat lay with our two central midfielders who were completly ineffectice, our goalkeeper and Mullins who had a stinker for two of the goals. Felt very sorry for Ruffels for getting dropped after we won 5-1 - Lunny must think he's untouchable. Letting Rose go to our title rivals, where he has started 9 games in an amazing run for them, was an act of lunacy which may will cost us the autos - Sercombe needs a rest and Lunny has been off the boil since Rose has gone as he knows there is no competition for his place now. Getting rid of a very solid league two keeper, who helped steady us last season looked daft at the time, now looks even more so.

I don't think we'll be going up this season, our record against anyone decent is not great and our home league form since the turn of the year reads lost 4, drew 2 and won 2, and that was against the two worst teams in this division by some distance.

Hope to be proved wrong, but we have the hardest set of fixtures left, other teams are in much better form than us and some stunning away performances against mid table teams with little to play for does not make up for relegation home form.
Kernow Yellow
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Re: Congratulations

Post by Kernow Yellow »

ty cobb wrote:To Roofe for the amazing achievement of getting into a football league team of the year - not quite as impressive as a European team of the week but pretty amazing, as well as being voted the best player in league 2 - which given he was the only league 2 player in the line up was perhaps not surprising.
Not quite - Northampton's goalkeeper was also in the team of the year. As was their manager - Chris someone?

The rest of your post is a bit defeatist though. We've been outstanding away from home this season, and two more wins on the road would get us very close to where we need to be. My biggest worry is that the squad seems to be falling apart. Skarz, Long, Macdonald, O'Dowda and now Roofe and Lundstram on the injury/illness list. Very bad time of the season to be losing such key players. Important that we don't panic though. We've got to where we are now playing this team in this formation all season. We just need to get over the line somehow by carrying on the good work.
Werthers Original
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Re: Congratulations

Post by Werthers Original »

Yes we are certainly weaker following the January window business - not only losing Baldock but also Rose and Hoban, who are both very able players and useful to bring on to shore up a lead. In contrast, Bowery and Waring are both terrible, despite Bowery's little streak of scoring.

I actually think we could do OK in the playoffs - lose 0 1 home and win 3 1 away, then play confidently at our second home Wembley!
GodalmingYellow
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Re: Congratulations

Post by GodalmingYellow »

Werthers Original wrote:Yes we are certainly weaker following the January window business - not only losing Baldock but also Rose and Hoban, who are both very able players and useful to bring on to shore up a lead. In contrast, Bowery and Waring are both terrible, despite Bowery's little streak of scoring.

I actually think we could do OK in the playoffs - lose 0 1 home and win 3 1 away, then play confidently at our second home Wembley!
Hoban useful? Oh please, he's not even Conference standard. Rose is an average League 2 midfielder, nothing more.

I agree completely on Bowery and Waring though. Absolute rubbish the pair of them.

Pushing Clarke out was a big mistake.

Not much we could do about Baldock, who has been a big miss. The replacement has been, shall we say, as good as could be expected given his age and experience. Decent player. Will become a very good player, but we need experience at this point, ahead of youthful energy.

My review of Saturday posted on FB in reply to Baboo's FV:

Agree Hylton was MoM. But there weren't really too many others worthy of it anyway.

The defence was the worst I have seen it all season. Chey has been given a decent run in the side, but this is the squeaky bum end of the season and experience counts ten fold. Defo time for Mr Wright to return and it probably should have happened at Wembley if not before.

The two full/wing backs are also very young and having the two older heads in the middle (whilst noting that Mullins gave ridiculous room for the striker for Luton's 3rd goal) should help them through.

Skarz is a big miss as is Georgie Boy Baldock, who may well be playing against us next season.

Lundstrom and Sercombe have not come near their best since Christmas. Both are playing on former glories from earlier in the season. We need more steel in the middle. I'm not sure Ruffels is the answer though. Maybe tactically ensuring one of Lundstrom and Sercombe is always playing as a midfield ball winner, instead of both playing as attacking central midfielders.

Waring was crap and has been since we signed him. Ditto Bowery, although at least Bowery knows where the goal is. Neither work anything like hard enough doing the defending up front, and leaving it all to Hylton is both unfair on Hylton and bad for the team. My vote is for Kemar and Hylton up front. Both are good enough to hold the ball up provided we don't play long ball football to them. Then we have Roberts in reserve. I really like Roberts. I always have.

We missed the width provided by COD and Macca. Maguire is a decent enough player, but he is no wide man. And Kemar rarely performs as well out wide as he does inside.

I don't think Appleton got the team selection or tactics right for this game. But more importantly, the players, and especially the defence, did not maintain concentration, and if that continues, the play offs loom large.
OUFC4eva
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Re: Congratulations

Post by OUFC4eva »

O"Dowda is the big miss as he is pacy and can play wide and down
the middle. Also he was bang in form.

We missed both he and Kenny for those two Easter games
where we struggled badly. I thought O'Dowda had a stomach bug
but have just read that both he and MacDonald have tonsillitis!

What were the chances of both of them succumbing to
that virus at such a crucial time during the run in?

As a kid I had tonsillitis a lot but a couple of days in
bed, many ice lollies and then penicillin
soon sorted me out.Expect both back for Hartlepool
as it is debilitating.

I then read that Lunny and Roofey both
have ankle injuries - you could not make this up.

See you at Rodney Parade for the next cup final.
Ancient Colin
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Re: Congratulations

Post by Ancient Colin »

ty cobb wrote: Congratulations also to our best manager of recent times ... If any still doubts what he could have done given a brand new pitch with no rugby on it and support in the transfer window you just need to look up the road.
Puts on best granddaughter in hideous commercialised Disneyfied mode voice: "Let it go, let it go".
joepoolman
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Re: Congratulations

Post by joepoolman »

Ancient Colin wrote:
ty cobb wrote: Congratulations also to our best manager of recent times ... If any still doubts what he could have done given a brand new pitch with no rugby on it and support in the transfer window you just need to look up the road.
Puts on best granddaughter in hideous commercialised Disneyfied mode voice: "Let it go, let it go".
What he said! I was always a fan of Wilder and never wanted him to go but it's been more than 2 years now, I don't care whether he's football league manager of the year or managing the Blackbird Leys branch of Lidl, he's not Oxford manager anymore.

As for players that are elsewhere or injured, obviously they are missed, but it's not the time of year to dwell on that, why not focus on 2 exciting cameo appearances from James Roberts?

There's 4 games left, as a fanbase all we can/should do (imo) is everything we can to help this team drag itself over the line.
ty cobb
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Re: Congratulations

Post by ty cobb »

Give the longest running, and longest thread on this forum is about where people who have a connection (sometimes very tenuous) with OUFC are now - I don't see why I shouldn't say well done to an ex manager of ours who has won the league and was voted the best manager in the entire football league.

And it's not like he's managing some cr@p non league team somewhere, he's currently one place above us in the table and has taken two players this season who could have helped us enormously. Given our problems in goal all season, and in central midfield over the last few months I find it hard not to get frustrated about where this season is heading and letting off a bit of steam.

Won't stop me being fully behind the lads tonight or on Sat, you can still be a supporter but be annoyed about some decisions the club/manager make, this is a forum for opinions, not a OUFC love in.
Werthers Original
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Re: Congratulations

Post by Werthers Original »

Wilder did well for us and has done a fabulous job at Northampton. But I can't eulogize anyone who persisted so long with Dean Smalley on the wing.
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