The Wanderer - FM 17

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Oxford Season 4

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Quite simply the results have not been good enough. The performances have been encouraging for some time now but at this stage we need results. Again too many draws from winning positions and time is running out as we are falling through the trap door into League 1.

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Its looks very bleak at the minute and with 4 games to go and a gap of 7 points and given the form of Bolton it will take a near perfect finish to the season to even stand a chance. Its disappointing given the effort and commitment we have shown in run in to be in this position and I only can think that if we had Blackman in the side he would have turned some of those draws to wins. Anyway we go again and as stated will require a probably 4 wins for the last 4 games to give ourselves any chance of survival.​
 
Oxford Season 4

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The miracle run hasn't happened and we have been relegated. A sad day for everyone associated with the club. We tried our best since i arrived at the club and where actually very competitive in most of the games. The writing was on the wall when a squad like ours lost 2 of our best players in the run in and in particular Nick Blackman who was carrying the goal threat on his own before his injury. Am not sure what this means for my future at the club and I would hate to leave a club in a worse position than I found it but I suppose that decision will be that of the boards.

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As you can see we needed an almost perfect run to stand any chance and we produced probably what was the worst display since i have been here against Cardiff. The relegation was confirmed when we could only manage a draw against QPR.

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We will finish out the last couple of games and then look at the situation at the end of the season. At the moment I would love a chance to rebuild this club next year and have a proper run at things here at Oxford but we may end up being shown the door. Although the expectation when I arrived was to fight bravely against relegation and I don't think anyone could argue that we didn't give it a good honest go but ultimately came up just short.​
 
Unlucky mate, but it was always going to be a difficult ask even before you lost 2 key players. Rebuild and bounce back next season.
 
neavie pops23 said:
Unlucky mate, but it was always going to be a difficult ask even before you lost 2 key players. Rebuild and bounce back next season.
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Yeah the squad I inherited didn't have enough quality or depth to mount a serious survival push and with the limited finances it was very hard to try and do anything about it.
 
Oxford Season 4

So we have two dead rubber league games to finish the season. We at least owe the fans some passion and desire in these last two performances.
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Not much to get excited about we looked like we had already downed tools and just happy to get the season over with. There will need to be big changes if we are here next season.

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The final league position is 23rd a whole 11 points from safety. In truth Bolton put together a great run towards the end of the season and we never really had any chance of catching them.

Squad Review

Goalkeepers:
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Defenders:
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Midfielders:
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Forwards:
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Club awards:
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Young Eddie Browne picked most of the awards even know he was only here for the 2nd half of the season. This is a kid with a big future ahead of him and I am just hoping we can keep him at this club for a few more years. Although we had our end of season meeting with the players where there a very worrying trend. All the top players at the club are wanting to move on following the relegation to League 1. We may have a hard job trying to convince them to stay.

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It looks like the board are also happy with me to stay on at the club for what will very much be a big rebuilding job next season.

Also one of my Shamrock Rovers legend Tom Lawrence is still providing the goods in the playoff semi's. I had a chuckle when i seen this, it brought back good memories from the Shamrock Rovers glory days.

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Oxford Season 5

As preparations where ongoing for the upcoming season there was a couple of big developments. Firstly the players that where looking to jump ship after the relegation have all agreed to stay under the promise we get promoted this season. So no pressure then. Unfortunately there was nothing we could do when Bristol City came in an meet Joe Rothwell's release clause of 1.9 Million. This is a big blow for the team and with very little % of the the transfer being reinvested it may prove a struggle to find a suitable replacement. On top of this Rothwell's midfield partner John Lundstram has a relegation release clause in his contract and with a number of teams circling it may also prove a struggle to hold onto our captain.

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Things have got very interesting as we where offered an interview and shortly after a job offer to jump straight back to the Championship with newly promoted side Walsall whos manager got poached.

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This is another one of these job offers we have to give considerable consideration. A higher league, bigger wage and a lovely transfer/wage budget makes this job very tempting. On the other hand I would hate to leave Oxford in a worse position than I found them and would really like to repay some of the faith the board had shown me after the relegation. A big decision to be made again?​
 
Oxford Season 5

After long consideration we have agreed to reject the approach from Walsall and stay on as manger of Oxford. I want to show some loyalty to the Oxford board and fans and help rebuild the club this year following the relegation. On top of this Walsall where tipped to struggle badly in the Championship and the thought of suffering relegation from the Championship 2 seasons in a row didn't seem that great. So it was full steam ahead for preparations ahead of the league 1 season

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A very mixed bag to start the new season. In the league we have been steady and performances have been quite good but we have fallen back into the old habit of drawing too many games. We also exited the EFL cup after losing a thriller against top flight Brighton. We have been operating with a tiny squad for the first few games and we where actually only able to name 3 subs in the opening league game before filling the bench with kids.

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League wise as you can see has been solid rather than spectacular and as mentioned above the number of draws is already slightly worrying. We are expected to finish in a playoff position this season so we will need to start picking up more 3 points in the next few weeks.

The transfer window has also closed and the good news is that bar Joe Rothwell we have managed to keep hold of all our big hitters while trying to beef the squad out with mostly loans and freebies.

