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Post by eighteen93 on Sept 3, 2016 18:56:36 GMT
Anyone see the ball at the end of the match being taken off on a stretcher?
Rochdale were big, strong organised and uncompromising and dominated in the air, worked hard to close space and played loads of big diagonal balls. They will not be at the bottom for very long. Their number 24 was possibly the best player on the park although that may be unfair on Maguire. Marvin certainly added pace and flair and the three crosses he supplied were beauties.
The U's won an ugly encounter and possibly deserved to on the second half display, just. Thought Raglan improved as the game wore on as did Joe Rothwell. Skarz not quite on it today.
Alas the forwards are not gelling and Taylor must stand a good chance of starting next Saturday with Magic Marv on the wing.
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Post by sjmchops on Sept 3, 2016 18:59:28 GMT
What I've found refreshing is that since the Luton game last season where we lost, there no longer seems to be an edge to the games as the crowd is much more supportive of the team even when it's not going our way. I reckon this is helping our home form and I can see the Kassam becoming a fortress. It was a poor performance but we still got the result. "Papering of the cracks" is a poor term in our current situation, it suggest that we have a problem. It is obvious that we now have the quality to compete it is just a matter of time before the new players start to gel. I agree totally that the crowd seems to be a lot more encouraging when things aren't going particularly well and I do think that is helping the team, it definately won't hurt them, long may it continue! Today's game, especially the first half, was a very frustrating watch and I have to say Lunny is having a shocker at the minute, although playing with no width from the start is preventing him playing the long passes he can to spread our play quickly, and that is his game! That is when he is turning back in and playing sloppy little passes in and around a tight midfield or getting caught in possession. In terms of "papering over the cracks" if thats how people want to relate to it then fine, that is exactly what we managed to do today, and what a job we did of it! What else are you expected to do when you've had so many injuries and new faces in? And we didn't just paper them over and remain unbeaten at home with a point, we got a win and three points! Just shows the strength in depth that MApp has got himself this season now and with that flexibility we changed the game in the last half hour and earned ourselves the win! I know Rochdale aren't a great team but I'll take that paper job any day! 😄 COYY!!
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Post by eighteen93 on Sept 3, 2016 19:03:20 GMT
I thought John Lunny improved immeasurably after the break. There was instantly more space with Marvin out wide and he picked his game up.
He wasn't great but a bit of the Lunny of last season became apparent in flashes.
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Post by yellowshark on Sept 3, 2016 19:15:56 GMT
Definitely a game of two halves, and it could very easily have gone the other way. In the three games I've seen this season, we seem to have had two problems, poor possesion especially passing, and atacking straight down the middle without thought for the wings. I think the first is due to having a squad with so many new players, they haven't had enough time to know instinctively were each other are going to be. I'm not sure if the second is is because we need to rethink tactics or simply get a winger or two in.
Despite all that I'm quite confident about the rest of thes season, and the win will build confidence for next Saturday. On the other hand I do wish we were playing S****** a few more games into the season.
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Post by eighteen93 on Sept 3, 2016 19:16:07 GMT
Hill says Dale were denied a pen.when Vincenti was "fouled" by Phil Edwards in the second half.
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Post by yellowshark on Sept 3, 2016 19:24:04 GMT
Hill says Dale were denied a pen.when Vincenti was "fouled" by Phil Edwards in the second half. Sounds like a worried man to me. Camera man needs to learn to focus before starting the interview too!
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Post by unification on Sept 3, 2016 19:36:17 GMT
I thought we were struggling for quite q bit of the game, The change n the game was when Johnsoncame on and boy am I looking forward to Hall coming back Jesus what a team we will have, Great to have a clean sheet and yes Maguire was MOM. Have we signed Jesus as well? Not sure about him as a signing as you just know he will go absent over the Easter period. Jesus is our new 'keeper. Haven't you seen the signs for 'Jesus Saves'?
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Post by oufcyellows on Sept 3, 2016 19:38:28 GMT
Have we signed Jesus as well? Not sure about him as a signing as you just know he will go absent over the Easter period. Jesus is our new 'keeper. Haven't you seen the signs for 'Jesus Saves'? He can't be, he deals with crosses much better
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Post by Marked Ox on Sept 3, 2016 19:54:17 GMT
Hill says Dale were denied a pen.when Vincenti was "fouled" by Phil Edwards in the second half. No chance, I know the ref was comically bad but at best, for Rochdale there was no foul either way.
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Post by Toeby on Sept 3, 2016 20:28:23 GMT
First half was a massive steaming pile of shite. Rothwell is not a left winger, or a left mid. He drifted in time after time, which gave their right back way too much space. Maguire often roams from his position and without the width we massively struggled in the first half. Lundstram looked like a man possessed, unfortunately in his case it was by Simon Heslop. Thomas huffed and puffed and ran the channels with persistence and to his credit he got in behind once or twice, but it was hit and hope. Hemmings was completely ineffective, apart from missing the best chance of the game.
