FAN’S VIEW 22/23 – No.33 – BURTON AWAY

I recall standing on this terracing watching OUFC when it was packed. Not so here.

BURTON ALBION 2 OXFORD UNITED 0

In the car returning from Staffordshire I was of a mind to make this FV just two words long and publish it immediately I walked through the door. No prizes for guessing what those two words were.

Nearly 40 words in, clearly that didn’t happen.

I think I usually put my case logically with a bit of thought and not shoot from the hip but I tipped over the edge at the Pirelli Stadium. After Wycombe I wrote that if we didn’t turn Burton over the away terrace could turn quite blue. It did. I contributed. I couldn’t help it.

There were chants for the manager to go. I didn’t detect any evidence in support of the incumbent remaining. Even those who think such actions aren’t helpful are not really supportive of the status quo remaining from what I can gather.

I got the phone call from Selfy for a chat on the “Morning After Show” and said something like the following.

Watching Oxford United at present sucks the life out of you. There’s the odd decent performance but for the most part watching the team is a joyless experience.

The obvious oft asked question is why bother to go then? When I purchased my ticket for this game I got those for the trips to Milton Keynes and Cambridge as well. So I’m kind of committed – and probably should be.

Take away the football though and it was a very good day out. The company, the chatting with many other like-minded fellow yellows about moving to a new ground, the team’s form and the future of the manager and what the flip is actually going on.

And the pubs. Oh yes, the pubs. Worth visiting just for them. I’ve long sung the praises of the Coopers Tavern. At one time it was possibly the best pub on the entire circuit but others came through to challenge. It never dropped below top 10 or so but on Saturday was right back up there challenging for the title. An interesting interior with lots of linked rooms containing on the day many Oxford fans who know their beer. It’s owned by Joules brewery and Joules beer it is for me even if there are other tempting ales on offer. Not the Slumbering Monk, however evocative the name may be, but the more straightforwardly named Pale Ale.

I have a lot of time for anyone running a business who recommends rivals if that’s what fellow publicans are. The landlady in the Coopers heard us talking about moving on to the Weighbridge Inn. “Great couple running it” she said and told us the quickest way to get there.

The Weighbridge is one of a few micro pubs in Burton. I’d not been aware of it before but it has been around for a few years. The building is a former coal yard office and I have to say the quality of the beers matched the Coopers. The current leaseholders are the Muirhouse Brewery. Coincidently the couple in charge are Ipswich fans.

After a swift walk to the ground and the first of a few Pirelli toilet stops I got onto the terracing just in time for kick off. The day went downhill from there.

Burton were second bottom at the time. Here’s their last three results before we turned up (if that’s what we did which is debatable).

Morecambe (Yes, MORECAMBE) 5 Burton 0

FA Cup – League Two Grimsby 1 Burton 0

Burton 0 Shrewsbury 4.

So there’s a pattern here. They’re not scoring and in the league they’re conceding shedloads.

But hey, we’re Oxford United let’s change the pattern. We’re incapable of keeping clean sheets so there goes a tick in the at least one goal let in box and let’s add a tick in the failed to score box whilst we’re at it as we have not got a proper strike force. We’ve now not scored in the past two games and have failed to find the net in four of the last eight.

It’s a recipe for disaster.

Early on Matty Taylor had a shot which brought a good save from recently signed and debut making keeper Craig MacGillivray. Our number nine would probably have done better keeping it low.

Billy Bodin then had an effort which he hit into the ground sending it over the bar.

This pressure wasn’t particularly convincing with Taylor then heading over.

No matter, even unconvincing pressure would eventually pay dividends against a team as bad as Burton wouldn’t it? Well, no.

For the rest of the game I watched on with a feeling of numbness which only increased as the clock ticked slowly towards its inevitable conclusion. From an Oxford fan’s perspective gripping it was not.

They started to test Simon Eastwood and had soon laid claim to be the best team on the park. The competition for that honour was anything but fierce.

Half-time got close with the game still goal-less but we couldn’t keep it that way. With 40 minutes gone we fell behind. It came from a throw in taken by Thomas Hamer. With most of the white shirts crowded into the penalty area, Jasper Moon received the ball with no-one near him. His centre was headed some distance beyond the D but was returned with a first time volley of supreme technique by Zac Ashworth, another debutant. He’s on loan from West Brom. No Oxford player made contact with the ball that well during the entire 90 minutes.

