I'm trying not to attach too much importance to a single game at such an early point in the season. But I can't help feeling that Saturday is absolutely massive for us. A win, which in itself would be a big first step for this group of players in the league, and we establish a gap between ourselves and the bottom of the table, with some 'kinder' fixtures to come.
I've not been since the first two games of the season, and am looking forward to witnessing the supposed renaissance of the last couple of matches. Exeter under Tisdale traditionally play an open brand of football on the floor, which should suit our style of play. But I'm very concerned about our lack of goals (Hylton excepted) and clean sheets, and will be pretty downbeat if we fail to capitalise against a club in disarray. I concur with Oxblogger's current mood about our situation.
The idea of losing, and being cast adrift at the foot of the league, really doesn't bear thinking about...
Big game at Exeter
Re: Big game at Exeter
Danny Hylton and Tyrone Barnett to notch on Saturday. Easy ;)
Re: Big game at Exeter
A MASSIVE game - completely agree.We need another West Brom style turn-out.
Re: Big game at Exeter
The last time I went to St James Park
the ground was like this!
Andy Thomas broke his leg right in front of me
after colliding with Exeter 'keeper Len Bond.
the ground was like this!
Andy Thomas broke his leg right in front of me
after colliding with Exeter 'keeper Len Bond.
Last edited by OUFC4eva on Thu Sep 11, 2014 5:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Kernow Yellow
- Grumpy old git
- Posts: 3076
- Joined: Thu May 11, 2006 5:16 pm
Re: Big game at Exeter
It would certainly be good to be backed by a decent away crowd at SJP - as was the case on my first visit (when Jamie Brooks scored a wondergoal) and for the play-off semi. It's a nice place to visit (despite the crap view) and not as far from Oxford as all that. Plus the forecast is good. Sadly though I don't think our current form will persuade many to make the journey down, even for a game as important as this.OUFC4eva wrote:A MASSIVE game - completely agree.We need another West Brom style turn-out.
Re: Big game at Exeter
Jamie Brooks scored in a 2-3 defeat at St James Park
on 15/09/2001. I did not go that day but remember it as it was just
a few days after 9/11 and the defeat hardly mattered it seemed.
The attendance was 3,286 that day - probably more than will attend this Saturday.
on 15/09/2001. I did not go that day but remember it as it was just
a few days after 9/11 and the defeat hardly mattered it seemed.
The attendance was 3,286 that day - probably more than will attend this Saturday.
Re: Big game at Exeter
A decent write up for Saturday's BIG match and some interesting audio
http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/E ... story.html
http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/E ... story.html
Re: Big game at Exeter
Ugh ... still no win. How was the game?
I'll be attending for the first time since the opening day on Tuesday. Maybe that's the day for that elusive first victory?
I'll be attending for the first time since the opening day on Tuesday. Maybe that's the day for that elusive first victory?
Re: Big game at Exeter
Luckily we're just 16 points off the leaders.
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Kernow Yellow
- Grumpy old git
- Posts: 3076
- Joined: Thu May 11, 2006 5:16 pm
Re: Big game at Exeter
I'm now really worried about our season. Two poor teams, and one was considerably poorer than the other (that's us, by the way). Our idea of nice football involves passing it backwards. Sometimes sideways. Never forwards. Throw-ins level with the Exeter penalty area ended up back with George Long in a few short passes. He in turn often put our players under pressure with a quick throw-out. What's the point? That isn't flowing football, it's stupidity.
Our defence (including keeper) is dodgy - I'll exempt Mullins and Hunt from too much criticism but Exeter attacked down our left at will.
Our midfield doesn't contribute to any attacking and doesn't protect the defence.
Nothing clicked up front except the one movement that lead to the goal. Barnett was appalling. Hylton was motm and worked his socks off but no-one else had any idea how to hold on to the ball.
Exeter by contrast turned defence into attack in a matter of seconds, playing football on the ground straight through the middle of our team. Plus they just looked like they wanted it more than us, and that's something I'm sick of thinking about OUFC.
We settled for a point long before the end - probably quite sensible under the circumstances but immensely frustrating. A nervy, desperately disappointing performance.
Make no mistake, teams that play like we did today could easily get relegated. And everyone I spoke to afterwards was equally downbeat - when the league table flashed up in the pub showing Carlisle dropping below us, a huge ironic cheer and chorus of 'The Us are staying up' broke out. Wake up Oxford! This is serious.
