Second half they just look paggered.
We do play in a sort of mechanical way strict formation up the field but it all holds up and eventually comes to nothing. A fast player with skill could have walked through their defence, but we don’t do blitzkrieg but siege tactics on opposing teams'
Did they wilt in the heat which the commentators referred to because they all seemed to lose it at the same time and they were exceedingly soft goals on the dreaded artificial surface,
Very odd, turned the match off early after their fifth one, we all walked out in disgust from our telly room Ratboy stayed back to watch.

What's happened to Seaman, he looked decent at the. start of the season? Paterson, Finney, Umerah all waste of shirt. If Lacey was fit enough for the bench he should have played with Fergy LWB.
Surely JA needs some players through the door sharpish

Paterson shouldn't be anywhere near this team!

"No one should be shocked by this." I beg to differ. Until today we had won 5 and only lost two games. The two losses were by a one goal margin. Today we are hammered 5-2 by a bunch of part timers after being being 2-1 up. It is a big shock. A defeat would not have been a shock but we have been blown away today.

Who is our defensive coach?, if we have one?, they just can't even do the basics, why is it every fan can see our aerial prowess in defence is non existent and people not tackling or doing the dirty stuff, embarrassing capitulation.

I watched most of it, Till it went 3-2 then i turned it off. They TOTALLY deserved the win and this is why.

We were in total control and took the lead, Then (and this is not the first time this has happened)
We paraded about like Billy big Bollocks, Got lazy, sloppy. Tip tapping the ball along the back line
From one side of the pitch to the other. When we could have taken the game.

There get back into it and we then woke up and pushed on, Cooke scored an absoluet beauty.
Wallace injured, Finney on. Crawford pushed bach to accomodate this, And looked like he was sulking.

Second half Till i turned off, Crawford (who i like) tried his best to gift them chances with loose passes
In front of the defence, They made it 2-2, Then quickly 3-2. I turnd it off.

Absolute Embarresment, No can give any excuse what so ever if they try then they are taking the Piss.
Players should be ashamed to call themselves Pros.

Not enough options available and 4 games in 11 days from next Saturday. Crucial we get some reinforcements in so we can get our better players in their best positions.

Wake up call big style!

This week I’ve been saying that this game would show where we are at present. Not that I thought Oxford were a good side but that this is the kind of game we should win if we had any thoughts of promotion. Well without the addition of at east 3 players I think we know the answer.)

I would say its poor quality players causing us the problem.

It doesn't help that the likes of Wallace and Finney seem to continually be carrying injuries of one sort or another, is it really that we're just signing crocks and being found out in what is a physical league.

Why is it we've only 4 or 5 players who can string half a dozen games together without getting injured?, I can only see us heading one way in this division now.

I appreciate your response, Mr Grayhounded. From what you report it sounds as though one of the reasons for the capitulation was that the team as a whole was unable to adapt to the change caused by the injury to Wallace. No doubt other factors were to blame as well. I guess we need to sign some solid pros because otherwise it seems our promising start will fade to nowt.

Total dross When Wallace went off should have brought Lacey on. No way should Ferguson be playing central defence and Paterson should be no where near the team. Out thought, out fort and out run by a team of part timers so much for our superior fitness.

I think it's just what we come to expect from Pools. Over the history of the club we just never or rarely live up to our expectations. When you see the likes of Luton going from the national League to Premiership in 9 years you could put your house and every penny you ever earned on a bet that we will never achieve anything anywhere near that in the next 1000 years. It's very frustrating being a poolie but we live in hope that Dreams sometimes come true.

Don,t know what the crac is with Paterson.
But the amount of times Fergie played a 10yd pass to him, He just passed it straight back.
Just repetative over and over, No forward ideas at all.

Need another 2 midfielders in at least both of whom
Are mobile

Enough is enough now, we’ve had shit luck with the 2 big injuries but surely can get
In some replacements

I thought that about Paterson,had chances to go forward and just simply played it back every time. He's rank bad, Scottish League 1 standard.

A view from a Brighton fan who watches Oxford City several times a year

https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspo ... d-att.html

You and me and the rest of us have known where we are weak for months, this should not come as a shock that we get turned over and heavily at times, even redcar athletic scored within a few minutes against us in a friendly . We have got away with it because a few players played out their skin for us but when it comes to the crunch we crumble, chesterfield a prime example.

Once again within weeks of a start of a season we are struggling for players, its now the norm for us. For a professional club its a joke. Sometimes i wonder who the full time club is supposed to be .

Seaman very good going forward but not all that good at defending.

