The 2023/24 L1 Matchday Thread

JonnyBiscuits

Only just made the connection watching the highlights that we scored following a short corner. Liam Manning really is a genius.

brinyhoof

Feels weird having nothing to moan about…

JonnyBiscuits

brinyhoof They even renamed the restaurant that they had named after that racist lad.

JonnyBiscuits

I missed all the chatter on Saturday - was the switch to a back three because Browne and Edwards are both out?

Either way, I'm gonna get overexcited and push Leigh forwards and revert to a back four:

Leigh - Harris - Goodrham
Rodriguez
Brannagan - McGuane
Brown - Negru - Moore - Long
Beadle

LeftSider

No.

Manning said that he had planned to use Edwards as he subsequently used Goodrham in the game vs Stevenage.

JonnyBiscuits

LeftSider Interesting. Maybe he'll stick with the back 3 then.

brinyhoof

JonnyBiscuits I think he will go back to the 4-2-3-1 but Leigh as LW isn't a bad idea at all. I think the change at Stevevansage was to match their formation maybe. In Manning we trust!

brinyhoof

Ok, we stuck to the same formation. Stevens outstanding again and an incredible goal. The back three superb. Regulation three goals. Greg Leigh’s goal out of this world. I wore my new yellow Jamaica anthem jacket. The bloke in front of us moaned throughout. What times!

JonnyBiscuits

Imagine how many goals we'd score every game if ALL ELEVEN players were fullbacks!

Joe_Citrone

Another good win.

Winning the games we're meant to win, and doing so in comfortable fashion, is very underrated.

I always thought Marcus McGuane was pretty decent, albeit a bit inconsistent at times, but he's playing on a different stratosphere this season.

And Greg Leigh…what a man.

Onto the next one. If we're actually able to beat Bristol Rovers at home, I might really start to dream.

JonnyBiscuits

I thought Cam was very good last night - I think perhaps he's been a bit eclipsed by McGuane's emergence as a complete dynamo in the middle of the park winning balls and knitting all our play together, but he looked like the Brannagan of old for good spells yesterday. It's clear that those two at their best have the beating of any midfield in this division.

One thing that's a little frightening, is I don't think we're close to getting the best out of Rodriguez yet. He's showing strong flashes of it, and some of his passing was really, really nice last night, but it's very clear he's got more to give.

Massive props to Beadle's distribution too - as @Gingermoods said, it's what he's here for, but man alive, he's good at it.

JonnyBiscuits

I must say, I'm very much enjoying all of this.

brinyhoof

On behalf of Mr Oxblogger… https://oxblogger.co.uk/2023/10/04/match-wrap-oxford-united-3-shrewsbury-town-0/

JonnyBiscuits

brinyhoof

It was this paragraph where I figured out where it was going 🙂

The most impressive thing was the degree of control, he didn’t overreact if the crowd thinned or went quiet. He wasn’t about to slam on Come On Eileen by Dexy’s Midnight Runners to fill the dancefloor. We were on a journey to another place, it would take time and patience.

JonnyBiscuits

Genuinely no idea how this season is going to pan out. Purely on an armchair pundit hunch, it seems quite unlikely that the two teams that set the early pace will both be there at the end of the season. You expect one or either of us to fall away at some point and/or another team or two the have a surge later in the season. Just because it's Oxford and it's what we do, my assumption is that our form will wane rather than collapse and we'll just slowly fall off the pace a bit and end up maybe in the play off mix at best. But then there's nothing to indicate why that might happen.

And then I sort of assume the weight of expectation might cripple Pumpey at some point, but at the same time, I don't get the sense that Mous is that flappable.

Dunno, these are just words, I'm not adding insight... I guess what I mean is... THERE'S NO WAY THIS CAN CARRY ON, RIGHT? CAN IT?

brinyhoof

JonnyBiscuits we are so used to high highs and low lows that the prospect of grinding out regulation victories week in week out still seems remote. I do however think this is achievable, with the squad buying in to LM's mechanical systems, getting the basics right, ensuring each of them concentrates throughout each match. Behaviours! It might be boring at times but I think that winning mindset is now engrained, we have depth to cover injuries, and January isn't too far away for getting reinforcements.

Weird though, innit!?

TrevorAylottsHeadband

As I was saying to my son-in-law (who is a recent convert to the OUFC church), I've been watching this for the best part of 40 years now so I will never underestimate our ability to screw things up. That said, I'm also finding it hard not to get too optimistic about our current situation. League One is definitely weaker overall this year and it's probably the best chance to get out of it in the right direction.

I do have it on good authority that our budget is very, very competitive (think top 4), so it shouldn't come as a surprise that we are doing well. But, equally, we've also spent money in the past and underachieved…

It seems that we may have hit on the right formula at the right moment - a board who are willing to spend the money, a manager with a clear, adaptable, pragmatic philosophy, and recruitment team who can deliver the players needed to progress.

But, yeah, it is weird.

oxblogger

I think this is sustainable because we're benefitting from a weaker division. we're still playing within ourselves, and even if we fall away a bit, which is perhaps inevitable, it doesn't look like there are many teams that can bridge the gap.

JonnyBiscuits

POINTLESS QUESTION TO WHICH THERE IS NO EVIDENCE-ABLE ANSWER OR EVEN ANY INTERESTING SPECULATION TO BE HAD BUT I'LL ASK IT ANYWAY:

Is going up from a weaker L1 bad preparation for an attempt to stay in the Champo? Would it be better to build with Manning this season and go up at the end of next season as a stronger outfit?

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