Rage Online

the Charlton website says there will be a pitch inspection inside the next 24 hours

Yep - 11am tomorrow apparently. Such an early pitch inspection tells me there is little hope of this one being on......

There's not even much rain forecast for London tonight, so the pitch must be in a pretty bad way already for them to want to inspect so early. It doesn't bode well - if there's a problem, why wouldn't they try and get it sorted tomorrow? Something tells me they're not as desperate as Newport were to get a game on.

Either way, I'll already have set off from Cornwall. I thought I was being clever arranging a business-related trip to Kent for Friday afternoon!

GAME OFF rescheduled for Wednesday 8th January 2014

two in a row now

It should be noted that Charlton do not expect this game to happen on Wednesday. What an embarrassing state of affairs for a club so recently in the Premier League. I suspect part of the shambles is related to the fact that the club has just been taken over, and the old administration probably weren't that bothered about this or any other game taking place.

On a personal level I'm gutted missing out on away days in Newport and London. Our group of eleven tickets for the Valley are all going back to the ticket office, and I suspect that's the case for many fans. Lost revenue not only for Charton but OUFC as well, who were probably hoping for a decent bit of cash from this fixture.

SWA wrote:GAME OFF rescheduled for Wednesday 8th January 2014

two in a row now

To which are you referring Defeats or postponements

What a completely unacceptable state of affairs. To have played on Wednesday would have not caused as that much disruption, but a further postponement not only leads to fixture congestion in the next couple of weeks - seeing as we have the Newport game too. - but also means we go into the must-win Pompey game having not played for two weeks.

Away to Huddersfield for the winner now.

I suspect that Charlton will not fancy that much, so this is a great chance to sneak into the fifth round. Anyone spouting the 'concentrate on the league' mantra should get a swift kick in the nuts...

JoeyBeauchamp wrote:To have played on Wednesday would have not caused as that much disruption, but a further postponement not only leads to fixture congestion in the next couple of weeks - seeing as we have the Newport game too. - but also means we go into the must-win Pompey game having not played for two weeks.

I agree with you about the fixture congestion, but the extra delay should mean having Kitson back - and, frankly, if we stand any chance of beating Charlton we need him in the side.

SmileyMan wrote:Away to Huddersfield for the winner now.

I suspect that Charlton will not fancy that much, so this is a great chance to sneak into the fifth round. Anyone spouting the 'concentrate on the league' mantra should get a swift kick in the nuts...

Happy to spout “concentrate on the League”, especially as the big money earner of a visit to Old Trafford has now gone. Getting past Charlton will earn Oxford United exactly the same FA prize money that Swansea City won today, and the 4th round draws for both teams hardly seem all that lucrative and mean even more fixtures that both those small squads have to cope with when League commitment are more important. That’s short term thinking.

In contrast then just how much would it mean financially for Us to get to League I next season? Anyone like to put a figure on that? That’s medium term thinking.

And if that can be achieved then League I is just two more big steps away from the Promised Land. That’s long term stuff of course but plenty of clubs with the potential of Oxford United have been there and done that.

SmileyMan wrote:Away to Huddersfield for the winner now.

I suspect that Charlton will not fancy that much, so this is a great chance to sneak into the fifth round. Anyone spouting the 'concentrate on the league' mantra should get a swift kick in the nuts...

Agree with this, apart from maybe the nuts bit....

Huddersfield put them out of the League Cup earlier this season and the FA cup last season, and are going OK again this. Meanwhile charlton have got new mystery owners, pitch problems, relegation issues, and it's an away match they are unlikely to get something from, and to do so they will have to play us on a mudbath (either this week or next) more suited to League Two football than championship football, so there is every chance they will struggle to be up for our game, so there is the potential for us to nick it.
That will mean about £60k in prize money, which may just tip the scales in terms of an extra player for the rest of the campaign

OFF again, now to be played 14th January

Snake wrote: Happy to spout “concentrate on the League”, especially as the big money earner of a visit to Old Trafford has now gone. Getting past Charlton will earn Oxford United exactly the same FA prize money that Swansea City won today, and the 4th round draws for both teams hardly seem all that lucrative and mean even more fixtures that both those small squads have to cope with when League commitment are more important. That’s short term thinking.

In contrast then just how much would it mean financially for Us to get to League I next season? Anyone like to put a figure on that? That’s medium term thinking.

And if that can be achieved then League I is just two more big steps away from the Promised Land. That’s long term stuff of course but plenty of clubs with the potential of Oxford United have been there and done that.

I presume your biggest worry is the Us drawing the Swans in the fifth round and thus being forced to show your hand?

I could dig out the old thread if you like, but there's a provable correlation between cup performance and league performance - basically teams playing well in their leagues punch above their weight in the cups. Moreover, it can be absolutely disastrous to put out a weakened team to effectively throw away a cup game, only for this to spark off a league collapse - we've seen this before at Oxford.

The purpose of a football team is to win games of football - that's the shortest term thinking of all maybe, but it's the life blood of a club. And should we end up in the playoffs, what better preparation for high stakes knockout football than...high stakes knockout football?

And then there's the younger fans. Is anyone going to think back to their childhood and remember the day we scored a one-all draw to secure a playoff place from League Two to League One? I doubt it - almost all of my memories are about great cup games. How fantastic for a youngster to remember the year when we went and beat two Championship clubs in their own back yards and were rewarded with a trip to one of the big Premiership clubs...and maybe we can dream beyond that even?

Well said SM.

A good cup run didn't do Bradford much harm last season - in fact I would argue they would not have gone up if they hadn't gained the momentum from their run which united the city behind them.

What was the greatest achievement of this club? Winning a cup - we have a proud cup record and not bothering about getting through to the fourth round of the FA cup is Premier league thinking which is one of the reasons why domestic cup competitions have lost the glamour.

Snake is a Swansea fan, not an Oxford fan
I take all of his comments with a pinch of salt to be honest.
I also hate all this "concentrate on the league" bollocks, for a club in any division.