I wasn’t there, Jerome.

[Myles Francis]

Alarmist? Seriously?!

Over the past few weeks, I'd heard a few people say that with the football we play, somebody was going to get a thrashing soon. They did - it was us on Saturday. We're now over a quarter of the way through the season and have won two games out of twelve. It doesn't take a genius to see that we are in the shit, big time.

So yes, a couple of wins may make things feel different, but I've been hearing similar for weeks now and these wins simply aren't coming.

[tomoufc]

I really don't know if people are being alarmist. A couple of wins would make everything feel different. I know I'm actually enjoying home games again after Wilder nearly drove me away.

Fair enough, but a couple of wins would change nothing for me. The best we can hope for is erecting a conservatory for our house built on sand.

[Jimski]

Watching that game on Saturday, I don't think it's at all alarmist to talk of relegation at least. We looked awful. It's going to take some toughness to get out of a relegation battle now - I'm not sure we have that.

[Snake]

Is this LWLWDDLDLLLWLLLLLLLLLWLDLLDL

a) The name of a Welsh town?

or

b) The form of Oxford United since February 15th

[OUFC4eva]

Is this LWLWDDLDLLLWLLLLLLLLLWLDLLDL

That really is an alarming sequence of results since February.
The four wins:

Hartlepool 1-0
Plymouth (a) 2-0
Accrington 3-1
Newport 1-0

I have been to a load of away games in the past 12 months but have not seen a win since
that comfortable 2-0 win at Kingsmeadow last October! I don't recognise my club on its
travels compared to 2013 and see no prospect of an away victory anytime soon.

Anyone for Carlisle next week?

[Kernow Yellow]

I really don't know if people are being alarmist. A couple of wins would make everything feel different. I know I'm actually enjoying home games again after Wilder nearly drove me away.

And here's the irony. Wilder had us near the top of the league, but because home performances were so poor the fans (most of whom do not travel to away games) wanted him out.

Appleton has us flirting with relegation to the Conference, but because the home performances have been apparently mostly good (apart from the one I saw!) many fans want to give him the benefit of the doubt.

We were no more abject at the Abbey Stadium than we were at Exeter, for example. It's just that Cambridge played much, much better than the Grecians did. Cambridge in fact looked a very decent team, and I wouldn't be overly concerned if that had been a one-off performance from us (though the shock and shame of having it broadcast to the nation would still be hard to bear). But the point is that the game showed what we have become away from home - a team that is not resilient defensively, gets overrun by pacy, direct teams in midfield, and one which relies on one player to score all its goals up front.

Having said that, our recent home form (7 points from 9) has shown some real promise, and I'd allow Appleton a bit of time to see if he can continue that, as that alone could keep us safe. Failure to beat bottom club Tranmere at the Kas on Saturday would have to see him go though.

As for accusations of alarmism - have people really got such short memories? Last time we went down I don't think anyone really believed it possible until late March at least. Our failure that year - and those of clubs like Luton, Grimsby and Bristol Rovers since - should ensure that alarm bells are ringing loud and clear now.

PS - Has anyone noticed what has happened to our defence since Andy Melville's departure?!

[ty cobb]

Yes I did think it was a bit odd that of the two coaches we had, we allowed the one with international experiance, played at the highest level and was a defender, which our manager never was. Instead we kept Lewis, who although I liked as a player, was always limited technically and as Appleton was a midfielder so not sure how much more input he can add.

I also wonder why Appleton has such a good reputation. He was limited as a player, playing largely in the 3rd or 2nd tier. As a manager he was assistant to Hodgson for about 9 months (with a lot of that close season), then joined Pompy in November, and they got relegated after entering administration.

He was then in charge of Blackpool for 65 days with mixed results. He then joined Blackburn where he was so poor that they sacked him after 67 days after only winning 4 of his 15 games in charge. At least Waddock had a couple of promotions on his CV.

With a record like that he is lucky to get the job and does not have anything to fall back on. He has also been able to bring in some pretty high profile players, mainly from higher divisions. It takes time to turn around a team in freefall but it seems to me we're getting worse not better.

[theox]

It takes time to turn around a team in freefall but it seems to me we're getting worse not better.

This, to me, is the real problem. If there were shoots of recovery I would not mind but we continue to pass the ball around with no attacking menace and our defence has managed 1 clean sheet all season.

I have not actively sought the sacking of a manager since Graham Rix as I believe stability is hugely important but I am starting to feel those same emotions coming to the surface. Appleton's lack of players to carry out Plan A and lack of Plan B to fall back on do not indicate that he will turn our form around anytime soon. This club will not sustain another relegation to the Conference with the financial situation as it currently is.

I'm gonna say it - Appleton Out. The problem is I do not think the right people will be listening.

[YellowHoods]

I really don't know if people are being alarmist. A couple of wins would make everything feel different. I know I'm actually enjoying home games again after Wilder nearly drove me away.

