FAN’S VIEW 22/23 – No.18: FLEETWOOD AT HOME

First a mention of Bolton

Covid prevented me visiting the University of Bolton Stadium but such was the performance we put in it would be remiss not to mention it in passing. There were so many ways to keep up with events during the contest and to get a detailed catch up after the event. There’s Radio Oxford of course. Highlights, extended highlights and a full re-run of the game which I’ve watch all through. Then there are clips with the commentary coming from local Bolton radio or whatever it’s called that were so biased to the home team – which is only right – and various vLogs that are so bland and tell nothing other than that Wanderers should have had about four penalties, we should have had three or four red cards and the players in white should have a shot about every 20 seconds. They’re so bad they’re thoroughly entertaining. If the youngsters of today want to get their kicks in this way then so be it. It’s harmless I think.

We did so many things in this game and displayed so many traits that I’ve long been screaming out for that on the back of the Pompey game I genuinely think we may have turned a corner. Even after this our current record shows two more defeats than victories and our home record is appalling (W2, D1, L4) so naturally a word of caution needs to be very much thrown in.

Once again we didn’t keep a clean sheet but that becomes much less of an issue when the goals are starting to flow at the other end of the pitch. That’s eight in the last three away games.

What was so very encouraging about this was that we played like a team who knew how to win without just relying on pretty football and, not only that, a team that really wanted to win and had the belief and determination to do so. We managed the game as teams so often have done at Minchery Farm. I don’t think we crossed any lines although I can’t for one moment see how Cameron Brannagan wasn’t booked for his professional foul but if Bolton fans want to complain about referee Ollie Yates they should consider nothing given for an elbow in Stuart Findlay’s face.

We defended in awesome fashion. Bodies on the line, headers won. Simon Eastwood doing everything that was required of him. It must help having a settled back four. But then we lost Sam Long so the much maligned Steve Seddon replaced him for 45 minutes and gets that oh so important third goal. Another example of really wanting it. Scrappy goal, as was the first, but that’s what’s needed. We need this in our locker.

Ciaron Brown’s certainly wasn’t scrappy. He’d defended magnificently throughout and to score like he did surely gets him man of the match. That said I was highly impressed with just about everyone and again Kyle Joseph in particular. I don’t see how he could have put in more effort and it was he who created our first.

Long may this continue, but for home games, when we’re not considered the underdogs as in this one, a different approach is needed.

Our opponents

On the face of it Fleetwood’s rise has been absolutely remarkable but on closer inspection perhaps not quite so. Money talks at all levels of football.

As recently as 2004/05 they were playing in the North West Counties League Division One. Five promotions later they’d got into the Football League and in their second season went up to League One where they’ve remained ever since. They lost play-off semi-finals in 2016/17 and 2019/20.

They currently sit three places and two points above us having played a game more. Their current form isn’t great but they did turn over Accrington 3-0 on Saturday and last month like us drew 0-0 at Fratton Park.

Andy Pilley owner of Business Energy Solutions (BES) supplier of energy to businesses took ownership of Fleetwood in 2004 and his investment in the club has been significant.

The latest accounts to 30 June 2021 show:

Turnover £4.8m

Loss after tax £2.9m

Income from government grants £794k

Wages and salaries including pension and social security costs £6.2m

Balance sheet (£23.2m) of which £21.8m is owed to group undertakings.

Take away Pilley and his money and they’d be in trouble.

He’s recently decided that he’s not content with owning just one football club and a couple of months back purchased Waterford FC of the League of Ireland First Division.

Seems that he’s unperturbed by what’s going on in the courts. A year ago Pilley was accused of two counts of running a business with the intention of defrauding creditors or others by allowing the fraudulent mis-selling of energy supply contracts. He was also accused of allowing fraudulent mis-selling by sales representatives and being concerned with the retention of criminal property – specifically the proceeds from the mis-sold contracts.

The complex trial is currently taking place at Preston Crown court. Pilley and his co-accused have denied all charges.

More on Pilley.

Before the 2019 general election he stated that the club would definitely be relegated if Labour won because the football club would lose its funding from BES. He’d expressed his concerns about Labour’s plans for the energy industry – and look where we are now.

In September last year there was a story in the press that a council worker had offered to shoot Pilley for half a million quid and that Pilley was suing Cheshire West council for £10m.

Yes, the mad world of football ownership.

Oxford United 1 Fleetwood Town 1

A negative Covid test just before lunch meant I was back in the game. Having missed two games I was really looking forward to this. What I and the other attendees got as our reward was one of the most dispiriting, godawful evenings out I’ve ever had the misfortune to experience.

How right I was to call out the difference between home and away.

I’ve occasionally written about the lack of an apparent football match taking place when I’ve gone to the Kassam but this topped the lot. Walking slowly down the Grenoble Road I could easily have been taken out by a silent electric scooter that whizzed past if I’d stepped to my left. Then another one. At least these had lights on. A third didn’t. I’d just walked beyond the roundabout opposite Frys Hill when there was a loud thud behind me. I and a couple of others heading to the ground, there was hardly a stream of expectant fans in the vicinity, turned as one. A white van had driven straight into the back of a taxi. The evening was to get no better.

