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Post by bigronaldo on Sept 1, 2017 7:14:52 GMT
Okay. Now that the dust has settled after a reasonably busy transfer window, how do we look as regards promotion?
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Post by mojofilter on Sept 1, 2017 7:25:19 GMT
We're going up via playoffs
believe
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2017 7:41:49 GMT
I've got mixed feelings after yesterday. I think like most on here I'm relieved the Johnson era is at last over.
I'm happy we got the amount of money that was talked about. Johnson came across as unprofessional the way he engineered the move. His game was nowhere near his normal standard and he could've gone for £1million to Hull with little profit for us. In the end we've made quite a tidy profit. As to Hemmings, I think he might have a future here if Mansfield reignite his form, so hopefully not money down the plug hole. I'm very heartened by the signings made yesterday and both I think are quality having seen them both in action. I would've liked to have seen a striker brought in, especially with the loss of Hemmings leaving us light up front and with Thomas appearing to be injury prone. I believe we need a striker who is proven to get goals, experience of League One if not higher. With the amount of money generated from Johnson, it should help reduce the debts as well as fund players. Dave Tarpey although unproven in the league to date set the Conference North alight with 45 goals last season and is doing the same this season in a league higher. I'm not sure if any other clubs have had a look but I'd be surprised if they hadn't. Surely it wouldn't take a kings ransom to have added him to the squad. Calculated gamble I agree. But this is how Peterborough have nurtured and developed talent in the past making large sums of money in the process. I'm sure we will do well in the league, but maybe we will have to look again later in the season at improvement in the front line to achieve our aim.....higher than the play offs
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Post by ox4eva on Sept 1, 2017 7:45:18 GMT
Let's keep believing and no matter what keep supporting.
Up the U's!
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Post by Millman on Sept 1, 2017 7:49:00 GMT
Solid at the back and in midfield. Up front we look light.
There are still a number of big unknowns in the squad a number of players with poor injury records, and a couple of potentail key players loanees. A number of our players started the season short of game time and sharpness so I see us improving when they are fully fit.
On the whole we should be tough to beat, however I am not sure we have the ability to score enough.
If players perform, gain full fitness, and avoid major injury we should finish somewhere upper mid table with a fair chance of a play off place. I think we are 1 quality forward away from achieving more.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2017 7:54:53 GMT
Ipotentially we are better than last season, and I hope the players do it for us. Encouraging that we managed a record six goal away win since we joined the league in 1962 even though it was at Stevenage in the EFL cup. We are definitely light up front. If we can stay injury free, we can do well, let's hope for a bit more strengthening before the business end of the season approaches
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Post by gobbledgook on Sept 1, 2017 7:55:41 GMT
Will wait and see how they all "gell" before judging.
Interesting reading others opinions though. From the Burton forum .... "They've signed Alex Mowatt from Barnsley as well! LUDICROUS signing for a L1 club. They're 7th in the league at the minute. I think I might have a sneaky tenner on the 7/1 I've just seen for them to go up"
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Post by ZeroTheHero on Sept 1, 2017 7:59:08 GMT
It's very difficult to tell how we will do. The side has already been very disrupted from last season and we have now added two probable starters to that mix.
My feeling is that we now have little pace out wide in midfield (Henry isn't quick and Hall cuts in all the time). So we are going to try to play our way through the middle and that is always difficult against some of the packed defences we'll encounter. We are very light on reliable strikers - two of those we have are often injured, one is an unknown quantity and one is probably fortunate to still be at the club.
For those reasons I would guess mid-table. But if the team really click maybe the lower reaches of the playoffs.
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Post by bigronaldo on Sept 1, 2017 8:02:43 GMT
Agree with all of you. Two very good players in the door to add to the mix, just a proper banging out and out striker short of taking us up automatically. But I have been proved wrong before.
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Post by sox on Sept 1, 2017 8:05:13 GMT
When I look at how we lined up at MK this time last year, it's difficult not to be positive - I think we can challenge for promotion this year. The main criticism I've seen on other threads is around buying strategy. My view is simple, if we get to the championship we'll be sold, and that would almost certainly need to include a stadium deal, and if that happens we'll be playing a different ball game re funding. As for criticism re strikers - I think a fit Thomas is better than Hemmings and that once GVK has settled down his pace and reading of the game (looks like he reads the game well) will bring goals... and Obika is an improvement as well.