Transfers In:
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We are quite happy with our business given the limited resources we had at our disposal. We have managed to bulk the squad out in most areas. Mason Bennett on a free transfers looks to be a great piece of business and offers us more options up top. The experienced Chris Brunt comes in ans should have a very positive effect around the place as well as providing massive quality from dead ball situations.

Transfers Out:
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Other than the Joe Rothwell transfer there isn't much to report here. Quite a number of players that we would have liked to keep where given free transfers as the wage budget had to be reduced. Some of the youngsters as always where sent out to gain some first team experience.​
 
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Brave decision to stay at Oxford. Think I may have taken the jump back up a division. Good luck getting Oxford back to the Championship.
 
Ralph2211 said:
Brave decision to stay at Oxford. Think I may have taken the jump back up a division. Good luck getting Oxford back to the Championship.
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Thanks thought I would show some loyalty to the club following the relegation so hopefully it pays off and we can put together s good run.
 
Oxford Season 5

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A slight tweak in the system and we put together a great run. Unbeaten this update and we are starting to play like playoff contenders. Jeremie Boga deserves a mention as he has been in great form and is putting in performances of the highest quality. The only problem we have with Boga is that when signing for the club last year we would only sign a 18 month deal. That means he is in the last year of his contract and wont sign a new deal as he is unhappy with the relegation. So this is a situation we will have to keep a close eye on.

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The table looks more positive from an Oxford point of view after our latest good run. Hopefully we can push on now and keep this run going and cement our position in the top 6. There are some quality teams in this division with much bigger budgets than others so it should be very competitive league 1.​
 
Oxford Season 5

We start this update with some positive news. We have had our transfer budget increased which will allow us to fill out the squad during the January window as well as get some free agents in now. We have been working with a very small squad which is starting to get very fatigued so this is very much needed.

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A transfer budget of 1 Millions might not sound like much but it gives me the flexibility to move some to wages etc and at least compete to sign players in the upcoming window.

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Another great run of form and we are very pleased with how we have settled to life in this division. We are getting goals from all over the pitch which is always a sign of a team playing with freedom and confidence.

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It looks good doesn't it. Top of the pile after 16 games and playing very well. Although it is very tight up around the top with 5 points separating 1st and 10th. All to play for now.​
 
KIU my friend, I admire you decision not to leave the club when you had the chance and looks like it is paying off. Hopefully you can convince the likes of Boga to sign a new contract as promotion edges closer
 
Fair play for staying - I think I'd have gone to be fair. Hope u bounce back !
 
Oxford Season 5

The extra funds have been put to use already as we have manged to bring in former arsenal man Ismael Bennacer on a free transfer. He comes in to compete for a position in our midfield two and will add much needed depth in this area.

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We maintain our great form in the league with a possible 10 points from a possible 12. We also have progressed to the FA Cup 2nd round after a good win over Hartlepool. The main man again was Jeremie Boga as he is striving in his new role in a front 2.

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Still very top at the tight with a lot of quality teams bang on our heals. Our next two fixtures are actually against the two teams directly behind us Peterborough and Notts Forest. These two games should give us a good indication if we are up to task of maintaining this promotion push.

We have also progressed into the next round of the Checkadale Trophy after finishing 2nd in the group behind MK Dons. We have been drawn against Yeovil in the next round of the competition.

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Oxford Season 5

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Two big results for the club that will give us confidence that we do belong in these lofty league positions. Our strongest 11 is good enough to beat anyone in the division but it is the squad depth that worries me. Nick Blackman is starting to preform like he did last season in the Championship before his injury and is coming up with some big goals like he did against Forest as we came from behind to get all 3 points.

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We have managed to open up a 3 point gap now as both Peterbrough and Notts Forrest fall further behind. It was been a great start to League 1 and hopefully we are justifying our decision to stay on at the club despite offers from elsewhere.​
 
Oxford Season 5

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We have hit some very patchy form as the cup games, crowded schedule and player fatigue starts to build We managed to scrap 2 draws in the league when we had been outplayed for most of the game against Orient and Birmingham if truth be told.

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The slip in form sees us drop off top spot as Shrewsbury continue their impressive run to jump to the top of the table. Overall the league table still makes good reading and we have actually only lost 1 game out of 24 in the league this season, granted there has been 11 draws.

Cup wise we where dumped out at the first knockout round in the Checkadale trophy by Yeovil where we played quite a number of kids. In the FA cup we are through to the 3rd round after overcoming Scunthorpe in a reply. We have been award a glamour tie as we head to Manchester in the 3rd round to take on Premier League Giants Manchester City.

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In other big news I have just been offered an Interview with a big Championship side.....

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Oxford Season 5

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It wasn't to be with Ipswich as they offered the job to Neil Critchley. Quite disappointed as this would have been an opportunity to go to a club with a much higher potential than Oxford. But never to worry we are now fully behind this Oxford promotion push.

The transfer market will be opening soon i just noticed main man Boga is wanted by 23 teams! Some very big ones too and with his contract up in the summer and a resfusal to sign a new deal I may be tempted to cash in if i can reinvest the money back into the squad.

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