Was at the game i think lol and just got home. Haven't read above but heres my soberly views.
Great day out and oxford fans are a great bunch.
First half dire and assumed we were playing. 4-4-1-1 or 4-5-1 or a system of combination of the above. Anyway first half was crap.
Second half we bossed the game and got a crazy penalty well dispatched and after that we assumed plain sailing. No aftrer a long throw from us they equalised.
Daft sending off seen worse go unpunished most weeks... 16th table doesn't lie.
Slade's football is shite. He's reactive not proactive. Make a positive change at 1-0 and we could kill the game. Instead..
Also strange scenes near where I was standing. One obviously pro-CARD supporter having a row with a bloke standing behind him for a good 20 mins. The bloke behind was obviously very upset that people were singing nasty songs about Roland and at one stage appeared to shout 'shut up' during an extremely loud rendition of 'just sell the club'. Clown.
Now I have only seen 4 games this season. 2 at home v The Shrews and The Wombles plus today and Fleetwood.
The difference in both away games is very different in the way Rusty has set us up.
Fleetwood 4-4-2, with a change into a 4-3-3 when we were down twice in the game.
Today 4-5-1, until the 70th minute at 1-1 with Novak up front alongside Josh. (4-4-2)
If we are going to be a top 6 side this season, then Slade needs to take the game to the opposition, instead of being conservative like today. Take the game to the oppo, and let them worry about us, not the other way around.
Why does Foley keep asking for the ball if he doesn't know what he's going to do with it when he gets it? What's the point of Lookman taking corners? How is that Bauer was more positive and regularly got further forward than Crofts and Foley? What's the point of playing one up front if the midfield get a nose bleed when they get into the final third and don't back him up? Why bring on Botaka if we're not going to pass the ball to him?
We got a lucky break with the pen and screwed it up.
Why does Foley keep asking for the ball if he doesn't know what he's going to do with it when he gets it? What's the point of Lookman taking corners? How is that Bauer was more positive and regularly got further forward than Crofts and Foley? What's the point of playing one up front if the midfield get a nose bleed when they get into the final third and don't back him up? Why bring on Botaka if we're not going to pass the ball to him?
We got a lucky break with the pen and screwed it up.
Just at Kings Cross now, pathetic performance really, good support throughout and when we left Oxford at 8 still a fair few addicks milling about the town.
My biggest concern is the bland out of town stadium with only a frankie and bennies nearby we witnessed today would seem the perfect scenario for our grinning CEO.
I just cant put into words how little I am connected to my club, how being with mates on an away day is far more of an event than the game, its all very sad.
5 pages and not one person has said, there goal came from Solly giving the ball away, love him but gave away the ball and we got done on the break, Baeur was good , Josh worked his nuts off, Norwegian guy was ok, but we have to play two up top. slade is a fat cunt who stands with his hands in his pocket, but not all bad, I spent the day watching the club I love, Ilove the badge end of.
Just at Kings Cross now, pathetic performance really, good support throughout and when we left Oxford at 8 still a fair few addicks milling about the town.
My biggest concern is the bland out of town stadium with only a frankie and bennies nearby we witnessed today would seem the perfect scenario for our grinning CEO.
I just cant put into words how little I am connected to my club, how being with mates on an away day is far more of an event than the game, its all very sad.
To be fair, being with mates and having a good drink has always been the best part of an away day.....
I can sum up that game in two words. Bang average.
In more than two words, no one was great, no one was crap. If I could be bothered to go on the player marks thread, everyone would get a 6. Had a draw written all over it after about 10mins.
Really disappointed today. Exactly the same as Scunthorpe, the team we played were nowhere near as good as we expected. Fair play to Slade for setting us up to be nice and tight for the first 20 mins but he is so slow to react. Oxford were there for the taking today but we showed no desire to attack properly. I thought Josh M did a good job of holding the ball up but on countless occasions we lost the ball due to a lack of support.
Wasn't very impressed with Oxford's crowd and their stewarding terrible with clearly too many away fans in the area provided. Transport shite too.
Poor performance overall. Only one of Jackson, Crofts or Foley should be in at any one time and I'd always go for Jackson, the other two, steady as they are, have zero movement forward. Not impressed with Lennon his distribution always looks shaky. Novak shouldn't be playing he looked so far away from match fitness it was embarrassing. It's a paper thin squad so Slade doesn't have too many options. We'll be mid table all season unless he can find a way to play that brings the best out of Ajose. I like Magennis but he ain't gonna score many on his own.