I had time to walk around for a couple of minutes before entering. I’ve at times been critical of the Kassam Stadium but have never mercifully slagged it off like some. The sight lines are terrific and for me that’s a given for a decent fully fit for purpose football ground. But as for the rest of it, well almost no, no and no again.

There’s just no identity. It’s not a true home but that almost goes without saying. The downstairs part of the quadrangle has long been closed to supporters on match days. It scored top marks for sterility but was better than nothing. Today the windows were mostly covered and the place as usual was closed but clearly set up for something non-football related during the day time. As owners Firoka can of course do what they want. It’s hard to accept that we’ve got to stomach another few seasons there.

The top bar where the VIP corporates go looked to be in darkness. No warmth. No glow. But on closer inspection people could be spotted in that particular sterile area.

With energy costs having gone through the roof I fully understand the need to be prudent but the area around the turnstiles to the South stand and the East end of the ground was in much greater gloom than usual. That set the mood.

I only picked up the atmosphere at the Bolton game via TV pictures but the contrast between their ground on Saturday and the Kassam this Tuesday could not have been more marked.

Bolton have an enclosed ground that retains the noise and vibe of passionate supporters. Even our 558 made significant noise too. It all worked and contributed to the event. There were over 17k there in total.

The term stadium has long been used to describe football grounds. Stadium? Ours is just three unconnected stands. A night like this had me thinking is there a more soul destroying venue in which to watch L1 football this season than at Minchery Farm? I think not. Of all the grounds I’ve watched OUFC at since our return to the Football League the only one that’s beaten it for barrenness is the Don Valley Stadium. That has been pulled down which did it a great service.

The crowd was announced as 6286 with 69 brave souls from the Cod Army having temporarily migrated south amongst that number. Fair play to them but they’re not going to make the place rock. The actual numbers in the ground would have been way below the quoted figure which, as we know, includes all season ticket holders. My wife and son plus brother were all still Covid positive so didn’t go. It was very empty near me. Another mate from the SSU didn’t feel well and stayed away as did another who resides in the East stand. He’s negative now but still feels rough. And another mate who lives way up north just doesn’t come back for games like this. That’s six ST holders that I know of that weren’t there.

Before the Papa Johns, or whatever it was previously called, allowed top flight U21 teams in I used to attend all home games. They were so quiet with a kind of eerie silence that was occasionally punctuated by any comment in the sparse crowd made in slightly raised voices. It felt like that in this game.

I think the first 45 minutes was as bad as anything I’ve seen all season and that’s saying something, it really is. My caution that this was a home game turned out to be 100% spot on. Overly pessimistic? No. Bang on realistic.

All the shite that we’d needed to eradicate and recently appeared to have done so was back.

Stuff that we knew was a problem but had managed to hide well in recent games was back for all to see.

And on top of this we committed that cardinal sin of starting slowly. In fact I’d question if we started the game at the same time as Fleetwood. It looked to me as if the players were just stood around as if they were at the training ground waiting for the coaches to join them and give some instructions.

Let’s go through the first 62 seconds.

Fleetwood kick off knocking the ball backwards. Marcus Browne sets off, not with the greatest of intent it has to be said, to close down. Daniel Batty blocked him and manhandled him to stop him getting anywhere near. A referee with balls would have set the tone and given an immediate free-kick. If he had we might have had a game of football to watch. The shirt pulling, never penalised, was off the scale. I wouldn’t like to say which side was doing it most. If either side had stopped doing it they would have lost out. It got so bad that rugby tackles were taking place. Alan Young had no control but can no way be blamed for our ineptitude.

The ball was then hit long. Stuart Findlay got his head on it after one bounce but not convincingly. Marcus McGuane swung a leg at the ball but Fleetwood had immediately thrown men forward and seemed to want it more than us. They had a load of space on our right. Whose fault was that? It has to be someone’s. Steve Seddon’s? If he’d come inside to mark his man then no but it would have been someone else’s. Djavan Anderson? Anyway, Danny Andrew was un-marked and nearly scored. We survived with a goal kick. Just 12 seconds had gone.

Wake up call? No. We try and play out from the back. Elliott Moore is closed down by Carlos Mendes Gomes. A hopeless hoof ball aimed down the line goes into touch. At the throw Lewis Warrington isn’t marked but his control isn’t great. Cameron Brannagan gets a foot in but Fleetwood pick the ball up. They control it. They have players unmarked. Shaun Rooney gets a shot in from distance. Simon Eastwood sees it all the way. It should have been a comfortable save. He should have held it or at least pushed it well away. Instead he cocks up leaving it in the danger zone. The visitors show determination. First a header then an over-head kick.  Yes, sixty two fucking seconds.