The ball flew past Eastwood, hit the post then his diving body and back over the line. It was so well struck I’m not going to blame Easty. Were we unlucky? No. Do I even need to bother saying that Ashworth wasn’t being marked one little bit.

We were lucky not to have gone in two down we were so abject, Mark Helm finding the side netting after Eastwood had to push a shot away.

We’d not even had five minutes of the second period when goal number two arrived.  They went straight through us. Ciaron Brown won a high ball from MacGillvray. Instead of trying to bring it under control and play some football, Bodin just swung his foot at it and helped it hopelessly on its way. It’s something any park footballer could have done. For that he gets paid a wage. A Burton head on the half way line then sent the ball back into our half. Next it was Lewis Bate’s turn to get his head on it sending a pass of sorts to Bodin but he lost out to Terry Taylor. Perhaps he should have been a bit sharper and quicker who knows? When I’m feeling as I do now it’s probably too easy and wrong to start apportioning blame at every tiny incident. However it is these tiny incidents that when put together create the finished big picture.

Next Jonny Smith picked the ball up. He beat Brandon Fleming and pushed the ball perfectly into Hamer’s path. No Oxford player had tracked his run into the box. He moved it on into the six yard box where Taylor helped it on into the goal. I don’t think we were switched on defensively at all. I think our captain should have been a bit more alert than he was.

We never looked like getting back in it.

It’s Burton we’re talking about here.

They ended up with 14 shots of which five were on target. We had 13 but only three were on target. Damning stats. We had 57% possession. So what? We made more passes than them. So what?

It doesn’t look like there’s any belief on the pitch. There certainly isn’t in the crowd.

Not only is the make-up and balance of this squad quite wrong there appears to be no pattern to our play. Do we even have a strategy for scoring a goal?

I keep coming back to it but someone – the manager, head of recruitment (and retention?) or whoever – is responsible for assembling this bunch of players on the money they are on. We’ve given deals that are too lengthy to players of an age where they are on the decline. We’ve given deals to players who have alarming injury records. We’ve given deals to players who we are led to believe are mentally fragile. Don’t get me wrong I think this is a very scary issue and one which needs to be talked about. Anyone anywhere deserves all the help available from their employer when they have mental and physical struggles, but to sign them when their histories are known seems madness to me. Okay take a risk or two here and there every once in a while but not to the extent we have. We are a football club not a charity.

The transfer window closes on Tuesday 31 Jan which is the reason our re-arranged game at home to Barnsley is on the Wednesday and not that day. Everyone is screaming that we need a centre-forward. Can’t argue with that. However bringing a player in is one thing and getting them playing well in a team like ours that is currently all over the place is another matter altogether.

We’ve got a few on the books who appear to be more individuals than team players. That may be because we’re just not putting team moves together at present or worryingly that may be their natural game.

I don’t think Stephan Negru and Teddy Mfuni, both centre-backs, are players for the present. KR said he was looking for a centre-forward. Is Ateef Konate that man? On his arrival Karl commented that “He can play all across the front line or as a 10 – he is fast, very skilful and really exciting to watch”. To date his goal scoring has been done in the Forest U21 side. Last season he played two full games in the Carabao Cup and had eight minutes of Championship football. This season he has not appeared in their first team.

So in addition to him this is what we have to see us through to the end of this nothingness of a season.

Goal-keepers: Simon Eastwood and Eddie McGinty with Jack Stevens being out on loan to Port Vale. A goal-keeper cannot be judged on clean sheets when the responsibility for defensive work falls on the outfield players too. JS though has played 23 times for Vale in the League keeping seven clean sheets and letting in 24 goals at a ratio of 1.04 a game. Easty has played 25 league games, kept three clean sheets and let in 28 at a ratio of 1.12 a game. McGinty has played three times with no clean sheets and five conceded. I think SE has come back to some kind of form but I have no idea who will be our number one custodian when next season begins.

Right-backs / Right wing-backs: I long struggled to work out formations or understand how we’re trying to play. The only two we have who fit this role at the moment are Sam Long and Djavan Anderson. Long is not a wing back. He was a centre-half converted to RB and now when Anderson plays is back to being a centre-half. Anderson is not a defender. I struggle to understand why he is not played as an attacking wide midfielder / winger. Can he cross a ball? Is he a team player? I don’t think we’re sorted in this position or quite know what we’re doing. Even if we’re playing four at the back (not 3/5) the full-backs / wing backs don’t seem to play that differently to my untrained eye.

