| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford 09:39 - Jan 20 with 33800 views | E17hoop | Someone had to start it. I just reread Clive's match report for the home game and asked myself why I'm going to this again tonight. Bare bones, DS players filling the bench, Handsome Ronnie back? He's bound to score in the 1-0 win. |  |
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| The 3 ly sides of a match thread at Oxford on 14:21 - Jan 21 with 1589 views | R_from_afar |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 13:06 - Jan 21 by TheChef | Anyone know who the Scottish co comms guy was last night? I think I heard the main comms guy call him Andy? He called the game as he saw it and didn't try and sugarcoat what was a total dog of a game. His buzz words were "care and attention" Definitely a lot better than a lot of the ex pros Sky usually employ. |
I believe it was Andy Walker. I looked him up afterwards, he was a striker for Celtic and was also capped by Scotland. How he and the Sky commentator held it together, I'll never know. They were so professional and matter a fact in spite of the utterly dire football the teams were "treating" them to. Respect to them both, the pundits, that is |  |
| "Things had started becoming increasingly desperate at Loftus Road but QPR have been handed a massive lifeline and the place has absolutely erupted. it's carnage. It's bedlam. It's 1-1." |
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| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 14:58 - Jan 21 with 1448 views | baz_qpr | Watched on TV The conditions were crazy not seen anything like it for years, wind blowing deadballs a metre of where they were placed. Crosses that were whipped deviating by 5 -10 metres in the in the air. The wind seemed to be blowing directly from goal to another. I can't see why anyone would be surprised the game was how it was. The two most expensive players on the pitch Madsen and Dembele (along with Smyth) seemed to be the only ones that could control it, Madsen the only one who could pass it. Defenders struggled to read the flight in the air. Keepers kicking from keeper to keeper with the wind or barely getting it over the half way line against it. If you ever played any sport to any decent level you know you players and teams are at their best when you are not having to think about technicalities, ball control, your swing in golf, bowling action or position on the crease in Cricket. Thinking about technical things such as strength or lightness of touch or pass, means you are always a split second or so slower making decisions and choices leads to poorer performances and decision making which ends up being rushed. My point is no alternative formations or game plans would have made much of a difference, even if you played short and on the floor the conditions would have had an impact there. If ever there was a case for a winter break last night made it very strongly, benefited no one that game. |  | |  |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 15:12 - Jan 21 with 1401 views | themodfather | watched it live on sofa. awful weather . great support. we have a goalie now, Walsh looks decent . injuries piling up. we lack goals , see above . creativity? see above. where is Chair? can we call on Frey or has he left? why is Edwards on bench he never left saints bench to warm ours. hanging onto the shirt tails of top 6 . |  | |  |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 15:32 - Jan 21 with 1360 views | daveB |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 08:35 - Jan 21 by nix | I agree it wasn’t good. I agree there were things lacking. I agree that we are allowed to be disappointed and frustrated. However I’m a bit surprised at how angry most people seem to be. The last three seasons have been dire pretty much most of the time with the odd highlight in the sense that we spent much of them worrying about relegation. We also lost so many matches at LR that I actually got fitter because when we lose I trudge that much faster and walk a bit further rather than get the bus etc. This season at least on here and less at matches we seem to have lost any ability to be philosophical, see any positives and pull together. Is it just the Martí factor? He’s a charismatic character, pulled us out of a slump, but not the manager for the ages. I’m not sure he would have found the answer last night either. He’s struggling at Leicester really given the talent at his disposal; far higher quality in terms of experienced talent than we have. There have always been a few posters on here who love to come on when we lose and love to point out when they were right about how we were going to lose and how we’re all going to hell in a hand cart. But I did used to feel there was a number of very balanced posters and a few happy clappers like me. These days it feels such an angry and negative place and I’m not quite sure why unless it’s just because people liked Martí. It’s a shame because while not pulling up trees we’re in a better position than we’ve been for a long time. We’re still only three points from the play offs. We’ve got some good young players in. We haven’t