That had me and others I suspect, going back to the – we need to improve in the goal-keeping stakes To be fair to Easty he did make a save a bit later when he went down well to his right to push one round the post but it was Fleetwood who looked more likely to add to their total than us to get a first. We never got a grip on the game.

Eastwood wasn’t the only keeper gifting chances. A long range Brannagan shot was spilled when it should definitely not have been. Anderson demonstrated his Lazio class by taking an air shot. WTF?

For me the only two players who came out of the first half with any credit were Ciaron Brown and Kyle Joseph. They’ve been our best players so far this season by some distance.

Photo, Simon Jaggs

For my sins and passion, I sometimes shout out loud when emotions have to be let out. I think in that first period I yelled this is “bloody rubbish, Robinson” and I’m not usually one to give stick to manager or players during a game.

When they play as they did at Bolton they deserve the plaudits and perhaps I directed them all in the players’ direction and not Robbo’s so I’ll put that right here. But by the same token when they put on a showing as they did here the criticism has to rain down hard and fast.

Jerome on Radio Oxford said after Saturday’s 3-1 win that it felt for the first time in quite a while that Karl Robinson had bought himself some time. I’d agree with that but anything bought had been thrown away by the interval. If I was one of the owners and had been there I would have felt like marching into the dressing room and demanding to know WTF was going on.

I’m finding it very hard not to just use a whole bunch of expletives to cover part one of this game. There was enough there to tip reasonable rational fans over the edge. One supporter, a traveller to all away games, whom I’ve known since the Manor days and I don’t think I’ve ever heard swear had a quiet chat with me at the break. Apparently the supervisor in charge of the stewards had told him to stop shouting loudly. Or words to that effect. Again WTF? This was supposed to be a football match not a knitting circle at the local church. And we are talking the SSU here not a swirling mass of wild dervishes on a packed terrace. People like him will not stop going but the way things are at the moment not much will be needed to make people say “fuck it, I ain’t going anymore”.  There I’ve used the f word again. It’s reached that point.

Best to add that I didn’t witness the incident but it reminds me of the days of the Ultras who I know weren’t totally innocent and did annoy one or two people but the way some of them were treated hastened their collective demise and in some cases individually. The Kassam is a much less colourful and atmospheric place without them.

We should be trying to build up our fan base not alienate them. The way things are going season tickets for 2023/24 are going to be difficult to shift. Value for money at present for any paying customer is almost non-existent.

If we as a team really meant it we would have tried to take the game by the scruff of the neck from the first whistle. Instead we let our opponents do so.

The lack of a replacement right-back was stark. I commented that we were missing Sam Long bringing the ball forward. (And we know he’s no George Baldock or Chris Cadden). A comment was added by someone sat just in front of me, “Yes, and he can defend.” The interpretation being that Steve Seddon can’t but it would be unfair to make SS the scapegoat.

Our centre-halves played poorly. Away from home when we’re deeper they can head the ball away. Here our back line was often further up the field which meant pace was a necessary attribute. Moore’s lack of such an asset was brutally exposed. It was just as well that Young didn’t look too unkindly on grappling.

Marcus Browne is without doubt a talented footballer but on the night there appeared to clearly be something very wrong with him either physically or mentally. He might as well not have bothered to put the shirt on.

It was no surprise when he didn’t come back out. His replacement, young Gatlin O’Donkor, proved to be something of an inspiration. Nothing lacking in effort he looked like he actually wanted to be on a winning team and was willing to put it all in to try and make that come about. At last we had some strength down the middle.

Photo, Simon Jaggs

We’d only been kicking towards the East stand for five minutes when we drew level. Another very scrappy goal. Brown wanted to get on the end of the corner and strength played a part in ensuring he did. There were arms, legs, torsos and heads all over the place in a very enclosed space. And chests too which I think is what O’Donkor used to get a touch and when the ball came back off the bar he smashed home from inches out.

With 40 minutes remaining we should have been good enough to go on and win the game but we weren’t. The improvement was not enough and even though we did in patches play some quite good football we didn’t play with intelligence.

Our final shot count was 21 of which only six were on target. Yes, back to that nonsense. But even worse 12 were from outside the box. They almost always don’t trouble the keeper and often amount to little more than a back pass. Marcus McGuane hit one and Brannagan must have had three from way out. I’m screaming in my head “don’t shoot” whilst a few knob heads are yelling “shoot”.

We’re supposed to be a team that can play creative possession football so why didn’t we fashion chances that had a good chance of being converted? Possibly, because overall we lacked width, pace and the ability to beat opponents. All things that entertain.

Thank goodness we’ve been drawn away in the FA Cup but if we do as we did for half of this game at Woking on Sunday we’ll be humiliated. We have the talent to win reasonably comfortably but only if we match their work rate. If I was the Woking manager I would be rubbing my hands and telling my players this lot could easily be there for the taking. It is down to Robinson to make sure we’re not.