Didn't get there until half time due to awful traffic on the M25 & M40.....
I don’t know if it would have helped on this occasion but you really should use waze/ google maps app on your phone with live navigation it will help with journeys when there’s bad traffic . im sure it’s been mentioned before on here . do yourself a favour and give it a go , it’s a no brainer
Both me & Golfie Jnr have Google maps on our phone's but today wasn't helped by the fact we were in a courtesy car as mine is being repaired & then we had to go back for the tickets as numpty me had left them at home (only added 20 min to our journey time). Should have gone north round the M25 instead ....
Still gutted about today, looked another great away day, noise off the pitch, pace on it, well for 15 minutes anyway.
Oxford hassled, harried and used every trick in the book after they got their noses in front. Too many of our players just didnt turn up today, poor performances across the park. Very frustrating and disappointing but no need to overreact. It was a bad day, the autos are gone and we turn our mind to the play offs.
Forget the result been saying for last 2 months it's the play offs. It's all about the the company if you ever have the pleasure of spending the day with @roseandcrown you can't go wrong
I'd pay Pearce and Sarr on Monday and give Bauer a rest. We are at home and any defensive issues will be lessened by that fact. Page should get part of a game - a fair bit too early but might help him be more ready when needed. Is Stephenson fit? If so he could be involved too. Marshall, Lapslie, Morgan and Pratley ought to play. Taylor has to as there is no alternative, probably with Parker.
Even if we lose, it won't be that big a deal and it will keep our key players fresh. I'd play our strongest team against Gills and rest a few at home to Rochdale. I haven't checked the dates, but the play off normally start soon after the end of the season don't they?
Don’t give Roland the idea we will start chipping in for the players wages!
Get Fosu back believing and he'll be back banging them in the onion bag in no time.
Needs a psychologist to get him there.
We don’t have the time for that unfortunately. I would have given him a start today but I don’t think we will see either him or Marshall again unless we suffer some injuries.
I'd like to see some experimenting. Lapslie or Beliek at RB. Wassim or Fosu up top, or behind Taylor. Morgan starting. Page starting.
No way should Bielik be playing RB and Page isn’t fit enough. Wassim wont be tried and Fosu is gone.
Definitely an overreaction. Bowyer isn’t experimenting but what he obviously does is rotate the players when he doesn’t know who is in his best 11. He did it with Igor and Parker then decided it was Igor.
Phillips, Purrington, Bauer, Bielik, Cullen, Williams, Aribo, Igor and Taylor have their places for the play offs. The fact he is trying Sarr, Pearce, Solly and Dijksteel shows those 2 places haven’t been determined.
Psychologically better to miss out on 2nd spot now rather than last game of the season, two disappointed teams above us will go into the playoffs with the wrong mindset
Just in after a pleasant evening in Oxford hostelries (and a rather more disappointing match)
Slightly puzzled by some of the comments here. That picking Pearce instead of Sarr contributed to our defeat when he was our best defender, contributing a couple of goal saving interventions. Or that Parker was terrible and much worse than our other attacking options, when to me he was adequate (say 6/10) and definitely an improvement on Reeves in the first half.
It's not the first time where we've struggled to break down a deep defence - credit to KR for the way they defended - and defensively I thought we looked very open in midfield, with Bielik struggling. As for Williams, not enough end product for me and goes down too easily (referees know it too). And don't agree with playing Solly at LB instead of Sarr, who at the moment is simply the better player.
Not been convinced by the makeup of our bench in recent matches, too many defensive minded players who are fine when defending a lead but not when we need some spark. Fosu or indeed Marshall were badly missed.
The only consolation for the playoffs is that we tend to struggle against the lesser teams when they park the bus and play to catch us on the break which Oxford did very well today. Against our playoff rivals that will be less of a problem
You have all missed the point. For financial reasons Roland instructed LB not to achieve automatic promotion, but to go up via two semi-finals and a Wembley final.