been fighting relegation for most of the season. Is it the Martí factor? Is it because the world is going pretty crazy and QPR is a way of channelling people’s fears and frustrations with the world? Is it because we’ve worn out our resilience over the last few seasons and we’ve got no patience left? Is it because everyone hates Christian Nourry so much it’s tainted everything about the club? Is it because everyone is getting older and age tends towards the negative. I’m not sure. Because really we’ve on the whole got a decent manager who though limited seems to have the players on board and has got us playing some good football at times, with the odd quirk and the occasional mad decision. We’ve on the whole got a lot of players who work hard and are clesrly doing their best. Dunne, Cook, Madsen, Smyth, Burrell, Norrington Davies, Walsh, Kone all trying hard and sometimes working their bollocks off. Not all equal ability but all putting the effort in. We’ve got players wanting to come here when other options are available, like Burrell, Ronnie, Poku and Kone. And yet I can’t remember ever seeing this place so angry and disillusioned. It’s a bit odd. [Post edited 21 Jan 9:06]
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I thought we were having a really good season upto Leicester, we've been a bit weird since then.Not terrible just some really odd performances. I think we are 2 points ahead of the same stage last season so a real opportunity to have a much better season, the fear is we won't and with what we've spent thats not ideal. I do tend to agree it's been overly negative the last few weeks. we'll always have runs of 4/5 games where we drop off a cliff and lose a few, we can talk about standards etc but we're a championship side and all championship teams do this, even Coventry had a crap run recently. Stats can always be framed to suit a narrative. We're either 3 league games unbeaten with 3 clean sheets or one win in 7 games, Both are true and both paint very different stories. I've quite enjoyed this season so far and I think when it all ends we'll have finished around 12th-15th with more points than last season which is an improvement but probably not enough of one given how much we've spent. |  | |  |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 15:36 - Jan 21 with 1337 views | Jimboqpr |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 13:06 - Jan 21 by TheChef | Anyone know who the Scottish co comms guy was last night? I think I heard the main comms guy call him Andy? He called the game as he saw it and didn't try and sugarcoat what was a total dog of a game. His buzz words were "care and attention" Definitely a lot better than a lot of the ex pros Sky usually employ. |
''You've got to take care of the football Nick'' They certainly earnt their money last night! A very tricky one to commentate on! |  | |  |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 15:43 - Jan 21 with 1294 views | joe90 | Shout out to our traveling fans - really big effort the last few days, hope the players appreciate the support. On the game, I actually don't think we played too badly. In previous seasons I think we would have lost equivalent games, plus you can't ignore our injury list. Clutching at straws? Yes, but the other option is to shout into the void. I hope we win on Saturday to alleviate the obvious concerns. |  | |  |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 15:49 - Jan 21 with 1267 views | nix |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 15:32 - Jan 21 by daveB | I thought we were having a really good season upto Leicester, we've been a bit weird since then.Not terrible just some really odd performances. I think we are 2 points ahead of the same stage last season so a real opportunity to have a much better season, the fear is we won't and with what we've spent thats not ideal. I do tend to agree it's been overly negative the last few weeks. we'll always have runs of 4/5 games where we drop off a cliff and lose a few, we can talk about standards etc but we're a championship side and all championship teams do this, even Coventry had a crap run recently. Stats can always be framed to suit a narrative. We're either 3 league games unbeaten with 3 clean sheets or one win in 7 games, Both are true and both paint very different stories. I've quite enjoyed this season so far and I think when it all ends we'll have finished around 12th-15th with more points than last season which is an improvement but probably not enough of one given how much we've spent. |
