I sat next to an old Oxford supporting friend at The Oval on Friday who thanked me ironically as a Charlton fan for letting his team have our manager!
His views mirrored everyone else's: inflexible, over-talkative and blameless.
You'd think that after this job he won't find any new takers but the world of football management is a funny one and he'll no doubt inflict more of the same on another club very soon.
Never underestimate the value of being able to talk bollocks over actual real ability in helping to gain employment.
Funnily enough, recently (Bromley meeting, perhaps?) Lee Bowyer said he thought Karl Robinson was a very good coach. Perhaps he meant: Okay, crap manager. But a very good coach.
That hissing noise you can hear is the sound of the last gasps of air being drained from Karl's credibility.
He will be sacked within weeks at Oxford and then gets his feet under the sofa at Sky in some kind of lower league pundit role.
Some of the abuse he copped on here was a bit excessive and childish at times and he isn't in the same league as Pardew in terms of being a vile human being but he is his own worst enemy really in terms of the crap he comes out with.
It's a shame for Karl but the game is about results and he has not been getting them for about a year now either at Charlton or Oxford and that only leads to one outcome.
While the reigns of both Slade and Robinson were ultimately failures, I don't blame RD/KM for appointing them as at the time both seem plausible appointments for this division.
Indeed, if we had been sold 2 years ago, I could easily see new owners appointing either, with their experience of L1
I didn't like Robinson before he joined us, but I was prepared to give him a chance once he was appointed manager. I found his IX to be more entertaining than Slade's IX, but the football was largely ineffective when it came to trying to win games.
Imagine what he could have done without the two man handicap!
Edited. Kudos for pulling me up on this. A massive oversight on my part.
I didn't like Robinson before he joined us, but I was prepared to give him a chance once he was appointed manager. I found his IX to be more entertaining than Slade's IX, but the football was largely ineffective when it came to trying to win games.
One of Robinson's major flaws, is his unwillingness to adopt any sort of pragmatism when it comes to tactics. He is rigidly set in his ways. I believe he is like this, as he has an idea of how football should be played, and he tries to build a club on this idea. He's definitely more in the Guardiola/ Wenger school of thought than the Conte/Mourinho school of thought. Being in the Guardiola/Wenger school of thought is great, as long as you have owners that are willing to give you time to build the club around your ideas, and have the financial muscle to allow you to purchase the players you need for your ideas to work. Unfortunately for Robinson, the majority of owners won't afford a manager time to do this. Robinson had 5 years at Milton Keynes to build the club how he wanted it, he won't be afforded this time again. Since failing at Charlton, and not meeting expectations at Oxford, how many owners are going to trust Karl with their money to build a team around his ideas? Not many, I presume.
It isn't just Robinson's tactical rigidness that is a major flaw, it's the way he conducts himself. The main reason I didn't warm to Robinson was that I found him extremely disingenuous. Whenever he was interviewed, he reminded me of a politician i.e. trying to say what he thinks the people want to hear and denying all culpability when things were going wrong. I found him extremely patronising in the way he treated us fans. He assumed as long as he said what he thought we wanted to hear, we would all be content. Wrong! He is all style and no substance. Another reason I didn't warm to Robinson, is that he's definitely one of those characters who wants to share in all the glory when times are good, but when times are tough, he's nowhere to be seen. His behaviour away at Doncaster particularly irked me. We conceded in the last minute, and as soon as the final whistle blew, Robinson didn't even acknowledge us fans, and dissapeared straight down the tunnel. I can understand that he was angry, but at the very least, you acknowledge the fans. This isn't the only case of Robinson doing this, and this behavior has continued at Oxford.
If Robinson can be more pragmatic with his tactics, or a find an owner willing to give him more than 2 years to implement his ideas, and adopt a more nuanced approach with the way he conducts himself, he may still have a chance to achieve something at a League 1 club. Good luck to him.
Funnily enough, recently (Bromley meeting, perhaps?) Lee Bowyer said he thought Karl Robinson was a very good coach. Perhaps he meant: Okay, crap manager. But a very good coach.
Funnily enough, recently (Bromley meeting, perhaps?) Lee Bowyer said he thought Karl Robinson was a very good coach. Perhaps he meant: Okay, crap manager. But a very good coach.
Whilst sitting alongside his boss Karl Robinson.
Dont think Robinson was there this year and he is 100% not Bowyers boss
KR will be at Northampton by March and then in 2020 will take up the reigns at Kettering. He will become to that part of the world what Gary Johnson has been to the West Country and beyond, but without the success
I may not even have the time to get @The31YearMan an Oxford pass so he can hear his warblings. I may just order him a Northampton pass right now
KR will be at Northampton by March and then in 2020 will take up the reigns at Kettering. He will become to that part of the world what Gary Johnson has been to the West Country and beyond, but without the success
I may not even have the time to get @The31YearMan an Oxford pass so he can hear his warblings. I may just order him a Northampton pass right now
been truly found out this time, i didnt really mind him as a person thought he was quite likeable for a scouser which is not easy, but hes gotta be gone soon, 1/5th way through the season 5 points and a -10 goal difference, the only saving grace is those above arent pulling away yet - on a side note suprising to see plymouth and shrewsbury doing so badly
been truly found out this time, i didnt really mind him as a person thought he was quite likeable for a scouser which is not easy, but hes gotta be gone soon, 1/5th way through the season 5 points and a -10 goal difference, the only saving grace is those above arent pulling away yet - on a side note suprising to see plymouth and shrewsbury doing so badly
The thing with Shrewsbury is they lost their manager and all their decent players.
been truly found out this time, i didnt really mind him as a person thought he was quite likeable for a scouser which is not easy, but hes gotta be gone soon, 1/5th way through the season 5 points and a -10 goal difference, the only saving grace is those above arent pulling away yet - on a side note suprising to see plymouth and shrewsbury doing so badly
The thing with Shrewsbury is they lost their manager and all their decent players.
