Always Next Year
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Pe├▒a Oxford United
- Middle-Aged Spread
- Posts: 1760
- Joined: Fri Sep 22, 2006 11:13 am
The best team won tonight & looking back over both legs in their entirety I think the best team got through though it hurts me to say so.
Abject & second best for most of the game was how Radio Oxford correctly described this display.
This really was THE big one and we needed a hero or two. No one stepped forward. We started nervously and never really shook these nerves off. We played too deep & let them cause us loads of problems down the flanks. It became obvious pretty early on that we needed a proper left sided defender instead of Burgess doing the defensive work. If we had won the midfield battle and taken the game to them more we could have shown their up defence for being rather dodgy as we had done at their place. Instead it was us who looked the more likely to concede throughout.
The hurt goes on – that’s typical of supporting the bloody U’s. The b*******s even cruely gave us false hope in the penalty shoot out.
But Looking forward to Histon already.
Abject & second best for most of the game was how Radio Oxford correctly described this display.
This really was THE big one and we needed a hero or two. No one stepped forward. We started nervously and never really shook these nerves off. We played too deep & let them cause us loads of problems down the flanks. It became obvious pretty early on that we needed a proper left sided defender instead of Burgess doing the defensive work. If we had won the midfield battle and taken the game to them more we could have shown their up defence for being rather dodgy as we had done at their place. Instead it was us who looked the more likely to concede throughout.
The hurt goes on – that’s typical of supporting the bloody U’s. The b*******s even cruely gave us false hope in the penalty shoot out.
But Looking forward to Histon already.
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Old Abingdonian
- Mid-life Crisis
- Posts: 844
- Joined: Mon May 29, 2006 10:05 am
- Location: Blakeney, Gloucs
Agreed - the season in a nutshell, really. Duffy misses guilt-edged chance, Turley bawls at the defence, and I think we were unlucky not to have Foster (L), who was looking a lot better than any of tonight's centre backs.
That said, we blew it - a 2-0 lead, if underserved, and we couldn't keep the momentum, or the composure at the back.
That said, we blew it - a 2-0 lead, if underserved, and we couldn't keep the momentum, or the composure at the back.
Exeter were the best team by some distance. Overall too it was probably the right result. The really disappointing thing for me was the performance of our experienced players - Foster, Gilchrist, Quinn looked more nervous than most, when those players should be our bankers in the big games like this. Defensively we were a shambles all night and only Turley kept us in it through to extra time.
I agree about Burgess, I thought amongst the rubbish he did ok, but he shouldn't have been at left back, the 2nd goal came from his side when a proper defender probably would have done better. I dunno though, Exeter had about 7 or 8 really good chances, I don't think a genuine left back would have solved our problems, we were just really, really poor. The first goal was from a poor clearance from Rose, when he should have left it to Zebowski to clear (our defenders got in each others way so many time).
We missed our own chances too, Duffy - after defending him all season I'd have put money on him to score, he dummied well but the shot was awful.
Anyway, it was possibly the most miserable 2 and a bit hours of football I've ever endured (and there's been some competition!) - bring on next season....
I agree about Burgess, I thought amongst the rubbish he did ok, but he shouldn't have been at left back, the 2nd goal came from his side when a proper defender probably would have done better. I dunno though, Exeter had about 7 or 8 really good chances, I don't think a genuine left back would have solved our problems, we were just really, really poor. The first goal was from a poor clearance from Rose, when he should have left it to Zebowski to clear (our defenders got in each others way so many time).
We missed our own chances too, Duffy - after defending him all season I'd have put money on him to score, he dummied well but the shot was awful.
Anyway, it was possibly the most miserable 2 and a bit hours of football I've ever endured (and there's been some competition!) - bring on next season....
I just despair.
What a unique form of torture we fashion for ourselves, supporting this bloody football club. How many times can we bugger things up when it really matters?
That said, Exeter deserved it. Mixed it around, exploited the weakness down the flanks (Mackie was outstanding when he came on), gave the CB's a torrid time, never let the midfield settle.
There was a feeling of inevitability once Duffy had missed that one-on-one.
We weren't good enough - didn't take our chances and were tactically one-dimensional. Which sums up our season basically.
Where's Histon again?
What a unique form of torture we fashion for ourselves, supporting this bloody football club. How many times can we bugger things up when it really matters?
That said, Exeter deserved it. Mixed it around, exploited the weakness down the flanks (Mackie was outstanding when he came on), gave the CB's a torrid time, never let the midfield settle.
There was a feeling of inevitability once Duffy had missed that one-on-one.
We weren't good enough - didn't take our chances and were tactically one-dimensional. Which sums up our season basically.
Where's Histon again?
Although we'd have won if the ref hadn't bottled it for the extra time penalties.
Zebra was immense, though. I hope we can hang onto him.
Can't shake the feeling that we'd be better off without Turley - as a keeper he's immense, but his bawling at the defense seems to actually make them worse.
Hope Jim does the decent thing. Time for something fresh, I feel.
Zebra was immense, though. I hope we can hang onto him.
Can't shake the feeling that we'd be better off without Turley - as a keeper he's immense, but his bawling at the defense seems to actually make them worse.
