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Post by yellowbow on Aug 8, 2017 22:16:21 GMT
Not wanting to look for scapegoats but was the main difference Williamson being absent for those who were there? If Raglan is going to be on the sidelines for any length of time maybe a loan centre-half is now required. I can't see Williamson being available week in week out.
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Post by Common Villager on Aug 8, 2017 22:16:41 GMT
What the hell was up with Marv tonight?? Looked like a player who couldn't give a toss and didn't really want to be there. Shocking. If a team comes in and offers >£2.5m for him I'd snap their hands off and reinvest half of it in a striker, left back and winger. He's got all of the tools but just doesn't perform like we all know he can on a consistent basis. I do sympathise with him to an extent because everyone in the stadium can see he ain't a LB, but he must've given the ball away at least 10 times far too easily tonight. He should be the best player in the league with the ability he's got, but at the moment he's one of our biggest liabilities.
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Post by Eaststandboy on Aug 8, 2017 22:18:40 GMT
3 of Cheltenhams goals seemed to come from a cross, getting a foot or head in front of our defenders.
Hope this is a wake up call!
Thought Xemi played well, great strike. Also Obika's goal was v well taken.
On to Satyr
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Post by oxford84 on Aug 8, 2017 22:19:00 GMT
What's so hard about writing a game off as simply a poor performance? Ffs its Cheltenham at home,we let in 4 and it could've been more,and we couldnt even control the game.Its more than poor,its a fundamental way of playing that has seen us lose.
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Post by holdsteady on Aug 8, 2017 22:20:02 GMT
What's so hard about writing a game off as simply a poor performance? Their is poor and then their is what I just watched, you can be bad but still have a look of competence about you, a fair few out their went below an accceptable level. We will see on Saturday how reflective of where we are that was, because if we put that performance in against a competent team from this league we will get battered.
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Post by Common Villager on Aug 8, 2017 22:20:31 GMT
What's so hard about writing a game off as simply a poor performance? Ffs its Cheltenham at home,we let in 4 and it could've been more,and we couldnt even control the game.Its more than poor,its a fundamental way of playing that has seen us lose. Yeah you're right. On Saturday I was convinced we were gunna win the league, but tonight I'm planning next season's trip to Forest Green.
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Post by Common Villager on Aug 8, 2017 22:21:58 GMT
What's so hard about writing a game off as simply a poor performance? Their is poor and then their is what I just watched, you can be bad but still have a look of competence about you, a fair few out their went below an accceptable level. We will see on Saturday how reflective of where we are that was, because if we put that performance in against a competent team from this league we will get battered. The second half we were absolute dogshit. They wanted it more than us and we fell apart all over the pitch. However, do I expect us to play like that every week? Absolutely f*cking not.
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Post by oxford84 on Aug 8, 2017 22:27:11 GMT
Their is poor and then their is what I just watched, you can be bad but still have a look of competence about you, a fair few out their went below an accceptable level. We will see on Saturday how reflective of where we are that was, because if we put that performance in against a competent team from this league we will get battered. The second half we were absolute dogshit. They wanted it more than us and we fell apart all over the pitch. However, do I expect us to play like that every week? Absolutely f*cking not. We shouldn't even be playing like that at all though,thats the point. When you play to a level like that its not covered by a few mistakes or one or two players not playing well,its the whole setup of that team. I would say we are more likely to see more performances like that than not this season and that's worrying,big time.
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Post by mcxal on Aug 8, 2017 22:28:55 GMT
Positives were that Obika, Hall and Eastwood were all very good.
The less said about EVERYTHING else the better, as there were some truly shocking performances out there. Ribeiro, as expected, wasn't really fit to play full games twice in three days, and got worse and worse as the game wore on. Martin is rubbish. He was rubbish before he was injured last season and he was diabolical tonight. He wasn't up against monstrously big forwards, or outlandishly quick ones - these were just regulation forwards from the league below and he was miles off it. If Raglan is out for an extended period of time we are in major trouble because Williamson can't play constantly and Martin is a shambles.
Watching Lego try to play Lunny's old role (drop deep, take it off the back line and spray it around, except with a fraction of the accuracy) was depressing. Ruffels and Rothwell were completely bossed all game (and real indication as to why we've brought Ivo in)
Going out isn't a disaster, and Saturday is obviously the one that matters. But the nature of that performance, the abysmal standard of defending and ball retention and shipping four goals to a team from the league below makes that a rather dire evening (albeit decent entertainment value).
All credit to Cheltenham though. Thought their fans were outstanding, and on the pitch they sussed us out, denied us time to play in dangerous areas and were unlucky not to get a few more than the four they did put in...
