We'll win today.....

[Dave_Og]

This will come good. We were the better side today, undone by two individual mistakes.

[JonesyOAFC]

This will come good. We were the better side today, undone by two individual mistakes.

 

And this against a side with a £1.2 million striker up front who will probably be challenging for automatic promotion come May. I'm not gonna start panicking yet.

[Wardie]

 

I can hear them sharpening their knives already. I really don't understand how difficult it is for people to realise that with a young manager, and a young and almost completely new squad, we're going to need to be patient for a while in order to let them gel. I've said it a few times and a fair few people have responded with "Oh we've been patient for 15 years" or other similar nonsense.

 

That's just it, isn't it?..a complete and utter lack of patience that runs through almost every aspect of life these days.

The team has goals in it, that's for sure.

[JonesyOAFC]

Isn't a team just a collection of individuals playing as a side and so how can you be the better team if two individuals in it are making mistakes which lose the game

 

I think you know the answer to that, and are just being deliberately obtuse in an attempt to get a reaction.

 

I've figured out your game pseudonym.

Edited August 17, 2013 by JonesyOAFC

[Dave_Og]

Isn't a team just a collection of individuals playing as a side and so how can you be the better team if two individuals in it are making mistakes which lose the game

Rightyho

[longtimeblue]

 

I can hear them sharpening their knives already.

Lots of people keep pre-empting a backlash. No-one on here's had a pop but it seems as though some are really looking forward to the prospect of it.

 

Some people aren't able to distinguish alternative opinions and informed criticism from negativity and a lack of patience.

[JonesyOAFC]

Lots of people keep pre-empting a backlash. No-one on here's had a pop but it seems as though some are really looking forward to the prospect of it.

 

Some people aren't able to distinguish alternative opinions and informed criticism from negativity and a lack of patience.

 

You mustn't have been at the game last week then. 'Informed' is about the last word I'd use to describe some of the abuse I heard spouted. I'm not pre-empting anything.

 

Only a tiny minority of Latics fans visit this site. I'm talking more about what I've heard at matches and read on social media. I'm not looking forward to it at all, quite the opposite. I'm sick of it.

Edited August 17, 2013 by JonesyOAFC

[AlanGrovesFanClub]

Overall we played good football, but with no cutting edge (until injury time). We defended very well indeed and were undone by two idiotic errors.

 

Oxley. 5. Really bad error for the penalty, otherwise looked OK.

Brown. 7. He's a good player in my view, and he always does his best. Lovely cross for the goal.

Mills. 7. Good left back, did well.

Grounds. 7. Really good at centre back, defended well and played it out of defence well too.

Tarky. 7. A really good prospect.

Wes. 5. As one or two have said, he is too sideways and backwards. If we are going to pass and move then we must be incisive. He kills momentum.

Smith. 7. Good focus, retention and passing throughout (with a couple of very crap exceptions).

Dayton. 7. Did well but his shooting on YouTube is a lot better than it is on the pitch.

Montano. 7. Would have been great except he got kicked off the pitch.

Baxter. 4. Really not very good today, and the way he gave away the ball for the first goal was shameful. Lazy, careless and weak.

Rooney. 6. Gave it a good go and had one excellent header, but othewise didn't threaten.

Millar. 5. A poor man's Charlie MacDonald.

Sid. 5. He gets these marks mainly for effort, but he always looks ineffectual to me. Very little end product.

MacD. 8. Really good little cameo. Sharp, fast, quick thinking and did well for his goal. A proper striker.

[opinions4u]

We lacked the final ball. There were a couple of through balls where Rooney went left as the ball went right - more games together and the understanding can and will grow. Montaño terrorised their fullback Alcock but never really got round the back. Dayton gave them trouble down the right but his crosses never quite threatened enough. I think the wingers are too wide too often - playing narrower would give more options.

 

Our movement from back to middle and beyond the halfway mark was good. Out to the wings was good. In to the centre less so.

 

Their first goal was a belter from the impressive Assombalonga. You don't save shots like that, but Baxter had the ball taken off his toe too easily in the build up. While we didn't deserve to be behind at half time we hadn't scared them.

 

Second half was similar. Latics having a go but other than a tame Dayton effort wide of a motionless keeper and post I didn't see us scoring. Good in the build up, Korey Smith standing out, but no killer ball or extra yard of pace in the places that mattered.

 

Towards the end Posh took the game by the scruff of the neck. Tomlin, who had looked like a slow fat lump, suddenly turned into a glorious footballer and missed a couple of chances as he glided past Grounds and Tarky but it was Assombalonga who made a telling run when, despite Tarky having things covered, Oxley emerged from his six yard box for the first time in his Latics career and inexplicably slid across the striker who was heading to the corner flag to concede a ridiculous penalty which Tomlin duly converted.

