Bit late starting this one.Thank eff he’s made minimal changes for a change hopefully we can now build up some momentum. But .......expect we’ll have to settle for another draw 1-1?
Terrible conditions for football, and fair play for the reported 1,300 odd supporters we took there. An impressive showing for a mid-week, miserable Tuesday evening. If there is one positive this season, it's the commitment and passion of the supporters - particularly the consistently high turnout for our away supporters. Seems like Lambert has recognised the need for stability and consistency in his first team selection. Minimal changes again last night, despite being a few days after a Saturday game. Interesting to note that Skuse was again on the bench - is Downes the new first choice central midfielder? Let's hope so. We certainly look more proactive and fluid on the ball without Skuse, perhaps most aptly demonstrated by the 4-1 win over Accrington. Skuse doesn't show himself for the ball and struggles to keep the ball moving forwards, it's time to continue phasing him out of the first team. Still, a good point against this season's dark horses away from home. I'd take it and hope we can push on with an away win at struggling Tranmere on the weekend.
I think it’s all down to the final league position / play off outcome. All that matters this year is promotion to stop the rot. Skuse should have been moved on along with Chambers a year before McCarthy left.
Saw the replay last night, as soon as I saw the weather I knew it would be a terrible game, and it was. The rain was swirling from left to right and there were already small patches of standing water in the centre circle before kick off. We started with the wind behind us and there were a few over hit passes because of it. Difficult conditions for both teams led to a scrappy and cautious first half, with neither team able to find any rhythm or adapt to the weather and the pitch. Tackles or passing in the middle of the field was nigh on impossible with the ball slowing considerably in the slosh and tackles looking dangerous as players slid in harder and faster than normal or took a bath in the now deepening water. It was comical watching Chambers end up in a lovely puddle, he looked quite peeved to be that wet....poor boy There were a couple of stoppages (including a lengthy one of nearly quarter of an hour) as the ref continued to assess the playing surface and this contributed to a poor first period. Second half the weather was marginally better and the puddles had been drained by forking. We seemed to handle kicking into the wind better than Oxford did and the match was a little more entertaining. Mick Mills was complaining about Judge drifting out wide too often but I felt that Alan was just looking for the areas of the pitch that were playable. The centre circle and right across the halfway line was a mess and the only good grass was out in the full back areas at both ends and there's where we tried to do a lot of our work. A point is good enough considering the circumstances. I thought Oxford played some good stuff in patches. The one player who caught my eye was Fosu, who played with the sort of directness that we've seen from KVY. He had a good game and I think he would be a good buy for us. Lambert has finally started to pick a settled side and he and his staff are all singing from the 'Well all the players are up to speed now after rotating them and getting them minutes, now it's time to fight for the shirt and keep it' hymn book. I guess our final league position will determine if his strategy was worth it.
We have got to keep in mind what Lambert has got to work with. None of us thought we would be two points off the top in January and he's not got any funds to bring anyone in and give the team a shot in the arm - similar to the 2014-15 season when it was there on a plate for us, we didn't invest in January and ran out of steam. There are only a handful of poor sides in the division, the rest are more or less the same standard, which means we have no-one to fear but on the flip side every game we play is competitive. If we finish top of that pile that is a hell of an achievement and if we don't we can only blame Evans. You would think he would understand more than anyone the consequences of remaining in this league.
And to be fair, he has obviously listened to us on here! Much more stable, consistent team selections, maintained improved club morale, kept supporters happy, amazing away support, and hopefully we will continue our fresh form and with renewed confidence, keep up there, and perhaps hold a top 2-3 spot until the Spring - and Springtime in Suffolk always seems to bring the best out of our players!