Yes agree with all of this. I do understand also people being upset cos we’ve spent a lot but the problem is so has nearly everyone else. Pretty much with the exception of Preston I think in the top half of the table. But quite a few in the bottom half too. Wonder how Preston are managing it. They’re certainly over achieving for their spends. Pretty everyone else has spent as much although some have been able to fund it by selling other players. But it still means their squad is worth the same or more than ours and in many cases considerably more. |  | |  |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 15:54 - Jan 21 with 1237 views | BrizR |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 14:58 - Jan 21 by baz_qpr | Watched on TV The conditions were crazy not seen anything like it for years, wind blowing deadballs a metre of where they were placed. Crosses that were whipped deviating by 5 -10 metres in the in the air. The wind seemed to be blowing directly from goal to another. I can't see why anyone would be surprised the game was how it was. The two most expensive players on the pitch Madsen and Dembele (along with Smyth) seemed to be the only ones that could control it, Madsen the only one who could pass it. Defenders struggled to read the flight in the air. Keepers kicking from keeper to keeper with the wind or barely getting it over the half way line against it. If you ever played any sport to any decent level you know you players and teams are at their best when you are not having to think about technicalities, ball control, your swing in golf, bowling action or position on the crease in Cricket. Thinking about technical things such as strength or lightness of touch or pass, means you are always a split second or so slower making decisions and choices leads to poorer performances and decision making which ends up being rushed. My point is no alternative formations or game plans would have made much of a difference, even if you played short and on the floor the conditions would have had an impact there. If ever there was a case for a winter break last night made it very strongly, benefited no one that game. |
Was honestly laughable watching Madsen try and take the one corner where the very instant he stopped holding the ball in place it would blow out of position again. I thought the ref was about to book him for timewasting at one point because it went on so long, with very little he could do about it. |  | |  | Login to get fewer ads
| The 3 ly sides of a match thread at Oxford on 15:59 - Jan 21 with 1210 views | TheChef |
| The 3 ly sides of a match thread at Oxford on 14:21 - Jan 21 by R_from_afar | I believe it was Andy Walker. I looked him up afterwards, he was a striker for Celtic and was also capped by Scotland. How he and the Sky commentator held it together, I'll never know. They were so professional and matter a fact in spite of the utterly dire football the teams were "treating" them to. Respect to them both, the pundits, that is |
Cheers - was thinking it might be him but couldn't remember the surname. |  |
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| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 16:15 - Jan 21 with 1160 views | Markofthegrove | It seems that many of us seem to be annoyed that, after a few injuries, we seem to be unable to play football. Which would be true when you have the quality we have sitting on the medical table. There are a few things to be taken into consideration when looking at the big picture. We were only ever playing good football this season on the counter mainly (apart from a couple of games); we transition the ball quickly and go forward with purpose (absolutely nothing wrong with this). Two years ago we were recruiting to be a possession-based team and recruited Marti for just that. Now we are mid-block, win the ball back and spring forward quickly, team. The issue with this is that Burrell makes the whole thing work, and the manager has no plan B currently. Now is the lack of plan B, due to the fact we have had to pivot to this system after a gubbing at Coventry and he doesn't believe the players can play another system? Is it because we haven't recruited correctly? Is it because the game in general has moved on from possession-based football? If you go back to when Cifuentes also had to pivot to being a mid-block team, he had to drop the 10 role completely and stodge up the midfield to get results. Stephan did this earlier, and to his credit, we have had a decent season thus far. I find it alarming that those running the club talked up the possession-based game for 18 months, and now we can't seem to keep the ball for a prolonged period. EVEN if you decide you are a low-possession team, there are times when you need to try and gain a foothold in games; there are times when you need to try and play football (especially when it's windy and the weather is bad (keep it on the deck and play on the ground maybe?). Why are we not able to do that? Another thing to consider is availability. Now I am happy to be corrected on any of these timelines, as I cannot be totally sure, so apologies in advance. We have had slow starts to the past 3 seasons in August due to lack of fitness, lack of clarity on tactics and lack of bodies in the building (Ainsworth). We have also got to January twice in the last 3 seasons with half the squad on the medical table. We also had an injury crisis under Critchley which was poorly managed. So have the injuries had an effect on our ability to play a consistently decent enough style of football because the backups aren't good enough? Is that recruitment? Is it bad luck with injuries? Squad mismanagement? Is it the schedule? Now that I have got that out of the way, I need to caveat all that with saying I think the manager has done quite well to