Lillehamring Posted 29 August 2010 Posted 29 August 2010 it's no surprise that the two players that looked out of place yesterday were howard and oakley. and like howard, it's not that oakley is bad, it's just that he is not good enough, given his position and his captaincy he is not involved enough, and yesterday the sum-total of his contribution was two balls off the pitch. two games running, sousa has brought king on and we have looked very good, and i think yesterday hobbs taking over the captaincy made a massive difference.
ibbosuk Posted 29 August 2010 Posted 29 August 2010 I cannot understand why Oakley is starting and he is Captain. With our "new style" of football it's imperative that we can break forward quickly, Oakley ALLOWS the opposition to get back into position, hence we seem devoid of ideas (except give it to Dyer). This is very predictable and reminds me of when we got relegated to League 1, Oakley is not fit enough to start - slow, predictable passing he is not good enough for the championship. Thoughts? Oakley should of gone 2 years ago !
DANGEROUS TIGER Posted 29 August 2010 Posted 29 August 2010 Very wide of the mark in my opinion, Our problem`s stem much deeper than oakley, a back 4 that can feel confident not gonna get changed every week! winger`s swapping to strikers! also leaving fryatt on the bench is not the answer! blaming oakley is harsh! Have to say, I tend to agree, except that Fryatt should move on to another club, and quality is brought in. No offence is intended to Matty, who works hard, but falls way short of the type of player we need.
bigneville Posted 30 August 2010 Posted 30 August 2010 I think Oakley has had a decent start to the season. He looks a lot more comfortable than he did in the Pearson structure. Andy King was the main midfielder for NP, and under PS, Matt Oakley has moved up the pecking order. However, Oakley is only going to get worse IMO. He knows exactly what pass need to be made. He still has the vision he has years a go, which made him a very sucessful midfielder for the likes of Southampton and so fourth. But. He can't make the pass anymore, as he is often too rushed in the midfield. Soo many times on Saturday I found myself saying "right idea, bad execution". There's only so long you can defend someone for this. At some point he has to start continually making these passes that will turn defence into attack that he likes to play. If he can start making these passes again, I have no doubt he is more than capable at this level. Although, his body is giving out on him already, his engine can no longer last 90 minutes, through no fault of his own apart from age. Maybe this lack of engine is causing him problems with his technical footballing ability.
lcfc_sam_p Posted 30 August 2010 Posted 30 August 2010 I cannot understand why Oakley is starting and he is Captain. With our "new style" of football it's imperative that we can break forward quickly, Oakley ALLOWS the opposition to get back into position, hence we seem devoid of ideas (except give it to Dyer). This is very predictable and reminds me of when we got relegated to League 1, Oakley is not fit enough to start - slow, predictable passing he is not good enough for the championship. Thoughts? I think that you should stop using Oakley as a scapegoat for when something goes wrong. Hes been far from the worst player so far this season, i think hes done OK. Not Oakley's biggest fan but he has been decent this season (apart from today of course). I thought Wellens played better when Oakley was on the pitch as it allowed him to get forward more. Don't think he should be captain though, don't really see him as a "leader". Yeah it does allow Wellens to get forward more, which is the position he prefers. He didn't like it under Pearson because he wasn't allowed to get forward as much and had to sit back more
marbelladave Posted 30 August 2010 Posted 30 August 2010 The problem is simple, our midfield is too 'samey' and lacks balance. At the moment we do not have a pair of midfielders with the defensive qualities or the attacking energy to play in a 4-4-2, whichever two are chosen their is always a weakness somewhere. This is why we are most effective with a three man midfield. Oakley is mostly tasked with playing the more defensive role, not his natural game but he no longer has the pace or energy to play otherwise. Overall he has not done badly, but it is pretty clear that he is simply 'keeping the position warm' for one of Sousa's new boys. (Moreno or Abe) Wellens and King play very differently but essentially play the same role, they are the 'pivot' of our play when we switch from defence into attack and both help out defensively. Play one or the other, not both, this is really important! With a holding player and a box to box player already selected the third member can be attack minded, Gallagher in the position he played against Leeds is the most obvious choice, just a little more effort tracking back and he would be perfect. Altogether a better option than pushing King well forward, as in the 'Boro game, where he loses his effectiveness by being much easier for the defence to pick up. Most of the posts in this thread are simply posters championing their favourites or slagging off those they do not personally rate, no thought about balance or the ability of players to play with, rather than against each other. Very simplistic!
caz05 Posted 30 August 2010 Posted 30 August 2010 I think that you should stop using Oakley as a scapegoat for when something goes wrong. Hes been far from the worst player so far this season, i think hes done OK. Yeah it does allow Wellens to get forward more, which is the position he prefers. He didn't like it under Pearson because he wasn't allowed to get forward as much and had to sit back more
broughtonblue Posted 14 September 2010 Posted 14 September 2010 How can anyone say Oakley is even ok, he's a joke of a player, absolutly shocking. For the life of me how can anyone defend him, he;s garbage. As a captain of a football team ever been subbed more than this clown ? the answer to that is no, by the way. Why does he even get in the squad, when he contributes sweet FA to the team. Defending the undefendable, the day this lazy useless time waster leaves this club will be a good day. Please open your eyes and watch him go through the motions, he just pretends to be a footballer. Still feel the same? He's been one of our better players this season so far IMO.