 

When the four minutes of injury time went up their was barely a murmur from the Latics fans who'd been in great voice until the second went in. Then Charlie McDonald got on to the end of a great Connor Brown cross and there was a zest about Latics going forwards with a couple of half chances and shots from distance.

 

The last of these efforts saw Smith win a corner which was delivered into a packed area, narrowly missing the advanced Oxley and Mills headed towards Tarky running at an undefended far post - Tarky completely missing the ball which went wide and the whistle blue. He was genuinely gutted.

 

A lot of it was very good. I still think we need more from Rooney but we also need to up the pace and service to him.

 

OXLEY 4 - straight forward first half save but brainlessly gave away the penalty.

BROWN 7 - performed close to the limits of his ability. Great cross for the goal.

MILLS 8 - good debut, defended well and got forwards too.

TARKY 8 - Mr error prone is becoming Mr Consistent.

GROUNDS 8 - looked every bit a centre half.

 

SMITH 9 - this lad looks like a very special footballer.

WESOLOWSKI 7 - good reception from the home fans. Got stuck in and provided more cover for the defence. Looked to get forwards too.

MONTAÑO 7 - pace, skill, excitement, drew the fouls and nearly got Alcock sent off. Final ball please.

DAYTON 7 - skill, excitement, got closer to the killer ball but never delivered it.

 

BAXTER 5 - if he'd ticked today we'd have won. He didn't.

ROONEY 6 - restricted to half chance and not quite on the wavelength of those looking to play him in.

 

MILLAR 7 - got past their full back several times, won free kicks, not able to create though.

McDONALD 7 - scored.

SCHMELZ 6 - the odd moment, but nothing that got me on my feet.

Edited August 17, 2013 by opinions4u

[Laticacid]

Is Baxter worthy of his place ?

 

I'm not sure, very much a luxury player, I wonder if a straight 442 with c mac and Rooney as a 2 should be tried .

 

And Baxter certainly can't play in a 2 in centre mid , perhaps a couple of weeks on the bench may re focus him . .

[opinions4u]

Fergie's view:

 

http://bit.ly/13tl5I4

 

 

Relief, Ferguson stated when asked how he felt in the post-match press conference. Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and admit the opposition were better than you and Oldham were today.

 

We were way off the mark from start to finish. I knew Oldham had great energies and I knew they would press us all over the field. Nothing they did should have come as a surprise, but they gave us all sorts of trouble, while we couldnt get our own passing game going.

 

Oldham probably came here expecting a hard game, but the way we played gave them every encouragement and they responded very positively.

 

I dont believe we were complacent. We just struggled to get going. We have also acquired a habit of conceding needless free kicks in dangerous positions which will bite us if we keep doing it.

Edited August 17, 2013 by opinions4u

[longtimeblue]

 

You mustn't have been at the game last week then. 'Informed' is about the last word I'd use to describe some of the abuse I heard spouted. I'm not pre-empting anything.

 

Only a tiny minority of Latics fans visit this site. I'm talking more about what I've heard at matches and read on social media. I'm not looking forward to it at all, quite the opposite. I'm sick of it.

I've genuinely not seen any of that. I still think last week was :censored: but that doesn't make me negative.

[dec666]

Sounds like Grounds played well at CB today, will be interesting to see what happens when Mellor returns to fitness. Can see Mellor moving over to LB if we don't keep hold of Mills.

[JoeP]

Fergie's view:

 

http://bit.ly/13tl5I4

 

 

 

"Relief, Ferguson stated when asked how he felt in the post-match press conference. Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and admit the opposition were better than you and Oldham were today."

 

That's not patronising at all....

[HarryBosch]

Isn't a team just a collection of individuals playing as a side and so how can you be the better team if two individuals in it are making mistakes which lose the game

[JonesyOAFC]

I've genuinely not seen any of that. I still think last week was :censored: but that doesn't make me negative.

 

I'm wasn't aiming my comments at anyone on here tbf. By and large the opinions, positive or negative, are pretty reasonable on here. But I left the game angrier about the supposed 'supporters' I was surrounded by than the actual performance. I understand the frustration, we've been in this division a long time now and I think we're all bloody sick of it, but some of the stuff I heard last Saturday went way past being a bit frustrated.

[longtimeblue]

 

I'm wasn't aiming my comments at anyone on here tbf. By and large the opinions, positive or negative, are pretty reasonable on here. But I left the game angrier about the supposed 'supporters' I was surrounded by than the actual performance. I understand the frustration, we've been in this division a long time now and I think we're all bloody sick of it, but some of the stuff I heard last Saturday went way past being a bit frustrated.

I didn't hear any abuse. (Not on twitter and I gave up reading about Latics on Facebook). There's a difference between that and expressing disappointment though.