Bang on.
But you may offend the dilinquents who worship the greedy Messiah.
Yes we lost again but its only football

Actually it is only football….

A very honest summary by Askey a genuine apology to the fans and basically saying players give up in the last 20 minutes and talking about a change in personnel, no idea how he can do that as the squad is paper not u less we can bring a few loanees in.
https://youtu.be/3F9I01Y4xQg?si=lhmm98A16d4mt1yH

Its just not Cricket

has not looked the same player since dodds got injured. he has gone from being a very good player into a bit of another defensive liability. same with fergy in defence. we have lost 4 players really but only 2 injured ones. really we have too many players who are only any good in one role on the pitch and need a few utility players around to fill the gaps and leave players to play in the only positions they are any good at.

they had 2 players out, but looking at both benches and saw the difference their subs made in the game if they are part time then we are ameteur when you bring hastie on a player who plays down the right as a left winger. do not knock him for looking crap what do we expect.

The players most of em cant help being shit.
But its a better lifestyle than factory shift work.


Remember pre season Maddo radio tees saying Recruitment is everything.
Put to the sword by a club with a very small fanbase.
Our ambition levels are a disgrace to the over support we amazingly attract.
Was it 400 yesterday.

since when has league success been measured by the size of a clubs fanbase especially nowadays when there are other things like sponsorships and the size of an owners pockets are taken into consideration. all it is if everything else at the club being equal its just an edge on the rest.

I'm sure our ambition at all levels in the club matches every other team in the league, we certainly need more strength in depth of the squad. Lack of incoming players may be due to the manager still assessing what he's got, suitable players not being available, lack of funding, or any number of other reasons.
JA intimates new arrivals are needed let's give it time before writing the season off, we're sat 4th at present without ambition so let's see what the next couple of weeks brings (4 games).
We've lost 3 games, 2 of them being to the top 2 teams and big spenders away from home by 1 goal.

Very true, nothing should be wrote off the team has shown with a couple of decent players potential is there, but that yesterday was a massive wake up call. If we had strength in depth from the start of the season which we now seem incapable of having, we would quite possibly of been in the top 2. If like the club keeps telling us the aim is to get back to where we were, then its time they started acting on it. Why do we keep waiting till the horse is bolted, we have been unlucky with key injuries but that was always going to be a possibility, sometimes got to make your own luck.

Fan base nowadays is meaningless, Hobby clubs with financially loaded owners can splash the cash on players and their fan base is irrelevant to the owner. They can buy decent players regardless…if clubs had to survive on gate income alone a lot of established clubs would disappear overnight.
Way of the world sadly where some ego can buy a club with three men and a dog for supporters and splash the cash on decent players.

Thing is arent oxford a semi professional team that destroyed us second half? Results have proven oxford are a decent team, but the way we crumbled is not only worrying, its a disgrace.

I genuinely believe this was just one of those days…we were in charge for most of that game as their local commentators commented. We had a crazy few minutes that wrecked the show, it was as though they’d run out of energy watching them and two stupid failures messing about on the half by the same players who’s name escapes me…….it was just an odd sort of match, can’t put my finger on it.
What we have to do with possession is use it, despite what others may say we need someone with a bit of guile up front, a fox in the box, because in the first half their defending was all over the place.

My first meaningful away match (Darlo doesn’t count) was Boston in the FA Cup in 1971, those semi pro’s knocked us out of the FA Cup then, so nothings new under the sun and to add insult to injury when I got married Pools were away in the FA Cup at Rhyl and their part timers knocked us out, as my best man informed me at the reception.

Results like this can always happen, it wasnt a shock to me yesterday to be honest i thought we may of had 1 0r 2 more by now. This league barring maybe Chesterfield is there for the taking a tiny bit of ambition from any club this year can see them up there.

Be interesting to see the reaction at the next match, it’ll be a test of character.
I’ve got to the stage where I look to points for safety still, I need to switch modes but that’s up to the team.

did not help that manny d had his worst performance in a pools shirt in the game. this was bound to happen in a game when his marker had him in his pocket and to add insult to injury out jumped him to score a goal. would certainly be more happy seeing the lighweight joe grey coming off the bench rather than starting games where he is constantly being outmuscled with only the odd flashes coming from him. we could easily have come off 3 nil at half time where i doubt their comeback would have happened anyway but would more than likely papered over our cracks that would have appeared in another game.

a different day. different pitch and opponents. how many other times over the years have we been turned over away from home and look a different team at the vic in the next game. when i go to watch pools away its never been in expectation of anything but only hope sees me there in the first place.