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Post by headingtonutd on Aug 8, 2017 22:29:35 GMT
Defence was poor tonight. Ribs was pretty woeful in all departments. Wasteful brining the ball out and sloppy in defence. Martin is fourth on the centre back list so lets hope Raglan is not a long term injury. Couldn't bring the ball out and was moved to the right (presumably to shore up the left) but we looked suspect there when he was. MJ had one of his worst games for us. Didn't see him once take on his man and put them on the back foot which meant all he was was a defender (which he's not). There was some nice football to get us to 3-1 but the capitulation after they scored was a worry. We lost our shape and it could have been worse had it not been for Eastwood. Lego was ok, Ruffles played well in spells and Obika looked much more dangerous than Thomas who with his back to goal was little more than leverage for their defenders to head the ball away. Williamson would have made all the difference in this one, in fact I am pretty confident we'd have won this with him in there.
Am happy that this was a cup game as it's got to be all about the league this year but let's just hope Pep has inherited Mapp's ability to come back from poor performances.
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Post by holdsteady on Aug 8, 2017 22:31:08 GMT
Their is poor and then their is what I just watched, you can be bad but still have a look of competence about you, a fair few out their went below an accceptable level. We will see on Saturday how reflective of where we are that was, because if we put that performance in against a competent team from this league we will get battered. The second half we were absolute dogshit. They wanted it more than us and we fell apart all over the pitch. However, do I expect us to play like that every week? Absolutely f*cking not. My biggest worry is that I didn't think they played that well, if they had turned up and been ridiculously pumped and up for it then fair enough, but we just kept giving them the ball till they got it right and scored. It was that bad a performance that if we were investigated for match fixing i wouldn't be that suprised. Williamson staying fit looks like it will decide how we do this season, with him back I am a lot more confident for Saturday, could do with getting the new full backs in contention as soon as possible.
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Post by manorman on Aug 8, 2017 22:31:50 GMT
Yes we were poor but I can't believe the people on here who are calling Cheltenham "shit". They were the better team from the kick off. I was surprised by their speed around the park and their closing down of our players constantly forcing us to play the ball backwards. Their final goal was a fantastic strike and worthy of winning any game. Even Payne could not influence the game when he came on. Pep will certainly have to work hard to resolve the problems visible tonight if we are to compete with Portsmouth on Saturday.
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Post by prhawtin on Aug 8, 2017 22:34:19 GMT
As poor as we were tonight (and we were) if we keep the ball better in the 90th minute and not have our captain just hoof the ball downfield to no one then we win the game. Forget bad performances, they happen, when you're in a winning position manage the game, have discipline, time waste, just win!
Trust me if we're 1-0 up on Saturday going into stoppage time I'd rather we cock about with it near the corner flag than trying to score another goal.
But I am in no way excusing tonight's performance, it was unacceptable, but we showed on Saturday at Oldham that we're a good side that should be challenging at the right end of L1.
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Post by robie on Aug 8, 2017 22:34:34 GMT
I was pleased with Obika and would have liked to see him linking up with Payne.
Ruffels played some outstanding football and Ledson seemed to be taking up the role of Lundstram always offering for the ball.
We have a few players to come in and surely they can only improve us... I trust Pep will watch this performance a few times over and ensure it doesn't happen again.
I really do hate moaners.
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Post by bicesterox on Aug 8, 2017 22:39:54 GMT
Just got back, not read through this thread but, god I thought we were poor from the first minute. We were slower than them especially for the first goal and how did we end up 3-1 up at half time. 2nd half we were never in it but when the scoreboard hit 90 mins at 3-2 I thought we'd somehow fluked a win only for them to equalise. A class goal won it for them but we had no ideas, no control, no nothing. So disappointing after saturdays fine result to screw up at home again.
Still, saturday cant be that bad 😮
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Post by lukehudson on Aug 8, 2017 22:50:36 GMT
From the moment we loaned out Keheller I thought it was the wrong player we was letting go, Martins performance tonight was quite frankly awful and would be looking to bring in another centre back and releasing him. I am sure Fiacre would've done better and hopefully in Jan he will take over from Aaron if he lasts that long.
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Post by charliesghost on Aug 8, 2017 22:55:24 GMT
A strange game. Probably the right result overall, but still not sure how we lost it. Because they didn't nick it - they had loads of chances throughout the game. But there were also signs that we have talented individuals; just not a team yet. There was a lack of leadership out there and this is something that will take time to replace. We have lost strong talismanic characters, and whilst their talent has been replaced, their leadership has not, yet. But that may well come in time as new players find their place in the dressing room. Williamson could also be pivotal in that. First impressions, though, is that we have problems at full-back. We may need our ageing foreigners out there on the pitch sooner than we thought!