Certainly a win versus Tranmere would give Mr Appleton a tiny little bit of breathing space, and a win plus at least a draw at Northampton would give the eternal optimists hope of a revival.

Anything other than a win against Tranmere and I can't imagine what the mood will be a) at the Kassam, and b) on the forums.

[GodalmingYellow]

The problem isn't just the manager, although his lack of flexibility is a serious issue and it is mainly down to him. It is also the players he has brought in, who are simply not good enough in many cases, and yes that is down to MApp as well.

Brown, Morris, Riley & Long are all sub-standard for this level. Jakubiak remains unproven.

On top of that, where are Meades, Potter & Hunt? All senior players on decent wages, draining club funds.

Then we have a bunch of youngsters, to play alongside the core players.

We can't blame injuries this season, as was a major problem under the last 2 Wilder seasons.

As others have said, another drop to the Conference would virtually kill the club, because crowds would drop massively and the rent would stay high. As it is the club is already completely unsustainable, even if Eales remains good to his word to write off debts.

Where are OxVox? This is precisely the time OxVox should be highly vocal. And there is plenty to be highly vocal about, but we've heard nothing. Its easy trying to take plaudits for irrelevancies, but this is where the hard work really needs to be put in.

[Jimski]

Those four wins since February look even worse when you consider:

Hartlepool 1-0 - Hartlepool down to 10 men before we got the winner
Plymouth (a) 2-0 - Plymouth down to 10 men for virtually the entire second half (we were 1-0 up at the time)
Accrington 3-1 - Accrington down to 10 men from 37 minutes (we were 2-1 up at the time)
Newport 1-0 - the only exception. We were the ones down to ten men.

[Kernow Yellow]

Where are OxVox? This is precisely the time OxVox should be highly vocal. And there is plenty to be highly vocal about, but we've heard nothing. Its easy trying to take plaudits for irrelevancies, but this is where the hard work really needs to be put in.

Surely you're not implying that OxVox should attempt to interfere in on-field tactics, player recruitment policy or managerial decision-making? That's not my understanding of what supporters trusts exist for!

[neilw]

Appleton has two games to save his career. If we were to go bottom, after fourteen games, and having been turned over by Wilder's team, there'll be no way back for him.

[tomoufc]

Where are OxVox? This is precisely the time OxVox should be highly vocal. And there is plenty to be highly vocal about, but we've heard nothing. Its easy trying to take plaudits for irrelevancies, but this is where the hard work really needs to be put in.

Surely you're not implying that OxVox should attempt to interfere in on-field tactics, player recruitment policy or managerial decision-making? That's not my understanding of what supporters trusts exist for!

I think OxVox... (by the way there's a certain amount of hypocrisy on my part here - I'm not an active member of OxVox, and I could always go along to a meeting and make my argument, but I live in Manchester, and have to limit myself to 'keyboard activism' - that aside ... should recognise that the fans are being treated with disdain. The club's management ask us to trust them on their record, well their record so far has been very poor.

I'm reminded of that John Lennon lyric: 'you want to start a revolution?/Well you know we'd all love to see the plan'. Where are we going with all this? How are we going to buy the stadium? Who's going to pay for the mounting debts and can they afford it? What contingency plans are in place if we find ourselves marooned in the relegation zone by 10 points? What plans are there to increase attendances? Why so much secrecy?

I'll attempt to answer the last question - either they're making it up as they go along, or someone, somewhere benefits from all of this (apart from the obvious - FK).

OxVox shouldn't get into formation selection. But we should be asking the big questions vocally and critically. We've enough experience of being taken for a ride as fans.

As fans we should also ask ourselves this - what good have all these different owners promising big things, but with (relatively) shallow pockets, been? What's our long-term strategy as fans? For some people it has simply been to walk away. For the 'day trippers' (yes, another Beatles ref!) that's understandable, but we seem to have been leaking core support. Too many of our fans seem to have the attitude that if you don't like it, walk away and take up gardening, or whatever. If the players bottled it on Saturday, some of our fans (not pointing to anyone in particular) have too.

I have a feeling, not based on fact, that OxVox are trying to court the owners, or to win their trust, or whatever. I could be massively wrong about that, but that how it looks to me at the moment. I think we should be making some things very clear - starting with the fact that we, as fans, do not entertain the possibility of spending any more time in the relegation zone this season, without pre-judgement as to whether its the managers tactics, the commitment of the players, or the size of the budget that has got us there.

[GodalmingYellow]

Where are OxVox? This is precisely the time OxVox should be highly vocal. And there is plenty to be highly vocal about, but we've heard nothing. Its easy trying to take plaudits for irrelevancies, but this is where the hard work really needs to be put in.

Surely you're not implying that OxVox should attempt to interfere in on-field tactics, player recruitment policy or managerial decision-making? That's not my understanding of what supporters trusts exist for!

That's correct, I'm not implying that.