Ellerslie Echo

Rotation, Rotation, Rotation

Championship Matchday 8 – Oxford United (H)

The annual stink-off between QPR and Oxford United at Loftus Road took place on Wednesday night. This time it was only the visitors aiming to justify their spot in the division, with QPR playing for a potential 3rd place spot (or the points equivalent). Neutral Sky Sports viewers without access to Champions League football are probably scratching their heads as to why they’ve been forced to watch this fixture for the second year running. 

With 3 games in 7 days – the first of several repetitions of that schedule – rotation was expected. Varane was hooked at half time on Saturday, so it was clear that Hayden was due his first start since returning. Dembele looked semi-threatening at Hillsborough, so Stephan opted for him over Saito, and Duracell Bunny Rumarn Burrell was due a recharge, so Michael Frey was plonked up top with Kone. 

What I, and probably most, didn’t expect, was to see Sam Field and Steve Cook back in the fold. With Madsen in the form of his life and the Mbuenge-Morrison partnership materialising nicely, this felt like a bit too much chopping and changing. However, remembering that it was a Fieldy brace which saved us from falling asleep the last time this lot visited, I was willing to listen. 

Comparing the quality of Wednesday’s opponents with Saturday’s (ironically the former comfortably beating the latter just two games ago), I was happy for this to be the game where a few fringe players got their opportunities, with a reversion back to our strongest selection on the weekend. Not complacency, just pragmatism. 

To give you an idea of the quality on show, if you watch the YouTube highlights (even the extended ones), the first of them doesn’t come until after 27 minutes of football, where Dembele’s best work of the half in finding Frey with a perfectly weighted pass, was wasted by the striker’s eagerness leaving him off-side. A good potential chance wasted.

Sam Field was chaotic as ever, with Hayden struggling to impact the game outside of his sideways play. Brannagan and De Keersmaecker – neither of whom looking spectacular – were able to make pretty easy work of the midfield and it was played through with little resistance, especially on the counter. 

That’s where Oxford provided the most danger – getting back up the pitch after our wasteful forward play landed the ball back at their feet, and getting shots off, most of which from long distance, which is exactly what I warned about in my preview last week. The back four did their job, keeping them at bay, but the midfield issues which were so prominent in our opening 3 fixtures looked to have returned – I think we know what, or who, the common denominator here is. 

We can count ourselves lucky that Przemlyslaw Placheta was just as ineffective as his last appearance in W12. Based on the few times I’ve seen this man play, it’s a mystery how he hasn’t dropped down to League One since arriving in England. He and his left-sided counterpart, Filip Krastev, could barely put a decent cross in and had two wayward shots apiece, whilst Will Lankshear and Nik Prelec didn’t even touch the ball 60 times between them.  

In terms of our own attack, Dembele was wasteful in possession, giving the ball away a few times, didn’t battle, and took too long to get shots off – often chopping and taking too many touches. The one time he did get one off, he drilled it past the post – not marginally either. Vale wasn’t much better, but at least he did his bit defensively. 

Richard Kone, once again positionally near-perfect, did all the right things – making the right runs, holding the ball up, linking up with those around him, driving at defenders, showing in the box – but the service just didn’t come for him, and he was unable to have a single shot. 

Michi Frey, in his first start of the season, was poor. He had a powerful shot from distance which did trouble Jamie Cumming in the net but it proved to be too central. As far as I’m aware, this was the only save he had to make in 90 minutes. 

Frey was also nowhere to be seen for a couple of first half instances where the ball was put into the box, with Kone’s cross into a dangerous area immediately coming to mind. Other than a Steve Cook shot over the bar, there wasn’t much else from anyone worth remembering in this half.

After the break, Dembele almost left the pitch with a parting gift when he put a cracking cross into Kone who headered wide, probably the striker’s biggest chance to get his goal. I’ve mentioned the lack of service that came his way but it has to be said that he probably should do better there. 

Stephan waited till the hour to make his changes this time out, with Madsen, Burrell and Saito replacing Field, Dembele and Frey. For the first ten minutes that these three were on the pitch, we looked a different side – dare I say, pretty electric – but Oxford defended well and we couldn’t make the most of what chances we were able to create. 

Madsen once again looked sharp –  an instant upgrade on Fieldy, both on the ball and off it. He put himself about, and opened the game up. Madsen also put a number of decent corners in that we failed to capitalise on. Burrell was a good option off the bench, but again, couldn’t break down Oxford’s back line. Saito was a breath of fresh air – an injection of energy into the game that was really, really needed. 

Steve Cook decided to have a go at being a right-winger for thirty seconds, when Mbuenge played a ball across to him from his own half, where he drilled a cross, on the half-volley, into a dangerous area of the box but ultimately couldn’t find Kone. After Oxford failed to clear their lines, Cookie got a second attempt at it and this time did find Kone for a one touch lay off to Hayden, who found Vale, only for his 20-yard shot to deflect wide. 