It was stark comparison to last season where we played with pace, width and purpose. Last season, we found many different ways to skin a cat. Players like Roofe and Hylton could open up opportunities by beating a man, O'Dowda stretched teams with sheer pace and Baldock tore teams to pieces. This gave Lundstram the platform to show what a good player he can be by pinging the ball about. I don't think it is a coincidence that Lundstram struggled where we were so compact, as his game is all about direct, incisive passing and there was no opportunity to do this, he still tried to play but it was all at the wrong times and most things he did went wrong. Credit to Rochdale as they set up with a system that saw them get the majority of the ball.
Absolutely the right call from Appleton at half time, which is reassuring as I think he knows what needs to be done. Very pleasing that he is considering 4-3-3 but I hope he works out the best way to use this squad soon. There is a lot of talent in this team but we need to find out the best way of using it. Better teams than Rochdale would have punished us today I feel.
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Post by yellowg on Sept 3, 2016 20:48:18 GMT
I thought we got our game plan and starting 11 completely wrong today. I feel we were lucky not to be chasing the game at the break based on how poor we were.
Rochdale were well drilled and pressed so well on a pitch we made so small by how we set up. We were never gonna score with our initial shape, but fair play to mapp who resolved that issue at half time. Marvin Johnson was the impetus we needed, and should have started, and when Taylor came on, the ball stuck up top and we were able to link our attack.
Lundstrum and sercs are struggling because they have stopped doing what they do best...IMO, Lunny doesn't have the skill and intricate talent of Maguire and Crowley, but what he does brilliantly is offer himself for a quick give and go with the ability and vision to switch play from distance. He can't do this to devestating effect without the likes of Macca, Tyler Roberts, Johnson and Rob Hall on the pitch. sercs, for me, has stopped driving through the lines, which I felt complimented what our captain does.
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Post by sheikdjibouti on Sept 3, 2016 21:07:52 GMT
Sercombe finished with precision......
Or Sercombecision if you will.
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Post by MJB on Sept 3, 2016 21:40:05 GMT
What I've found refreshing is that since the Luton game last season where we lost, there no longer seems to be an edge to the games as the crowd is much more supportive of the team even when it's not going our way. I reckon this is helping our home form and I can see the Kassam becoming a fortress. It was a poor performance but we still got the result. "Papering of the cracks" is a poor term in our current situation, it suggest that we have a problem. It is obvious that we now have the quality to compete it is just a matter of time before the new players start to gel. Yep and I feel that the more encouraging atmosphere is thanks to the younger guys who do a hell of a lot of singing and encouraging towards the back of the East Stand. A credit to the club and I genuinely think it creates a more positive atmosphere for the players to experiment and express themselves.
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Post by yellows1 on Sept 3, 2016 21:47:13 GMT
Pleased I am back to winning ways with the match day threads, thought Rochdale were very poor and didn't really create much at all, we were equally as poor first half and like a few others have said, we seem to lack the precision, quick passing that we had last season, we were poor today but won, pleased with that and we will improve, bit concerned about Hemmings, think he seems off the pace at the moment, maybe he's just not match fit to league one yet, overall though, we'll improve and will get stronger, IMHO no team in this league is setting the world alight.
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Post by Gary Baldi on Sept 3, 2016 21:52:08 GMT
The whole Vincenti penalty thing is negated by the fact Vincenti started fouling Edwards outside of the box and nothing was given. You can't look at that incident in isolation.
Their formation worked well in the 1st half, but they had little end product to speak of. When we changed formation, they largely drifted out of the game and had little of the pressure from the 1st half. I felt sorry for Rothwell in the 1st half. He looked lost and out of his depth out wide. Playing him centrally helped him look like the player we hoped he'd be and Sercombe did a good job on keeping the 24 marked and out of the game.
Johnson was a handful when he came on. Their right back should've been booked for his naughtiness, but like most of things with Brendan Malone, he was looking the other way and even if he was looking, it was dependent on his mood. He used to be a decent Ref, but he's got progressively worse in the past few seasons. Their 19 should've been booked for persistent offending but it was all one big joke for the Ref. Johnson's crosses will cause teams plenty of times this season though.
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Post by MJB on Sept 3, 2016 23:05:47 GMT
The whole Vincenti penalty thing is negated by the fact Vincenti started fouling Edwards outside of the box and nothing was given. You can't look at that incident in isolation. Their formation worked well in the 1st half, but they had little end product to speak of. When we changed formation, they largely drifted out of the game and had little of the pressure from the 1st half. I felt sorry for Rothwell in the 1st half. He looked lost and out of his depth out wide. Playing him centrally helped him look like the player we hoped he'd be and Sercombe did a good job on keeping the 24 marked and out of the game. Johnson was a handful when he came on. Their right back should've been booked for his naughtiness, but like most of things with Brendan Malone, he was looking the other way and even if he was looking, it was dependent on his mood. He used to be a decent Ref, but he's got progressively worse in the past few seasons. Their 19 should've been booked for persistent offending but it was all one big joke for the Ref. Johnson's crosses will cause teams plenty of times this season though. Ssshh, don't criticise the referee or you know who will come down on you like a ton of bricks! Also, how funny is this?!