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Post by jambon46 on Aug 8, 2017 22:55:41 GMT
What the hell was up with Marv tonight?? Looked like a player who couldn't give a toss and didn't really want to be there. Shocking. I lost count of the times Rothwell was in plenty of space on the left wing, yet Marv chose to keep playing it right instead, seemed a bit odd. Anyway shit game, bring on Saturday
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Post by beano on Aug 8, 2017 23:00:49 GMT
I hope that's Martin's last game for us.
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Post by uptheus on Aug 8, 2017 23:29:12 GMT
Just think Obika is raw and at times unorthodox.
Reminds me a bit of a forward version of Dunkley which basically means he makes defenders have to think/worry about him, but I'm not overly convinced at the moment.
Oh, and how poor were we tonight, very worrying!
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Post by uptheus on Aug 8, 2017 23:31:19 GMT
A strange game. Probably the right result overall, but still not sure how we lost it. Because they didn't nick it - they had loads of chances throughout the game. But there were also signs that we have talented individuals; just not a team yet. There was a lack of leadership out there and this is something that will take time to replace. We have lost strong talismanic characters, and whilst their talent has been replaced, their leadership has not, yet. But that may well come in time as new players find their place in the dressing room. Williamson could also be pivotal in that. First impressions, though, is that we have problems at full-back. We may need our ageing foreigners out there on the pitch sooner than we thought! Te full back comment Charlie, do you think that for both sides?
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Post by jambon46 on Aug 8, 2017 23:38:04 GMT
I hope that's Martin's last game for us. I agree Martin was shite at times tonight, but lets be honest so were at least seven or eight other players!
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Post by ryaniobirdio on Aug 8, 2017 23:39:33 GMT
I said yesterday that having the right attitude would lead to a few goals and a fairly routine win, and at half time that was exactly what was happening. Hadn't played that well but took our chances and were firmly in control, no problem. What happened next was probably the worst half of football I've seen Oxford United play in years. I think that was possibly the worst 45 minutes since 'that' 5-0 thumping at Bradford seven years ago. Even the first half v Wimbledon last season was absolutely riddled with horrific officiating and was subsequently turned into a farce. This was just a complete and utter capitulation.
There's no need to dissect it any more than has been done, but what I will say is this - the character and attitude of those players was appalling, virtually top to bottom. From thinking they could just turn up and turn them over to nobody willing to take the bull by the horns when things got tough, that was concerning. The body language and lack of communication should be cause for alarm. That was bad.
It's done now and I would rather it happened in the first round of a cup than in a league fixture where there are points in play, if it absolutely had to happen at all, but that has to be the first and last time we see that level of complacency and that little effort and commitment. That absolutely cannot happen again.
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Post by oxfordmitch on Aug 8, 2017 23:42:25 GMT
Amazing how so many thought Cheltenham were 'shit'. Full credit to their team, who totally bossed us all over the park. Very good at set pieces and played some nice stuff at times, though also liked that little bit of quality too. Full credit to their fans as well, who were as loud at 4-3 up as they were at 3-1 down. Must say, today was their day and no complaints from me about the score; the best team won.
Very easy for people on here to slate LJS and Bazzer, but they've nailed it tonight. It's not necessarily negativity, I would say a touch of realism. People are slating Martin on here and while I didn't think his performance was too clever, he was not a patch on Ribiero. CR gave one of the worst performances I have seen in a long time. For me, the only bright sparks were Hall, Nelson and Ledson. Eastwood made some decent stops but thought his kicking was poor tonight. Obika had a couple of nice touches and scores a fairly decent goal but was a little inconsistent.
As for the rest of them, they just didn't want to know. Marv was very poor and needs to be considered only as a wise midfielder. Canice looks very predictable when he came on. As others have said, Martin looked slow and very worn down by the pressing of their forwards. Both Ruffles and Rothwell were very anonymous for a lot of the game and didn't help Ledson defensively. I thought Xemi was rubbish (would never write a player off after 1 game though) and Thomas offered nothing when on.
No one wanted the ball. No one was really brave (apart from Payne who struggled to influence the match). The passing was very pedestrian and slow. We lacked killer edge, pace and very rarely looked like unlocking their defence. Rob Hall was really our only outlet.
Like I say, slate the negative posters on here all you want, but that performance was shocking and if we do play like that on Sat, we will be abliterated! Fortunately, I don't think we will play like that. It's not the end of the world, I would've liked to have stayed in the cup, but what will be will be. It's the manner of the defeat tonight which was a bit soul destroying.