I don't know that that is true. It's not the deepest of teams, but Slade started with four central midfielders today and left two wingers of true quality (one, Holmes, probably wasn't ready to start) on the bench. That may be true later in the season when injuries hit, but thus far we've been lucky.
I think it's really important to remember that Slade had a chance to completely rebuild much of the squad in the summer. He may not have gotten everyone/as many players as he wanted but he recruited three central midfielders to add to JJ that are much of a muchness. He's the one who has frozen Ba out, a player with faults but one who possesses a technique and drive that we desperately lack.
The fact that we got caught of the counter and lost our shape, and almost did so at various points after, is something you work on with coaching. The times we threw players forward--for throws and corners--we were then incredibly vulnerable on the counter. Those are the transitions you work on in training.
I just don't think Slade has anywhere to hide here. If we're not successful, that's on him. And if we're not successful and need to change managers, then we've let someone build an entire squad who the next manager may not feel comfortable with--and the cycle of the English manager "needing to build his own squad" could continue.
Currently in the midst of what I suspect is some kind of stomach virus as the world falls out of my arse and the 40th load of fizzy chocolate blasts out as I write this.
The fact this is not the low point of my day says how dogshit Charlton Athletic are. Absolute bunch of cockstains.
Currently in the midst of what I suspect is some kind of stomach virus as the world falls out of my arse and the 40th load of fizzy chocolate blasts out as I write this.
The fact this is not the low point of my day says how dogshit Charlton Athletic are. Absolute bunch of cockstains.
Currently in the midst of what I suspect is some kind of stomach virus as the world falls out of my arse and the 40th load of fizzy chocolate blasts out as I write this.
The fact this is not the low point of my day says how dogshit Charlton Athletic are. Absolute bunch of cockstains.
When we were relegated in 72 I recall that we were in the bottom half of div 3 for most of the second season down there. So well done you Belgian tossers you are up there with Gliksten at his worse.
Brussel is the problem very surprised at line up, so negative.
Grandson was mascot today and royally looked after by Oxford, amongst other things visited the Directors lounge and were immediately approached and chatted to by the Oxford directors.
Meire and the Perks ignored us (although Grandson had his kit on so obviously Charlton supporters). Thats the difference between how a good club is run and Charlton. I really wish they would just go they are so up there own arses it hurts!
Thanks to the Charlton players for chatting to him and having a photo but a poor display on the pitch. To be fair think they were only playing to orders but it was dross.
Couldn't believe Holmes was not in starting line up and playing one up front with 20 to the next player is daft, no wonder Slade has never achieved anything in his managerial career.
Two home wins and a couple of performances now a must.
Very much in character for Meire and another reason to have no compunction about making her (professional) life hell.
Bad day for Russell Slade, but remember he was the best they could get. That's down to them, not him. They haven't and won't change, the best you can hope for with this lot is a British manager who fights his corner, which Slade is.
We should be doing better but it's not his fault we have seven senior players who he cannot use.
Really disappointed today. Exactly the same as Scunthorpe, the team we played were nowhere near as good as we expected. Fair play to Slade for setting us up to be nice and tight for the first 20 mins but he is so slow to react. Oxford were there for the taking today but we showed no desire to attack properly. I thought Josh M did a good job of holding the ball up but on countless occasions we lost the ball due to a lack of support.
Wasn't very impressed with Oxford's crowd and their stewarding terrible with clearly too many away fans in the area provided. Transport shite too.
Did you get that number 5 bus from the railway station to the ground? Absolute murder - went all round the houses, stopped every 10 metres to pick up and drop off locals, took 50 minutes to go 3 miles.
And I agree, the inside of that stand was far too pokey for the amount of fans there.
The 451 did give us defensive solidity but didn't give us any attacking threat. Lookman work hard but was so deep when he did beat a player it wasn't in an area to hurt Oxford.
Maginnis' good work and effort was wasted as he never had support. Very rarely did a midfielder get close or run beyond him.
We started the 2nd half better with Bauer and Ulavested surging forward, one of which end with a free kick from which we got the pen.
Blatant but it was a gift as we hadn't created at all.
Yet at one nil we still didn't control the game and had only one clear chance, a close range header tipped over. Rudd had made an equally good stop very early on.
Crowd was noisy and backed the team but not the regime. There was a chant of "442" in the first half.