Due to our own wastefulness, made worse by Oxford’s frustratingly-low block, this energy didn’t take long to wear off, and the game was back to its sluggish nature. I’d say it was around the 70 minute mark where I accepted we weren’t going to see a goal in this one. 

Paul Smyth has his critics. Plenty of them. I’ve always been of the opinion that off the bench, this man is such a good asset to have. In an almost similar way to Burrell, what he lacks in ability, he makes up for in pace, energy and effort. So when Smyth was chucked on (this time on the wing rather than centre-forward) I was hopeful that Jack Currie and Co. would struggle to cope.

To a certain extent, they did. Smyth was running at them, getting into dangerous areas (though often found out of position) and winning fouls. Whilst he’s always a good fresh pair of legs, as is quite often the case with Smyth, the end product let us down.

A well created chance was squandered when he failed to see Kone in enough space to land a helicopter, and instead hit an aimless ball straight at the first man. He pulls that back and we move up to 14 points. An insanely obvious option – he had more than enough time to see it, stop for a pint and play it. 

One man I haven’t mentioned so far is Rhys Norrington-Davies. Another almost flawless defensive performance from the Welshman, whose hard work would go unnoticed on the surface – but he was once again all over the pitch, only Dunne and Currie touching the ball more. 

There’s still the obvious room for improvement when it comes to Rhys’ end product and final ball, but his work rate is phenomenal and, giving Gobby Rowett a shove after the 51-year old got in his face, has put him even higher in Rs fans’ estimations than he was already. 

The rest of the defensive department can also hold their heads high – Cook, Dunne and Mbuenge were all solid, but RND’s relentless drive and energy put him a slight level above. Mbuenge, going into this game, was only allowed one more yellow card before being handed a suspension. Of course he got his final strike on Wednesday and this now begs the question as to who starts on Saturday. 

A back four of Jimmy Dunne, Steve Cook, Liam Morrison and Rhys Norrington-Davies, will get absolutely burnt for pace against Mehmeti, Twine and Yu Hirakawa, so don’t be surprised to see a Rangers low-block on Saturday, in a desperate attempt to keep our unbeaten run going.

Oh, sorry, did you think we were done? 

There were 5 minutes added on at the end of this game, but the ref must’ve missed the handbags that were occurring on the touchline after the incident mentioned above, and failed to add on any more than 40 extra seconds, so really, it was 2 and a half minutes. 

Oxford could have won it with 10 seconds to go when De Keersmaecker put a free-kick into the box and Michael Helik headed wide – From the R block, it looked like that was it. Nardi glued to his line, free header, that should have been a banker. My heart sank. Huge let off. 

The plan was to have both Wednesday‘s and Saturday’s games in the same issue, hence both being previewed in my last issue. But with how much I’ve managed to waffle about a 0-0 draw, I think it’s best to review the two separately. 

That’s the second of three in quick succession, and the most winnable one has slipped through our fingers. We failed to take another opportunity to climb the table, because that’s what we do. But it’s football – and if that Oxford side can win at Ashton Gate, then we are more than capable. 

A dull game, between a heavily changed Rangers side and a nasty Rowett one who made it very difficult for us. Time to do some (briefer than normal) ratings.  

Player Ratings: 

Paul Nardi – 6/10:

Wasn’t tested once by the Yellows. Distribution was poor as usual, and he stuck to his line for the few occasions that Oxford did get balls into the box. Second Clean sheet of the season – helped by four strong defensive performances in front of him. 

Jimmy Dunne – 7/10

Aerial dominance? Tick. Pocketed his winger? Tick. Strong in the tackle? Tick. Textbook Jimmy performance yet again, let down by his forward play. 

Amadou Mbuenge – 7/10

Bar a slip or two, a couple of dodgy touches, and getting himself suspended, another decent performance, injecting pace into our defence and playing some nice long balls. We will struggle without him on Saturday. 

Steve Cook – 7.5/10

This is the Steve Cook we know and love. That’s why he was captain last season. Proper defensive performance. Tried his best to help out the attack, putting balls in the box and having shots of his own, but defensively, Cook made a statement that he’s still got something to prove. That’s what we want to see after not getting a certain centre-half in the window.

Rhys Norrington-Davies – 7.5/10

I really, really don’t understand why Sheffield United fans were so negative about this man and so desperate to get him out of their squad. He’s been arguably our best player since arriving, whilst they sit bottom. Their loss, I’d take him on a permanent at this rate. Proper left-back.

Sam Field – 6/10

Better on the ball than usual, but still way too absent and just left a gaping hole for Oxford’s midfield to stroll through. Field has been so important to us but he’s fallen off a cliff this year, not quite sure what’s happened there. 