 

Whether it's a manager's first game or last game, people are allowed to call it as they see it. I still think people (on here) are too quick to have a go at anyone who makes any form of criticism.

[Diego_Sideburns]

....The last of these efforts saw Smith win a corner which was delivered into a packed area, narrowly missing the advanced Oxley and Mills headed towards Tarky running at an undefended far post - Tarky completely missing the ball which went wide and the whistle blue. He was genuinely gutted.

 

 

 

 

 

More pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/diego_sideburns/sets/72157635115153746/

[oafcmetty]

Good write up from a Posh perspective here... http://standingontheglebe.co.uk/blog/escape-to-victory-peterborough-2-1-oldham-athletic?

[opinions4u]

Is Baxter worthy of his place ?

I'm not sure, very much a luxury player, I wonder if a straight 442 with c mac and Rooney as a 2 should be tried .

And Baxter certainly can't play in a 2 in centre mid , perhaps a couple of weeks on the bench may re focus him . .

If he's fit, he plays.

[Oh Heck C-Beck]

Good write up from a Posh perspective here... http://standingontheglebe.co.uk/blog/escape-to-victory-peterborough-2-1-oldham-athletic?

 

 

Interesting, didn't realise they had a £million plus striker. Thought we sounded like we played well on the commentary despite the result. Not feeling negative yet. It is always going to be tough when you play teams that can afford better quality players who can create something out of nothing. Lets hope the players dont get too disheartened by form, if they keep playing well it should click, plenty of time for results to improve.

[oafcprozac]

A few of our lot thought Tarky :censored: out as he was worried about colliding with the post, all I saw was Mills' slight touch causing a deviation that a fully committed Tarky could just not reach. He reaction at the end was definitely not one of a :censored:-out, he was visibly distraught. But if we'd put quality like that in there all game then we would have got something from the game.

 

LJ needs to decide whether he wants Baxter or not, as he's simply shoe-horning him into the team at the moment and we're the worse for it imo. Like the back end of last season for all JB's quality we look more of a unit without him. Can you we continually carry his luxury by constantly switching him around or do we play two proper midfielders, two wingers and two strikers?

 

 

I'm one of JB's biggest fans, but the team is more important, so just how do we accommodate him in the way LJ wants us to play?

Edited August 18, 2013 by oafcprozac

[Diego_Sideburns]

On the OS, LJ praised the fans – almost 400 of them – saying they were unbelievable as they were singing from start to finish.

 

"We gave them something to shout about. I think they will go home appreciative that we gave it a good go and they can trust this team will keep going."

 

He didn't mention the "looks good in a suit" chant.

[Flemboy]

Thought the chant about" £28 and we are standing up" and what their mascot could do with that carrot were good as well..

[the_mighty_bosh]

Really strange game, completely the opposite from what I expected. Going 4-4-1-1 with two holding midfielders wasn't exactly what I wanted to see as I wanted both teams to attack, but it made sense to play that formation due to the likely Posh onslaught.

 

That onslaught didn't come. The defensive 6 (back 4 + Smith and Wes) dealt with the minimal threat they had to well and if it wasn't for 2 individual mistakes and Assombalonga they would have kept a clean sheet. The problem was that we were left short going forward when we needed it against a very physical and surprisingly disciplined defence until we made changes.

 

Negatives:

While Oxley didn't have much to do he made a very bad decision that led to their pen. The jury's out on him but I expect he'll get better over the season.

The wingers (Dayton more than Montano) flattered to deceive.

From a purely attacking point of view LJ's tactics didn't help Rooney at all as he wasn't going to win the physical battle against Zakuani and Bostwick. He ended up being isolated with poor service but this wasn't helped by...

Baxter. Off the pace and really wasn't looking to make things happen. His carelessness led to the 1st goal. It's the first time I've wondered whether he wants to be here. Hopefully just an off day but if he's in that position it's key that he's making the team tick.

 

Positives;

Two good things from LJ. One was replacing Baxter with Millar which made a notable difference. The other being the options in the squad he's built going forward. Everyone can offer something different, it's now for Johnson to find the right formula. MacDonald and Rooney as a partnership should do well with decent service.

The defence did well. If we want to be tight and solid then Smith and Wes provide a lot of protection for the defence. Mills did OK although got left for dead by Tomlin a few times. Connor Brown is undoubtably a good defender, he really doesn't get much wrong on the defensive side. He didn't look confident at all going forward until a great cross at the end which Charlie Mac's run made the most of. Tarky was really good I thought, he lacks pace but does so many other things well, so gutted about his miss at the end. Grounds was my MOTM, he was so composed and barely (if ever) put a foot wrong yesterday. He has the ball playing ability that Mellor has with slightly more pace and much more height. Tarky and Grounds have to start at CB next week.