Lee therefore has to drop enough points to make it impossible for us to go up automatically. His plan nearly came unstuck today when their keeper got himself sent off, but LB was able to get a message to Solly to reciprocate.
Had we still won today in spite of everything, LB would have included ever more disruptive team changes until Roland's target was achieved. If necessary Williams and Fosu would have been played at CB and Odoh in goal.
I know all this is true because I read it on YouTube.
Little to add to posts already made but clearly, it could have been a different story had Purrington not been taken ill so late on and if Igor had been fit....Didn't Bow say in his presser yesterday that we had no fresh injuries going into the match or was this another late blow for the gaffer?
Too many of the lads not on song today, sadly. Only Cullen, Aribo & Taylor looked sharp for me.
There were too many occasions when we seemed to be running through treacle - although that was preferable to the times when our players appeared to be bogged down in the stuff ...totally static. Then there was the lateral passing , especially from Williams which was very frustrating to watch from the Stand.
Don't think there were too many Addicks upset or surprised to see Reeves subbed at half time. I would rather have seen Lapslie start but as has already been stated, Bow may be looking to rotate his meagre squad in an effort to keep as many players as possible match fit for the Play Offs. Pratley too might have given more strength in midfield & the ankle biters in yellow would have found it more difficult to relieve him of the ball.
After a very promising start, culminating in a slightly dubious pen, it seemed that we started to coast, thinking we had this one in the bag. But after they scored, it became a whole new ball game, if you'll excuse the pun. I did wonder whether the prospect of automatic promotion created its own pressure on our lads, with passes going astray or over hit as a result of trying too hard. But, never having kicked a ball , what do I know?
So, a day that started out badly with the motorway madness turning a 2 hour drive into a 4 hour nightmeire, didn't get any better. Not even time for a drink before kick off...that in itself was a bad omen.
However, a nice meal in Frankie & Benny's with good friends redressed the balance followed by a perfect journey back home. Maybe it wasn't such a Bad Friday after all ....
I'd like to see some experimenting. Lapslie or Beliek at RB. Wassim or Fosu up top, or behind Taylor. Morgan starting. Page starting.
If you think taking out best player out of his best position to play him RB (the one position we seem to have been able to carry this season) then I’m glad you’re not our manager
A couple of times we’ve seen that formation from Bowyer now with the one up front and it hasn’t worked again. Similar to Peterborough away when the make shift wingers become isolated.
First 10 minutes we looked good but Oxford dominated from then onwards.
Most frustrating match I’ve been too in many a years as we watched our automatic promotion chances fall away in front or our eyes.
That second half was crying out for someone like Fosu as it was way to predictable throughout
If all of Pearce , Bauer and Sarr had played and one had got injured then what cover would we have for centre half between now and end of the season ? At least at full back there is cover Solly/ Dijcksteel and / Page . Problem was neither of the latter two were fit enough yesterday but should be very soon . Decision not to play Sarr pretty straightforward really . Only real question is might he have played instead of Pearce or Bauer .and if so whether swapping around in the centre of defence at least one left sided centre half would have been more disruptive than playing Solly at left back where he has played before .The rest of the enforced changes made sense with Parker starting being the only real question.and that was apparently answered by the quality of his second half performance.
Mixed feelings about playing too many significantly weaker/untried players in our remaining games. I get the point about resting our better players for the play offs but going into those matches with a positive winning momentum is absolutely crucial.
Mixed feelings about playing too many significantly weaker/untried players in our remaining games. I get the point about resting our better players for the play offs but going into those matches with a positive winning momentum is absolutely crucial.
Unless we go up he’ll be blamed whichever choice he goes with.
If we play our strongest team and our better players miss the play-offs due to injury then “Bowyer should have rested our key players”
If he rests them and don’t get some good results in the next few games “always play your strongest team”
Mixed feelings about playing too many significantly weaker/untried players in our remaining games. I get the point about resting our better players for the play offs but going into those matches with a positive winning momentum is absolutely crucial.
