Oxford tomorrow | Page 7 | Vital Football

Oxford tomorrow

You cannot fault the effort,just lacking in savvy and experience of half the team!The youngsters don't yet have the strength and as we say in Racing need to grow into their bodies!We can afford to play one or two of them ,but not the number we are forced to use!Hopefully the new owners can get whoever is manager some experienced heads to settle things down!!

I thought Oxford were a big, physical team, too, but they all seem to be at this level !
 
If we don’t get a better and stronger squad in by the end of January,
Relegation is more or less a formality.
 
I thought Oxford were a big, physical team, too, but they all seem to be at this level !
I agree, even Chorley out muscled us, and were faster on the break,
we are not bigger or strong enough to dominate teams and the time and space they have is creating havoc for our defence.

This is not a go at the present team, it's just a fact that due to our situation we have weak squad of players who cannot cope with the bigger, stronger and faster teams in this League, who have more savvy and experienced
players in their teams.

I feel really sorry for some of the players in our team,
if they had more bigger, stronger and faster players with more experience
in our team, they could be introduced to the game a couple at a time to
give them time to learn the game from more experienced players around them and guide them during the game,
at present we have no 'general or generals' to guide and control the game.
 
With vocal support at home, this could help the team and make a difference

I disagree Springy, I think it's a god send that there are no fans in the stadium at the moment. After all the costly mistakes that have been made in recent games it would take "a section of our fan base" about 10 minutes every game before they were getting on players backs, and whilst they may be a minority, it would likely be the only voices heard and what would that do for player confidence ?
Please Boris, keep us out of stadia until our owners are in place and we've managed to recruit some quality and experience to help in our plight.
 
When did these kids get signed to the Academy? If it was when we were just-relegated from Premier league/expecting quick return (ie 2014), then we were signing kids as future top flight players, and as such I'd expect someone of that calibre to be able to not only compete at 3rd division level six years later but boss the game.

If however they joined the club during the yo-yo years of 16/17/18, then I'd be expecting them to have reasonable games at 3rd division level with a degree of inconsistency.

In terms of matching sides, the main difference in this league to the ones above is the level of "shithousery" that goes on. Niggling, time-wasting, feigning injury etc. For a side that likes to play football, coming up against an anti-football side most weeks is an alien concept.

Oxford are masters of shithousery. Wycombe got promoted on the back of being shithousers. You'll find Bristol Rovers are of the same ilk.
 
When did these kids get signed to the Academy? If it was when we were just-relegated from Premier league/expecting quick return (ie 2014), then we were signing kids as future top flight players, and as such I'd expect someone of that calibre to be able to not only compete at 3rd division level six years later but boss the game.

If however they joined the club during the yo-yo years of 16/17/18, then I'd be expecting them to have reasonable games at 3rd division level with a degree of inconsistency.

That seems a bit of a simplistic to me Pie-eater, I'm pretty sure the club will sign the best available young talent they can, irrespective of the division they are in.
A bit of googling will tell you when the kids joined our academy e.g.

Obi made his debut for bury at age 15, then went to Liverpool for a 6 figure fee, never featured for their U18' s and appeared at Wigan in 2017 aged 17.

Long joined the academy in 2017 age 17

Perry Joined in 2018 having been at Bolton's academy since the age of 10.

Merrie joined at age of 15 in 2013.

Aasgaard joined at age of 13/14 in 2016.

Caveat - All the above is from Wikipedia and could be bollocks.
 
Ok, so based on those dates, Obi was a child prodigy at 15 (playing senior football) and Liverpool considered him good enough to sign. As he is now 20, he should be at least good enough for 3rd division football, which is roughly where he was playing 5 years ago.

Merrie was signed to the academy of a Premier League/Cup winning side 7 years ago. Was he signed with the intent of developing him to a level of bottom of 3rd division standard 7 years later or is there a failing on the part of the coaches/player?

The others were picked up as kids or from lower-end sides during the yo yo years and as such, not much can be expected from them.

There's only so long you can use youth as an excuse - Phil Foden seems to be doing ok at a much higher level than these two, and he's just turned 20. I'm not expecting a youth team full of Foden's - just ones who can compete at a level way below what they were signed to play at.
 
Let's start being honest, most of these players wouldn't get into any EFL team in any league they are just not good enough and never will be !
 
Merrie was signed to the academy of a Premier League/Cup winning side 7 years ago. Was he signed with the intent of developing him to a level of bottom of 3rd division standard 7 years later or is there a failing on the part of the coaches/player?

I'm pretty sure he'll have been signed as a very young promising prospect with no preconceived expectations of how he might develop over 7 years.