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Post by thecurraghofkildar on Sept 1, 2017 8:06:48 GMT
Solid at the back and in midfield. Up front we look light. There are still a number of big unknowns in the squad a number of players with poor injury records, and a couple of potential key players loanees. A number of our players started the season short of game time and sharpness so I see us improving when they are fully fit. On the whole we should be tough to beat, however I am not sure we have the ability to score enough. If players perform, gain full fitness, and avoid major injury we should finish somewhere upper mid table with a fair chance of a play off place. I think we are 1 quality forward away from achieving more. Spot on assessment in my opinion. We do now have some very classy players for this level - 3 quality centre backs, solid midfield options and hopefully Mowatt will be as positive a signing as Payne has been. The two obvious weaknesses are the lack of a really natural winger (becoming more or a rarity in the modern game) and obviously we look light up front. A lot will depend on Obika and, whilst I'm not his greatest fan, we need Wes Thomas to stay fit and to continue chipping in with goals as well.
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Post by greatunclekip on Sept 1, 2017 8:46:08 GMT
We nailed on our mid table finish with our lack of movement up front yesterday.
Lots of creativity. Nobody to consistently stick them in the onion bag.
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Post by cecantena on Sept 1, 2017 9:04:16 GMT
I've got mixed feelings after yesterday. I think like most on here I'm relieved the Johnson era is at last over. I'm happy we got the amount of money that was talked about. Johnson came across as unprofessional the way he engineered the move. His game was nowhere near his normal standard and he could've gone for £1million to Hull with little profit for us. In the end we've made quite a tidy profit. As to Hemmings, I think he might have a future here if Mansfield reignite his form, so hopefully not money down the plug hole. I'm very heartened by the signings made yesterday and both I think are quality having seen them both in action. I would've liked to have seen a striker brought in, especially with the loss of Hemmings leaving us light up front and with Thomas appearing to be injury prone. I believe we need a striker who is proven to get goals, experience of League One if not higher. With the amount of money generated from Johnson, it should help reduce the debts as well as fund players. Dave Tarpey although unproven in the league to date set the Conference North alight with 45 goals last season and is doing the same this season in a league higher. I'm not sure if any other clubs have had a look but I'd be surprised if they hadn't. Surely it wouldn't take a kings ransom to have added him to the squad. Calculated gamble I agree. But this is how Peterborough have nurtured and developed talent in the past making large sums of money in the process. I'm sure we will do well in the league, but maybe we will have to look again later in the season at improvement in the front line to achieve our aim.....higher than the play offs 7 Dave Tarpey gone to Barnet (from Maidenhead)
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Post by Paul Cannell on Sept 1, 2017 9:07:22 GMT
Attractive football, solid defense; no drive forward and no pace. No overall progress.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2017 9:14:10 GMT
Good signing for Barnet
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Post by foley on Sept 1, 2017 9:37:42 GMT
I may be totally wrong but I am less worried about the forward situation than many.
Sure a 'proven striker' would be great but there are not that many around.
I have been really impressed with Obika (have seen all of the games except Stevenage). I reckon that he will get gaols and create a lot of problems for defences. Of course that is if he stays fit which is true of all players. Thomas will be decent back up and we can call on Hemmings in January if necessary (or get a new striker in).
We have a lot of quality players for this level (see what some of the Burton supporters are saying). Last season we had Hemmings Taylor and Thomas until January. Of course McAleney came in and was exceptional when he was here.
I reckon that we have a lot of players who can score goals. Let's just see whether Pep can get these players playing in his style and creating chances...
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Post by sheikdjibouti on Sept 1, 2017 10:02:56 GMT
I actually think it is a little unfair on Clotet to expect him to just come in and accept everything that is in place in terms of recruitment and for the club to manage to keep making progress at the same trajectory. He should be his own man and be allowed the latitude to do things his way within the overall framework and given the time to achieve it.
We would have short memories if we forget how it was for Appleton in his first few months at the helm. In all honesty his managerial career was on a knife-edge and he has repeatedly voiced his gratitude for the faith placed in him at the time. Even once the system became more established, Appleton himself acknowledges his shortcomings and indeed even at the end of his tenure he had identified that more experience was required across the squad if we were to take it to the next level.
Add into the mix the utterly bonkers transfer window that has now just closed and the truth (already identified by Appleton) that young, hungry English players of the right quality are increasingly hard to come by and increasingly expensive . . and we aren't the only ones looking either! Also take into account the timing of Appleton's departure (is there ever a good time for a relatively successful manager to go?) and some of the offers for our players which were as good as impossible to refuse, then is anyone really surprised by the way this transfer window has panned out? Sure we are all disappointed to lose some of the talented players we had last year, but if their heart is elsewhere then they and us are better off with them being elsewhere.
