Rage Online

Given that today we had 5804 home fans (which equates to about 2604 casuals turning up) and last Boxing Day we had 10759 home fans (which equates to about 7659 casuals turning up) does this mean that over 5000 people who support Oxford United now-and-again are getting on much better with their relatives over Christmas than 12 months ago?

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The only thing that Turley did wrong today was to not catch the pie that was thrown at him and forcibly ram it down the throat of the moron who bought it.

I also thought that the only attacking options we had in the fist half came from his kicking. Not that Crawley were any better in the first 45 minutes as both teams seemed to be playing an 8-0-2 formation. Hey, was that boring to watch or what?

Much better 2nd half in terms of entertainment - a goal and 3 points will do for now, but I’m not rushing off to the bookies and putting a bet on Us going up this year.

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Cheerio Robert Duffy.

&quotSnake&quot wrote:Given that today we had 5804 home fans (which equates to about 2604 casuals turning up) and last Boxing Day we had 10759 home fans (which equates to about 7659 casuals turning up) does this mean that over 5000 people who support Oxford United now-and-again are getting on much better with their relatives over Christmas than 12 months ago?

/

The only thing that Turley did wrong today was to not catch the pie that was thrown at him and forcibly ram it down the throat of the moron who bought it.

I also thought that the only attacking options we had in the fist half came from his kicking. Not that Crawley were any better in the first 45 minutes as both teams seemed to be playing an 8-0-2 formation. Hey, was that boring to watch or what?

Much better 2nd half in terms of entertainment - a goal and 3 points will do for now, but I’m not rushing off to the bookies and putting a bet on Us going up this year.

/

Cheerio Robert Duffy.

No. It means we are half way down the league. Plus club marketing went south the day Kelvin Thomas left.

Agree re Duffy. Why was Ledgister taken off?

Highlight for me Hutchinson's 'mazy' dribble. Reminded me of the Slagg Brothers in ' Wacky Races'.

Good to win. Just deserved it.

Turley did very well indeed, I think.

We did deserve the win, partly because I thought we definitely should have had a first-half penalty. It seems that any slightly clumsy challenge with the feet in the box can yield a penalty, but the kind of 'restraint' used on Hutchinson goes unpunished. From SSL, it was clear that two of their players prevented him moving at all. Duffy got some of the same treatment.

&quotSnake&quot wrote: /

Cheerio Robert Duffy.

Why's that I thought he did ok today, not well but ok - he won a lot in the air and got some direction on it - in fact he won the header which helped set up Trainer. He also held the ball up well on a number of occasions and brought others into play.

He was no worse then a number of other players on the pitch today and as Patto said on the radio he hasn't had many games this season and will take a few games to get back to form.

How about giving him a chance to get back some match sharpness before passing judgement?

&quotSnake&quot wrote:The only thing that Turley did wrong today was to not catch the pie that was thrown at him and forcibly ram it down the throat of the moron who bought it.

Disagree. The thing he did wrong was to constantly have a go at the fans behind him who dared to vent their frustration at the appalling spectacle being served up in the first half. He's paid a good wage by those of us who have to watch that shit, and he should be able to take a little criticism - or at least understand that it's borne out of frustration and a desire to see us play better.

I'm not in any way condoning any pie throwing that may have taken place, but Turley's general demeanour towards his own fans was churlish and unacceptable throughout the first half. As was his pointed refusal to come and acknowledge any of the applause from the East Stand at the end of the game. Most of whom were singing his name.

The guy has a serious attitude problem. Good thing he's such a good keeper most of the time.

As a fully paid up member of the Duffy dissenters brigade can I go on record as saying he had quite a good game compared to others yesterday.

What I want to know is who was the small black bloke playing in Yemi's shirt? Whoever it was he looked unfit, uninterested and totally lacking in any ability. On the few occasions he did make a run he took forever to get back onside as he ambled back looking at his boots. The incident in the second half where he stood on the halfway line and allowed their GOALKEEPER to come over and take a throw in summed up his game. I always thought it was a good idea to pin a team back when they had a throw in deep in their own half rather than all retreat back to your own half.

Trainer had a good game up to the point where he scored the goal and then he seemed to totally disintegrate and couldn't complete a pass or make a successful challenge.

&quotty cobb&quot wrote:

&quotSnake&quot wrote: /

Cheerio Robert Duffy.

Why's that I thought he did ok today, not well but ok - he won a lot in the air and got some direction on it - in fact he won the header which helped set up Trainer. He also held the ball up well on a number of occasions and brought others into play.