Left-backs / Left wing-backs: I’ve been a big fan of Ciaron Brown since he first pulled on an Oxford shirt. Like Long though he’s really a centre-half. Certainly not really a wing-back. With Brandon Fleming now in the building Brown will, like Long, be doing stints in the centre of defence. Have we cracked this now? It didn’t work out with Steve Seddon now on loan at Cambridge. Poor lad suffered a suspected fractured cheekbone on his debut for them.

Centre halves: I’ve already mentioned Long and Brown in their dual roles and the newbies but the mainstay is Elliott Moore. Tall, wins a lot in the air. A real asset against certain teams who play a certain way. Against other types of teams it can be a very different story. We thought he’d been paired with Stuart Findlay as part of our medium term planning. We’d supposedly been after Findlay for a while. He’s started 22 league games for us but talk is that he’s likely off already. Mous provided cover but he’s no longer of this parish. The days of Rob Dickie, Rob Atkinson and Luke McNally seem long gone. The way they brought the ball out from the back provided an attacking threat. We no longer have that in our armoury. Has Karl been trying to recreate that with players who have not got the ability to pull it off?

Holding midfielder: I’d say the only one we’ve got is Alex Gorrin. The unfortunate lad must think he’s cursed the way he has been struck with injuries. These have only happened whilst he’s been with us so no question marks over the decision to get him in the first place.

Central midfield three: Cameron Brannagan, Marcus McGuane and Bate. There’s some talent there but as a unit it’s not shining through at the moment. Bran has been a heartbeat of the midfield over the years but whilst he’s doing okay this season we have seen better from him. At times MM has started to look quite a player and just when I think he’ll push on and shine he doesn’t but that might well be down to the whole set up at the moment. Bate’s quality we know about but overall is this combination one that creates chances for those further up field or scores enough goals themselves? And is it one that provides enough defensive cover in front of the back line? Just asking because I honestly don’t know.

Wide attackers / semi- wingers (Not sure I have the right words for this category at all): Josh Murphy? What a crazy signing this seems to be. Appears to be more injured / unavailable than not. He’s started just three league games. His history was known. Yanic Wildschut unlucky with that injury before he’d got out of the blocks with us but he reappeared back end of last year. Is he never going to be considered capable of playing a full 90 minutes? Marucs Browne, injured, talented but often frustrating to watch. Jodi Jones out on loan. Coventry fans say when not injured he was a good player. Not injured now is he? He was hardly given a chance here. What happened? Tyler Goodrham, so young but at times looks as likely to do something as anyone. He has the potential to excite. Don’t think we know what’s best in these areas either though.

James Henry / Billy Bodin. I think they sort of fit somewhere between the two categories and perhaps as a false nine / makeshift striker. Okay, I really am making it up now. JH looks way past his best but has another year on his contract. Madness. BB as someone observed has one good game then three or four bang average games.

Strikers / Centre-forwards: Taylor’s not half the player he used to be. Is it because he’s declined or because he’s getting such poor service? It’s so rare that we get men to the bye-line and pull the ball back. He’s out of contract in the summer. Gatlin O’Donkor, young and inexperienced. Kyle Joseph not quite so out and out as Matty but our biggest goal threat. He’s only on loan of course like possibly our best midfielder. Then I suppose we have Sam Baldock. (331 days and counting). He’s stepping into Mous’s shoes. Succession planning? I don’t think so; more like just filling a gap and after nearly a year justifying a wage. He might be fantastic at the job though, who knows?

Going through the squad in this fashion doesn’t fill me with much hope of pushing on. However given that we do have some talent and there are a few sides in this division that are not all that, we should surely be well capable of getting the points to stay up shouldn’t we?

There’s a bottom six of Morecambe, MK Dons, Accrington, Burton, Cambridge and Forest Green – they’re the ones falling into the not all that category.

Hold on wait a second.

We dropped two points at home to Morecambe, lost at home to MK, dropped two points at Accrington, have just lost at Burton, and have drawn at home to FGR. At least we beat Cambridge. Hurrah!

So not a done deal then.