Lots of anti regime songs at 0 - 0, at 1- 0 and at 1-1 so no it didn't hurt the players.
Some boos for Slade at the end but only a few. Players got a good clap at the end.
There will no doubt be a CL stewards enquiry over the standing and the checking of tickets.
Johnny "legs gone" Jackson with another vital goal too.
The team seems like the club at the moment; lacking clear structure and ambition.
Not much to report from your Wadhurst correspondent tonight.
A second sh*tty journey in 4 days, arriving late in Oxford to meet friends for lunch, harassed & sweaty.
( Message to self - must set Mr F's breakfast alarm call earlier ! )
Not the best start to an away day & TBH, lunch & friends apart, it didn't get much better.
I've managed to read every post thus far & have little to add to the overall views expressed.
Much like the Scunthorpe encounter, no-one played particularly poorly but from our lofty view in row BB, it was clearer than ever how unbalanced the team appears. We gave the opposition far too much room in midfield, failing to close down their forward play time & time again. This area is crying out for a Kashi or two...Big Josh performed his role as lone striker with energy & some skill but his support was almost always non existent. We must presume that Holmsey was benched because he was less than 100% fit but if he had been introduced when we were leading, his speed & guile might have added to our tally & hence, 3 points....not forgetting our " 10 minutes only" wizard.
The crux of our dilemma & subsequent position in the league table is our inability to build on a lead, due in no small part to a defensively minded set up AND Brussell's reluctance to gamble by bringing on a player(s) to ask questions of the opposition. And one up front, however well he may be holding up the ball, inevitably means more long punts & fewer balls to his feet .....
Airman has already posted my thoughts regarding the suitability/quality of our manager for the task in hand...BS was simply the best we could attract under this regime, with their reputation & the constraints imposed. But whether he is the man to build on this shaky start & propel the team into the top 6 by next May is a completely different ball game, decent guy though he may be. Thus far, I feel we offer nothing out of the ordinary - nothing that opposing teams will perceive as a definite threat but, as I've stated before, a "scalp" (at least Brussell won't have to worry about that !) Lookie SHOULD & does at times bring that special quality to a game but I wonder whether the gaffer is bringing out the best in the lad at this moment in time.
Two home games to look forward to now against, on paper, sides we should be beating...so no pressure. By this time in 7 days' time, we could have 6 more points on board, or we could be feeling more pessimistic regarding the outcome of this season. For even the most optimistic Addicks, each match appears more difficult to call than the last. Whether we can make The Valley a fortress remains to be seen but we have to gain maximum points at home more often than not. FFS, Fanny - state the obvious !
Finally, for those not present today, the " Just sell our club" song resounded loudly on several occasions as it did with its first outing at Walsall . Simple & to the point , with no swear words to offend , it sums up the feelings of a huge number of the faithful and IMHO should be a regular occurrence at all games, both home & away. Followed, as it was today by supportive chants for the team , it's a way for the protesters among us to vent their feelings in no uncertain terms. I'm already looking forward to hearing it on Tuesday evening.
And SHOULD those 2 impending home games fail to produce the desired results, then this song could find more participants are drawn to question our current ownership.
Slade has no bollocks when it comes to trying to get a win away from home. How can thousands of people see that one up front isn't effective and he can't?
Oxford is a lovely town, and I already have a spectacular hangover
Right i think we played ok, not particularly well but ok. It was clear we needed a forward a forward along side Magennis after 5 minutes. I like Crofts i would drop Jackson and have Holmes, Lookman on the wing and Novak and Magennis up front. Slade poor tactics today but others are making us out to be worse than we are. Roland Out
Last Saturday we were at home to the Wombles of Wimbledon Common, were 1-0 up with 12 minutes to go - then committed suicide in The Valley of Death.
We have played nine (9) games this season, and won two (2) of them. And we lost at Cheltenham in the League Cup - Cheltenham having just come up from the Conference. Last season Oxford were two divisions below us.
Guts, fire, aggression. We had those essential qualities four years ago with Morrison, Kermorgant, and Bradley Wright-Phillips. The colour red signifies danger and blood - we are going to rip you apart. Now, the red of Charlton means pansies in a municipal park, sniffed only by Bert and Ethel, toddling on to the graveyard.
Our players ought to be on fire from the kick-off: The Valley undisputed: this acre of turf where we win tackles, skin opponents, get inside the box and make the killer pass.
