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Post by andystroud on Jul 29, 2014 21:28:49 GMT
I'm more than happy with tonight's performance. It sounded as though we played some tidy football with plenty of movement off the ball. Wolves had some experienced players in their team and it was a good test for us. We do need a couple of additions up front, but I'm not panicking about that, as I trust the management team to sort that out before the season starts. Note this is based on listening to the second half commentary on an iPhone in Scotland. So obviously not as good as being there
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Post by shaunrice on Jul 29, 2014 21:29:14 GMT
I was there and I can tell you it was awful. First 80 minutes dull sideways football, retaining possession well but ultimately no end product. one maybe two shots. Same old Oxford really. If we field this team and they play like that we'll be relegated. Danny Hylton is terrible the worst player on the pitch. Not massively impressed with anyone else either really, sorry. After the changes on about 80 minutes and wow! Suddenly we looked like a team that might do something. Roberts looked 10 times the player Hylton was.
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Post by MJB on Jul 29, 2014 21:29:19 GMT
I think it was the needing 4 or 5 strikers that first gave it away. He didn't actually say that tho? Difficult to tell on here who's a bellend and who isn't! It's simple. Everyone's a bellend. End of.
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Post by greatunclekip on Jul 29, 2014 21:29:57 GMT
Starting to panic about up front now. We are utterly toothless, regardless of how well we play.
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Post by uptheus on Jul 29, 2014 21:30:55 GMT
Concerns re Mullins going off injured, hopefully not too serious. Seemed to be indicating it was his right knee. Also concerning, but hopefully not as serious was Wright was carrying an injury.
We looked goods in spells with good movement/moves at times, with O'Dowda looking very comfortable and confident on the ball. Riley looked good and put in some good crosses, hopefully stays injury free. Meades looked good when he came on in the centre of midfield, raised tempo and always looking to want the ball with good movement. We looked light upfront with Hylton on his own, so no news there!! Again, Roberts looked lively when he came on, but don't think we should rely on him yet and certainly shouldn't put that pressure on him.
George Long looked good and made a fantastic save, probably could have done better with their goal, but it seemed their player missed kicked it so probably caused him to mis-judge it.
We need 3/4 players (striker, winger, supporting midfielder + one other, possibly another striker)
Nice to see some good moves at times which gives some promise, but cannot help think that we need to strengthen or we could be in for an even longer season than normal!!
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Post by andystroud on Jul 29, 2014 21:31:52 GMT
He didn't actually say that tho? Difficult to tell on here who's a bellend and who isn't! I've thought that for a while, so I've decided to just be a bell end to fit in. It's certainly easier that way
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Post by oxrox on Jul 29, 2014 21:36:12 GMT
Look, lets cut to the chase.
What did Dougie think?
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Post by hadouken on Jul 29, 2014 21:42:33 GMT
Thought we played some really nice stuff! Just lacked that killer ball. Hulton looked good up top but lacked support as rose was clearly out of his comfort zone. Ruffles played some decent stuff along with COD out on the wide areas.
Thought when we made our subs that meades looked good along with hunt who pushed forward further that Riley. We are lacking a big man upfront who we can get the ball into as we created a large amount of crosses.
Overall I tidy display and the youngsters look very promising
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Post by shaunrice on Jul 29, 2014 21:42:51 GMT
Concerns re Mullins going off injured, hopefully not too serious. Seemed to be indicating it was his right knee. Also concerning, but hopefully not as serious was Wright was carrying an injury. We looked goods in spells with good movement/moves at times, with O'Dowda looking very comfortable and confident on the ball. Riley looked good and put in some good crosses, hopefully stays injury free. Meades looked good when he came on in the centre of midfield, raised tempo and always looking to want the ball with good movement. We looked light upfront with Hylton on his own, so no news there!! Again, Roberts looked lively when he came on, but don't think we should rely on him yet and certainly shouldn't put that pressure on him. George Long looked good and made a fantastic save, probably could have done better with their goal, but it seemed their player missed kicked it so probably caused him to mis-judge it. We need 3/4 players (striker, winger, supporting midfielder + one other, possibly another striker) Nice to see some good moves at times which gives some promise, but cannot help think that we need to strengthen or we could be in for an even longer season than normal!! Spot on about Meades looked class and moved the ball well.
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Post by bonfireman on Jul 29, 2014 21:45:44 GMT
Can we do a forum league table of bellends?