Unless we go up he’ll be blamed whichever choice he goes with.
If we play our strongest team and our better players miss the play-offs due to injury then “Bowyer should have rested our key players”
If he rests them and don’t get some good results in the next few games “always play your strongest team”
Agree with the above.
I think he has to try and steer a middle course really. We know the likes of Vetokele, Page and Williams are made of glass and Solly's knees need resting periodically. Therefore he 'manages' their appearances and trusts to luck with the rest of them. Maybe give a game off to those who have played nearly every match (Taylor for instance) but otherwise keep it going.
Mixed feelings about playing too many significantly weaker/untried players in our remaining games. I get the point about resting our better players for the play offs but going into those matches with a positive winning momentum is absolutely crucial.
Unless we go up he’ll be blamed whichever choice he goes with.
If we play our strongest team and our better players miss the play-offs due to injury then “Bowyer should have rested our key players”
If he rests them and don’t get some good results in the next few games “always play your strongest team”
Agree with the above.
I think he has to try and steer a middle course really. We know the likes of Vetokele, Page and Williams are made of glass and Solly's knees need resting periodically. Therefore he 'manages' their appearances and trusts to luck with the rest of them. Maybe give a game off to those who have played nearly every match (Taylor for instance) but otherwise keep it going.
Well Solly is now missing for the next three games maybe four depending on the rules of his earlier red card
Although that was two bookings rather than a straight red so god knows
Like Forster-Caskey I'd be surprised if we see Page before the Rochdale game, both had full pre-seasons yet Lewis has only been out for two months less than Jake
Under Roland we have always had lop sided squads. You scratch the wrong part of it and you see the weakness, you scratch another part and we look relatively strong. Even in this league this season where I think our best eleven are the best eleven, we have gone into a small number of games knowing we will lose. I am not referring to yesterday here, but on seeing the starting eleven, I was a bit apprehensive.
Anyway, the games where we have been weak and lost as expected have happened every season under Roland. It isn't something we experienced too much before he arrived bar relegation seasons. We have been reminded yesterday of the period of the season before Purrington arrived, when we were bodging as best we can cover for left back. We have been reminded that we have absolutely nothing in terms of strikers outside of Taylor and Vetokele. We have to hope and engineer where possible the situation where as near to our best team starts the play offs, especially in those vulnerable areas we just can't cover adequately.
There wasn't much Bowyer could have done on reflection, but with the benefit of hindsight Sarr should have started. It feels wrong to be disapointed that a player like Pearce starts over him, and Pearce is one of the best at this level but Sarr adds other elements. He is a crucial part of us building attacks and with him not there midfielders had to come deeper to get the ball and start them. Bowyer has been terrific so I shouldn't doubt him. I'm sure he knows Sarr is our best defender and he will start the play offs. It is just, it felt to me, yesterday was the game to start your best players where possible.
We do have a weakness breaking down teams who pack players in the box behind the ball. I think this is less pronounced with two strikers though but shone through yesterday.
Bowyer has to take part responsibility as I believe he signed too many CMs. I know it’s his preferred formation but we all know from Robinson we need other options. Did we really need Williams when you look at the players we had? I believe an attacking midfielder/winger would have been a better shout. Of course the majority of the blame is with Roland but Bowyer has contributed to the slight unbalance.
In his defence, we have two in Marshall and Fosu who have been woeful.
Williams is a cut above and was too good to turn down. I think it was opportunistic and Palace are most likely covering most of the costs.
I did agree and he’s done ok but we already had so many in that position and is a major reason why we have to play the diamond.
Bowyer wasnt helped by the fact we couldn’t replace Grant, we all know that, nor is he helped by the fact our two wingers have been shit, but he has also built the squad that has a lack of a plan B.
Bowyer has to take part responsibility as I believe he signed too many CMs. I know it’s his preferred formation but we all know from Robinson we need other options. Did we really need Williams when you look at the players we had? I believe an attacking midfielder/winger would have been a better shout. Of course the majority of the blame is with Roland but Bowyer has contributed to the slight unbalance.