As an aside, their player looked clearly offside in the lead up to their penalty, but how Long escaped even a booking was a mystery.
Our defence (including keeper) is dodgy - I'll exempt Mullins and Hunt from too much criticism but Exeter attacked down our left at will.
Our midfield doesn't contribute to any attacking and doesn't protect the defence.
Nothing clicked up front except the one movement that lead to the goal. Barnett was appalling. Hylton was motm and worked his socks off but no-one else had any idea how to hold on to the ball.
Exeter by contrast turned defence into attack in a matter of seconds, playing football on the ground straight through the middle of our team. Plus they just looked like they wanted it more than us, and that's something I'm sick of thinking about OUFC.
We settled for a point long before the end - probably quite sensible under the circumstances but immensely frustrating. A nervy, desperately disappointing performance.
Make no mistake, teams that play like we did today could easily get relegated. And everyone I spoke to afterwards was equally downbeat - when the league table flashed up in the pub showing Carlisle dropping below us, a huge ironic cheer and chorus of 'The Us are staying up' broke out. Wake up Oxford! This is serious.
As an aside, their player looked clearly offside in the lead up to their penalty, but how Long escaped even a booking was a mystery.
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GodalmingYellow
- Senile
- Posts: 5178
- Joined: Tue May 16, 2006 10:22 am
Re: Big game at Exeter
The game and performance sounded dire on RadOx. Not for the first time.
Appleton talks a good game, but that MUST be turned into regular consistent wins very quickly. We all know how easy it is to suddenly find the club facing the abyss, something that many of us claimed we would never allow to happen again.
Let's remember that Exeter and Paul Tisdale have good reason to be struggling. OUFC and Appleton have no such valid excuses.
The club made two massive mistakes earlier this year. Allowing Constable to leave (now top scorer at Eastleigh who are just 11 places below us in the pyramid btw) and not hiring Paul Tisdale, who is a manager capable of organising a team to play the passing football we all love, effectively, and who knows the Football League inside out.
15% of the season has gone already. That's the equivalent of sitting a 3 hour exam but arriving half an hour late. It is a huge chunk of the season completely wasted.
We've signed too many players who are not good enough, Long, Morris, Brown, Riley, Newey, Hunt.
We have too many players injured despite Sports Science, which begs questions about the medical and physio team. Clarke, Whing, Meades, Hoskins.
We have too many important players under performing from levels they have previously shown. Potter, Rose, Ruffels.
These are the ingredients of failure and relegation. Promotion was the target.
Crowds are falling. The budget of 1.5m loss was based on 6,000 crowds, not 4,000 crowds. Lose a third of your already small turnover, when paying a big chunk in rent, can only mean one thing.
I've warned many times of spending money we don't have. In my view too many are happy to be blinkered and deliberately ignore the consequences. I don't enjoy being a prophet of doom btw.
Yes it would be nice to have a scouting network, yes it would be nice to have a full sports science set up, yes it would be nice to have a full match analysis system, yes it would be nice to have England International and Premier League standard coaching, yes it would be nice to have a full age range of teams and academy set up, yes it would be nice to have a regular reserve side and a large squad to choose from. Yes it would be nice to employ a CEO worthy of a large 6 figure salary. Sorry, but we are Oxford United, not Manchester United. We cannot afford these luxuries. And the luxuries are not contributing to results.
The entire approach needs to change and change quickly and significantly. Attempts to buy success always end in misery. I can foresee a lower division 4 side with 20m debts in the not too distant future. I don't care how much money Eales and Ashton have access to. Unless they are prepared to gift the money or use the money to buy shares in the club without redemption clauses, I am not interested.
Appleton talks a good game, but that MUST be turned into regular consistent wins very quickly. We all know how easy it is to suddenly find the club facing the abyss, something that many of us claimed we would never allow to happen again.
Let's remember that Exeter and Paul Tisdale have good reason to be struggling. OUFC and Appleton have no such valid excuses.
The club made two massive mistakes earlier this year. Allowing Constable to leave (now top scorer at Eastleigh who are just 11 places below us in the pyramid btw) and not hiring Paul Tisdale, who is a manager capable of organising a team to play the passing football we all love, effectively, and who knows the Football League inside out.
15% of the season has gone already. That's the equivalent of sitting a 3 hour exam but arriving half an hour late. It is a huge chunk of the season completely wasted.
We've signed too many players who are not good enough, Long, Morris, Brown, Riley, Newey, Hunt.