this point to get us where we are, and there have been some strong performances this season from quite a few players. Burrell has been great, Kone I have no doubt, will come good, and Madsen's Lazarus act has been remarkable. But now JS, as the MC was, is now trying to get results with a squad running on fumes. Where do we go from here? Do we stick it out and wait for Burrell to come back in this system? Do we keep shoehorning players into his role? Will we go again with this system next season and recruit appropriately? Will we have the money to do that? How bad are the injuries? Will we have the same issue this time next year. This may sound like abit ranty, but you'll notice there were alot of question marks. THIS is my biggest gripe, yet again, at this football club there are more questions than answers. [Post edited 21 Jan 16:18]
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| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 16:38 - Jan 21 with 1089 views | A40Bosh |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 15:32 - Jan 21 by daveB | I thought we were having a really good season upto Leicester, we've been a bit weird since then.Not terrible just some really odd performances. I think we are 2 points ahead of the same stage last season so a real opportunity to have a much better season, the fear is we won't and with what we've spent thats not ideal. I do tend to agree it's been overly negative the last few weeks. we'll always have runs of 4/5 games where we drop off a cliff and lose a few, we can talk about standards etc but we're a championship side and all championship teams do this, even Coventry had a crap run recently. Stats can always be framed to suit a narrative. We're either 3 league games unbeaten with 3 clean sheets or one win in 7 games, Both are true and both paint very different stories. I've quite enjoyed this season so far and I think when it all ends we'll have finished around 12th-15th with more points than last season which is an improvement but probably not enough of one given how much we've spent. |
I agree that at this point we are having a good season - at least when compared with the last 2, when there was this rabid inconsistency which lead to the whole rollercoaster of "we're near the playoff - oh hang on no, we are going to go down" chaos under Cifuentes. The current manager and squad at least appear to be able to recover from poor performances and poor results quicker and whilst we are still in a phase of 1 win in 6 we were not beaten in 4 of those 6, only conceded 3 goals in that last 6 and non in the last 3. All this whilst an ongoing drama of Nardi v Hamer v Walsh v "Bring Seni back" v "oh no Walsh is being played again". An ongoing drama of an ever increasing looong injury list which has has wiped out much of the first choice attacking options and left us with only 0.75 of a left back. And we are still 12th and only 3 points off the play off despite the current poor run, the injury list and a very thin bench from which to make impactful changes. Younger players being sent out on useful loans to get first team football and the odd addition or two in Jan so far of young exciting (que the Barry White music) defensive and attacking players who will hopefully add to the team and/or squad for the rest of the season and beyond. Yes, last night was a turgid watch, but at least it was both teams completely failing to get to grips with the conditions and not just the previous typical 'Charity Park Rangers lose to a bottom 3 club' performance again. On to another tough game at home on Saturday against Hollywood FC and I think we will play better but still struggle to get goals - as the more games Rich Kone plays the more it is clear we are missing Burrell since his injury. |  |
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| The 3 ly sides of a match thread at Oxford on 16:58 - Jan 21 with 1039 views | nick_hammersmith |
| The 3 ly sides of a match thread at Oxford on 14:21 - Jan 21 by R_from_afar | I believe it was Andy Walker. I looked him up afterwards, he was a striker for Celtic and was also capped by Scotland. How he and the Sky commentator held it together, I'll never know. They were so professional and matter a fact in spite of the utterly dire football the teams were "treating" them to. Respect to them both, the pundits, that is |
He'll probably get a rollocking from SKY for that. I'm 100% sure they are mandated to talk up a game even if its a steaming pile... Those co-comms get a decent wedge, a lot more than I thought. On the official stream you know when its really bad as Sints just goes quiet. He never really criticises, but he might go quiet. Usually when one of our wingers gets into a great position and either delivers it to the first man, or row Z behind the goal. I reckon as a former winger of some quality this is his biggest bugbear. |  | |  |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 17:00 - Jan 21 with 1031 views | Gus_iom |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 14:58 - Jan 21 by baz_qpr | Watched on TV The conditions were crazy not seen anything like it for years, wind blowing deadballs a metre of where they were