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We need wingers!

Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 7:52 pm
by Werthers Original
Very odd starting lineup of two stolid fullbacks, four decent midfielders with no speed or noted crossing ability, and two strikers who are probably decent finishers but aren't the sorts to create many of their own chances. Presumably the plan was to keep it tight and protect the ramshackle defence, even though it was against the bottom club. Then finally enter the three players we'd been crying out for, and the plan came off with minutes to spare. Genius or near miscalculation?

Re: We need wingers!

Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 11:10 pm
by Mr T
'Magic' Marvin Johnson appears to be that rare breed; a player that gets you on the edge of your seat every time the ball comes his way. The cross just prior to the goal that eluded everyone was a taste of things to come, and there was also a blind back header that just missed, a tangle with their keeper that could have produced a goal, and then the final action of the day where he somehow managed to find the side netting instead of scoring. His reaction after the final whistle, even though he had made the winning assist, showed how upset he was with that miss. All in all, he was a breath of fresh air on a wet day, amid a poor display from our boys. So looking forward to the next few months when the team finally get to gel. Can we start the season in December please?!

Re: We need wingers!

Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 2:19 am
by GodalmingYellow
We stole the 3 points, but it has happened to us often enough so I ain't complaining.

0-0 would have been a fair result, with neither side showing much talent, until Johnson and Taylor came on anyway.

Taylor must surely now be due a starting place and extended run in the side. I was very disappointed that after his Exeter display he was still on the bench, especially with Subbuteo boy (legs don't move) Wes Thomas in the side.

Taylor is in my view, the best all round forward at Oxford. Thomas is probably the worst, but has had a couple of lucky breaks. As soon as Taylor was on, we held the ball up, the ball retention improved massively, and his clever pass and move play not only brought Sercombe into the game much more, but also dragged defenders around and created big gaps to be exploited. Thomas on the other hand put in so little effort. No wonder Thomas has a very chequered playing history.

Up front from now on needs to be Taylor and Hemmings.

Johnson looks to be the real deal insofar as we can tell from such a short period on the pitch, not only is he very quick, but he is tall and very big and strong. He's going to become an Oxford legend methinks.

Looking at the other players, again Eastwood played well (and fully deserved his player of the month award).
Edwards did pretty well mostly. He's not quite up to Skarz or Jonjoe Kenny standard, but he is solid.
Chey had a bit of a shaky game in my view. He gave the ball away regularly and was often drawn out of position, leaving Skarz with too much ground to cover.
Raglan did pretty well mostly.
Skarz was his usual dependable self.
Lunny is still off the pace.
Sercs improved as the game went on.
Maguire was quiet until the second half, but then began to look interested. He was kicked all over the park with the ref doing sod all about it and seemingly only interested in brandishing cards to anyone who dared speak to an official rather than those committing atrocities.
Hemmings I suspect is a good player. A bit too similar to Thomas for them to be effective together, but he puts in more of a shift than Thomas, and loses the ball far less often.
Macca did OK when he came on.

Our line up at the end of the match was significantly better than the start of the match and that is perhaps best reflected in how the tide turned with 15 minutes to go. Suddenly Dale began to struggle to get out of their half.

A big positive is the first clean sheet of the season.

I hope MApp isn't going to be stubborn about sticking with Thomas. Somehow by close of play on Saturday we had wriggled up to 14th in the table, albeit that Cobblers win over MK has seen us drop a place since. 14th or 15 would be OK, so I guess our start overall must be OK, except that we've already played the worst team in the division at home and a team we lost convincingly too is now 3rd bottom. I predict a season of ups and downs.

Re: We need wingers!

Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 9:03 am
by Old Abingdonian
I would agree with most of this - and particularly, can't see why Taylor doesn't start.

I would add that there was a moral footballing lesson on Saturday - Sercombe bothered to get in the box in the 88th minute to put away a chance which he could have assumed Taylor would bury - a reward for hard work and 'anticipation'.

I too have been disappointed by the lack of protection from referees for our players in League 1. There was quite a lot of holding and pushing (and the usual farce at corners, at both ends) which went unpunished. Surely, five penalties across the leagues for holding at corners would significantly improve the game for all of us. Mind you, it was absurd how much thuggery Skrtel got away with at international level before he was sent off.

Re: We need wingers!

Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 2:23 pm
by Geoff
Chris Maguire is a class act at this level but I don't see wide on the right (or left for that matter) as his best position. On a number of occasions he confused the opposition with sleight of foot and played a good pass, but if he were playing more centrally he would be in a position to shoot rather than pass. I'd like to see us try 4-3-1-2 with CM playing just behind Hemmings and Taylor.

Marvin Johnson looked the real deal in the second half. Let's hope he can produce that over the full 90 minutes.