Sad to say it but think Shrewsbury will be fine; Askey seems a good Manager and they're rightly not panicking... Out of Shrewsbury and Plymouth, the former was probably a better win than the latter as it was a harder game
Oxford on the other hand have looked comical with their Defending under Robinson
And apart from a brief good run in April; Robinson hasnt even just had bad luck this season at Oxford - He's had an awful record there ever since taking over in March - When you compare him with what someone like Bowyer has achieved its crazy how he's not been sacked
who do they get in though? robinson has built the team
I hope your using the word "built" loosely...
Could probably give the role back to Derek Fazackerley he did well in charge when he won @ the Valley (well Robinson helped) and its clear that Robinson has better Assistant Managers alongside him than himself
He said: “I’m just frustrated, because I know how good I can be at my job."
I know how "good" you can be as well. Nothing like as good as you seem to think.
“How many times can you keep taking that? How many times on a Friday can I find out another player is injured? How many times on a Saturday morning can I find out a player is not right, or not well?"
Sounds familiar. How's the revolutionary "3 pre-season games in 3 days" working out for you?
He said: “I’m just frustrated, because I know how good I can be at my job."
I know how "good" you can be as well. Nothing like as good as you seem to think.
“How many times can you keep taking that? How many times on a Friday can I find out another player is injured? How many times on a Saturday morning can I find out a player is not right, or not well?"
Sounds familiar. How's the revolutionary "3 pre-season games in 3 days" working out for you?
Numpty.
Looks like Fazackerley is calling him a w****r behind his back in that first photo too
He said: “I’m just frustrated, because I know how good I can be at my job."
I know how "good" you can be as well. Nothing like as good as you seem to think.
“How many times can you keep taking that? How many times on a Friday can I find out another player is injured? How many times on a Saturday morning can I find out a player is not right, or not well?"
Sounds familiar. How's the revolutionary "3 pre-season games in 3 days" working out for you?
Numpty.
In the grand scheme of things, those three games in three days in pre-season really wouldn't still be effecting anything in terms of his team and it's injuries. They would do more work in actual training in a normal three days than they would in three games, relative to position.
It is the fact he uses the same methods throughout training, the same movements and his lack of management ability. Footballers are not as stupid as you may think, the whole, "a player is not right, or not well" indicates to me more that he doesn't want to be involved and play under Robinson. The injuries are often from RSI's under Robinson that go unnoticed because of his methods, as we found out last season. Now Oxford are in a poor run of form, can't buy a win, have a manager who has not been able to produce the goods for a very long time, doesn't know when to shut up, fans have already turned on him and the team, and are getting injuries after injuries.
Unless he goes soon, they will be in trouble for a while and could find themselves in big trouble getting relegated. The trend we had last season of conceding late goals has continued for Robinson at Oxford, in their 9 games, they have conceded 4 goals in the last 10 minutes of a game. Whereas, for us, we have scored 4 in the last 10 minutes of game in our 9 fixtures. Shows the difference in mentality.
Reading some of the OUFC twitter 'tweets' is genuinely like deja-vu! It could be us from 8 months ago! Unbelievable how he can continue to be so intransigent and blameless. Sometimes you've just got to be honest with yourself and admit that you're just not very good at what you do for a living.
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Indeed, if we had been sold 2 years ago, I could easily see new owners appointing either, with their experience of L1
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
And then KR's favourite place to go next weekend. AFC Wimbledon away.
I may not even have the time to get @The31YearMan an Oxford pass so he can hear his warblings. I may just order him a Northampton pass right now
Oxford on the other hand have looked comical with their Defending under Robinson
And apart from a brief good run in April; Robinson hasnt even just had bad luck this season at Oxford - He's had an awful record there ever since taking over in March - When you compare him with what someone like Bowyer has achieved its crazy how he's not been sacked
Could probably give the role back to Derek Fazackerley he did well in charge when he won @ the Valley (well Robinson helped) and its clear that Robinson has better Assistant Managers alongside him than himself
He said: “I’m just frustrated, because I know how good I can be at my job."
I know how "good" you can be as well. Nothing like as good as you seem to think.
“How many times can you keep taking that? How many times on a Friday can I find out another player is injured? How many times on a Saturday morning can I find out a player is not right, or not well?"
Sounds familiar. How's the revolutionary "3 pre-season games in 3 days" working out for you?
Numpty.
It is the fact he uses the same methods throughout training, the same movements and his lack of management ability. Footballers are not as stupid as you may think, the whole, "a player is not right, or not well" indicates to me more that he doesn't want to be involved and play under Robinson. The injuries are often from RSI's under Robinson that go unnoticed because of his methods, as we found out last season. Now Oxford are in a poor run of form, can't buy a win, have a manager who has not been able to produce the goods for a very long time, doesn't know when to shut up, fans have already turned on him and the team, and are getting injuries after injuries.
Unless he goes soon, they will be in trouble for a while and could find themselves in big trouble getting relegated. The trend we had last season of conceding late goals has continued for Robinson at Oxford, in their 9 games, they have conceded 4 goals in the last 10 minutes of a game. Whereas, for us, we have scored 4 in the last 10 minutes of game in our 9 fixtures. Shows the difference in mentality.