Gary Waddock

[Snake]

What does it mean then snake? Please enlighten us all.
Also, if Swansea get relegated back to the Championship, and Oxford go up, who will you support?

It means the same as wherever you work. If they want you they promote you - if they don’t you have to go through a “restructuring” process involving an interview. i.e. it’s pretty obvious what the outcome is going to be...

And I will support both teams next season, but at less than £24 a game for the equivalent of a SSU seat I’ve already renewed my ST at The Liberty and will be at The Emirates tomorrow night.

[Snake]

As for the 71 applicants, then lots of crazy people like to collect the short official rejection letters and as per usual I'm sure Mick Brown has sent out plenty of those recently using his standard template. It happens every time there is a vacancy.

[Kairdiff Exile]

As for the 71 applicants, then lots of crazy people like to collect the short official rejection letters and as per usual I'm sure Mick Brown has sent out plenty of those recently using his standard template. It happens every time there is a vacancy.

Sorry to disabuse you of a notion, but it seems the club don't even do the courtesy of sending out a polite-but-vaguely-comic rejection letter anymore (they didn't to Mrs Exile anyway).

In other news, doesn't sound like GW's first game in charge is going well...

[Snake]

As for the 71 applicants, then lots of crazy people like to collect the short official rejection letters and as per usual I'm sure Mick Brown has sent out plenty of those recently using his standard template. It happens every time there is a vacancy.

Sorry to disabuse you of a notion, but it seems the club don't even do the courtesy of sending out a polite-but-vaguely-comic rejection letter anymore (they didn't to Mrs Exile anyway).

In other news, doesn't sound like GW's first game in charge is going well...

Well Mick certainly used to.

‘Baboo’ just summed the game up on RadOx. Be interesting to read his ‘Fans View’ once he’s had a few hours to wind down but Wembley is still a realistic prospect sureley?

[Hog]

If I was him I'd just transcribe what he said and not waste any more time on it. Pathetic! (Not Baboo)

[OUFC4eva]

That was embarrassing - utterly inept in all departments.

We were so poor it was scary and the obsession with square
and back passing was ridiculous even from our own free kick
in their half we almost conceded.The team played with fear
from the first whistle.When we didn't go backwards
we were dispossessed all over the park and the midfield
was non existent.

And the performance from our "skipper" was a disgrace.

[YF Dan]

That was my first game for a month or two...and what a depressing experience.

A delay at work meant I missed their first goal so I have no idea what happened. The second goal was awful defending from Wright, a silly challenge by Clarke, but he did get clearly the ball first from my angle, so never a penalty...did the cameras back up this view?

The view at Roots Hall is rubbish, but we seemed to have some decent chances down the far end in the first half...Southend looked like a team with fragile confidence, a goal before the break and we might have had them rocking.

In the second half, it was ludicrously bad, totally agree about the endless square passes along the back four...that's not "playing football", that's suicide.

What was so apparent was the complete lack of pace in our team. I love Beano for what he's done over the years, and at least he tried, but those runs beyond the defence he used to make have clearly been coached out of him. Constantly coming short or running the channels is all well and good, but as their nippy forward showed, playing off the shoulder of defenders at this level is so much more effective. Why can't we have a pacy forward?

Here's a reason: we renewed the contract of Smalley. What an utter waste of time, space, and sadly, money. When did he get so fat too? He looked massive today. What position was he playing? Winger, my arse. We had too many square pegs in round holes. Smalley was a fat, shit, disinterested peg.

(We also signed - on a two year deal remember - a striker who doesn't want to play striker, who's contributed just three goals, and lo and behold - has a long term injury. With seemingly many other interests in his life, should we really expect Kitson to be busting a gut to get back on the field? More folly.

Potter stank the place out, let's hope this is a player struggling after a long lay off, rather than anything more serious.

Rigg was second to everything. I've really tried to like Rigg. I like wingers .. that's my default position. However, I'm growing tired of hoping for more from him. Will it ever happen?

Danny Rose I've never really rated. The game passes him by now, as it always has done. Him and Ruffels looked lightweight on paper, they were totally overpowered today. Maybe Whing will give us a chance of at least competing in midfield.