In his defence, we have two in Marshall and Fosu who have been woeful.
I think Williams is a game changer. He might not have scored any goals yet but he's the one player who gets on the ball, runs at defenders with the right balance of pace and skill to either create a chance or draw a foul. Exactly the kind of player we'll need for the play offs where you just need one moment of magic to make a difference.
Bowyer has to take part responsibility as I believe he signed too many CMs. I know it’s his preferred formation but we all know from Robinson we need other options. Did we really need Williams when you look at the players we had? I believe an attacking midfielder/winger would have been a better shout. Of course the majority of the blame is with Roland but Bowyer has contributed to the slight unbalance.
In his defence, we have two in Marshall and Fosu who have been woeful.
I think Williams is a game changer. He might not have scored any goals yet but he's the one player who gets on the ball, runs at defenders with the right balance of pace and skill to either create a chance or draw a foul. Exactly the kind of player we'll need for the play offs where you just need one moment of magic to make a difference.
When has he changed a game for us? In fairness to Bowyer you can’t criticise the signing on paper but he’s ineffectual for the most part and I would much prefer a different type of player?
Comments
fukl backs were both awful today on a day that we needed them to provide the difference.
we bossed the game for the first 15 mins and scored but didn’t take the advantage!
they scored from two set pieces and then did a job on us. Jamie mackie plays the innocent but he is a bloody thug.
not good enough today, let’s hope we bounce back on. Monday. I would play fosu and Marshall and rest Williams
Should have started with 2 up top rather than peppering their goal with wild shots from bang average shooting midfielders.
We completely outplayed them without being able to finish.
Get Fosu back believing and he'll be back banging them in the onion bag in no time.
Needs a psychologist to get him there.
Oxford hassled, harried and used every trick in the book after they got their noses in front. Too many of our players just didnt turn up today, poor performances across the park. Very frustrating and disappointing but no need to overreact. It was a bad day, the autos are gone and we turn our mind to the play offs.
Gills up next for me, up the addicks!
It's all about the the company if you ever have the pleasure of spending the day with @roseandcrown you can't go wrong
wont be tried and Fosu is gone.
Definitely an overreaction. Bowyer isn’t experimenting but what he obviously does is rotate the players when he doesn’t know who is in his best 11. He did it with Igor and Parker then decided it was Igor.
Phillips, Purrington, Bauer, Bielik, Cullen, Williams, Aribo, Igor and Taylor have their places for the play offs. The fact he is trying Sarr, Pearce, Solly and Dijksteel shows those 2 places haven’t been determined.
Slightly puzzled by some of the comments here. That picking Pearce instead of Sarr contributed to our defeat when he was our best defender, contributing a couple of goal saving interventions. Or that Parker was terrible and much worse than our other attacking options, when to me he was adequate (say 6/10) and definitely an improvement on Reeves in the first half.
It's not the first time where we've struggled to break down a deep defence - credit to KR for the way they defended - and defensively I thought we looked very open in midfield, with Bielik struggling. As for Williams, not enough end product for me and goes down too easily (referees know it too). And don't agree with playing Solly at LB instead of Sarr, who at the moment is simply the better player.
Not been convinced by the makeup of our bench in recent matches, too many defensive minded players who are fine when defending a lead but not when we need some spark. Fosu or indeed Marshall were badly missed.
The only consolation for the playoffs is that we tend to struggle against the lesser teams when they park the bus and play to catch us on the break which Oxford did very well today. Against our playoff rivals that will be less of a problem
Lee therefore has to drop enough points to make it impossible for us to go up automatically. His plan nearly came unstuck today when their keeper got himself sent off, but LB was able to get a message to Solly to reciprocate.
Had we still won today in spite of everything, LB would have included ever more disruptive team changes until Roland's target was achieved. If necessary Williams and Fosu would have been played at CB and Odoh in goal.