Hope Jim does the decent thing. Time for something fresh, I feel.
Re:
Sadly, i imagine i will still be compelled to attend every game next season in the vain hope that we will actually make it back to the giddy heights of League Two one day."A-Ro" wrote:ditto"Snake" wrote:See you all next season, folks, but probably at not as many games as this season.
Why do i do this to myself? There must be something else to do on a Saturday?!
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GodalmingYellow
- Senile
- Posts: 5178
- Joined: Tue May 16, 2006 10:22 am
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There will be many like you."A-Ro" wrote:ditto"Snake" wrote:See you all next season, folks, but probably at not as many games as this season.
It was after midnight before I was able to get out of the overflow car park. 1.30am before I got home. And it was a very miserable journey.
My appetite for non-league football will also be very much reduced next season. As was said in an earlier post, it was fun for one season. Every new season will get more and more difficult to get out of this division by promotion.
I was working out last night on that journey home that it costs me £25 in petrol for each home game and about £25 per game for tickets and ancillaries. That's £1,150 for home games, and much more per game for away games because of the distance. That means I have to earn about 4 grand a year gross just to pay for this privilege.
The value for money compared to spending time with the family and lost time with the kids is diminishing rapidly.
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Resurrection Ox
- Puberty
- Posts: 445
- Joined: Tue May 16, 2006 9:45 pm
Re:
And there will be more who will still be there next season. I've enjoyed it - even last night in a macabre sort of way."GodalmingYellow" wrote:There will be many like you."A-Ro" wrote:ditto"Snake" wrote:See you all next season, folks, but probably at not as many games as this season.
It was after midnight before I was able to get out of the overflow car park. 1.30am before I got home. And it was a very miserable journey.
My appetite for non-league football will also be very much reduced next season. As was said in an earlier post, it was fun for one season. Every new season will get more and more difficult to get out of this division by promotion.
I was working out last night on that journey home that it costs me £25 in petrol for each home game and about £25 per game for tickets and ancillaries. That's £1,150 for home games, and much more per game for away games because of the distance. That means I have to earn about 4 grand a year gross just to pay for this privilege.
The value for money compared to spending time with the family and lost time with the kids is diminishing rapidly.
Morning after the night before is not the time to start giving up on Oxford United!
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I for one do not want wholesale changes of the squad. Continuity is the key. I cannot believe that a lot of supporters want Burgess out. It's not his damn fault that the manager plays him in the wrong position!
Off the top of my head here's the chopping board.
Quinn/Basham/Duffy ( will go to Stockport I hear) Brevett (please) Johnson (been a decent signing but just too old now.
Gilchrist might walk - but where's he going to earn as much in 07/08? Tardif. ( I belive his contract is up.Keep: Turley, Day, Both Fosters, (hell did we miss Foster L last night), Burgess, Pettefer, Yemi ( but I hear his agent is looking around - and who can blame Yemi - he's too good for the Conference
Wilmott ( a big miss in mid season), Zebroski/ Rose will not hang around. Would be good to land Corcoran and thats a possiblity apparently.
Burgess is on good money and might be sold on to save on the wage bill but I would keep him. I enjoy watching the lad play. He is much maligned by the more bovine of our supporters.
Marv is on another year (oh dear).
Hutchinson is on another 2 years ( oh dear oh dear), and might get farmed out.
See the conundrum. I've just come up with 'wholesale changes'!
It will be an interesting summer. Clear sightedness and firm leadership
needed from board.
Up the U's.
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Myles Francis
- Mid-life Crisis
- Posts: 927
- Joined: Thu May 11, 2006 3:17 pm
Interesting this talk about Burgess being played at left back. This was a point I was (continually) making during the first hour of the game - he was playing like a conventional left-back, not a wing-back. Lost count of the number of times Rose or Hargreaves had the ball in the middle and there was no outlet on the left because Burgess wasn't moving forward into space.
How Duffy missed that chance when he'd done all the hard work and committed the keeper, I shall never know.
It did seem that Exeter had a 12th man out there. I'm normally fairly measured with refs - they make mistakes, but tend to be fairly even, but last night was something else. It wasn't just the 50:50s going Exeter's way, it was the 70:30s in our favour which Exeter were getting too which galled me. The "penalty" on the edge of the box, I have been told by a neutral Sky viewer was close enough that, were it the other way we'd be aggrieved that it had been given, so fair enough. But there was just so much else not given, or given to Exeter, it beggared belief.
That said, the fact that we were very, very poor in what was the biggest game of the season is inescapable.
How Duffy missed that chance when he'd done all the hard work and committed the keeper, I shall never know.
It did seem that Exeter had a 12th man out there. I'm normally fairly measured with refs - they make mistakes, but tend to be fairly even, but last night was something else. It wasn't just the 50:50s going Exeter's way, it was the 70:30s in our favour which Exeter were getting too which galled me. The "penalty" on the edge of the box, I have been told by a neutral Sky viewer was close enough that, were it the other way we'd be aggrieved that it had been given, so fair enough. But there was just so much else not given, or given to Exeter, it beggared belief.
That said, the fact that we were very, very poor in what was the biggest game of the season is inescapable.