What's happened to Wroe? What's happened to Davies? Both were so promising when they joined. Something in the coaching at our club crushes creativity. I like Mickey Lewis, I remember watching his first match as a player, but something is wrong with the coaching at our club at my fear is that Mickey might be partly/mostly responsible.

Wright had an awful game. He has credit in the bank, but will use it up quickly with games like that.

Clarke made some incredible saves, but had some nervy moments too. The penalty challenge was fair but was also silly.

Hunt looks good as a centre back and tried his best as a left back, but he's a right back. This was madness. I felt for him tonight.

I'm leaving the young lads out of my critique, it's unfair to judge when their more senior pros were playing so badly.

A few other things stood out: In the shambolic half time warm up, there was a total lack of seriousness from the subs. Davies just kept launching the ball into the stands and laughing, the others - if not titting about - were putting on a display of general ineptness. Passes were flying everwhere, first touches were missed...Only Williams and Connolly seemed remotely capable of kicking a ball... it was interesting they spent the whole time in each others company, passing to each other, not mixing with the others. The two really good players in my University team did the same, while the rest of us rubbish lot weren't considered good enough to be passed too. It reminded me of that. Is it too much to ask for a bit of intensity? After all, these are players who are likely to be brought on to change the match.

Corners. We clearly have no strategy. We clearly don't practise them. We put massive Alfie Potter on the near post. Somebody should sit the coaches/management down and force them to watch the Beauchamp--Elliott--Moody+Massey-bundle combo of 95-96 on VHS for a week. Putting all the big men around the far post means the corners have to be aimed for the far post, giving the keeper every chance of going to get it. Sticking a big ugly bruiser on the near post and aiming for him at least makes it hard for the opponents.

This is not a great squad. It's slow. It's lacking fight. I worry about the coaching, especially of the forwards. Our tactics have been negative for a long time, this will take some changing because not shooting has become second nature to our 'forwards'. Southend tonight shot on sight, our lot regularly turned attack into defensive panic in our end with stoopid backward passes.

Good luck Gary Waddock. You've inherited a shambles.

[joepoolman]

Hmm I think you (Dan) have made many valid criticisms but have been a bit too harsh. While tonight's game and recent results and performances have been poor, this "shambles" will still be in the top 7 of the league this time tomorrow.

The only thing I feel I have to pick up on is that that comment makes it look like you believe yourself to be a better coach than Lewis or Melville, which seems unlikely.

I must say that I completely agree with you about the subs however. For a long time now to me the subs just look like a few blokes that have gone to the park but can't really be arsed so they just stand around and do a bit of crossbar challenge or whatever they fancy, surely there must be a better use of their time?!

[GodalmingYellow]

I am so embarrassed.

I made a beeline for my club tonight, and made a big fuss about having Sky TV on to watch the match. What an utter, utter farce. I ended the evening having had the piss taken out of me so badly for supporting such a shambles from such a long distance.

I agree with a lot of what Dan says, although I think Beano also still has credit in the tank. Playing a lone striker, whilst playing an overweight striker as a winger and an unfit winger on t'other side does not make for fast flowing attacking football. I assume the team was picked mainly by ML as it bore all his hallmarks, and none of those that Waddock professes to enforce.

Smalley has been a very poor signing and tonight he did absolutely nothing to enhance his chances of a contract extension. I dearly hope he never wears the Oxford colours again. He has no excuse not to be fit and in prime condition, and he has no excuse for the terrible decision making in his play. The only tiny saving grace for him was being played badly out of position, but then he has shown nothing up front either.

Potter is a mile behind his prime standard. And he needs to be at his best to justify his place in the side. He has lost most of his previous pace and guile, the very attributes that set him apart from other players.

Danny Rose isn't good enough. Simple as.

Josh Ruffels is losing confidence and is being played too much now in a weakened side. He is starting to hoof the ball too frequently and that is often a sign of a player too anxious to hold on to the ball and look up for options.

Sean Rigg was a big disappointment again, and we know he can be so much better.

None of our attacking players took on a Southend player once, not in the entire match.