It's beyond us! We are physically weak and mentally dim. Here is an example: We have an attacking throw-in, man poised, ball-over-head, 0-1 down at The Valley - and our players are staring at him, unable to move: frozen men.
Statues. Fire and spirit: Cray Wanderers and Thamesmead Town have it, naturally. Charlton should win with the authority that comes from intelligence, experience, and instinct. All of our opponents have those vital qualities - which is precisely why we were relegated and are now 18th in the third division.
We have won two (2) games of the first nine (9).
For the good Lifers in California and Thailand: When Clem Snide says our midfield is 'pony' - believe him.
Comments
Great day out and oxford fans are a great bunch.
First half dire and assumed we were playing. 4-4-1-1 or 4-5-1 or a system of combination of the above. Anyway first half was crap.
Second half we bossed the game and got a crazy penalty well dispatched and after that we assumed plain sailing. No aftrer a long throw from us they equalised.
Daft sending off seen worse go unpunished most weeks... 16th table doesn't lie.
The difference in both away games is very different in the way Rusty has set us up.
Fleetwood 4-4-2, with a change into a 4-3-3 when we were down twice in the game.
Today 4-5-1, until the 70th minute at 1-1 with Novak up front alongside Josh. (4-4-2)
If we are going to be a top 6 side this season, then Slade needs to take the game to the opposition, instead of being conservative like today. Take the game to the oppo, and let them worry about us, not the other way around.
Why does Foley keep asking for the ball if he doesn't know what he's going to do with it when he gets it?
What's the point of Lookman taking corners?
How is that Bauer was more positive and regularly got further forward than Crofts and Foley?
What's the point of playing one up front if the midfield get a nose bleed when they get into the final third and don't back him up?
Why bring on Botaka if we're not going to pass the ball to him?
We got a lucky break with the pen and screwed it up.
Really looking forward to Tuesday ....
Great noise from the away end today. Plenty of getting behind the boys, with plenty of anti regime chants as well.
Slade did get the bird from a few away customers at the end as well
My biggest concern is the bland out of town stadium with only a frankie and bennies nearby we witnessed today would seem the perfect scenario for our grinning CEO.
I just cant put into words how little I am connected to my club, how being with mates on an away day is far more of an event than the game, its all very sad.
In more than two words, no one was great, no one was crap. If I could be bothered to go on the player marks thread, everyone would get a 6. Had a draw written all over it after about 10mins.
Wasn't very impressed with Oxford's crowd and their stewarding terrible with clearly too many away fans in the area provided. Transport shite too.
I think it's really important to remember that Slade had a chance to completely rebuild much of the squad in the summer. He may not have gotten everyone/as many players as he wanted but he recruited three central midfielders to add to JJ that are much of a muchness. He's the one who has frozen Ba out, a player with faults but one who possesses a technique and drive that we desperately lack.
The fact that we got caught of the counter and lost our shape, and almost did so at various points after, is something you work on with coaching. The times we threw players forward--for throws and corners--we were then incredibly vulnerable on the counter. Those are the transitions you work on in training.
I just don't think Slade has anywhere to hide here. If we're not successful, that's on him. And if we're not successful and need to change managers, then we've let someone build an entire squad who the next manager may not feel comfortable with--and the cycle of the English manager "needing to build his own squad" could continue.
The fact this is not the low point of my day says how dogshit Charlton Athletic are. Absolute bunch of cockstains.
It must be said today has been one to forget.
Should have simply said absolute bunch of cocks.
Awful showing. Roland will never get another penny from me. Pathetic
Bad day for Russell Slade, but remember he was the best they could get. That's down to them, not him. They haven't and won't change, the best you can hope for with this lot is a British manager who fights his corner, which Slade is.
We should be doing better but it's not his fault we have seven senior players who he cannot use.
And I agree, the inside of that stand was far too pokey for the amount of fans there.
The 451 did give us defensive solidity but didn't give us any attacking threat. Lookman work hard but was so deep when he did beat a player it wasn't in an area to hurt Oxford.
Maginnis' good work and effort was wasted as he never had support. Very rarely did a midfielder get close or run beyond him.
We started the 2nd half better with Bauer and Ulavested surging forward, one of which end with a free kick from which we got the pen.
Blatant but it was a gift as we hadn't created at all.
Yet at one nil we still didn't control the game and had only one clear chance, a close range header tipped over. Rudd had made an equally good stop very early on.
Crowd was noisy and backed the team but not the regime. There was a chant of "442" in the first half.