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Post by dabigfella on Jul 29, 2014 21:46:48 GMT
I was there and I can tell you it was awful. First 80 minutes dull sideways football, retaining possession well but ultimately no end product. one maybe two shots. Same old Oxford really. If we field this team and they play like that we'll be relegated. Danny Hylton is terrible the worst player on the pitch. Not massively impressed with anyone else either really, sorry. After the changes on about 80 minutes and wow! Suddenly we looked like a team that might do something. Roberts looked 10 times the player Hylton was. I too was there and much of what you say is true. However I did think Collins had a good game as the defensive tidy up midfield man. The Wolves goal I thought was offside and I thought the goalkeeper could have done better in trying to save it. The right back Riley(?) looked ring rusty and was beaten for pace more often than not. Hunt looked far better when he came on. If Appleton is going to play the 4-2-3-1 formation then he really needs someone better than Hylton. He was poor in the air, not much better along the ground and is simply not good enough to play the loan forward role. As you said the front line (if you can call it that!) looked far better when Roberts came on. It's obvious that Appleton doesn't play out and out wingers so Potter's days are probably numbered. O'Dowda played in the centre of the three and tried hard but he doesn't look comfortable in the role either. The problems of last season are still there for all to see. The back four is fairly solid, the midfield lack anything in even vaguely approaching creative ability, and we now have now forwards that are unlikely to score even 10 to 15 goals a season. Perhaps the best thing was that the passing was good and we broke forward a lot quicker than under the latter stages of last season. That is until the last third when everything died the death. I would say we need at least 4 more players to even approach the promotion positions. I fear we may not see that many and that it will be a long hard season
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2014 21:56:00 GMT
I think the front line looked better when Roberts came on because Meades also came on. In the hole behind the striker he was much better than Rose, always looked for the ball, switched play well & (importantly) got up in support of Roberts.
4231 can be excellent, but it involves movement & support from multiple positions. If wingers stick as wingers or the player in the hole plays too deep you might as well play 451. Got to be flexible & provide support to the striker.
I hope we persevere as it could work well if we get the right combinations.
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Post by Common Villager on Jul 29, 2014 21:59:50 GMT
I'm not sure I'd say I was encouraged by that performance, but I certainly wasn't worried by it.
The keeper looks quite composed, although I do think he could've done better with their goal - it was a scuffed shot that sort of went under than him. He did make a cracking save in the second half, however, and seemed fairly comfortable with crosses.
Riley appeared to not be match fit (either that or disinterested) in the first half, but upped his game a bit in the second, and showed he's willing to overlap and is capable of putting in a very good ball. He will be better than Hunt, but I'd like to see the second half him more often than the first half him.
I'm not a massive fan of Raynes and nothing changed tonight. Should be back up and no more. Worrying to see Mullins pick up some sort of injury, hopefully its not too serious. Him and Wright are a very good centre back partnership at this level and I hope we can see it for most of the coming season.
I liked the look of Meades when he came on. I didn't really believe that he would be any good in centre midfield but he played very well in there. Don't think he gave the ball away and picked out a couple of very good passes in behind the Wolves defence which was something Rose, Collins and Ruffels failed to do.
I'm unsure about Collins. I think he needs to up it a bit if he wants to keep his place in the team, gave the ball away more easily and often than I was expecting. Ruffels also needs to do more for me. He will be a very good player, but if he wants to be an important player this season, he needs to grab the game by the scruff of the neck a bit more. He goes through the motions sometimes (football cliche alert).
O'Dowda impressed me. Very comfortable on the ball and an extremely good first touch. I think he will be very important for us this season. He's a couple of levels up from Humphreys atm.
Hylton is a better technical player than Beano. His touch is much better. I would describe his style as a combination of Constable and Smalley, and I'm sort of meaning that as a compliment. I can't see him banging in 15-20 goals but I think he's a good acquisition considering he's probably on less than all of our strikers were last season.
Today's game only served to reiterate that we need at least three more attacking players. I would say a striker, a winger and an attacking midfielder is the minimum we need. Two strikers would be ideal, but I think we need to address the lack of a creative player in the 'hole'. We could have five strikers, but in the system Appleton wants to play (4231), you need someone to play in behind them and feed them the ball. We have not got that player yet.
As i said, not worried by today's performance. Three or four more players will see us going into the season with a good team.