placed. Crosses that were whipped deviating by 5 -10 metres in the in the air. The wind seemed to be blowing directly from goal to another. I can't see why anyone would be surprised the game was how it was. The two most expensive players on the pitch Madsen and Dembele (along with Smyth) seemed to be the only ones that could control it, Madsen the only one who could pass it. Defenders struggled to read the flight in the air. Keepers kicking from keeper to keeper with the wind or barely getting it over the half way line against it. If you ever played any sport to any decent level you know you players and teams are at their best when you are not having to think about technicalities, ball control, your swing in golf, bowling action or position on the crease in Cricket. Thinking about technical things such as strength or lightness of touch or pass, means you are always a split second or so slower making decisions and choices leads to poorer performances and decision making which ends up being rushed. My point is no alternative formations or game plans would have made much of a difference, even if you played short and on the floor the conditions would have had an impact there. If ever there was a case for a winter break last night made it very strongly, benefited no one that game. |
Kick it in the air - the wind catches it. Play it on the ground, and the sodden pitch slowed it down |  |
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| The 3 ly sides of a match thread at Oxford on 17:09 - Jan 21 with 999 views | A40Bosh |
| The 3 ly sides of a match thread at Oxford on 16:58 - Jan 21 by nick_hammersmith | He'll probably get a rollocking from SKY for that. I'm 100% sure they are mandated to talk up a game even if its a steaming pile... Those co-comms get a decent wedge, a lot more than I thought. On the official stream you know when its really bad as Sints just goes quiet. He never really criticises, but he might go quiet. Usually when one of our wingers gets into a great position and either delivers it to the first man, or row Z behind the goal. I reckon as a former winger of some quality this is his biggest bugbear. |
I was getting a bit annoyed by that co-comms bloke and his "I know the conditions are atrocious.....BUT.....". Really easy from the comfort of an armchair or a keyboard to say that the players should be able to play as if it were a bright sunny day when presented with last night's conditions. Not looking to give them more excuses but I wonder if the 3 stands and a completely open end exacerbate the wind swirl or driving rain - it did not seem to ever let up from the tv pictures. Fair f''ks to the hardy QPR away support who put them through that game whilst on the terraces in those conditions last night. |  |
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| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 17:34 - Jan 21 with 923 views | Markofthegrove | Everyone is talking up the rain, but I don't think it was driving rain by any means and the pitch held up fine. You can still put your foot on the ball and play on the deck, the issue was we couldn't trap a bag of cement. |  | |  |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 17:36 - Jan 21 with 916 views | Northernr |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 17:34 - Jan 21 by Markofthegrove | Everyone is talking up the rain, but I don't think it was driving rain by any means and the pitch held up fine. You can still put your foot on the ball and play on the deck, the issue was we couldn't trap a bag of cement. |
It was both mate. We can't pass a fcking parcel at the moment, but the conditions last night were absolutely shocking. Howling wind driving right down the pitch. |  | |  |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 17:44 - Jan 21 with 891 views | E17hoop |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 17:36 - Jan 21 by Northernr | It was both mate. We can't pass a fcking parcel at the moment, but the conditions last night were absolutely shocking. Howling wind driving right down the pitch. |
Smithy mentioned it – undercooking kicks in the second half were still sailing out. Walsh should have had a shot. |  |
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| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 19:09 - Jan 21 with 720 views | Burnleyhoop |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 17:44 - Jan 21 by E17hoop | Smithy mentioned it – undercooking kicks in the second half were still sailing out. Walsh should have had a shot. |