Lots of anti regime songs at 0 - 0, at 1- 0 and at 1-1 so no it didn't hurt the players.
Some boos for Slade at the end but only a few. Players got a good clap at the end.
There will no doubt be a CL stewards enquiry over the standing and the checking of tickets.
Johnny "legs gone" Jackson with another vital goal too.
The team seems like the club at the moment; lacking clear structure and ambition.
A second sh*tty journey in 4 days, arriving late in Oxford to meet friends for lunch, harassed & sweaty.
( Message to self - must set Mr F's breakfast alarm call earlier ! )
Not the best start to an away day & TBH, lunch & friends apart, it didn't get much better.
I've managed to read every post thus far & have little to add to the overall views expressed.
Much like the Scunthorpe encounter, no-one played particularly poorly but from our lofty view in row BB, it was clearer than ever how unbalanced the team appears. We gave the opposition far too much room in midfield, failing to close down their forward play time & time again. This area is crying out for a Kashi or two...Big Josh performed his role as lone striker with energy & some skill but his support was almost always non existent. We must presume that Holmsey was benched because he was less than 100% fit but if he had been introduced when we were leading, his speed & guile might have added to our tally & hence, 3 points....not forgetting our " 10 minutes only" wizard.
The crux of our dilemma & subsequent position in the league table is our inability to build on a lead, due in no small part to a defensively minded set up AND Brussell's reluctance to gamble by bringing on a player(s) to ask questions of the opposition. And one up front, however well he may be holding up the ball, inevitably means more long punts & fewer balls to his feet .....
Airman has already posted my thoughts regarding the suitability/quality of our manager for the task in hand...BS was simply the best we could attract under this regime, with their reputation & the constraints imposed. But whether he is the man to build on this shaky start & propel the team into the top 6 by next May is a completely different ball game, decent guy though he may be. Thus far, I feel we offer nothing out of the ordinary - nothing that opposing teams will perceive as a definite threat but, as I've stated before, a "scalp" (at least Brussell won't have to worry about that !) Lookie SHOULD & does at times bring that special quality to a game but I wonder whether the gaffer is bringing out the best in the lad at this moment in time.
Two home games to look forward to now against, on paper, sides we should be beating...so no pressure. By this time in 7 days' time, we could have 6 more points on board, or we could be feeling more pessimistic regarding the outcome of this season. For even the most optimistic Addicks, each match appears more difficult to call than the last. Whether we can make The Valley a fortress remains to be seen but we have to gain maximum points at home more often than not. FFS, Fanny - state the obvious !
Finally, for those not present today, the " Just sell our club" song resounded loudly on several occasions as it did with its first outing at Walsall . Simple & to the point , with no swear words to offend , it sums up the feelings of a huge number of the faithful and IMHO should be a regular occurrence at all games, both home & away. Followed, as it was today by supportive chants for the team , it's a way for the protesters among us to vent their feelings in no uncertain terms. I'm already looking forward to hearing it on Tuesday evening.
And SHOULD those 2 impending home games fail to produce the desired results, then this song could find more participants are drawn to question our current ownership.
We can but hope.
Oxford is a lovely town, and I already have a spectacular hangover
Slade poor tactics today but others are making us out to be worse than we are. Roland Out
We have played nine (9) games this season, and won two (2) of them. And we lost at Cheltenham in the League Cup - Cheltenham having just come up from the Conference. Last season Oxford were two divisions below us.
Guts, fire, aggression. We had those essential qualities four years ago with Morrison, Kermorgant, and Bradley Wright-Phillips. The colour red signifies danger and blood - we are going to rip you apart. Now, the red of Charlton means pansies in a municipal park, sniffed only by Bert and Ethel, toddling on to the graveyard.
Our players ought to be on fire from the kick-off: The Valley undisputed: this acre of turf where we win tackles, skin opponents, get inside the box and make the killer pass.
It's beyond us! We are physically weak and mentally dim. Here is an example: We have an attacking throw-in, man poised, ball-over-head, 0-1 down at The Valley - and our players are staring at him, unable to move: frozen men.
Statues. Fire and spirit: Cray Wanderers and Thamesmead Town have it, naturally. Charlton should win with the authority that comes from intelligence, experience, and instinct. All of our opponents have those vital qualities - which is precisely why we were relegated and are now 18th in the third division.
We have won two (2) games of the first nine (9).
For the good Lifers in California and Thailand: When Clem Snide says our midfield is 'pony' - believe him.