WhyCom-plain

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Kairdiff Exile
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WhyCom-plain

Post by Kairdiff Exile »

Amidst all of the (justifiable) angst about our non-playing staff having their wages delayed, we should take a moment to celebrate another three points on Saturday against local non-rivals Wycombe.

To battle back and win in the manner we did showed good character, and Ruffels' goal will live long in the memory. Kudos also to the manager, whose tactics and selection were again bang-on. Particular credit to Kashi and Dickie, who have both become consistently good parts of the team's spine in the last few games. A win should now see us safe and be eminently achievable given forthcoming games against relegation rivals Walsall and Wimbledon.

Nevertheless, I am still of the view that KR should be let go at the end of the season, given how dismally we will have under-performed against expectation and budget. The recent uptick in form and performances is excellent, but I simply don't trust him to spend money wisely over the summer given his decidedly average track record. I also sincerely doubt he is capable of mounting a play-off bid given how we've competed against that level of team this season. Having said that, I suspect I won't get my wish.
Old Abingdonian
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Re: WhyCom-plain

Post by Old Abingdonian »

I'm glad to see this recognition of what the team has achieved over recent weeks.

I'm not sure about Robinson. After the disastrous start, we have accrued 44 points from 29 games (=1.5 points per game) which is on the edge of the playoffs in a normal season. In achieving that, he has managed to turn the team around, and have a good January transfer window (Kashi, Sykes, Graham, to lesser extent Sinclair). He seems to me to have made some good decisions, including finding the right back four. The question therefore is whether a goodish remainder of the season compensates for the disastrous start.

I had the embarrassment to sit with the Barnsley on the opening day of the season. We were completely outclassed, as teams rarely are in a league fixture (back to Rotherham at home under Wilder). We were clearly poorly prepared to face a team which was almost entirely carried over as a unit from the previous season, and relied on unfit (Mackie) and disorientated (Garbutt, Whyte, Smith) players. Much of this was presumably Robinson's fault, although some is attributable to the extent of the rebuilding required following the Clotet era. As I think we all agree, the recurring problem then became the over-reliance on Smith, with Carruthers and Hall injured. If the recruitment was all down to Robinson, then this was his fault, too. If not, then I would be more understanding.

The fact of the matter is that Tiger (or whoever) is very unlikely to sack him. I think Robinson is capable of doing at least an OK job. What is more important in the medium term is finding a way to finance securely a competitive team.
Dr Bob
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Re: WhyCom-plain

Post by Dr Bob »

Old Abingdonian wrote: Mon Apr 01, 2019 4:19 pm The fact of the matter is that Tiger (or whoever) is very unlikely to sack him. I think Robinson is capable of doing at least an OK job. What is more important in the medium term is finding a way to finance securely a competitive team.
If we are talking about the medium term, then we need to bring the stadium back into the discussion. I am no finance expert, but I cannot see how we can finance securely a competitive team without an owner with deep pockets and long arms (which would help in the short run but not be good for the club in the long run, methinks), or owning the stadium. Thinking in terms of a short term solution that does not knacker us in the longer term, for now we need to establish ourselves as a solid 3rd division side. Even if we were to 'risk' going up, under our current circumstances I fear it would be a nightmare season in the 2nd. For a stronger and more sustainable push for promotion, we need a much more solid financial base than currently.

But going back to KEs post, it was an ugly game (typical for Oxford, being dragged down to the level of opponents), but one where we kept going, kept defending well (apart from that one moment of madness from Easty) and saw a truly outstanding goal win it right at the death. This was a game when I thought Kashi was less influential than recently, but that might be down to Wycombe's long-ball game leaving him with a stiff neck from watching the ball keep flying over him. Even so, I now see he is not lazy but just very very calm. With quite a few younger players, having an older calm head at the base of midfield has to be a positive for those around and behind him. And as has already been said, having a consistent back 5 has provided a base for recent results.

KR has most definitely earned credit recently - but I would like to see through to the end of the season at least. This upturn in form is only a small fraction of his time here and I want to see whether or not it can be sustained.
Kairdiff Exile
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Re: WhyCom-plain

Post by Kairdiff Exile »

Dr Bob wrote: Tue Apr 02, 2019 9:02 am ...for now we need to establish ourselves as a solid 3rd division side. Even if we were to 'risk' going up, under our current circumstances I fear it would be a nightmare season in the 2nd. For a stronger and more sustainable push for promotion, we need a much more solid financial base than currently.
100% agree. I'm very happy to tolerate five years of mid-table stability in Div 3 (ideally with the odd cup run to keep life interesting) if it means that we can achieve the bigger objective of finally solving the ground issue.
Old Abingdonian
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Re: WhyCom-plain

Post by Old Abingdonian »

Indeed, 100% agree. I fully agree with the wit who put on the other forum, 'Mid-table obscurity - how I've missed you!'