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Post by ryaniobirdio on Aug 8, 2017 23:46:30 GMT
Amazing how so many thought Cheltenham were 'shit'. Full credit to their team, who totally bossed us all over the park. Very good at set pieces and played some nice stuff at times, though also liked that little bit of quality too. Full credit to their fans as well, who were as loud at 4-3 up as they were at 3-1 down. Must say, today was their day and no complaints from me about the score; the best team won. Very easy for people on here to slate LJS and Bazzer, but they've nailed it tonight. It's not necessarily negativity, I would say a touch of realism. People are slating Martin on here and while I didn't think his performance was too clever, he was not a patch on Ribiero. CR gave one of the worst performances I have seen in a long time. For me, the only bright sparks were Hall, Nelson and Ledson. Eastwood made some decent stops but thought his kicking was poor tonight. Obika had a couple of nice touches and scores a fairly decent goal but was a little inconsistent. As for the rest of them, they just didn't want to know. Marv was very poor and needs to be considered only as a wise midfielder. Canice looks very predictable when he came on. As others have said, Martin looked slow and very worn down by the pressing of their forwards. Both Ruffles and Rothwell were very anonymous for a lot of the game and didn't help Ledson defensively. I thought Xemi was rubbish (would never write a player off after 1 game though) and Thomas offered nothing when on. No one wanted the ball. No one was really brave (apart from Payne who struggled to influence the match). The passing was very pedestrian and slow. We lacked killer edge, pace and very rarely looked like unlocking their defence. Rob Hall was really our only outlet. Like I say, slate the negative posters on here all you want, but that performance was shocking and if we do play like that on Sat, we will be abliterated! Fortunately, I don't think we will play like that. It's not the end of the world, I would've liked to have stayed in the cup, but what will be will be. It's the manner of the defeat tonight which was a bit soul destroying. Bingo.
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Post by oxfordmitch on Aug 8, 2017 23:50:37 GMT
I said yesterday that having the right attitude would lead to a few goals and a fairly routine win, and at half time that was exactly what was happening. Hadn't played that well but took our chances and were firmly in control, no problem. What happened next was probably the worst half of football I've seen Oxford United play in years. I think that was possibly the worst 45 minutes since 'that' 5-0 thumping at Bradford seven years ago. Even the first half v Wimbledon last season was absolutely riddled with horrific officiating and was subsequently turned into a farce. This was just a complete and utter capitulation. There's no need to dissect it any more than has been done, but what I will say is this - the character and attitude of those players was appalling, virtually top to bottom. From thinking they could just turn up and turn them over to nobody willing to take the bull by the horns when things got tough, that was concerning. The body language and lack of communication should be cause for alarm. That was bad. It's done now and I would rather it happened in the first round of a cup than in a league fixture where there are points in play, if it absolutely had to happen at all, but that has to be the first and last time we see that level of complacency and that little effort and commitment. That absolutely cannot happen again. Like this post a lot. What I did like was when lots of players were celebrating Obika's goal, Nelson was grabbing Lego and Ribiero and telling them to sort it out. Ledson never says away from a tackle and constantly wanted the ball tonight. This wasn't always beneficial to us but never went hiding. Rob Hall looked like he was a man desperate to make the line up on Saturday and gave plenty. I noticed at the end, only these 3 came to clap. The rest headed straight to the dressing room. That needs to change. You cannot go hiding after such abysmal performances. We need more fighters and leaders.
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Post by yellowsarmy on Aug 9, 2017 0:17:37 GMT
That was awful. We had 3 comedy defenders playing alongside Nelson today of which Martin is the worse. Otherwise we looked lightweight in midfield. Ruffels did not abysmally, hall tried but really missed his best chance not a good finish. Okiba looked ok too. Wes i don't understand what he is expected to do seems to lack talent and strength.
Most of all I thought we were too predictable. It is very well doing tappy tappy football but passing from midfield across the defense back to Eastwood back to defense then for Marv or Nelson to launch it into no one is pretty depressing.
You rarely hear boos like that at full time but the players fully deserved it. That's 6 hours of my life I will never get back a truly shameful waste of an evening for 3000 people. Play like that on Saturday and we will get hammered.
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Post by KLYellow on Aug 9, 2017 1:55:42 GMT
I have never liked cup games, not if we really want to get into the playoffs or try for promotion, so don't mind we lost.
This will give Pep more food for thought in terms of formation and 1st Xi. We can concentrate on the league.
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Post by holdsteady on Aug 9, 2017 5:17:41 GMT
I have never liked cup games, not if we really want to get into the playoffs or try for promotion, so don't mind we lost. This will give Pep more food for thought in terms of formation and 1st Xi. We can concentrate on the league. We went up automatically the season before last having runs in more than one cup, didn't stop us then. After that performance, if you were actually at the game, it's hard to think about promotion. A team with that performance in it isn't going up, that fell so far short of acceptable. I think Clotet will be wanting another couple of players in now, Ribeiro, Johnson and Martin were that bad that if we had options I don't think we would be seeing them again.
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Post by manorlounger on Aug 9, 2017 5:42:22 GMT
Two words: Utter shite.
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