Finnegan Posted 14 September 2010 Posted 14 September 2010 Don't know if you were watching the same game as me or just paying more attention to him. I don't think he was terrible today but he was hardly blinding. I hope Abe is of a better quality given the hype, I certainly imagine he's got a better motor in him than Oakley these days. If we drop Wellens for the lad I'll be gutted, think he has twice the effect that Oakley does. Don't think Oakley's garbage. He was last year on the right but he's been reasonable so far this season. But he's far from brilliant and he's far from one of our best players.
Clazie Posted 14 September 2010 Posted 14 September 2010 Not an Oakley fan, but if the lad plays well, play him. Today what stood out for me was that even after he made a mistake, he chasing after the ball trying to redeem himself. Last season he looked out of his depth, based on tonights performance he's playing with much more passion. And that's always good.
Corky Posted 14 September 2010 Posted 14 September 2010 I think Oakley is more suited to Sousa's style. He seems to prefer the quick, snappy passing game, not saying he's great at it but he might be more effective than last season. King is obviously first choice, so it's Wellens, Oakley and Abe battling it out for the other two places.
Kilworthfox Posted 14 September 2010 Posted 14 September 2010 Not an Oakley fan at all, but he had a great game yesterday See above
MC Prussian Posted 14 September 2010 Posted 14 September 2010 Yep, can't say I did like Oakley's style of play last season, but he's improving and a solid, albeit a little bit quiet force in (defensive) midfield. I'd like to see him "lead" more openly. Still, great response to the recent critiques.
caz05 Posted 14 September 2010 Posted 14 September 2010 Don't know if you were watching the same game as me or just paying more attention to him. I don't think he was terrible today but he was hardly blinding. I hope Abe is of a better quality given the hype, I certainly imagine he's got a better motor in him than Oakley these days. If we drop Wellens for the lad I'll be gutted, think he has twice the effect that Oakley does. Don't think Oakley's garbage. He was last year on the right but he's been reasonable so far this season. But he's far from brilliant and he's far from one of our best players. Sorry but i saw the game,and to me oakley was better than wellens,yes he did lose the ball but he chased it to get it back. Wellens in the first half gave the ball away i dont no how many times. Im not moaning about wellens cause when hes at his best he is a gr8 player,but credit where its due Oakley played better tonight
dimmerchant Posted 14 September 2010 Posted 14 September 2010 Made some quality, at times essential, crunching tackles today. Can't fault his effort.
Cobbo Posted 14 September 2010 Posted 14 September 2010 Oakley in 50/50's at the moment - boom. Love them. Making up for the lack of pace and ability nowadays..
Joe. Posted 14 September 2010 Posted 14 September 2010 Really impressed by him tonight. Must admit I'd written him off before the season started but he seems to be thriving on the physical side of the game at the moment under Sousa. Keep it up, it's great to see the midfield three performing so well together.
Ultra Posted 14 September 2010 Posted 14 September 2010 The presence of Abe on the bench definitely motivated Oakley tonight. It was a pleasure to see him give a real captain's performance. I hope he can manage to do the same on Saturday!
Unabomber Posted 14 September 2010 Posted 14 September 2010 The presence of Abe on the bench definitely motivated Oakley tonight. It was a pleasure to see him give a real captain's performance. I hope he can manage to do the same on Saturday! Impressive font size. I agree about Oakley, I thought he played well tonight and he seems to get stuck in more which is great to see. I think the formation worked a treat with him just infront of the back four and he actually looked relatively commanding for once.
VampLCFC Posted 14 September 2010 Posted 14 September 2010 Oakley was very good tonight, made some crunching tackles, good interceptions, if ever he made a mistike and gave the ball away (very few times) he chased the ball down like a mad man and won it back!
Finnegan Posted 15 September 2010 Posted 15 September 2010 Impressive font size. I agree about Oakley, I thought he played well tonight and he seems to get stuck in more which is great to see. I think the formation worked a treat with him just infront of the back four and he actually looked relatively commanding for once. It's one of the perks of being Lord Mayor - expecting every cunt to pay attention.
Tommy G Posted 15 September 2010 Posted 15 September 2010 Played well last night. He is a good link between defence and attack as he always picks the ball up from deep and distributes it well and allows Wellens and King to push on. Some great crunching tackles. Plays well with the midfield 3 and 10 times the player we saw last season, how anyone can be critical after last nights performance is beyond me. Keep it up
Maybes Posted 15 September 2010 Posted 15 September 2010 One of the stand out performers in last nights game.
Ilkeston_Fox Posted 15 September 2010 Posted 15 September 2010 One of the stand out performers in last nights game. Yep, along with Wellens (2nd half), Robbie Neilson, Dyer and of course King.
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