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Post by bigfella72 on Jul 29, 2014 22:01:49 GMT
I was there and I can tell you it was awful. First 80 minutes dull sideways football, retaining possession well but ultimately no end product. one maybe two shots. Same old Oxford really. If we field this team and they play like that we'll be relegated. Danny Hylton is terrible the worst player on the pitch. Not massively impressed with anyone else either really, sorry. After the changes on about 80 minutes and wow! Suddenly we looked like a team that might do something. Roberts looked 10 times the player Hylton was. Have to disagree! How good are the Wolves XI we played? Better than most teams in div2 at keeping the ball I'd suggest. They scored virtually as soon as Wright came on and wasn't up to speed with the game although I think Newey kept their guy on side. They then played a good game of keep ball for long periods. Long- played pretty well, good kicking but played the ball out short most of the time. Made 1 worldly save and commanded his area well. Riley- Wasn't overly impressed first half but as the game went on and he got forward more he looked good and possibly put in the best cross of the game. Raynes- Steady but nearly gifted their player a goal near the end. Wright/Mullins- solid as ever (bar the goal which I'm not sure was Wrights fault) Newey- defended well and got forward more than we've seen before. Possibly should have played Humphries in quicker a few times. Ruffels- wouldn't know it's only really his second season but got caught two or three times delaying passes. Collins- Again like Riley I wasn't too sure about him but was probably going about his business without being flashy although he did make one really good run with the ball. Moved into the attacking midfield slot later in the game and looked a class act! O'Dowda- looked really good and wouldn't hesitate to start him against Burton. Some brilliant touches and turns of speed. Rose- Looked comfortable as an AM. With his energy he made up for Hyltons lack of mobility by closing down defenders and was often the furthest man up the pitch. Moved out wide later on when Collins moved forward. Intelligent footballer. Humphries- surprise starter but looked lively in the first 10 minutes or so and played one or two defence splitting balls. Faded a bit and didn't seen to get into the game as much after that. Looked tired a good 10 mins before being replaced. Hylton- good touch, won a few headers but was marshalled well by their tall CB. Possibly should have got on the end of a decent cross second half. Need to bring in better. Roberts- looked bright, good touch, not scared to get stuck in against bigger oppo! I expect most will say he looked better than Hylton but they are completely different types of striker. Shama- Could be a very important sub against tired defenders. Not sure he's ready to start. Hunt- usual from Hunt but got forward more like Newey and put in as many good crosses as bad tbh. Meades- came in as a DM and looked really good on the ball. Could see him playing here more than at LB. All in all it was a very enjoyable match, the passing and movement was very impressive and without knowing the stats I'm sure we had more chances than they did? Like I said at the start, how good are a Wolves XI? Difficult to gauge but I'm happy with what I've seen so far and am sure 1 or 2 more attacking signings could be all we need.
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Post by ox18 on Jul 29, 2014 22:02:27 GMT
They may not have brought their first team, but I thought the opposition were pretty well organised and difficult to play against. We played quite well really apart as others have said in the last third. Everyone knows we need a decent striker or two and after tonight Appleton may well have to step up the urgency a bit. Collins looks good, I thought O'Dowda had a very good game. As against Didcot, Meades does look solid and the keeper will not be a worry either. Hylton works hard, but too many times he won the header and there was no one there to pick the ball up. One thing for sure he is not going to be a twenty goal a season man. Don't reckon Appleton would have signed him, but he never seemed to give up or moan.
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Post by bacon on Jul 29, 2014 22:04:06 GMT
some say COD looked uncomfortable, some say he looked good... I just don't know who's opinion to take on board anymore
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Post by bigfella72 on Jul 29, 2014 22:07:36 GMT
I was there and I can tell you it was awful. First 80 minutes dull sideways football, retaining possession well but ultimately no end product. one maybe two shots. Same old Oxford really. If we field this team and they play like that we'll be relegated. Danny Hylton is terrible the worst player on the pitch. Not massively impressed with anyone else either really, sorry. After the changes on about 80 minutes and wow! Suddenly we looked like a team that might do something. Roberts looked 10 times the player Hylton was. I too was there and much of what you say is true. However I did think Collins had a good game as the defensive tidy up midfield man. The Wolves goal I thought was offside and I thought the goalkeeper could have done better in trying to save it. The right back Riley(?) looked ring rusty and was beaten for pace more often than not. Hunt looked far better when he came on. If Appleton is going to play the 4-2-3-1 formation then he really needs someone better than Hylton. He was poor in the air, not much better along the ground and is simply not good enough to play the loan forward role. As you said the front line (if you can call it that!) looked far better when Roberts came on. It's obvious that Appleton doesn't play out and out wingers so Potter's days are probably numbered. O'Dowda played in the centre of the three and tried hard but he doesn't look comfortable in the role either. The problems of last season are still there for all to see. The back four is fairly solid, the midfield lack anything in even vaguely approaching creative ability, and we now have now forwards that are unlikely to score even 10 to 15 goals a season. Perhaps the best thing was that the passing was good and we broke forward a lot quicker than under the latter stages of last season. That is until the last third when everything died the death. I would say we need at least 4 more players to even approach the promotion positions. I fear we may not see that many and that it will be a long hard season O'Dowda was on the right? Rose was central!