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Post by pottersrightboot on Sept 4, 2016 7:17:48 GMT
Not a pretty match but great mental strength shown by the lads to bring the three points home. I know this isn't going to be popular but a place has to found for Macca, he has massive will to win.
Maguire was very good again. I just wish he got more involved.
league 1 is a very decent standard, I'm enjoying the quality despite yesterday's slog.
Finally Johnson is effective merely by being on the pitch. He's so quick he creates more space for all the other front players.
COYY..
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Post by Common Villager on Sept 4, 2016 10:27:38 GMT
First half was a massive steaming pile of shite. Rothwell is not a left winger, or a left mid. He drifted in time after time, which gave their right back way too much space. Maguire often roams from his position and without the width we massively struggled in the first half. Lundstram looked like a man possessed, unfortunately in his case it was by Simon Heslop. Thomas huffed and puffed and ran the channels with persistence and to his credit he got in behind once or twice, but it was hit and hope. Hemmings was completely ineffective, apart from missing the best chance of the game. It was stark comparison to last season where we played with pace, width and purpose. Last season, we found many different ways to skin a cat. Players like Roofe and Hylton could open up opportunities by beating a man, O'Dowda stretched teams with sheer pace and Baldock tore teams to pieces. This gave Lundstram the platform to show what a good player he can be by pinging the ball about. I don't think it is a coincidence that Lundstram struggled where we were so compact, as his game is all about direct, incisive passing and there was no opportunity to do this, he still tried to play but it was all at the wrong times and most things he did went wrong. Credit to Rochdale as they set up with a system that saw them get the majority of the ball. Absolutely the right call from Appleton at half time, which is reassuring as I think he knows what needs to be done. Very pleasing that he is considering 4-3-3 but I hope he works out the best way to use this squad soon. There is a lot of talent in this team but we need to find out the best way of using it. Better teams than Rochdale would have punished us today I feel. Spot on. We have a lot of attacking options now but it's really important we find a formation and first choice eleven that works well for the team. It's already evident that Johnson is going to be a key player for us.
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Post by oxfordkne on Sept 4, 2016 11:04:02 GMT
Hill says Dale were denied a pen.when Vincenti was "fouled" by Phil Edwards in the second half. Not the best interviewer in the world, but the camera man's focussing on Hill's snotter all the time was something else, you could see the monsters residing up there !
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Post by oxfordkne on Sept 4, 2016 11:06:22 GMT
Jesus is our new 'keeper. Haven't you seen the signs for 'Jesus Saves'? He can't be, he deals with crosses much better With his track record with fishes and bread did we sign him after his playing for the Cod Army.
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Post by amershamdave on Sept 4, 2016 14:35:38 GMT
Right. I'm back. This game is a bit of a mystery to me. As naked Eve said when she first saw naked Adam in the garden of Eden: 'Blimey! That's a hard one!' But, here goes; Oxford United 6 (Skarz 2, Hemmings 2, Dunkley 2) Rochdale 0 Att: 6877 and 323 away fans.The game will start, after 0 minutes and 1 second. The referee (Mr. Reginald Testicle) will have a nightmare - not a bad game - just a bad dream. One of the linesmen will actually be a young woman (Miss Fanny Fart). The game itself will be a straightforward thrashing for us - but its the on and off-field shenanegans that strike me as unusual. Before the game, Dunkley will get the Zika virus and his head will shrink, so he'll be ineffective, heading the ball. Johnson and Hemmings will get into a childish fight, arguing who was the better player in Scotland. They will make up, agreeing that it was shit playing in Scotland, anyway. Skarz will show off his new tattoo, which should read: 'I'm like the dog's bollocks' - but unfortunately the tattooist missed off the apostrophy 'm', so it reads: 'I like the dog's bollocks'. But this will, in fact, improve Joe's game, because it will make him harder. Sercombe will miss a penalty, after shoving Maguire out of the way. A misguided seagull will land on the crossbar at half time and Rosie will hold a competition to see who can hit it with the ball. Thomas will be presented with a banjo and barn door, before the game, to try to improve his aim. The directors' box will explode after 54 minutes. Two Rochdale fans will play ukuleles during the game, singing in George Formby accents. A dog will run onto the pitch after 89 minutes, but, realising its too late to have an effect, will skulk off dejectedly. In the left corner of the open end, there will be a man in a booth, selling dirty magazines. He will be arrested. Appleton will be photographed, reading an 'unusual' magazine. Johnson will fracture his clavicle after falling over laughing at Dunkley's head and Skarz's bad tattoo. Eastwood will keep saying: "Make my day" during the game and go on to receive hynotherapy, to try and help him. A smoke bomb will go off in the East stand after 43 minutes. That just about does it for me. This score-guessing lark is getting beyond me, but not bad guess on attendance figures, I suppose
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