Yeah im a bit like you our season could implode and 50 points could still be a marker for us. Home games we seem fairly strong but it would be no shock if a similar result happens at a decent altrincham team.

was it nick sharkey who got our goal.

would be no shock either if we did not reverse the score and result when we eventually play oxford at home either with both teams havin the same players out there.

Probobly batter them at home like you say.

Well in control first half but Oxford played a low block making it difficult for us to make chances. Their left back put on a clinic in defending 2v1 stopping seaman from doing anything and letting Hendrie, who clearly had no confidence in his own attacking ability, run at them. The one time Hendrie did put a ball in was for Greys goal which was made by mani’s head back across. They countered with pace with long balls over Paterson to their much faster right back, which led to their goal. Fortunately their keepers kicking was on par with Killips so this didn’t work much. Cooke’s goal was a beautiful strike into the top corner but we needed that moment of magic to score as I don’t think we would’ve otherwise. Second half Oxford changed it a bit and realised our left side was the weak link. They let the ball go to Paterson and doubled up on him forcing the ball back to Ferguson and Mani O who they pressed. Their 2 subs added pace and direct running which we hated but we let them in for all the goals. Their equaliser was a set piece ball low across the box, no one stepped out and booted it away and it went from the far right all the way to the far left and a ball back across was headed in by their centre back. Jameson got his footing all wrong and therefore couldn’t stop it but no way should that ball have got across to be crossed in our got to their centre back who was marked by 2 players. Third Hendrie was outpaced and a good finish from one of their subs. Fourth doesn’t happen without a slip so can’t really blame Mani O, but he stayed on the ground distraught and no one went up to him to help him back up or give him some encouragement. Fifth was pinball in the box an unmarked finish at the back post.

As commented earlier Paterson slowed us down massively by not taking his man on or crossing when he had the chance, instead going back to Ferguson. Hendrie needed to either give the ball early or be more confident crossing, with Dodds we would’ve strolled that game the amount of space the left him. Hastie couldn’t control the ball and looked knackered after about 10 minutes and Oli Finney was a passenger. Thought Crawford, Mani D and Grey looked good but other than that not many positives (as the score line suggests). Strange little stadium in the middle of nowhere with toilets only at one end of the ground and a tannoy only in one stand but from 60 minutes onwards you’d think they were leagues above us

I could check it out and pretend I know but in all honesty I can’t remember.

I’ve had to check it out…Bobby Veart….one of my favourites.

Thanks for that Mr Krampesh. I like they way you have explained how the goals went in which is very useful for those of us who didn't see the game.

We were in the area last week so decided to go to the game. Weather boiling hot.
First half we controlled the game but passing methodically across the back caused us to become pedestrian in our tempo and slowly lose our grip on the game. Oxford upped their tempo pressing us with ever increasing determination and, as we were insistent on slow pedestrian tippy tappy football, especially in our own final third, any lapse in concentration or sloppy passing was, inevitably, going to cause trouble. In a short six minute spell we capitulated completely and the job was done.
A lot has been said about our defending or lack of it. But we really do ask for it with the way we set up. Our plan yesterday was to set up with three central defenders but only fielded two recognise ones plus our best wing back, who at the best of time isn't a great defender. Our other wing back is also pretty weak when it comes to defending. So we started with two out and out defenders plus a defensive midfielder in Wallace. Three defensive minded players. Meanwhile we had a central defender on the bench.
When Wallace went off we were left with two out and out defenders on the pitch and that's when we showed our arse. Oxford smelt blood and very soon tasted it.
In my opinion, until we sort out our defensive frailties and tactics we are going nowhere.
You can't expect to keep clean sheets with this selection process, especially away from home, where we have conceded ten goals in three games. I'm beginning to think JA has a mental block when it comes to defending.
Last week we also dominated the first half against Wealdstone and then struggled to take the points. When we are dominating we need to score more goals because of our woeful lack of ability to keep the back door shut. Keeping the back door shut is a much easier task if the right personnel, that's personnel who can defend, are present on the pitch. Only two who come into that category is never going to be enough, especially away from home. Get a back four capable of proper defending and a holding, no nonsense midfielder and we will see a marked difference.
On a different note, at the end of the game as the players were coming off, a lone Poolie fan was giving the players dog's abuse. His behaviour was an absolute disgrace and totally out of order.

Think I'd be giving them pelters too if I'd made the effort to go and see that 2nd half capitulation to a part time outfit.

It was embarrassing mate, believe me. The stuff he was coming out with isn't for children's ears and there were plenty there.
I don't think any of us left that ground in happy clappy chappy mode. Personally I was seething but there's a time and place. I was just finishing a cracking holiday in unbelievable weather and then had to witness that display.