Is there anything we as fans, or as Oxvox, can do to influence this process? It seems that the club has taken a first step in not going out of its way to annoy Kassam. I always felt that Eales's token gestures (refusing to call it the Kassam Stadium, for example) were counterproductive. Is the ball now really with Kassam, the planning authorities, or Erik?
tomoufc
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Re: WhyCom-plain

Post by tomoufc »

Kairdiff Exile wrote: Tue Apr 02, 2019 9:05 am
Dr Bob wrote: Tue Apr 02, 2019 9:02 am ...for now we need to establish ourselves as a solid 3rd division side. Even if we were to 'risk' going up, under our current circumstances I fear it would be a nightmare season in the 2nd. For a stronger and more sustainable push for promotion, we need a much more solid financial base than currently.
100% agree. I'm very happy to tolerate five years of mid-table stability in Div 3 (ideally with the odd cup run to keep life interesting) if it means that we can achieve the bigger objective of finally solving the ground issue.
Sorry, but in what way is that a trade-off being offered? All I see is a slashing of the player budget, as a panic measure to deal with compounding short to medium-term financial problems, for which a long-term solution has not advanced one iota since the new owners took charge.
&quotI've been a slave to football. It follows you home, it follows you everywhere, and eats into your family life. But every working man misses out on some things because of his job. &quot
Werthers Original
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Re: WhyCom-plain

Post by Werthers Original »

Assuming we finish reasonably strongly it would be very harsh to sack Robinson. Since Luton he’s got the majority of things right and if it wasn’t for the terrible Christmas we’d be toying with a pretend challenge for the playoffs. Stadium funding is a totally separate issue.
Geoff
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Re: WhyCom-plain

Post by Geoff »

I didn't understand their No.25 Samuel. He was one of their better players but insisted on throwing himself to the ground at every opportunity. The penalty may have been genuine but I had commented prior to the spot kick that he was frequently looking for free kicks instead of making the most of his skill.
Kernow Yellow
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Re: WhyCom-plain

Post by Kernow Yellow »

My biggest concern about keeping Robinson for another year is that we are likely to have significant player turnover, and this year he did not demonstrate that he is capable of hitting the ground running with a newish team (or adequately preparing them for the start of the season at all).

Having said that, at the moment I'm concerned whether we'll actually be in business next season, so the identity of the manager has become a less significant worry! And recent off-field events have increased my sympathy for the job KR is having to do. I'm still struggling to forgive some of the performances I witnessed earlier this season though. And Robinson's points per game tally, both for this season and his overall reign, is below the 1.3 that saw Clotet sacked. I certainly welcome the recent turnaround in form, but it's very, very belated.
Werthers Original
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Re: WhyCom-plain

Post by Werthers Original »

In terms of direction though we’re going the right way. The season hinges on that Luton fiasco, since when we’ve been a reasonable mid table sort of side
slappy
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Re: WhyCom-plain

Post by slappy »

I can't find one of those league tables which shows how well we did against top teams and bottom teams and obviously we play everyone twice a few months apart. But I wonder how we would feel if we had started with our current form which is top six, and then ended the season dropping down to 12th?
Myles Francis
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Re: WhyCom-plain

Post by Myles Francis »

Old Abingdonian wrote: Tue Apr 02, 2019 10:41 am It seems that the club has taken a first step in not going out of its way to annoy Kassam.
If only that were the case....
Kairdiff Exile
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Re: WhyCom-plain

Post by Kairdiff Exile »

Myles Francis wrote: Wed Apr 03, 2019 12:35 pm
Old Abingdonian wrote: Tue Apr 02, 2019 10:41 am It seems that the club has taken a first step in not going out of its way to annoy Kassam.
If only that were the case....
Well done, Nostradamus. Seeing as you've got the inside track on what's happening, what other joyous revelations should we be expecting?
Myles Francis
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Re: WhyCom-plain

Post by Myles Francis »

Kairdiff Exile wrote: Thu Apr 04, 2019 11:54 am Well done, Nostradamus. Seeing as you've got the inside track on what's happening, what other joyous revelations should we be expecting?
Believe it or not, I wasn’t aware that this WUP was imminent. I was, however, aware that the club has been late paying the rent and has also dicked about with the arbitration payments. It does seem as though there is a certain amount of “robbing Peter to pay Paul” going on at the moment.
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