[Archived] Oxford away Tuesday

[TonyM]

First game I've been to this season, so never seen many of the players before  - my few impressions ....

To win 4-2 away from home is always a great result no matter what so can't complain at all.

Dack was of a standard way above any other player on the pitch - need to keep him fit for the season. Mulgrew was the other stand out player in the Rovers team. I also thought Antonsson worked very hard and was effective.

Nuttall was a bit of a disappointment for me - he worked hard and ran around, but won very few balls and couldn't hold it when he did. On almost the only occasion he did get it right, he did really well to keep possession,  which got the ball out to Bennett and then  he got himself on the end of the cross to score (even if he did miss his shot completely and bundled it in off his back leg). Some potential there, but a long way to go.

Negative points were the way the whole team seemed to switch off after about 30mins, and sat back far too much allowing Oxford to start playing. Need to work on holding the ball and finding passes - too many careless ones went astray. 2nd half performance was pretty poor all round - the midfield , once Evans went off, seemed to vanish and gave them too much time & space. For most of the 2nd half we seemed to be playing with 7 at the back and three up front and a huge gap in between.

But overall - a very good night and one to be happy about.

 

 

[jim mk2]

Strange game in many ways - were we very good or were Oxford poor? Probably a bit of both but we certainly made better use of the strong wind blowing down the pitch from the open end in the first half and the Oxford defence was unable to cope. Incidentally, what happened to the West stand behind the goal ? 

The game was effectively over at 3-0 but a brilliant Oxford goal (their No 10 is a very good player - can we sign him?) before half-time gave them hope and an early goal for them in the second half might have made it interesting. 

My ratings for what it's worth.

Raya 6 ......still lacks physical presence. Don't they knock him about in training to toughen him up?

Nyambe ... 6 mixture of good and poor. Still doesn't look confident in himself

Downing..... 7 solid, rarely put a foot wrong

Mulgrew....8 ditto, best player.

Williams 7 dependable, 3rd division is his level

Bennett...6 anonymous first half, better in the 2nd. Needs to contribute more

Smallwood....7 neat and efficient, did his job well

Evans....7 played well. Yet another injury though.

Antonsson....6 can he actually play football ? On the periphery of the game all the time, yet scores goals. Odd player, like Rhodes.

Dack.... 8 good game. Worked his socks off and has the x-factor.

Nuttall...5 Poor technically and needs to work harder.. 

Subs:

Harper 7 caught in possession a few times but the lad can play.

Graham 7 worked hard in cameo role.

Anyone else was anonymous. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, meadows said:

Well said Parson. Good to hear that Graham contributed too - in his early months here his ability to run the clock down contributed hugely to the wins at home to Fulham, Birmingham, Middlesbrough etc

Classic case of someone who was actually there watching and understanding the game giving us insight into the rationale behind the subs too....I appreciate that rather than people throwing hands in the air about “3 strikers on..” without the slightest idea of what was going on 

 

Read Tony M's comments about us playing with 3 strikers. He was there as well and he also seems to know what he's talking about. 

[philipl]

I had expected 1-0 or 2-1 at best but in reality was hoping we could nick a draw. So any win was bonus points so far as I am concerned.

Good to be making a habit of rattling in 3 or more goals.

Always good to do that when we are utter rubbish otherwise (just thought I'd type that to keep all my readers happy).

Other good thing is we went for it from the start and notched 3 quickly. Hopefully Mowbray now has the confidence to send the lads out on the front foot every game now. 

 

[DE.]

I wonder if Graham will still be here in January? It's hard to justify a player on his wages being used as an impact sub. He was supposed to be our main man. Now it's gotten to the point where he gets praise for holding the ball up at the end of a match...

With the wages we'd save from getting rid of him we could probably bring in a replacement striker who could do just as much if not more, along with another one or two to bolster the squad.

I suppose getting rid of Graham will be the problem though. He hasn't exactly shined in this league, so will any club able to afford his wages be willing to take him on? Probably not.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, jim mk2 said:

Strange game in many ways - were we very good or were Oxford poor? Probably a bit of both but we certainly made better use of the strong wind blowing down the pitch from the open end in the first half and the Oxford defence was unable to cope. Incidentally, what happened to the West stand behind the goal ? 

The game was effectively over at 3-0 but a brilliant Oxford goal (their No 10 is a very good player - can we sign him?) before half-time gave them hope and an early goal for them in the second half might have made it interesting. 

My ratings for what it's worth.

Raya 6 ......still lacks physical presence. Don't they knock him about in training to toughen him up?

Nyambe ... 6 mixture of good and poor. Still doesn't look confident in himself

Downing..... 7 solid, rarely put a foot wrong

Mulgrew....8 ditto, best player.