At the back Wright was awful, as he has been since his return from injury. Sam Long worked hard and blame cannot be laid at his feet. The same can be said for Bevans.

Why is our sports science no working? Why is it not bringing players back from injury faster and stronger?

Clarke was the only OUFC player to take credit from the match with several outstanding saves to keep the score down.

Why did we not play two up front and centre? No Smalley was not up front as per the official site. He was planted firmly on the touchline, blocking the creative midfielders paths.

Yes it was a penalty Dan (but only just). Clarke had perfect right to go for the ball, he just didn't quite get there quickly enough and took out the striker slightly ahead of contacting the ball and slightly after the striker touched the ball.

I really hope Mr Waddock remembered his magic wand when he took charge of his office on Saturday.

At least I won 8 frames to 2 at pool.

[GodalmingYellow]

GY, actually I was referring to your assertion that he should have been "chained to his desk", as if he could not or was otherwise unable to maintain contact with his sons on the Board whilst away. I was not referring to the idea that he would be interviewing via those media, that he had to be interviewing people every single day - of course I was not referring to that - nor were you until just now. But actually in Higher Education, with academics operating in a global marketplace, interviews do get conducted over Skype. Second interviews might be done face to face, and as we know, IL did conduct two rounds of interviews.

Not sure what difference any of that is supposed to make Bob. IL should have been present for the recruitment process and taking charge of it. Being away simply delayed the whole process quite considerably and that is the "assertion", if you must use that word, that I was making.

I wouldn't want to comment on whether use of little more than glorified Twitter accounts is a suitable medium for recruitment within higher education in this country or whether that is reflective of standards of output from higher education in this country (I hold the tarring brush in my left hand at present, just for laughs). I doubt that many CEOs are appointed by such amateurish methods in the private sector. ;-)

[GodalmingYellow]

But there is a big difference between ML not wanting the job when Wilder left (which is what GY is implying, and which I have seen no evidence for) and not wanting to be considered against the strongest applicants 8 weeks later after a very poor run of results. I strongly suspect that ML realised he didn't want/wasn't up to the job during that 8 week period, and probably towards the end of it.

Where or when has Mickey Lewis said he doesn't want to be considered against the strongest candidates after a very poor run of results? We have no idea of Mickey's thoughts or reasons on the process other than quotes in the media.

I thought IL was quoted (on Saturday) as saying he asked ML whether he wanted to be considered in the final stages of the process and ML said he didn't? I'm only going on what's been widely reported - I've been away this weekend and not heard any press conferences etc. If I've misunderstood then apologies.

The more salient point of the argument (which my post was intended to address) is your statement - "ML had already said he didn't want the job, so that comment [about giving him 4 weeks to prove himself] is a complete red herring." Can you substantiate this? I thought it was pretty clear at the start that ML wanted to see how things went (I can't be bothered to dig up the interviews but that's what I recall), whereas you seem to think he had already made his mind up that he didn't want the job at that early stage.

By the way, I'm not saying I agree with the idea of giving ML 4 weeks to prove himself at all - with 71 applicants I never considered it likely that ML was going to be the strongest. I'm just querying the reasoning you gave for rubbishing IL's comment about it.

I don't think IL was quoted quite in that way and in any event what he was saying seemed to me to be a smooth glossing over of why Mickey Lewis wasn't in the end stages of the recruitment process, rather than being an indicator that he (ML) had progressed through the recruitment process and fallen at the final hurdle.

I might well have mis-interpreted MLs comments, but at the start of the process he was quoted as saying something akin to that he just wants to keep his job at OUFC and would be happy to help out in whatever way in the interim. If its my mis-interpretation, then equally I would be happy to retract any involuntary mis-representation. I suspect the real position is that ML didn't want the job long term, but wanted to be kept on as coach, but was persuaded to give it a go for a few weeks to see how it went on the grounds that it would support his desire to stay in the long term. If you are looking for an internet link, then I don't have one and I can't be bothered to trawl through either just to try to justify myself. If others have read it differently then I'm happy to accept a difference of opinion.

[Jimski]

While tonight's game and recent results and performances have been poor, this "shambles" will still be in the top 7 of the league this time tomorrow.

