Oxford (A) match thread Sep 2nd

[Vtid]

39 minutes ago, Bycarsbill said:

I agree, it's good to see goals coming from different areas. However, despite scoring 7 goals in six league matches that is the second lowest total for any team  in the top half. And, thanks to that Barnsley drubbing, you have to go all the way down to Leyton Orient in 20th position to find a worse goal difference! 

I don't care who scores, but my plea is for more goals generally. 

Exeter also joint top only scored 8 though, same as stevenage ( also joint top ) and pompey & oxford who take up the final 2 playoff spots have 9 goals apiece. Winning games is what's important & we've scored more than 1/2 goals on multiple occasions already so i have no worries about scoring goals with the creativity & talent from the advanced midfield positions. To top it off we are looking very solid at the back now with a few clean sheets to throw in the mix. Keep the faith billy 💪🏻 

[Vtid]

Just now, Vtid said:

Exeter also joint top only scored 8 though, same as stevenage ( also joint top ) and pompey & oxford who take up the final 2 playoff spots have 9 goals apiece. Winning games is what's important & we've scored more than 1/2 goals on multiple occasions already so i have no worries about scoring goals with the creativity & talent from the advanced midfield positions. To top it off we are looking very solid at the back now with a few clean sheets to throw in the mix. Keep the faith billy 💪🏻 

so basically 5 of the top 6 teams have 9 goals or less from opening 6 games. 

[Bycarsbill]

55 minutes ago, Vtid said:

Exeter also joint top only scored 8 though, same as stevenage ( also joint top ) and pompey & oxford who take up the final 2 playoff spots have 9 goals apiece. Winning games is what's important & we've scored more than 1/2 goals on multiple occasions already so i have no worries about scoring goals with the creativity & talent from the advanced midfield positions. To top it off we are looking very solid at the back now with a few clean sheets to throw in the mix. Keep the faith billy 💪🏻 

The faith is burning brightly I can assure you!

[Doha]

3 hours ago, maccapvfc said:

I recognise Doho’s point, I too was hoping to have signed a LWB cover but then I also recognise why Crosby has thought we’ve got cover in that area, so we used funds towards obtain other priority areas instead.

there are a few fans I’ve seen in the past (I’ve no idea if Doho is one of those or not), that don’t like us singing loan players and developing someone’s else’s player. So we’re trying to develop our own in Plant. It could be for any number of reasons why we put him on the left - possibly that Yak is a unit and experienced defender to help talk Plant through the game - rather than with Cass who is another young player. Or that we just want to help develop other attributes, forcing to use his weaker left foot. 
 

yes he will get targeted but that happens in every game, we do the same, if it’s not plant it will be Arblaster and Chizzy getting roughed up to make us less creative. I’m happy that we continue to develop our own player in Plant. 
 

Oxford had some very good players and at the start of the season, I wasn’t surprised by their start. They were quick and slick footballers. We’ve turned them over, despite not being the better team on the day. We’ve got the 3 points and now we can have a rest to get Grant and Balmer back fit (if Grant was unfit - again, it could have been we wanted plants energy and pace to keep up with their attacking players). 

I can't remember if it was it Flitcroft or DC who said why bother developing someone else's player, our loans should be players we have a view to sign. In principle that would be the ideal yeah, but you don't really have a leg to stand on when someone else's player is Arblaster, or Devine. The latter won that game yesterday with the ball for the set piece, the threaded pass to Garrity in space and the subsequent pen. It's going to be gutting when they leave but if our loans have now been elevated to the Dele Alli to MKD level, sign me up.

As for Plant, I see the argument but it isn't half chucking him in the deep end to start in L1 out of position with so little experience. I'd like to see him start on Tuesday as a right sided forward in place of Massey and let him bombard Crewe with his runs. 

[EricHamesis]

Can we stop this nonsense about us being "joint top" of the league.

We're 4th.

(If the season ended now we wouldn't be promoted automatically, or involved in a play off with the Exeter and Bolton. "Rose tinted spectacles" doesn't begin to cover some delusions.)

[GrumpyGit]

14 hours ago, Doha said:

For all of Oxford's whinging about the dark arts, and christ it's extensive on twitter and their forum, it looks to me like the joga bonito football purists should have had 3 reds as it looks like Brannagan kicked out at Cass.

 

Pushes him from behind, then falls over the leg. 

[Doha]

1 hour ago, Vale1995 said:

Maybe try focus on positives when were are doing so well??? Strange really that when were unbeaten in 7 and joint top of the league but your first instinct is to go on about how we dont have lwb cover? When we actually have 3 players who can play there and without that cover weve managed to stay unbeaten in 7 with our main lwb not playing regularly in them 7 games. It sort of shows we do have cover does it not? 

