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Whisper it...

Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2017 10:41 pm
by YF Dan
We're really good. Really really good.

Eastwood is the best keeper we've had for years.

Dunkley and Nelson are a really strong pairing. Nelson really is something else. Dunkley's upward curve just keeps on going.

Johnson. Incredible. To play out of position like he does most weeks, and yet is so strong defensively and creatively. Another star in the making.

Ledson. Loves a tackle, getting better and better.

Lundstram. Looking more and more assured at this level, now dictating games like he did last season.

Hall. A defender's nightmare. Such quick feet.

Maguire. A bit greedy but still. Such control.

Hemmings. Goals.

I'm getting excited about where this season is going to end up.

Re: Whisper it...

Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2017 11:09 pm
by Mr T
Now if we can beat our bogey side on Tuesday night I may just start to believe...!

Re: Whisper it...

Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2017 7:31 am
by SmileyMan
Hmmm, I was just about to come and post about how often Eastwood is ending up as the man-of-the-match. Yes, he's a great 'keeper, but if the defence and midfield were up to snuff, we'd have to rely on him a lot less.

If his form drops, these sneaky wins will turn into three- or four- goal losses in pretty short order.

Re: Whisper it...

Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2017 7:58 am
by Jimski
We're playing well, no doubt about it, especially our ability to ride out a bit of a storm, and then get some decent attacks going when given the opportunity, but I still feel our midfield isn't quite right. Not sure exactly what is wrong with it, but we often seem to get dominated by other teams in midfield - they seem quicker to second balls, etc. Franchise, especially in the first half, was a good example of this. I think it's more down to the system than the personnel - we're often left with just two against three in midfield. It's obviously working at the moment - look at the results - but boy it can make for some anxious matches.

Re: Whisper it...

Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2017 11:45 am
by OUFC4eva
Image

Our midfield suffocated Sw*ndon last week for an hour and were impressive.
The harsh booking of Ledson, when he refused treatment, seemed to stifle him.
Referee Kettle was poor and unpredictable and "Lego" must have feared a red card.

Despite this, United were worthy winners;looked the team who wanted to win and deservedly
picked up the points. MK can have few complaints as they settled for a point in the second
half. Great goal to win it with Hall's super cross flicked in for his fourteenth U's goal
by poacher Kane Hemmings.

This Oxford team is pleasing on the eye. Some of the football played in the first half
was stunningly good with some great combinations and superb movement.
Toni Martinez is going to be a player.

Re: Whisper it...

Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2017 12:47 pm
by Myles Francis
The strength of our team is probably reflected by the fact that there were 18 scouts at the game yesterday.....

Re: Whisper it...

Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2017 1:06 pm
by Dr Bob
OUFC4eva wrote:Referee Kettle was poor and unpredictable
As indeed he always is. It is a serious indictment on the structures for supporting, training and developing referees that he has been so consistently bad on so many visits over the years. When I heard on the radio that he was the ref, sadly I just knew we were in for some interesting decisions...Does anybody know yet what Lego was actually booked for?

Re: Whisper it...

Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2017 1:30 pm
by Radley Rambler
Dr Bob wrote:
OUFC4eva wrote:Referee Kettle was poor and unpredictable
As indeed he always is. It is a serious indictment on the structures for supporting, training and developing referees that he has been so consistently bad on so many visits over the years. When I heard on the radio that he was the ref, sadly I just knew we were in for some interesting decisions...Does anybody know yet what Lego was actually booked for?
I suspect it was for telling Mr Kettle in anglo-saxon English that he hadn't asked for treatment and the the physio was brought on at the ref's insistence to save face. That incident was bizarre - does a physio have to enter the field of play if the ref calls him on or not?

Re: Whisper it...

Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2017 8:14 am
by Jimski
Quick aside: Why does the Oxford Mail keep saying we're four points off the play-offs *with a game in hand*? We don't have a game in hand on Rochdale, who are also 4 points ahead of us...

Re: Whisper it...

Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 12:54 pm
by ty cobb
Well Tuesday night was somewhat of an inevitable result after this thread was started - can I suggest we take it down and have no more talk of play offs until we've actually reached them?

Re: Whisper it...

Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 1:17 pm
by Werthers Original
Gah! Whisper it that we're not as good as we thought! When Maguire and Sercombe came off Southend scored, and we suddenly looked like a bunch of leaderless and confused boys. Southend weren't great but they had the sort of big, strong, but athletic forwards we never seem to sign. Plus they are our bogey team, of course!

Re: Whisper it...

Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 2:17 pm
by Old Abingdonian
Yes. I also thought we looked unusually tired, both physically and mentally during the second half. Easy to say with hindsight, but I wonder if a little squad rotation (Rothwell? Hemmings to start?) would have been a good idea.

Re: Whisper it...

Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 2:45 pm
by YF Dan
Everyone loses matches. And we always lose to this lot.

I'm still confident.

Re: Whisper it...

Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 6:11 pm
by Jimski
No idea why Maguire was taken off. Yes, he's not been at his bets lately, but at least one always thinks something might happen when he's on the pitch. After he went off, we looked like a clueless rabble.

I actually thought we played pretty well in the first half. Some excellent possession football (even if few chances), and Southend barely had an attack worthy of the name in the first half hour.

Re: Whisper it...

Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 6:51 pm
by Werthers Original
I've worked it out! We can't play against the cheeky chappies of London and the SE! Think of recent flop performances - Wimbledon, Barnet, Southend, Millwall, Orient. They all seem streetwise geezers with big fast blokes up front. Whereas against the simpler, slower teams from up north we tend to thrive. Makes sense!