He was no worse then a number of other players on the pitch today and as Patto said on the radio he hasn't had many games this season and will take a few games to get back to form.

How about giving him a chance to

get back some match sharpness before passing judgement?

Tend to agree Ty. Thought that Duffy did well considering the poor service that he received.

&quotMally&quot wrote:As a fully paid up member of the Duffy dissenters brigade can I go on record as saying he had quite a good game compared to others yesterday.

What I want to know is who was the small black bloke playing in Yemi's shirt? Whoever it was he looked unfit, uninterested and totally lacking in any ability. On the few occasions he did make a run he took forever to get back onside as he ambled back looking at his boots. The incident in the second half where he stood on the halfway line and allowed their GOALKEEPER to come over and take a throw in summed up his game. I always thought it was a good idea to pin a team back when they had a throw in deep in their own half rather than all retreat back to your own half.

Trainer had a good game up to the point where he scored the goal and then he seemed to totally disintegrate and couldn't complete a pass or make a successful challenge.

Er...

Duffy did not look in the slightest bit interested all afternoon.

Yemi worked extremely hard and played well. (Yes, I know he has significant flaws.

Trainer did well all game. Looked faster and stronger. He gets in opposing penalty areas as well. This lad has been a good signing.

Though, as they say, football , at the end of the day, is a game of opinions.

Certainly is about opinions ... and begging to differ.

Yemi occasionally ran hard, but each effort left him knackered for ages afterwards (and often standing helpfully offside). His positioning is woeful. As an example, there was a moment when we were pinned back, with Yemi as the lone upfield player. The ball eventually comes to Jeanin wide left hemmed in. He can only play the ball down the left wing, there is nowhere else for him to go. And Yemi stands in the middle of the pitch looking un interested. You'd yell at a ten year old for that. Make yourself available. His inability to anticipate where the ball is likely to go, his inability to give and go, his poor decision making, the number of times he loses possession, his failure to pick up players defensively without being yelled at .... it's soooooo frustrating. I'd have hauled him off long before Legester.

For the Duffy haters, nothing he does good will register. He is slow, that's certainly true, but he did win a lot of ball in the air despite taking a hammering (and having a brainless co-striker with no anticipation and no midfielders prepared or with the legs to get beyond him makes him look much worse than he is) and he does at least hold the ball up better than anything else we've got and provide some sort of link play. I don't think he had a good game at all - I just don't understand why he gets all the abuse when others escape - for example Pettefer was utterly and totally woeful, yet his error after error doesn't bring down torrents of abuse. And Hutchinson may have done that dribble out of defence, but does that really excuse his inability to do anything creative (nor that much destructive) in the other 94.5 minutes of the game?

I feel my standard gripe about throw ins coming on again. Do they actually practice these at all? It's essentially just a way of giving the ball back to the opposition for us. And why the hell can't the first person there pick the ball up and look to see if there is an opportunity, only then leaving it for the &quotroutine&quot thrower?

&quotAscension Ox&quot wrote:

&quotMally&quot wrote:

Er...

Duffy did not look in the slightest bit interested all afternoon.

Yemi worked extremely hard and played well. (Yes, I know he has significant flaws.

Trainer did well all game. Looked faster and stronger. He gets in opposing penalty areas as well. This lad has been a good signing.

Though, as they say, football , at the end of the day, is a game of opinions.

My god if your standards are that low that you thought Yemi played well....
He would make a run and then disappear for the next 5 minutes because he was ambling around. From those runs he crossed the ball once to an Oxford player (mostly to touch) and produced I think zero shots (certainly on target). He also bizarrely stood at the near post for corners for no apparent reason. And finally, the kick from Turley that got him the most abuse was actually heading straight for Yemi until he promptly ran away from the ball. At the moment, if we want pace up front we should be playing Ledgister up there, Yemi just isn't worth a starting place.

Trainer looking faster and stronger may well be to do with him being rested for the Sultana Cup game. He has looked heavy legged for ages - it shouldn't be forgotten that this is his first full-time season since he was a youth at Crewe.

Duffy needs service pure and simple. He isn't the sort of striker that runs about and creates stuff from nothing. He needs crosses into the box...and we just don't have anyone that can put them in with any quality.

why not drop Duffy into central midfield as he seems good at winning headers and playing sideways passes. And then stick Twigg up top with Yemi? Twigg seems to be the best finisher we have in the club but he doesnt get a position that allows him to push the front line up at all.

&quotOUFC_Gav&quot wrote:

&quotAscension Ox&quot wrote:

&quotMally&quot wrote:

Er...