I know all this is true because I read it on YouTube.
Too many of the lads not on song today, sadly. Only Cullen, Aribo & Taylor looked sharp for me.
There were too many occasions when we seemed to be running through treacle - although that was preferable to the times when our players appeared to be bogged down in the stuff ...totally static. Then there was the lateral passing , especially from Williams which was very frustrating to watch from the Stand.
Don't think there were too many Addicks upset or surprised to see Reeves subbed at half time. I would rather have seen Lapslie start but as has already been stated, Bow may be looking to rotate his meagre squad in an effort to keep as many players as possible match fit for the Play Offs. Pratley too might have given more strength in midfield & the ankle biters in yellow would have found it more difficult to relieve him of the ball.
After a very promising start, culminating in a slightly dubious pen, it seemed that we started to coast, thinking we had this one in the bag. But after they scored, it became a whole new ball game, if you'll excuse the pun. I did wonder whether the prospect of automatic promotion created its own pressure on our lads, with passes going astray or over hit as a result of trying too hard. But, never having kicked a ball , what do I know?
So, a day that started out badly with the motorway madness turning a 2 hour drive into a 4 hour nightmeire, didn't get any better. Not even time for a drink before kick off...that in itself was a bad omen.
However, a nice meal in Frankie & Benny's with good friends redressed the balance followed by a perfect journey back home. Maybe it wasn't such a Bad Friday after all ....
Then I saw the cricket results.
First 10 minutes we looked good but Oxford dominated from then onwards.
Most frustrating match I’ve been too in many a years as we watched our automatic promotion chances fall away in front or our eyes.
That second half was crying out for someone like Fosu as it was way to predictable throughout
Bauer .and if so whether swapping around in the centre of defence at least one left sided centre half would have been more disruptive than playing Solly at left back where he has played before .The rest of the enforced changes made sense with Parker starting being the only real question.and that was apparently answered by the quality of his second half performance.
If we play our strongest team and our better players miss the play-offs due to injury then “Bowyer should have rested our key players”
If he rests them and don’t get some good results in the next few games “always play your strongest team”
I think he has to try and steer a middle course really. We know the likes of Vetokele, Page and Williams are made of glass and Solly's knees need resting periodically. Therefore he 'manages' their appearances and trusts to luck with the rest of them. Maybe give a game off to those who have played nearly every match (Taylor for instance) but otherwise keep it going.
Although that was two bookings rather than a straight red so god knows
Like Forster-Caskey I'd be surprised if we see Page before the Rochdale game, both had full pre-seasons yet Lewis has only been out for two months less than Jake
Anyway, the games where we have been weak and lost as expected have happened every season under Roland. It isn't something we experienced too much before he arrived bar relegation seasons. We have been reminded yesterday of the period of the season before Purrington arrived, when we were bodging as best we can cover for left back. We have been reminded that we have absolutely nothing in terms of strikers outside of Taylor and Vetokele. We have to hope and engineer where possible the situation where as near to our best team starts the play offs, especially in those vulnerable areas we just can't cover adequately.
There wasn't much Bowyer could have done on reflection, but with the benefit of hindsight Sarr should have started. It feels wrong to be disapointed that a player like Pearce starts over him, and Pearce is one of the best at this level but Sarr adds other elements. He is a crucial part of us building attacks and with him not there midfielders had to come deeper to get the ball and start them. Bowyer has been terrific so I shouldn't doubt him. I'm sure he knows Sarr is our best defender and he will start the play offs. It is just, it felt to me, yesterday was the game to start your best players where possible.
We do have a weakness breaking down teams who pack players in the box behind the ball. I think this is less pronounced with two strikers though but shone through yesterday.
In his defence, we have two in Marshall and Fosu who have been woeful.
Bowyer wasnt helped by the fact we couldn’t replace Grant, we all know that, nor is he helped by the fact our two wingers have been shit, but he has also built the squad that has a lack of a plan B.