I do understand what you are saying Pie-eater, but I doubt many youth talent scouts will say "he looks promising but as we are now league one he looks like he might be too good for us, or back in the prem days saying, he looks promising, but at the age of 13 I've already decided he won't be prem standard"

Lets' not forget, our 2 best academy products, who must likely would have played every game in the current team, were sold to prem clubs, and out hottest "next generation" prospect (Devine), who likely wouldn't have featured this season anyway, also had to be sold to keep the club alive.

You mention Foden, but if City had the guts ripped out of their club when he was still a youth player, he wouldn't be shit kicking about in league one, he'd have been hoovered up by some other prem club for a bargain, just like our best talent was.

I don't get the point of criticising the quality of the players, their recruitment or the academy in general as these are far from "normal" circumstances under which they are being judged upon.
 
Let's start being honest, most of these players wouldn't get into any EFL team in any league they are just not good enough and never will be !

..... but at the moment they are the ones pulling the shirt on every match day and trying their best for the club, we all know the situation, I see no benefit (and a lot of negatives) to airing such views publicly. I thank every one of them for their commitment, try to cut out the silly mistakes, but don't beat yourselves up if you make one, shrug it off, learn from it and move on. Embrace this opportunity, enjoy it if you can cos it may not ( almost certainly won't) last for long for you.
I wish I'd been given an opportunity to be regularly played out of my depth for Wigan Athletic.
 
An ex player just said the same on face book. They are not kids. they are not learning not closing down. Defending wise we have not got a clue.
If you don't think teenagers are kids John, then fair enough, you're entitled to your opinion .......as is the ex player, (though his opinion is of little more value than mine or yours ..........certainly it's of less value than Gregor Rioch's).
 
Ok, so based on those dates, Obi was a child prodigy at 15 (playing senior football) and Liverpool considered him good enough to sign. As he is now 20, he should be at least good enough for 3rd division football, which is roughly where he was playing 5 years ago.

Merrie was signed to the academy of a Premier League/Cup winning side 7 years ago. Was he signed with the intent of developing him to a level of bottom of 3rd division standard 7 years later or is there a failing on the part of the coaches/player?

The others were picked up as kids or from lower-end sides during the yo yo years and as such, not much can be expected from them.

There's only so long you can use youth as an excuse - Phil Foden seems to be doing ok at a much higher level than these two, and he's just turned 20. I'm not expecting a youth team full of Foden's - just ones who can compete at a level way below what they were signed to play at.
Very unfair to compere Foden with our youngsters, he was a solo youngster introduced into a team of experienced internationals, we have had to put a host of youngsters into a team with barely any experienced help! Very unfair comparison
 
I disagree Springy, I think it's a god send that there are no fans in the stadium at the moment. After all the costly mistakes that have been made in recent games it would take "a section of our fan base" about 10 minutes every game before they were getting on players backs, and whilst they may be a minority, it would likely be the only voices heard and what would that do for player confidence ?
Please Boris, keep us out of stadia until our owners are in place and we've managed to recruit some quality and experience to help in our plight.
I did say 'Could' make a difference.
 
I agree, even Chorley out muscled us, and were faster on the break,
we are not bigger or strong enough to dominate teams and the time and space they have is creating havoc for our defence.

This is not a go at the present team, it's just a fact that due to our situation we have weak squad of players who cannot cope with the bigger, stronger and faster teams in this League, who have more savvy and experienced
players in their teams.

I feel really sorry for some of the players in our team,
if they had more bigger, stronger and faster players with more experience
in our team, they could be introduced to the game a couple at a time to
give them time to learn the game from more experienced players around them and guide them during the game,
at present we have no 'general or generals' to guide and control the game.

I'd quite like to know what injuries our senior players have, especially Evans and Naismith. As fans, we're really kept in the dark.
 
Pie eater, I find some of your logic unfathomable. (Oh, and Obi is 19 by the way). To somehow try and illustrate your point, you pick out one of the best young players in England, rather cutely forgetting to consider all those youngsters who City have hoovered up over the years, who haven't proven themselves to be good enough, and who are now either plying their trade somewhere down the league (and non league) ladder, or are plastering someone's front room this afternoon.

With us, because of our situation, we've been forced into playing them (ie the best of who we have left) in the first team.

If we had Gelhardt, Weir and Devine playing, who knows how well we might be doing. If it were another year (or two) further on, and McGurk and McHugh were supporting Aasgard and Joseph, we might be running through teams.

However, it's here and now, where our best "old enough" players (Merrie and Perry, plus Crankshaw) aren't quite good enough, whilst our "best prospects" Joseph, Aasgard and Obi, and the rest of course) aren't quite old enough.

It's a bugger, isn't it.