Re: We need wingers!

Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 2:53 pm
by Kernow Yellow
Geoff wrote:I'd like to see us try 4-3-1-2 with CM playing just behind Hemmings and Taylor.
That might solve the 'how to get the best out of Chris Maguire' problem, but it would hardly help if we're crying out for width - where would MJ play?

Re: We need wingers!

Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 5:41 pm
by Geoff
Kernow Yellow wrote:
Geoff wrote:I'd like to see us try 4-3-1-2 with CM playing just behind Hemmings and Taylor.
That might solve the 'how to get the best out of Chris Maguire' problem, but it would hardly help if we're crying out for width - where would MJ play?
He could play as the left sided player of the three.

Re: We need wingers!

Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2016 11:54 am
by GodalmingYellow
I had already posted on the Maguire/formation issue, but I can't see it now. Bloody modern technology!

We already effectively play 4-3-1-2 with Sercs playing in the hole ion the last few games.

The problem with putting Maguire in the middle is that you then have to move Sercs. Lunny isn't playing well, though whether Sercs could play the defensive midfield role is debatable because his tackling and heading are not up to much. I can't see Sercs playing wide right either, he's a box to box player. I can't see how we could play Sercs, Lunny and Maguire all in the middle without sacrificing a lot of width and leaving ourselves open down the right.

The choise is really Maguire wide right with Sercs and Lunny in the middle as at present, or drop Lunny, move Sercs back and Maguire to the middle. That then begs the question who to play wide right and also how we then use Crowley who is also best suited to the hole.

Re: We need wingers!

Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2016 2:32 pm
by YF Dan
I've just lost my long post too.

I'll summarise:

We have too many options. We need to get settled. I counted 10/11 attackers on our books.

I'd play Maguire at 'number 10', alongside either Hemmings or the unfairly maligned Thomas, with width from Johnson and MacDonald, both of whom mad a big impact on Saturday.

Interesting midfield juggling ahead too...fitting Sercombe, Lundstram, Rothwell and Ledson into a midfield two/three. On saturday's performances, you'd drop the skipper.

Wasn't that impressed with Raglan. Need Nelson back ASAP.

What the hell's going on with Martin (who was at the match on Saturday in a suit)?

Interesting times ahead.

Re: We need wingers!

Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2016 5:09 pm
by Werthers Original
Maybe Martin is having issues with wife or kiddies, is depressed, or is being tested for a nasty disease. Who knows? Any workplace will have someone off for something that isn't visible and is maybe not made widely known.

Thomas doesn't look like a worldbeater but I bet he gets 15 goals this season just by being in the right place at the right time.

Re: We need wingers!

Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2016 6:57 pm
by Mr T
Not impressed with Thomas OR Hemmings.
We need to go 3-5-2:
Taylor up front supported by Maguire.
Then 5 across the middle from Johnson, Sercombe, Hall, Ledson, Macdonald, Lundstram, Rothwell (who was much better 2nd half when in from the wing), Crowley.
That leaves 3 at the back from Dunks, Nelson, Skarz, Long, Edwards.
Who have I missed out?!

Re: We need wingers!

Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2016 10:00 am
by Geoff
The great thing about our current squad is that every one of us could possibly choose a different formation from a different starting 11 and come up with something viable. It makes a great change from scratching around to find 11 players good enough to pull on the yellow shirt.

Re: We need wingers!

Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2016 9:59 am
by ty cobb
You could look at it that way..............or you could say we've got a lot of players who are much of a muchness and few have cemented their starting position through playing well.

If we had Roofe, Wright and Hylts in the current squad there would be none of this debate, they would be on everyone's first choice team sheet.

Re: We need wingers!

Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2016 12:35 pm
by GodalmingYellow
ty cobb wrote:You could look at it that way..............or you could say we've got a lot of players who are much of a muchness and few have cemented their starting position through playing well.

If we had Roofe, Wright and Hylts in the current squad there would be none of this debate, they would be on everyone's first choice team sheet.
Not only that, but we would be further up the table as well.

Re: We need wingers!

Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2016 6:19 pm
by Radley Rambler
ty cobb wrote:You could look at it that way..............or you could say we've got a lot of players who are much of a muchness and few have cemented their starting position through playing well.

If we had Roofe, Wright and Hylts in the current squad there would be none of this debate, they would be on everyone's first choice team sheet.
Well.......Roofe went for £3m so was obviously an excellent player, we weren't going to be able to keep him. Wright has been sat on Sheffield United's bench for most of the season and we have been very unlucky with defensive injuries in particular to Nelson. Hylts - I've seen enough from Thomas and Hemmings to suggest they will be a better bet in the long run - if Hylts is so good, why is he still playing League 2 football?