Duffy did not look in the slightest bit interested all afternoon.

Yemi worked extremely hard and played well. (Yes, I know he has significant flaws.

Trainer did well all game. Looked faster and stronger. He gets in opposing penalty areas as well. This lad has been a good signing.

Though, as they say, football , at the end of the day, is a game of opinions.

My god if your standards are that low that you thought Yemi played well....
He would make a run and then disappear for the next 5 minutes because he was ambling around. From those runs he crossed the ball once to an Oxford player (mostly to touch) and produced I think zero shots (certainly on target). He also bizarrely stood at the near post for corners for no apparent reason. And finally, the kick from Turley that got him the most abuse was actually heading straight for Yemi until he promptly ran away from the ball. At the moment, if we want pace up front we should be playing Ledgister up there, Yemi just isn't worth a starting place.

Trainer looking faster and stronger may well be to do with him being rested for the Sultana Cup game. He has looked heavy legged for ages - it shouldn't be forgotten that this is his first full-time season since he was a youth at Crewe.

Duffy needs service pure and simple. He isn't the sort of striker that runs about and creates stuff from nothing. He needs crosses into the box...and we just don't have anyone that can put them in with any quality.

Don't worry Gav, AO watches a different game to us every week.

Yemi was appalling. Duffy wasn't great but he won a lot in the air and held the ballup wel. It wasn't his fault that nobody around him seemed capable or bothered to get on the end of anything.

&quotMally&quot wrote:

&quotOUFC_Gav&quot wrote:

&quotAscension Ox&quot wrote: Er...

Duffy did not look in the slightest bit interested all afternoon.

Yemi worked extremely hard and played well. (Yes, I know he has significant flaws.

Trainer did well all game. Looked faster and stronger. He gets in opposing penalty areas as well. This lad has been a good signing.

Though, as they say, football , at the end of the day, is a game of opinions.

My god if your standards are that low that you thought Yemi played well....
He would make a run and then disappear for the next 5 minutes because he was ambling around. From those runs he crossed the ball once to an Oxford player (mostly to touch) and produced I think zero shots (certainly on target). He also bizarrely stood at the near post for corners for no apparent reason. And finally, the kick from Turley that got him the most abuse was actually heading straight for Yemi until he promptly ran away from the ball. At the moment, if we want pace up front we should be playing Ledgister up there, Yemi just isn't worth a starting place.

Trainer looking faster and stronger may well be to do with him being rested for the Sultana Cup game. He has looked heavy legged for ages - it shouldn't be forgotten that this is his first full-time season since he was a youth at Crewe.

Duffy needs service pure and simple. He isn't the sort of striker that runs about and creates stuff from nothing. He needs crosses into the box...and we just don't have anyone that can put them in with any quality.

Don't worry Gav, AO watches a different game to us every week.

Yemi was appalling. Duffy wasn't great but he won a lot in the air and held the ballup wel. It wasn't his fault that nobody around him seemed capable or bothered to get on the end of anything.

I must be watching the same game that the management watch then.

Duffy will be leaving the club soon. As evidenced by his poor attitude yesterday. Yemi won't be leaving.

Just a hunch.

[quote=&quotAscension Ox
Duffy will be leaving the club soon. As evidenced by his poor attitude yesterday. [/quote]

Duffy wasn't great but ffs as has been pointed out he won lots in the air, including the ball for Ledgister to set Trainer up for the goal. I too think if he had a decent strike partner he would look so much better. What evidence of poor attitude? We know the guy can't run very fast - that does not mean he has a poor attitude or isn't trying. Anti Duffier's seem to have a very blinkered view imho - leaving the ground I got into a debate with a guy who refused to believe Duffy had a hand in the goal. Mind you he thought Pettefer set it up so what game he was watching was anyone's guess.

Yemi - he is playing poorly but I don't think it is lack of effort on his part either. I thought he ran around a lot yesterday. He just doesn't seem to have any tactical understanding whatsoever. However, he did have one good run down the wing, looked up and found Trainer with a pinpoint cross. An unmarked Trainer of course showed the control of someone with their eyes shut and boots on the wrong feet. Granted he did have a good first half though and took his goal well.

I think Yemi looks confused above everything else - I remember a RadOx interview some time ago in which he responded in a wounded tone, saying that of course, no-one wanted to play badly. I'm sure he doesn't, but he does seem to lack positional sense, and to lack confidence to a huge degree.

Disagree with Ancient Colin about Pettifer - not his best game, but he does tidy up quite efficiently, with an above average ability to read the game and to work out where it is going to land.