Williams 7 dependable, 3rd division is his level

Bennett...6 anonymous first half, better in the 2nd. Needs to contribute more

Smallwood....7 neat and efficient, did his job well

Evans....7 played well. Yet another injury though.

Antonsson....6 can he actually play football ? On the periphery of the game all the time, yet scores goals. Odd player, like Rhodes.

Dack.... 8 good game. Worked his socks off and has the x-factor.

Nuttall...5 Poor technically and needs to work harder.. 

Subs:

Harper 7 caught in possession a few times but the lad can play.

Graham 7 worked hard in cameo role.

Anyone else was anonymous. 

Antonnson's a bit of a dilemma. He doesn't seem to contribute a great deal in general play but has the handy knack of popping up  with crucial goals.  He has the look of a natural finisher in the act of scoring. Again with last  nights goal he had no hesitation in putting it away. However am I right in saying he's been subbed in every game he's started ? Maybe they need get get him on the pints of Guinness and Steak diet. Whenever I've seen him play he's been an enthusiastic, willing runner without much actually  resulting from his efforts.

As long as he's scoring from that sort of old inside left role we can't leave him out.

Samuel was the anonymous sub you missed out.

[Dreams of 1995]

7 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Read Tony M's comments about us playing with 3 strikers. He was there as well and he also seems to know what he's talking about. 

Where can I find them Tyrone?

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

About 8 posts back. It appears posts don't have numbers anymore.

[JAL]

2 hours ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

He is a big strong lad, tricky little players like that are always going to be hard to defend against one on one. He stood him up well and didn't dive in. The Oxford players finish was pretty tidy from the angle he was at. A cheeky January bid perhaps? 

Should or could Nyambe have been closer to his opponent though ?

[Dreams of 1995]

8 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

About 8 posts back. It appears posts don't have numbers anymore.

Oooooh! Tony M. I thought you meant Mowbray 

I wholeheartedly agree with TonyM though. We completely lost our midfield due to the changes made. I was there too. Although, for some, Parson's word is final and those that disagree are committing sacrilege

Graham did hold the ball up quite well but what's the point in holding the ball up if there's no midfield pushing on to link play? It was a disjointed 2nd half. In fact I think Tony Mowbray has alluded to that himself in his comments in the LT - he was unhappy with aspects of the performance. For some reason we can't echo his sentiments on here in case we are seen to "over analyse" or simply doing so because "we've backed ourselves into a corner with Mowbray". A ridiculous suggestion.

Both Mowbray and TonyM have been correct in their summaries of the game.

18 minutes ago, DE. said:

I wonder if Graham will still be here in January? It's hard to justify a player on his wages being used as an impact sub. He was supposed to be our main man. Now it's gotten to the point where he gets praise for holding the ball up at the end of a match...

With the wages we'd save from getting rid of him we could probably bring in a replacement striker who could do just as much if not more, along with another one or two to bolster the squad.

I suppose getting rid of Graham will be the problem though. He hasn't exactly shined in this league, so will any club able to afford his wages be willing to take him on? Probably not.

Yeah it seems a waste of a wage to be paying someone who has now been substituted to the role of "seeing a game out". I'd much rather we offloaded him off the books and got a cheaper striker in to do that job. I also said this in summer: I don't think we particularly kept hold of DG because he wanted to stay here but because of the lack of options available to him.

He's on a good number here and I can't see anyone paying him what we do

[jim mk2]

I'd keep Graham. All of our strikers are very young and give the ball away alot. His experience and nous will be important if we're still challenging in squeaky bum time. 

[Bigdoggsteel]

15 minutes ago, JAL said:

Should or could Nyambe have been closer to his opponent though ?

Ya, he could have gotten tighter alright. He looked about 3-4 feet away. Could have tightened that up to 1-2 feet ,without committing himself. needed to be careful not to give away a peno though, the guy had quick feet and was pretty tricky. 

[Bigdoggsteel]

13 minutes ago, jim mk2 said:

I'd keep Graham. All of our strikers are very young and give the ball away alot. His experience and nous will be important if we're still challenging in squeaky bum time. 

Agreed. He is also likely to score important goals. I don't see any benefit in letting him go at this stage 

[RV Blue]

3 hours ago, Parsonblue said:

I assume this is some sort of dig at folk who actually support their football club.  Like arbitro there have been times when I've been critical of the manager for 'overthinking' life in the Third Division.  Last night we set off on the front foot and overwhelmed them in the first 20 minutes and Oxford are a pretty decent side by the standards of this division.  It wasn't a faultless performance by any means but it was one that suggests that the automatic promotion places are not beyond this team.  There were a number of very good performances - Mulgrew was outstanding in his reading of the game; Downing was solid in defence; Bennett and Dack worked non-stop both going forward and in tracking back while young Nuttall worked his socks off up front and once again was in the right place at the right time.  Graham gave a brilliant little cameo at the end in terms of keeping possession in the final third and using his experience to run the clock down.  There is still a lot of work to do but Mowbray is turning this team into a pretty formidable outfit on the road and once again the support for the manager and team from the fans was terrific.  A hugely enjoyable night of football. 

