Match Day Thread Oxford v Swansea

Shelvey was the only player trying a shot at goal and going back to try and help the defenders out......The MOM in a sub standard side that was not in the game as much as he was.......you cant work your magic without his team mates help.......At least he gave it a go more than i can say for most of the others....

 

What today proved is the gulf between our second string players and playing in the first team. They tried hard but at times it looked like boys against ,men. I am sorry but we need to beef up our youngsters, just look at the Stoke model.

 

I keep seeing it mentioned here that "that side should have been good enough to beat a League 2 side", well evidently they were not. It's time to wake up and realise that we are not all that. Tabanou was a disaster, as was our whole defense. We cannot rest Ash - ever. If he gets injured or suspended then it will be devastating.
Resting all those players was a mistake. If we fail to beat Sunderland.....I don't want to think about it.

 

...and if we beat Sunderland convincingly will you say it was the right thing to rest our first team I wonder?

 

No, because I think there should have only been maybe 3 or 4 changes against Oxford and still be able to play again against Sunderland without any issues.

Another downside to this situation is that the 'first' team players now know there is very little competition for their places. That's not good surely.

 

Is this the same 'second string' that got a very good draw away at Palace recently?

Come on, if we'd played a damn near full side and picked up injuries we'd have slaughtered Curtis.
Given our position this year, the FA Cup is an unnecessary distraction and I'm, in a way, glad we're out as we have bigger and far more pressing issues to deal with.

 

I thought this from practically the start of the game, it was so frustrating why they couldn't make short passes to each other!

Excellent assessment Terror

You should think about starting a Shelvey fanclub

 

"A very good away draw at Palace"
Were you honestly happy with that performance then?

 

Oxford are in a good position in the league this season. They will not win the FA Cup, but can achieve promotion - which for them is much more important, yet they didn't make 10 changes. They sent out a team of strength, who wanted to win.

Our players should be fitter and stronger than theirs, but the molly-coddling of our PL players shows that we are a bunch of wusses really.

 

In fairness, Oxford's next match is a Football League Trophy on Thursday, not a 6 point relegation scrap...

 

Given the team selection, our position and Palace's, I was happy as we got a point. Points are the only thing that matters now.

 

Allardyce rested his first team players against Arsenal.

If the XI we send out against Sunderland on Wednesday were mostly involved yesterday, and the XI Sunderland sent out were completely fresh, we would be putting ourselves at a disadvantage in the most important game of the season so far.....that would be daft. **** management that would be.
Curtis isn't daft.

 

It's not molly-coddling. Higher levels of fitness are demanded by the Premiership because the speed of the game in this division causes it. Expecting players to play an arduous away game to a lower division side who were always going to be up for it and then expect them to play a high tempo game to beat Sunderland three days later is unreasonable.

 

This statement is a total crap and cop out , we should win both and get some minutes for players like Naughton and Eder .
Williams is a workhorse and should have captained this team instead of Bartley , this kid glove attitude toward players is bullshit.

 

Then you understand **** all about football. Try doing some research and look at people who KNOW the game and what they think about the closeness of these fixtures. I believe that Sam Allardyce actually raised the issue with the FA because he was that concerned about it.

You may think my views are 'total crap' (I expected more from you so I'm more than a little disappointed) but that doesn't make me wrong. I think that Allardyce and other football people in the media who have been on about this recently know more about the game than either me or an ex-roofer from Canada.

 

One thing I do know is defenders aren't " Darren Pratleys " that run up and down the pitch all game , half the time there picking their fuking nose . Players get payed good money to help us win games , not to be kept under wraps , as a whole , to prepare for a game in panic because of money dreams .
When we win on Wednesday , I'll look back in disgust at the defence we put out for the Oxford game ..period

 

There's the difference. If we win on Wednesday I'll be praising Curtis and breathing a sigh of relief.

By the way I can't remember seeing a game outside of schoolboy level where defenders have so little to do that they have time to stand around and "pick their nose".

 

.Compared to midfielders , defenders work a lot less but with more importance , that was painfully obvious yesterday .

 

You're seriously using Sam Allardyce to enforce your point?
Would you want him as our manager? I know I wouldn't because his way of playing the game is awful. It also leads me to have no trust in his opinions on the game.

 

Where did I say I wanted Sam Allardyce as our manager?

Where did I say I liked the way his teams played?

I SAID that he has more experience in football, from playing the game (hundreds of appearances for Bolton) and managing teams over decades than any of us. For that reason alone the man's opinions carry some weight even if you ultimately disagree with him. So yes, I'm SERIOUSLY using Allardyce to reinforce my point.

Furthermore, Jurgen Klopp also agrees with him. Or do you want to rubbish his credentials too? Both Liverpool and Sunderland put out substantially weakened sides, as did we. Two teams came unstuck and one almost did - because managers utilise their squad for cup games and take that risk.

I can understand it if you don't agree with me or these football men who have lived and breathed the game for years, unless you know something I don't in which case you might want to apply for the vacant Swans post.