FAN’S VIEW: 24/25 – No.8: STOKE AT HOME

OXFORD UNITED 1 STOKE CITY 0

In the pull out sport section of the Sunday Times in bold print next to a big number 3: “Oxford United have started a season with three straight home wins in the top two tiers of English football for the first time since 1972-73 campaign.”

Not that I had little faith in the team but I certainly wasn’t expecting this to have happened. In our previous eight seasons in L1 we only achieved that once.

There will be those that say none of the best sides have yet visited the Kassam. That may well be true given the current average league position of the three teams we’ve beaten is 16th but they are Championship teams. Okay, Norwich were knocked off course the day before when their best player refused to play and it has been pointed out to me that Preston weren’t in great shape and hadn’t moved forward during the summer. They lost their final five games of last season without scoring and the goal they got against us was the first time they’d found the back of the net on their travels since 16 March. But so what, you have to play the opposition of the day, whoever they may be and whatever state they may be in.

In our next home game we face 4^th placed Burnley. A quick check of the table shows us just a point behind the Clarets in 7^th. Each 90 minutes will tell us more – as will our visit to Ashton Gate next Saturday.

We fully deserved to beat Stoke. The first half was fairly even but in the second we were much the better team.

Overall we had 56% possession and that wasn’t meaningless stuff, having the ball without a clue what to do with it or failing to understand why we had it as part of the overall game plan. We had 14 shots with eight on target. They only had one on target from their nine. We also had more touches in their box than they had in ours.

When we beat a team like Stoke loads of the supporters of the opposition have a blinkered view that they must have been total garbage to lose to little Oxford United. “If we’re going to make the play-offs we’ve got to be beating teams like Oxford.” (Actually I can get that to a certain extent. We probably had the same view when we were trying to get out of the Conference, then from L2 to L1). It probably goes against the grain to say that we’re a good side. Perhaps the best we can expect are back-handed compliments and being damned with faint praise.

I’m well pleased with this. The longer we’re considered Championship interlopers who will inevitably be back in L1 next year the better. Keep under-estimating us. Anyone with any footballing sense though should be able to work out that we’ve got a very good manager who can set his team up with a game plan they understand and are able to execute. And that he has a talented pool of players from which to pick. On paper we’re clearly not a match for the Leeds and West Broms of this world when it comes to quality but when we play them we really can use that underdog feeling, perceived or real, to take us as far as possible.

The bookies are a bit more astute than the keyboard warriors. Obviously the odds keep changing but as I write this there are now three teams they think are more likely to go down than us: Plymouth at 6/5 – and this was after they beat Sunderland, Portsmouth at 6/4 and Cardiff at 15/8. We are 7/2, as are Preston. (Odds taken are best odds available on the Oddschecker site)

Looking at the other end of the table, we’re 200/1 to win it. You can get longer odds on Hull (250/1), Cardiff (500/1), Portsmouth (1500/1) and Plymouth (1500/1).

There are plenty of different ways to go about winning a football match. Some teams on their own ground will 100% go for it from the off in an attempt to both get their fans bouncing and an early goal. The two are linked but if that doesn’t work where does that leave you?

Given that a match is scheduled for 90 minutes a more patient tactical approach is employed by many. Some teams don’t really open up attacking wise until the final quarter.

At home we start patiently, happy to knock the ball around at the back but always with an eye open for anything that might be on further forward. We’re better at this than we used to be. I’m no longer in almost constant panic mode when we do it. That said, the one player who just doesn’t give the ball away, Josh McEachran, did so in a very dangerous position. Thankfully we got away with it. Something else Josh is not known for is partaking of a crunching tackle. He did here though. Hard but fair saw the end of Lynden Gooch. Things like this explain why we don’t get overrun or out-muscled in midfield anymore. The soft centre of which we used to talk is no more.

On our own turf our back line is hard to breach.

Keeper Jamie Cumming looks a really solid and confident number one even if his long high passes out wide found touch a little too often early on rather than the yellow shirt he was aiming for. He’s one of those keepers who I now think yes the ball will stick when he grabs it.

Peter Kioso at right back had his best game yet for us. No slipping over this time. He can play a bit and won a few defensive headers in Greg Leigh style. Leigh, who now looks like he will be the regular left back, had another steady defensive game and as the match wore on became more of a marauding influence. When Cumming is unable to play it short from the back, Leigh is often the go to man to receive a high ball out wide and often will get his head on it. Going down the middle we’re much more likely to lose the ball with Mark Harris being outnumbered and shorter than those he has to do battle with.

It was pleasing to see a fully fit Elliott Moore returning. He wins so much in the air and alongside him Ciaron Brown does the same. Stoke were getting no joy whatsoever with high balls played into our box. I’ve always liked Brown but needed to wait and see how he would get on in the Championship. I’m now totally convinced. He’s improved. He’s strong. He’s great at protecting the ball and seeing it out for a goal-kick and absolutely knows how to win a free kick should the need arise.