The perfect conditions for absolutely anyone having a shot from 30 yards. |  | |  |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 19:14 - Jan 21 with 698 views | numptydumpty | Responding to your articulate post Nix. Did agree with you on a few of your comments. Yes this board and the support in general has become a little disillusioned and angry. We have to remember the last few weeks we have had absolitely horrendous luck with injuries. With our full squad in the cup game and the two nil nil away draws I think we win all these games. Also as I know, you work in support services like myself and this Monday is given the name Blue Monday. ie its a couple of weeks after xmas and new year, everyone is back at work and no sight of any holidays ahead, the weather has been miserable and the darkness, cold, wind , rain and occasional frosts mean the nights are long and so the need for QPR to cheer us all up a bit, has also not been happening. Definitely notice colleagues of mine are all a little more changeable in mood too. They joys of January in the UK..... I think also the injuries have caused most of us to downgrade our expectations for the season. We were doing so well and these unfortunate avalanche of bad luck thrown our way feels unfair when we really were heading for an in or around season of success. its all been these many long term injuries have beem so bad and i think thats where the anger has come from because its been extremely unfortunate in the extreme !!! |  |
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| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 19:24 - Jan 21 with 683 views | queensparker | I disagree there’s been no progress, I get that this new shithouse 0-0 setup that can’t pass to each other is dire to watch and seems undercooked but: - We’ve basically missed Chair for most of the season. In any of the last 3/4 seasons if he’d been out for this long, I reckon we’d have been relegated. Instead we’re comfortably just outside the playoffs - Our strength in depth when fully fit is great now, not everywhere (LB, ST) but streets ahead of some of the benches and elevens we’ve been putting out over the years - We’ve got 2/3 forwards who can actually finish in the squad, which hasn’t happened for decades - The side seems together and has some bottle and fight about it and are finally starting to hassle refs and intimidate opposition players and not wilt when times aren’t great, like facing 45 degree rain in a gail It’s not ideal, when is it ever, but that for me is progress |  | |  |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 21:09 - Jan 21 with 559 views | BrianWilson | Thought Kolli played well when he came on. Would rest Kone and give Kolli a go in that more central role. |  |
| "a diseased bunch of mofos if there ever was one, their beauty is so awesome that listening to them at their best is like being in some vast dream cathedral decorated with a thousand gleaming American pop culture icons."
- Lester Bangs on The Beach Boys |
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| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 21:14 - Jan 21 with 538 views | Wegerles_Stairs |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 19:14 - Jan 21 by numptydumpty | Responding to your articulate post Nix. Did agree with you on a few of your comments. Yes this board and the support in general has become a little disillusioned and angry. We have to remember the last few weeks we have had absolitely horrendous luck with injuries. With our full squad in the cup game and the two nil nil away draws I think we win all these games. Also as I know, you work in support services like myself and this Monday is given the name Blue Monday. ie its a couple of weeks after xmas and new year, everyone is back at work and no sight of any holidays ahead, the weather has been miserable and the darkness, cold, wind , rain and occasional frosts mean the nights are long and so the need for QPR to cheer us all up a bit, has also not been happening. Definitely notice colleagues of mine are all a little more changeable in mood too. They joys of January in the UK..... I think also the injuries have caused most of us to downgrade our expectations for the season. We were doing so well and these unfortunate avalanche of bad luck thrown our way feels unfair when we really were heading for an in or around season of success. its all been these many long term injuries have beem so bad and i think thats where the anger has come from because its been extremely unfortunate in the extreme !!! |
We played crap before the injuries too. |  | |  |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 22:43 - Jan 21 with 426 views | numptydumpty |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 21:14 - Jan 21 by Wegerles_Stairs | We played crap before the injuries too. |
So crap that we were in the play off positions Hey ho !!! |  |
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| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 23:03 - Jan 21 with 382 views | Ned_Kennedys |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 21:09 - Jan 21 by BrianWilson | Thought Kolli played well when he came on. Would rest Kone and give Kolli a go in that more central role. |
I thought he was no better than Kone and Bennie was better than both of them. |  | |  |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 23:28 - Jan 21 with 335 views | Wegerles_Stairs |
| The 3 sides of a match thread at Oxford on 22:43 - Jan 21 by numptydumpty | So crap that we were in the play off positions Hey ho !!! |
We were barely in the play-off positions. Sorry, I should have been clearer - I meant post-Leicester when we were crap over Christmas. Even Sheffield Wednesday when we picked up the injuries was pretty crap. |  | |  |
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