Isaac Hayden – 6/10

Not as reliable as his previous appearances, you usually know what you’re getting with Hayden – a cool head who can pass the ball competently. He was a bit off on Wednesday, but it’s what you expect when he’s paired up with someone who’s forgotten what level of football he’s supposed to be playing at. Not that I’m blaming Field for Hayden’s performance – it was sub-par from the 30 year-old but nothing problematic. I still back him to do well in a stronger pairing. 

Harvey Vale – 6.5/10

Quiet game for Vale. Tracked back and linked up with RND, but just didn’t create enough or provide enough service for Frey or Kone, I can’t see him starting at Ashton Gate.

Kader Dembele – 6/10

I really don’t know what to think about Dembele anymore. Sometimes when you see him on the ball, he looks technically a level above, but more often than not it’s pretty ineffective. I think his physicality really lets his footballing ability down and it’s a real shame. He is capable of providing some real threats and we saw glimpses of it both in this game and at Hillsborough, but he just isn’t impactful enough to warrant a starting position. 

Michael Frey – 5.5/10

Pretty poor performance from the big man. Looked sharp-ish at the start and I’m sure he’s more annoyed than anyone about getting caught off-side, but after his long-range shot on target in the first half, I couldn’t really tell you anything that Frey added to this game.

Richard Kone – 6.5/10

We have to remember what we’re dealing with here. This man was playing step 5 two years ago. You can see it from his touch sometimes, but this is by no means someone who is out of his depth. You can look at his ratings or stats over the last three games, or write him off for not scoring in 3, but if you watch him you can see that this is a striker who knows his role. He knows where to be and he what to do. Smyth pulls that chance back to him and he gets his fourth QPR goal. Kone is doing just fine.

Substitutes:

• Nicolas Madsen – 7/10 – Changed the game, closed a gap in midfield and opened up the play. Put some very good crosses in.
• Koki Saito – 6.5/10 – Brought some energy to the game and made some very good runs. Caused problems for defenders but couldn’t get that end result.
• Rumarn Burrell – 6/10 – Looked sharp as ever, but was unable to break down Oxford’s back line. Had a couple of chances but nothing clear cut. 
• Paul Smyth – 5.5/10  – Still a useful player to have off the bench, especially for winning fouls and frustrating the opponent, but on the ball, very frustrating. Don’t want to keep going on about that chance at the end but it’s really simple stuff for a professional winger. Not good enough at all. 
• Jonathan Varane – N/A – Only played 10 minutes, but looked strong in that short period, despite a pretty pathetic ball over the top in an attempt to find Saito for a huge late opportunity. 

Man of the Match – Rhys Norrington-Davies 

This was a toss-up between RND and Steve Cook. Both had exceptional games but the left-back edges it for me – he was everywhere. If he could improve on his final ball he’d be one of the best left-backs in the league. Defensively, he’s levels and levels above any left-back we’ve had in recent years. so impressed with this signing so far. Passionate, hard-working and very solid. 

The fact that Sheffield United fans all knew that this man was capable of being one of the best in the league, yet decided to write him off this season after one game at centre-half, is pretty confusing but I’m not complaining. Hopefully a deal can be agreed for his permanent signature in the summer. 

Oxford United Star Player – Sam Long

With the way Oxford set up, it was always going to be a defender who stood out. Their attack was pretty useless, even if their midfield did overrun ours for the majority, at least until Madsen came on. 

There were two stand out candidates for Oxford  – Sam Long and Jack Currie. The latter put in a solid defensive performance from left-back, with Dembele, Vale and Smyth all struggling to get the better of him, but was pretty poor going forward – 0/4 accurate crosses tells you enough about that. 

Sam Long however, was Oxford’s best player by some distance, doing a good job of marking Richard Kone for the most part. Putting up good numbers for both aerial and Ground duels (86% and 100% respectively), Long, with his partner Helik, formed an absolute brick wall and it’s not a surprise they managed to keep a clean sheet. Those two have the potential to be one of the better centre-half duos in the division. 

Rangers had 9 corners, on top of the 8 crosses whipped in from open play, but Long and his team-mates were able to deal with them comfortably, giving us very little chance of getting on the end of any of them. Sam Long commanded his defence well and I can’t help but feel that without him on the pitch, we would have got the 3 points. 

Oxford have become a typical Gary Rowett side, tough, nasty, and physical. Cameron Brannagan seems to have bought into that philosophy along with his back four – it’s unclear how they walked away without a single booking, but they played for a draw and that’s what they got. A fair result. 

Up Next:

Championship Matchday 9: Bristol City (A) 

As mentioned, I’ve already previewed the Bristol game in my last issue, so check that out. I also predicted the midweek fixtures, correctly calling a draw between Birmingham and Sheffield Wednesday, getting four other results correct –  though I didn’t quite expect Millwall to lose as badly as they did. Coventry are absolutely flying. Oxford climb out of the bottom three with this result with Blackburn dropping into it, Norwich continue to disappoint but it’s still early days and still tight everywhere you look in the table. 

See you after Bristol City.

You R’s.