We took the lead with the second period having only just begun. I’ve often commented that we’re not good at taking throws. Well the goal came from a throw. Kioso took it about 12 yards from the corner flag on the right wing. Although there were three salmon pink shirts close by, Tyler Goodrham was still able to receive the ball. It is a requirement of the modern game that players have to want the ball in tight spaces when closely marked. Goodrham played it back to Ruben Rodrigues who, in an instant, had two opponents on him. The ball was now there to be won. Kioso used his strength to fell Andrew Moran. Some refs may have deemed this a foul but Dean Whitestone was lenient throughout. He only showed one yellow card. That was to Stoke’s Junior Tchamadeu. Play to the referee, none are quite the same. Goodrham then nipped in and nicked the ball to Rodrigues who was suddenly in space. He cut back a considered pass to Idris El Mizouni who had been asking for the pass. It was expertly and efficiently despatched with the inside of his left-foot.

Photo, Steve Daniels

And that was it, game won. We never came under any sustained pressure and looked much the likelier of the sides to get the next goal if there was to be one as we upped the intensity. Not that hard to do when kicking towards spectators.

Harris stung Viktor Johansson’s fingers after a breakaway when Stoke had a good case for a free kick right on the edge of our area.  Whitestone was quite consistent in not giving fouls and for not carding offenders.  The incredibly tricky Siriki Dembele was targeted time and again.

Desperate defending saved the day for Stoke as Rodrigues slid the ball back on the angle of the six-yard box. A neat precise ball from Kioso had played him in.

Next Johansson had to stretch to stop a Goodrham shot and then Kioso fired over when the goal was at his mercy after a testing corner from Will Vaulks. Thankfully we weren’t made to pay for that miss.   

There was so much I liked about this game.

We were very professional and now have game management in our locker and that is something that has been missing until recently. To be consistently successful this is a must. Without it there will be no chance of Championship survival. With it we can dare to dream of rather more than being happy with 21^st place. How many minutes of actual football were played when four were tacked on to the 90?

Our strength in depth was highlighted here. Starting without Rodrigues brought comment from my nephew that we’d lost creativity without him. I agreed but at the same time totally trusted Des Buckingham’s team selection. When RR came on for the stricken Cameron Brannagan just before the break we weren’t weakened as a result. Without doubt we want a fit Brannagan but now we’ve got a squad that doesn’t fall apart when a seemingly key player gets injured. Bran got injured doing what he does, getting stuck in. That’s his game. Speedy recovery.

In the few minutes he had, Malcolm Ebiowei showed that he is better than what we’d seen previously. Players that never got off the bench included Dane Scarlett, Owen Dale and Ben Nelson. We’re yet to know if they’re of the standard required for level two but the latter is highly rated. Louie Sibley, whilst at Derby, has proved that he is. And then there’s the reliable Sam Long.

Plus we’ve got Matt Phillips and Przemyslaw Placheta to come back. Kyle Edwards was apparently close to being fit enough to be a sub.

Why shouldn’t I get excited? Perhaps if this was our fifth or sixth season at this level I might feel a bit different, more circumspect, but it is not. We’ve waited 25 years for this. I’m loving it even if the tension seems higher than ever.

Stoke fans as I mentioned earlier were hating it. I can’t resist lifting some comments from their Oatcake Fanzine Board. There’s some language there I can tell you.

“Getting bossed for 90 minutes by bloody Oxford United”

“One team working hard for each other…..the other one not really giving a shit.”

“One of the most depressing Stoke performances I’ve seen in a very long time.”

“Organisation that’s what every team seems to have, that’s all you need to beat us, we have absolutely none, I never know what the fuck we are trying to do.”

“Let’s have it right. We have been almost completely dominated by OXFORD UNITED. All aboard the doom train.”

“We are shit aren’t we.”

“Fucking wank of wank Stoke….have a look at yourselves.”

“Being taken to school by a team with a car park for a stand.”

“Absolutely horrific display that… should have been 2 or 3 in fairness as they missed some big chances.”

“Woeful performance and to think many on here seemed to think this was going to be a cakewalk.”

“Truly, diabolically bad. I can’t think of a single positive and the list of negatives would take me all day to type.”

“Utter utter garbage.’Fortress’ Oxford, with only 3 walls and no fucking noise from its inhabitants till they play a song at the end. We have to beat teams like this, and it’s just not happening. Those players should be fucking ashamed the money they’re on, and so should the manager. Well done to those who went along, I guess at least it wasn’t 5-1.”

There are pages of this.

And then on Monday head coach Steven Schumacher was sacked. Quite right. Must be useless if he can’t get his team to beat tiny irrelevant Oxford United.  

Now out of work. Photo, Steve Daniels

Right time to move on and look AWAY.

It’s been very different on our travels. Two games, two defeats, albeit only by one goal each time, and five goals conceded. Not quite your normal game though, is it? Bristol City away with Liam Manning in charge. They’ve won one and drawn one at Ashton Gate and at present are four points behind us. I’m not going to get smug about this and, whilst I’m not going to be asking who he is in song this coming Saturday, I’ll leave the West Country with a very big smile should we not lose.