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Post by bigfella72 on Jul 29, 2014 22:08:39 GMT
some say COD looked uncomfortable, some say he looked good... I just don't know who's opinion to take on board anymore O'Dowda was probably MOTM!
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Post by bigfella72 on Jul 29, 2014 22:10:18 GMT
I think the front line looked better when Roberts came on because Meades also came on. In the hole behind the striker he was much better than Rose, always looked for the ball, switched play well & (importantly) got up in support of Roberts. 4231 can be excellent, but it involves movement & support from multiple positions. If wingers stick as wingers or the player in the hole plays too deep you might as well play 451. Got to be flexible & provide support to the striker. I hope we persevere as it could work well if we get the right combinations. Collins moved forward and Meades played DM?
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Post by Oxo on Jul 29, 2014 22:18:54 GMT
Apart from Meades looking really good, it was plain to see we are not going to score many goals next season, unless we get a quality striker in as soon as possible. If we do not get one in I can see a bottom half finish, maybe bottom 6. Really can't believe the new owners havent got a striker in yet. It looked exactly like the football played at the end of last season, totally toothless.
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Post by jammydodger on Jul 29, 2014 22:24:17 GMT
Thought Newey did well today and both full backs pushed up when we had possession in their half which was good. Riley and Newey tired towards the end and were rightly substituted. We looked fairly solid at the back until Mullins went off but the goal came not long after he was subbed so Clarke may not have been picked up by Wright in time. Hopefully the knee isn't too bad but saw him hobbling near the dugout at the end of the game.
Long made some decent saves and was quick to clear any danger outside his box(I'll forget the miss kick).
Didn't really find out what type of player Collins is but looks to be more of a holding player but don't think he will be their picking out the passes.
O'Dowda I thought had a good game and Rose yet again didn't seen to stop running all night but probably not suitable for the role behind the front man .
Meades looked decent when he came on and will probably start on Saturday.
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Post by bigfella72 on Jul 29, 2014 22:26:22 GMT
Apart from Meades looking really good, it was plain to see we are not going to score many goals next season, unless we get a quality striker in as soon as possible. If we do not get one in I can see a bottom half finish, maybe bottom 6. Really can't believe the new owners havent got a striker in yet. It looked exactly like the football played at the end of last season, totally toothless. Nothing like the football we played at the end of last season or the beginning for that matter! If you can't see how much better that was than under Wilder I despair! And I wasn't an outer either.
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Post by uptheus on Jul 29, 2014 22:36:16 GMT
some say COD looked uncomfortable, some say he looked good... I just don't know who's opinion to take on board anymore Who said that O'Dowda was uncomfortable tonight? Played well, but just needs to be a bit direct at times e.g. believe in himself and have a go.
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Post by willscarlett on Jul 29, 2014 22:44:50 GMT
Tonight showed Hylton is poor, and we are desperately short of two strikers. It also showed that one up front doesn't work. There was a lot of huff and puff without a great deal of purpose, leaving the top end isolated. There was also a lack of cohesion/purpose going forward, that ended up fizzling out, apart from one or two good crosses with no one on the end.
Wolves played a second string for the most part, who still were more organised than we were though.
Two strikers and an organiser in midfield are required to give the team more of a structure for the season. No Micky Lewis seemed to be evident, although I could have missed him. Someone else was doing the half time cone thing, making lewis even more redundant.