The comment that I was quoted in was written just after they equalised. "and joint top of the league but your first instinct is to go on about how we dont have lwb cover?" is disingenuous, it wasn't after we'd won.

It really doesn't.

One is a highly rated natural LWB - great - but he played 9 times last season.

One is a young highly rated right sided winger who's only played 10 times in the EFL full stop, forced out of position. 

One is a 16 year old schoolboy who's EFL experience totals 11 minutes. 

You can pontificate all you like but these are literally just facts. 

I just struggle to understand why we've recruited to such a high standard in some areas of the pitch and yet we're seemingly laissez faire about this glaring vulnerability to persist past the transfer window closing. I like many others thought Benning struggled at this level but at least it was his actual position and he was experienced, there were over 4 weeks between him going and the window closing to replace him.

It wasn't from LWB but Barnsley's 7th - Plant was marking, wrong sided, miles off and gave away a free header. Similar story on the other post for Fleetwood's 2nd. Clearly a forward playing an unfamiliar position. We conceded from an unchallenged cross from LWB in the 93rd minute yesterday and then got lucky the scorer took out Devine IIRC with a magnificently stupid foul to go down to 9 men.

The full games are on ifollow for free. Just watch the ones where he's in LWB. The amount of crosses coming in from that side are scary. If you want to delude yourself into not acknowledging it, unlike how the opposition's scouts immediately recognise it because they target him now, fill your boots. 

[WV]

20 minutes ago, EricHamesis said:

Can we stop this nonsense about us being "joint top" of the league.

We're 4th.

(If the season ended now we wouldn't be promoted automatically, or involved in a play off with the Exeter and Bolton. "Rose tinted spectacles" doesn't begin to cover some delusions.)

Happy Sunday!

[GrumpyGit]

16 hours ago, ginginator said:

Come on Grumpy you only joined on Tuesday.

What you will be like when we are in Europe?

Take a breath 🙂 

I don’t get carried away. Scored against 10 men, then let in an equaliser.

Got a penalty against 9 men.

Less possession and shots.

There is a very long way to go. Europe you say, is there a trip to Ireland in the offing?

[Doha]

5 minutes ago, GrumpyGit said:

Pushes him from behind, then falls over the leg. 

He gets up and only then kicks his leg out, I thought it was pretty clear from that forward angle. 

[Wrex]

2 hours ago, Badboybubba said:

I ain't listened to that terrible radio show for about 9 years, and no intention of doing so ever again..
 

It's a lot better since John Acres left

[maccapvfc]

50 minutes ago, Doha said:

I can't remember if it was it Flitcroft or DC who said why bother developing someone else's player, our loans should be players we have a view to sign. In principle that would be the ideal yeah, but you don't really have a leg to stand on when someone else's player is Arblaster, or Devine. The latter won that game yesterday with the ball for the set piece, the threaded pass to Garrity in space and the subsequent pen. It's going to be gutting when they leave but if our loans have now been elevated to the Dele Alli to MKD level, sign me up.

As for Plant, I see the argument but it isn't half chucking him in the deep end to start in L1 out of position with so little experience. I'd like to see him start on Tuesday as a right sided forward in place of Massey and let him bombard Crewe with his runs. 

Dele Alli started at MK didn’t he? I’m fairly certain he started to make appearances at 16 for MK and then got big money move 

[maccapvfc]

Just now, maccapvfc said:

Dele Alli started at MK didn’t he? I’m fairly certain he started to make appearances at 16 for MK and then got big money move 

Although I agree that if we can keep this level of player loans up then I’d be happy, especially whilst we build up our academy to bring through our own talent - which is going to take time. 
 

it was DC if I remember rightly that he preferred to take loans that you have a chance to sign at the end of the loan period but I’m happy with our current model too 

[smithie]

54 minutes ago, EricHamesis said:

Can we stop this nonsense about us being "joint top" of the league.

We're 4th.

(If the season ended now we wouldn't be promoted automatically, or involved in a play off with the Exeter and Bolton. "Rose tinted spectacles" doesn't begin to cover some delusions.)

Couldn't agree more. Really pxssed me off seeing the Vale fans singing and smiling yesterday. The sooner we drum all the fun out of football the better.

[Doha]

2 minutes ago, maccapvfc said:

Dele Alli started at MK didn’t he? I’m fairly certain he started to make appearances at 16 for MK and then got big money move 

Yeah, then was immediately loaned back. Perhaps Grealish to NC would have been a better example, I just meant we're starting to get those top drawer loans in.

By comparison to 17/18 when we were loaning in Rekeil Pyke and Zak Jules under Norman, the progress is unbelievable.