So what we've seen this summer is a re-adjustment. We've got the much needed more experience in the playing squad. We've also got a new manager understandably wanting to put his own mark on the way we do things and signing players he has previous knowledge of. I am very pleased that he appears to be no "yes" man for the regime and existing model.
That doesn't mean all is rosy of course. Are we light up top?. . are we missing pace out wide? .. . possibly, depending on the system we intend to play (and whether it is effective in this division) and the fitness record of some of our players. Am I concerned by the number of loan players - yes...naturally! - they are a short term fix, but they are of an excellent quality in the main and give us a very strong starting 11 and some depth. Am I concerned about the age and long term record of some players . . . a little bit, but we have to trust Pep on this!
I see the real test coming in the next transfer window and next summer, where Pep and his team will have had more time to identify those targets that fit "the model"* and hopefully Eales still makes the money available to do the business. I think we will do OK this season. With a fair wind on injuries, no more major loss of playing assets in January plus a couple of handy additions and we could easily be up there.
*I hope above all else that the model is flexible - any dogmatic pursuit of "young English/British talent", is far too narrow minded to succeed in the longer term.
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Post by georgefryer on Sept 1, 2017 11:16:36 GMT
Hasn't Gino played twice and scored twice? We also scored 6 in a game the other day? Over 100 goals in the past two seasons, 16 goals in the first 6 games of this year. I get that this is a forum, and that's forums are meant to be a battle of opinion, but it never fails to baffle me how many people don't have faith in the current Oxford United under Eales and Pep, not to mention the whole of the back room staff which has barely changed which have brought us this far in the past 2/3 years. The fact that we've made huge profit on Roofe, Lundstram, Johnson, O'dowda etc has been shadowed by our love for these players and wanting them to stay for footballing reasons, but we all know the model of the club, we were made aware of that a couple of years ago and we just continue to progress. The names at the club this year are phenomenal. Keep the f*cking faith!
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Post by derek on Sept 1, 2017 12:18:24 GMT
After a few personnel surprises since January I think we're at least as good this year and probably a stronger, time will tell.
My main beef (and we even saw this at Stevenage for the first 35 minutes) is that savvy teams know how to beat us - press the full backs, ball goes back to Eastwood, pump upfield, possession lost. Even my step-daughter noticed that the Stevenage goalie didn't touch the ball until after Eastwood had kicked a dozen times or more. We were lucky to be only one down, on a couple of occasions they nearly got possession just outside our area. Tiendelli did look nice and safe on the ball though, grew into the game too.
I'm not good enough at spotting different formations and their effect to know what changed at half-time but something did, thankfully. When we ran directly at them, passing accurately, they couldn't cope, it was fantastic watching the lads surge towards us and carving through them.
Didn't mean to make this a post-Stevenage review but my main point is that if we can work out a way to cope with teams that press us, keep possession and pass through teams, we're going to have a very good season.
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Post by Millman on Sept 1, 2017 12:29:23 GMT
Hasn't Gino played twice and scored twice? We also scored 6 in a game the other day? Over 100 goals in the past two seasons, 16 goals in the first 6 games of this year. I get that this is a forum, and that's forums are meant to be a battle of opinion, but it never fails to baffle me how many people don't have faith in the current Oxford United under Eales and Pep, not to mention the whole of the back room staff which has barely changed which have brought us this far in the past 2/3 years. The fact that we've made huge profit on Roofe, Lundstram, Johnson, O'dowda etc has been shadowed by our love for these players and wanting them to stay for footballing reasons, but we all know the model of the club, we were made aware of that a couple of years ago and we just continue to progress. The names at the club this year are phenomenal. Keep the f*cking faith! Well I think that you are being a little harsh on some of our fans. We were asked to discuss our opinions of how we think we look for promotion. I think we have seen some very honest opinions of this. I don't see how expressing opinions that we are light or could pull up short at the end of the season is in any way doubting Eales or Pep. I have faith in them both but I realistically think a upper mid table finish (with a chance of the play offs) is perfectly accpetable and any more would be great. Not many others on here are prediciting worse. Its not a matter of faith either. I have faith in the club I support, but without being blindly optimistic and deluding myself I could not in all honesty claim we are going to win the league. The fact is we do on paper have some good (maybe not phenomenal) players, but we are yet to see how they fit together, or whather they get injured, or whether they are recalled by their clubs. With such great change as there has been at the club there will undoubtedly br teething problems and that will impact us in some way. Lastly to claim we are light up front is nothing short of a fact. The club has only four or five players in the squad who are loosly considered strikers, one is loaned out, one is injury prone, one many of us doubt will make the grade, and one is also considered a winger\ midefielder. That does seem somewhat of a gamble even if we only play one up top. There is a world of difference between faith and blind faith. I would love us to go up but hand on heart I think we will flirt with the play offs (unless we get a good forward). That in itself would be a good achievement for the season.