We have too many players injured despite Sports Science, which begs questions about the medical and physio team. Clarke, Whing, Meades, Hoskins.
We have too many important players under performing from levels they have previously shown. Potter, Rose, Ruffels.
These are the ingredients of failure and relegation. Promotion was the target.
Crowds are falling. The budget of 1.5m loss was based on 6,000 crowds, not 4,000 crowds. Lose a third of your already small turnover, when paying a big chunk in rent, can only mean one thing.
I've warned many times of spending money we don't have. In my view too many are happy to be blinkered and deliberately ignore the consequences. I don't enjoy being a prophet of doom btw.
Yes it would be nice to have a scouting network, yes it would be nice to have a full sports science set up, yes it would be nice to have a full match analysis system, yes it would be nice to have England International and Premier League standard coaching, yes it would be nice to have a full age range of teams and academy set up, yes it would be nice to have a regular reserve side and a large squad to choose from. Yes it would be nice to employ a CEO worthy of a large 6 figure salary. Sorry, but we are Oxford United, not Manchester United. We cannot afford these luxuries. And the luxuries are not contributing to results.
The entire approach needs to change and change quickly and significantly. Attempts to buy success always end in misery. I can foresee a lower division 4 side with 20m debts in the not too distant future. I don't care how much money Eales and Ashton have access to. Unless they are prepared to gift the money or use the money to buy shares in the club without redemption clauses, I am not interested.
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joepoolman
- Mid-life Crisis
- Posts: 834
- Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2011 11:22 am
Re: Big game at Exeter
I sadly have to echo a lot of what Kernow Yellow has said. I think few will disagree that it's very likely that Exeter will finish in the bottom 6 and they looked a better side than us.
What confuses me the most, especially defensively, is that I don't believe there are any bad players, but as a team we are defending very poorly. Early on all Exeter seemed to have to do to make a chance was knock the ball over the centre backs, later in the first half they really should have scored from one of a plethora of free headers they were allowed in our box, and at times in the second a couple of simple passes would get the ball from their goalkeeper to a player running at our back four.
Barnett was very unimpressive, hopefully this was just because it was his first start of the season and he will prove himself to be the player we saw at Crawley a few years ago.
The main positive has to be a product of the United academy scoring his first goal for the first team, O'Dowda was certainly one of our better players and took his goal very well.
Three points from three games is a recovery of sorts from losing your first four, but I'm desperate for three points from one game now.
What confuses me the most, especially defensively, is that I don't believe there are any bad players, but as a team we are defending very poorly. Early on all Exeter seemed to have to do to make a chance was knock the ball over the centre backs, later in the first half they really should have scored from one of a plethora of free headers they were allowed in our box, and at times in the second a couple of simple passes would get the ball from their goalkeeper to a player running at our back four.
Barnett was very unimpressive, hopefully this was just because it was his first start of the season and he will prove himself to be the player we saw at Crawley a few years ago.
The main positive has to be a product of the United academy scoring his first goal for the first team, O'Dowda was certainly one of our better players and took his goal very well.
Three points from three games is a recovery of sorts from losing your first four, but I'm desperate for three points from one game now.
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Myles Francis
- Mid-life Crisis
- Posts: 927
- Joined: Thu May 11, 2006 3:17 pm
Re: Big game at Exeter
Attempting to buy success by spending money in the wrong areas will certainly end in misery.GodalmingYellow wrote:The entire approach needs to change and change quickly and significantly. Attempts to buy success always end in misery.
We now need to effectively win every other game to pick up enough points to finish 12th. And, with the current squad and system, that's a huge ask.
Assuming that we don't go down, the huge losses for this season and the big drop in revenue is going to result in a much lower squad budget next season as a result of FFP. The announcement of more "nice to haves" off the pitch really shouldn't distract fans from the massive problem we are walking into.
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joepoolman
- Mid-life Crisis
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- Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2011 11:22 am
Re: Big game at Exeter
Why can/should we assume that we won't go down?Myles Francis wrote:Assuming that we don't go down
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Myles Francis
- Mid-life Crisis
- Posts: 927
- Joined: Thu May 11, 2006 3:17 pm
Re: Big game at Exeter
Hang on, am I being accused of positivity?!joepoolman wrote:Why can/should we assume that we won't go down?Myles Francis wrote:Assuming that we don't go down
Seriously though, the assumption was made purely to comment on how FFP would affect us if we were still in the Football League next season. It certainly wasn't made on the basis that we are in any way "too good" to go down - results and performances to date suggest we are anything but that.