Yes, I guess at least we can't be relegated...

[Ancient Colin]

I had the less than entirely pleasant joy of watching that from the Sarfend directors' box. From that perspective what was really striking was how much more up for it they were ... playing at a much higher tempo, harassing us, winning the 50-50s, just wanting it more, faster to the ball, faster with it, faster off it. Their view was that this was make or break for them, they had to win or their season would evaporate, they'd put a lot of stock on it (chairman had gone down to do a team talk, said that was first time this season). Is Waddock the sort of person who can inspire that sort of enthusiasm? Couldn't understand the lineup, had to assume that there were lots of injuries - it looked as if it was set up to be 4-4-2, but what had Smalley been asked to do? Certainly not to play down the middle. Even I can't defend the way he played. Defence looked ramshackle - as others have said, Wright looked terrible, but the kids struggled too and Hunt wasn't helped by being on the wrong side. But we got completely bossed in midfield and the (overrated, in my view) Danny Rose contributed next to nothing. Ruffels seemed overwhelmed. The only player who really looked like he knew what he was doing and was capable of doing it was Ryan Williams when he came on and our inability to give him the right ball when he took up good positions was criminal. Only fair to offer some praise for Jamar Loza who terrorised the back four all night. He's nineteen.

We can come back from this. They'd gone 13 games without a win and turned that on. But it needs someone to put a rocket under the players (and play a sensible team).

(regular readers will note I haven't mentioned Constable. Cow's arse. Banjo. Trapping it further than I can kick it. De dah).

[Dr Bob]

GY, actually I was referring to your assertion that he should have been "chained to his desk", as if he could not or was otherwise unable to maintain contact with his sons on the Board whilst away. I was not referring to the idea that he would be interviewing via those media, that he had to be interviewing people every single day - of course I was not referring to that - nor were you until just now. But actually in Higher Education, with academics operating in a global marketplace, interviews do get conducted over Skype. Second interviews might be done face to face, and as we know, IL did conduct two rounds of interviews.

Not sure what difference any of that is supposed to make Bob. IL should have been present for the recruitment process and taking charge of it. Being away simply delayed the whole process quite considerably and that is the "assertion", if you must use that word, that I was making.

I wouldn't want to comment on whether use of little more than glorified Twitter accounts is a suitable medium for recruitment within higher education in this country or whether that is reflective of standards of output from higher education in this country (I hold the tarring brush in my left hand at present, just for laughs). I doubt that many CEOs are appointed by such amateurish methods in the private sector. ;-)

GY - maybe you are a complete donkey dick, but there really is no need to prove it to all of us. There is nothing about telephones, the internet, or Skype as a means of video conferencing that is in the least bit similar to Twitter. Interviews are about communication, not the medium itself. That is not amateurish. Amateurish is not holding a proper selection process. Pound for pound, as it were, we have the best HE system in the world (allowing for the fact that the US system is much larger and draws so much more funding) - or rather had, until the government decided to privatise it. Oh and how many days was IL away for, and how did that delay the process? There was a gap of 50 days from CW to GW. During the time in Oz, IL would have been able to maintain communication with others, so the recruitment process (your word) would not necessarily have been delayed AT ALL. Ultimately, the point is that your expectation that IL should have been chained to his desk until an appointment was made is just embarrassing, ignorant in the extreme.

[recordmeister]

This is going to sound totally unfair; but from the moment I saw Gary Waddock's photograph having accepted job at the press conference, I was worried. His face was that of a man with huge relief and his smug grin gives one of "what have I done here?! I've actually managed to talk my way back into a manager's job!"

I really hope I'm wrong, but he doesn't seem like the sort of man who might have authority over senior players. I heard from a Wycombe fan they went downhill after he sacked his assistant, who was a real henchmen, for punching somebody in the dressing room. It seems that he needs a hard nut alongside him and I'm not sure Lewis is the man for that job.

Whatever happens he obviously has my full support, despite last nights game. You can't expect the manager to have that much of an immediate impact with just 48 hours notice. However last night display will show him the enormity of the job needed to be done. He better get his skates on pretty quick, otherwise this season will slip through his hands like sand.