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Post by edinburghyellow on Sept 1, 2017 12:36:51 GMT
I think one thing that has been apparent over the summer is that we've looked to bring in players who are comfortable in more than one position. I think this gives us options and flexibility to change things up which is important.
Last season I would argue the only thing that stopped us from making the playoffs is that we didn't have a plan B. We were very poor and lost a lot of points against direct teams (Oldham, Southend, Wimbledon, etc.).
Mousinho, for example, gives us valuable cover at CB, as well as at RB. He also gives us the option to put another body in the centre of midfield (something we lost with Pekalski's injury). Similarly, Mowatt, who may not be a Robbie Hall style winger, gives us another option out wide if needed.
On the subject of Mousinho, in his interview on Yellow Player (in which he spoke very well, it must be said) he talked about the difference between how a team lines up at the start of the season compared to the end. Both in terms of personnel and in terms of the system/style of play. We have the option now of moving to three at the back, for example. That was never realistically a possibility with Aaron Martin.
It may take a few weeks to get going but I think there is much reason for optimism.
Onto Saturday.
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Post by custardox on Sept 1, 2017 13:20:47 GMT
My Boss who is a Leeds season ticket holder reckons Mowat is a fantastic signing for us!
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Post by forevayella on Sept 1, 2017 14:56:58 GMT
Money we got for Johnson was way over the top.....Peps mate Monk has done us a right favour. I must admit I was hoping for a striker to be signed yesterday but in the cold light of day have changed my mind. We have scored 15 goals in 6 games and had 10 different scorers if my sums are right. The system we play will means everyone will chip in with goals and we won't be reliant on the so called 20 goal a season striker who could get injured and the goals dry up.
The two signings yesterday have raised the bar again and I'm expecting the play offs come May. Ive had 25+ years of mediocrity and have never been more optimistic.
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Post by TheNewManor on Sept 1, 2017 15:12:01 GMT
5th or 6th - Improvement on last year. I don't even want to think about what will happen in the playoffs - too stressful and too far down the road! Lets see where are at Christmas - assess the situation in January window. If we have an outside chance of automatic, we need to go for it! Equally we could stall a few times with so many new faces and unknowns. But in balance I'm sticking to 5th or 6th.
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Post by malcolmnl on Sept 1, 2017 15:27:21 GMT
You know me, I'm a glass half full chap. In fact sometimes it's half full to the brim. But still not convinced that we can get promotion. Oh we'll be up there in the top 8, that's my brimful. Only if we got good form in the last 8 or so games will we get into the playoffs with a decent chance of winning them. I hope though, that my glass overflows and this post gets thrown back at me in May.
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Post by oxfordboy on Sept 1, 2017 16:09:03 GMT
Definitely capable, hopefully Mowatt can come in and do as well as expected, having 2 players who can really create that one bit of magic to win a game could be huge for us, and means Payne isn't being overworked and marked out of games.
We look a solid defensive team who won't concede many, and Mousinho coming in will surely make us even better back there, we do lack goals in attack and I think the key for us is getting the 3 who play behind the striker to all chip in enough goals to make up for that, Gino has 2 in 3 so can't complain about his goal return, and Payne, Hall and Henry all scored vs Stevenage, and they need to carry that into the league and we're definitely capable of a playoff finish
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Post by Jason N on Sept 1, 2017 16:26:19 GMT
There has been a complete upheavel since Mapp decided to leave. The best that I could hope for is being within a shot of the playoffs in January at which point we strengthen.
There are too many unknowns to be confident of a top 6 finish. IF Gvk can form a partnership with one or more of the other forwards and bangs in the goals then we could do very well but we'll have to wait and see.
The Shrewsbury game was a worry as we were completely disjointed. Now Pep can concentrate on the players and systems, no distractions of players leaving or signing.
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Post by joey on Sept 1, 2017 22:57:47 GMT
I wouldn't be so sure we're done recruiting yet, there are still players who are free agents that can be signed at any time. I bet there's a few good ones about as well, especially if our net is cast wide enough. Another striker wouldn't go amiss otherwise we are missing goals and that will hold us back this season if we don't address it.
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Post by jambon46 on Sept 1, 2017 23:06:58 GMT
I think we are a bit light up top (should we have injuries) Roberts came on against Stevenage and did okay, maybe he is another option??
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Post by derek on Sept 2, 2017 9:20:53 GMT
Was very pleased to see Roberts come on and receive a good reception from the crowd. Hope he gets more chances this season.
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