Consistency is the key and it's important that we build on these two wins with another victory against Bristol Rovers.  It's strange that after years of being fragile in away games, it's playing at Ewood which seems to cause us most of our problems.  

It was not a dig, full credit to you, but it is a certain type of supporter that would go down to Oxford on a Tuesday night. A supporter that is fully behind the manager etc., so it is no suprise to see that those that went are positive about the performance and it is also no suprise to see those that spent hundreds to get down there being delighted with seeing a win, as opposed to someone who watched it for free in their own living room. Watching it on TV can give the viewer a more objective view of the game as they aren't caught up in the emotion of it as much.

From the 70ish mins I saw, it was the worst we have played all season, that is all I have said. Were you happy that we finished the game with 3 strikers? That was one of Mowbrays strangest decisions this season, and that's saying something.

[tomphil]

18 minutes ago, jim mk2 said:

I'd keep Graham. All of our strikers are very young and give the ball away alot. His experience and nous will be important if we're still challenging in squeaky bum time. 

Yep he's a big game man and if we are in the play offs and he shows up he could be the difference.

[RV Blue]

1 hour ago, meadows said:

Classic case of someone who was actually there watching and understanding the game giving us insight into the rationale behind the subs too....I appreciate that rather than people throwing hands in the air about “3 strikers on..” without the slightest idea of what was going on 

You what? When did Parson explain why we finished the game with 3 strikers on?

[only2garners]

2 hours ago, Tugay's Right Foot said:

any reason why TM says Oxford are the top scorers in the league?

if it's true, their strike force are no muggers.

Because they are, or rather they are in the division, which I presume is what he meant - now joint top with Wigan after last night with 33 goals.

[AAK]

4 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

Can anyone who was at the game comment how Nuttall played and how did his partnership with Dack look please???

Not great, his touch at times was a bit poor and he was wasteful on a couple of occasions (Nuttall) however he scored, again!

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, JAL said:

Should or could Nyambe have been closer to his opponent though ?

You could always argue that. I'm old school so I agree with you. I think all modern fullbacks play too near to the centre halves and therefore give wingers too much room. Again I think that is a modern coaching theory, so they can support the centre halves.

When I played many years ago wingers hugged the touch line and full backs marked them pretty closely. They were much nearer to the winger than they were to the nearest centre half. Now it's the other way around.

[AAK]

We have 31 points after 17 games. Last season Bolton also had 31 points after 17 games, however they were 4th and one point off second, shows how much more competitive the league is this season, as we are 8 off 2nd, albeit with a game in hand.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, AAK said:

We have 31 points after 17 games. Last season Bolton also had 31 points after 17 games, however they were 4th and one point off second, shows how much more competitive the league is this season, as we are 8 off 2nd, albeit with a game in hand.

Automatic promotion is doable. It's still only November remember. We need to kick on from our latest away wins. We're playing better for longer periods but it's still not enough. We need to keep improving, let's all hope we do.

[AAK]

Just now, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Automatic promotion is doable. It's still only November remember. We need to kick on from our latest away wins. We're playing better for longer periods but it's still not enough. We need to keep improving, let's all hope we do.

Aye, we are still in it. If we do the same again over the next 17 games (31points) that would give us 62 after 34 games, last season that would have had us second, this season I think we will need more than that, maybe 37/38 points over next 17 games. Although that could be doable, as I think we are better now, and may not lose as many as 4 in the next 17 as we have in the first 17.

[RV Blue]

19 minutes ago, meadows said:

I didn’t say he did.  I said I found him explaining Graham’s contribution more useful and insightful than some of the stuff about three strikers I’ve seen. 

Who are you criticising then? Graham did ok when he came on but the substitution was still strange. Not sure what your point is.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

These are more like the results and form fans were expecting from the off...perhaps we have finally adjusted.Keep it up and we may well get out of this hell hole of a league.

Onwards and upwards!

[DE.]

1 hour ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Agreed. He is also likely to score important goals. I don't see any benefit in letting him go at this stage 

The obvious benefit is the wage bill being reduced enough to allow a few more transfers in. Assuming we are working to a budget, Graham will be taking up a significant portion of that budget. I take the points about his experience and his potential to come good, but so far he has looked largely disinterested and is currently behind the likes of Nuttall and Antonsson in the pecking order. If people are happy for him to be paid upwards of £10k a week to come on and hold the ball up for 15 minute then OK, but personally I'd be looking at other options. He isn't the only player in England with "experience" and I imagine we could find a cheaper alternative who actually wants to be here. 

Ultimately I fear it doesn't matter either way, because his wage is likely to put off anybody who was interested.