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Post by willscarlett on Jul 29, 2014 22:49:29 GMT
Thought we played some really nice stuff! Just lacked that killer ball. Hulton looked good up top but lacked support as rose was clearly out of his comfort zone. Ruffles played some decent stuff along with COD out on the wide areas. Thought when we made our subs that meades looked good along with hunt who pushed forward further that Riley. We are lacking a big man upfront who we can get the ball into as we created a large amount of crosses. Overall I tidy display and the youngsters look very promising Sorry have to agree with the others who say we were pretty awful. Teams such as portsmouth, Luton and Shrewsbury will come to us and run rings around us on that form tonight. We were worse up front than last season. Unless we get the three/four additions needed, it's going to be a long winter, regardless how experienced the backroom staff is.
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Post by longliveclarkey on Jul 29, 2014 23:25:16 GMT
We were pretty much dead even with Wolves. They took their gilt-edged chance (with a little help from the immediate substitution of Wright and a lapse in intensity from Long), we blasted ours over the bar. That was really the only difference, and both chances were as good as each other.
The football was good, we made a few chances, looked physically and tactically up to scratch with a team who seemed about league 1 standard. I think Meades looks very handy, Hylton looked a bit better and Rose, Collins and Ruffels seem pretty comfortable in this set up. We lack a finisher, unfortunately, and I just don't think Hylton is going to score much for us. Roberts looked good once again, and I'd be inclined to start with him on this form.
That was a genuinely encouraging game, and I think people criticising the overall standard of that match need to remember we were playing Wolverhampton Wanderers, who are a cut or two above anybody we'll play in the league this season.
The bottom line is, we were good, and I actually think we've found our final ball, we just need somebody to start putting it into the back of the net.
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Post by browny on Jul 30, 2014 6:45:51 GMT
I was there and I can tell you it was awful. First 80 minutes dull sideways football, retaining possession well but ultimately no end product. one maybe two shots. Same old Oxford really. If we field this team and they play like that we'll be relegated. Danny Hylton is terrible the worst player on the pitch. Not massively impressed with anyone else either really, sorry. After the changes on about 80 minutes and wow! Suddenly we looked like a team that might do something. Roberts looked 10 times the player Hylton was. We are entitled to our opinion but was this written before the game because that what was decided was going to be written or after watching the game Again its opinion but I disagree with all of this, I thought Hylton worked very hard, I thought we looked nothing like a relegation team, I just cannot see how anyone could watch that and think we were awful. Not saying we were world beaters but I just can't believe that summation was based on what somebody actually saw
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Post by foley on Jul 30, 2014 7:11:40 GMT
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Post by frankie on Jul 30, 2014 7:22:05 GMT
A flew random thoughts on last nights game. Wolverhampton looked strong defensive and defended and attacked in numbers so were difficult to break down. TBH I thought Hylton was considerable better than I expected him to be. He won virtually everything with his head and quite strong on the ball. I would not write him off on this performance regardless of new strikers on the way. Just no one up top with him until later in the game when Oxford were clearly on top. Oxford played very neat free flowing football at times. I assume Meades was carrying a slight injury as he would have started. O'Dowda looked considerably stronger and even more confident than last year as did the team. Reilly looked a little unfit but looked more accomplished as the game progressed. Long had the demeanour of Hart and distributed to an oxford player when possible. With the well documented additions up front and in midfield we have every reason to feel confident with this squad.
I do not know what League 2 will offer this season but against last years standard this team Oxford team looks considerably more technical and faster so would fair well.
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Post by rollsy on Jul 30, 2014 7:52:54 GMT
I thought we did ok. It wasn't a great Wolves team, so I expected us to create more chances. It is clear we are lacking quality in the final third. Our passing up till then was good. We'll be fine defensively. But hopefully Mullins is ok, as he is our best defender. Long did ok, great save in second half. Maybe should have saved the goal though. Reilly was average at best first half imo, seemed slow and never got forward. second half before coming off he looked very good. And put one brilliant cross in. Sadly we had no one in the box! Meades and Collins looks our best midfield partnership. Collins is a good player I think. They both passed the ball well, and are physically strong too. And both are capable off charging forward too. We need 4 new signings in the attacking areas. We have no real pace (only Potter when he's back) and no one whose physically strong. Danny Rose is not an advanced attacking midfielder or a winger. We need a left sided attacker, someone with quality to play 'in the hole' and 2 forwards. I certainly don't think we'll be in a relegation fight. But at the mo we wont be challenging a play off spot either.
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