Quality let us down - Wilder

9:50am Wednesday 24th October 2012 in Sport Photograph of the Author By David Pritchard, Chief Sports Reporter covering Oxford United. Follow us on twitter: @oxfordmailoufc. Call me on 01865 425458

Chris Wilder at the final whistle at Rochdale on Tuesday night Chris Wilder at the final whistle at Rochdale on Tuesday night

CHRIS Wilder bemoaned a lack of quality in the final third as Oxford United lost 2-0 at Rochdale last night.

The visitors had the majority of efforts on goal, but lacked the sort of cutting edge which was so apparent in Saturday’s 5-0 win against Accrington Stanley.

Alfie Potter missed the clearest opening in the 25th minute, but the winger, who scored at the weekend, rolled a shot past the post from close range.

Wilder was bitterly disappointed United were unable to convert what for long periods was an accomplished display into points.

The result leaves the U’s 18th in the npower League Two table, five points off the bottom two and five points off the play-off places.

The United boss said: “We got done on the break with a great cross and a great header – if we had put anything like that quality of cross in for the numerous times we were in those positions then we would have easily gone away as winners.

“I thought it was an above average performance against a decent side who will be looking to be in the mix for promotion.

“We dominated a lot of the game, but we can’t afford to miss chances like Alfie’s – he was five yards out.

“The final touch was missing and if we had had that we would have won, without a shadow of a doubt.

“It’s a disappointing result, but not a disappointing performance.”

Defender Johnny Mullins agreed and felt the result did little to reflect the balance of play.

He said: “I’m really gutted because I thought we did enough to win.

“When you look at the score it appears a comfortable home win, but that clearly wasn’t the case.”

The U’s manager also revealed he had been forced into a late change of personnel, with Lee Cox taken ill on the journey up to Lancashire.

The on-loan midfielder, who was due to start, was sent home on a train to recover and will be assessed today.

Comments (14)

12:20pm Wed 24 Oct 12

adlibber says...

lack of quality is right particularly at the coaching/management level. Wilder is now on his 15th visit to the book of excuses and recycling every one that he can in order to absolve himself from blame. I remember him saying last season when we lost at Rotherham he said they would be strong promotion contenders and they didn't even make play offs! I suspect Wilder's judgement on Rochdale to be similarly inaccurate.

Also, it appears that players are following Wilder with excuses for defeats - no good thinking the team is good enough its goals not thoughts that win games. We need a change at the top now - I just don't have any faith in wilder's management style,his coaching methods,his motivational 'skills' or his ability to get the best out of players.
lack of quality is right particularly at the coaching/management level. Wilder is now on his 15th visit to the book of excuses and recycling every one that he can in order to absolve himself from blame. I remember him saying last season when we lost at Rotherham he said they would be strong promotion contenders and they didn't even make play offs! I suspect Wilder's judgement on Rochdale to be similarly inaccurate. Also, it appears that players are following Wilder with excuses for defeats - no good thinking the team is good enough its goals not thoughts that win games. We need a change at the top now - I just don't have any faith in wilder's management style,his coaching methods,his motivational 'skills' or his ability to get the best out of players. adlibber

12:34pm Wed 24 Oct 12

RADIOFAN says...

Last night we learnt three things about your Oxford United Mr Wilder. One We are miles off being a promotion contesting outfit. A very poor Rochdale was still too good for us. We have now played nine of the teams in the top half of our league this season and out of 27 points we have taken the huge sum of one point against them and that was mainly down to our goalkeeper. Two injuries are no longer an excuse anymore. Apart from Dulberry that was probably our best team and also you could very easily say that the loanees has been our better players this season. So when they leave the team could be a lot weaker. And finally three our manager is clearly not up to it. IE Last night both managers made substitutions. Yours totally unbalanced the shape of the team and took away one of our goal threats in Potter whos goals by the way has come late in games this season apart from one. You replaced him with a central midfielder who looked totally out of his depth a week earlier at Port Vale playing on the wing but why let that bother you while the opposition manager brought a player who then virtuely score with his first touch. You say we lack quality which is true. We lack quailty on and Off the pitch as far as i can see. Time to leave Mr Wilder.
Last night we learnt three things about your Oxford United Mr Wilder. One We are miles off being a promotion contesting outfit. A very poor Rochdale was still too good for us. We have now played nine of the teams in the top half of our league this season and out of 27 points we have taken the huge sum of one point against them and that was mainly down to our goalkeeper. Two injuries are no longer an excuse anymore. Apart from Dulberry that was probably our best team and also you could very easily say that the loanees has been our better players this season. So when they leave the team could be a lot weaker. And finally three our manager is clearly not up to it. IE Last night both managers made substitutions. Yours totally unbalanced the shape of the team and took away one of our goal threats in Potter whos goals by the way has come late in games this season apart from one. You replaced him with a central midfielder who looked totally out of his depth a week earlier at Port Vale playing on the wing but why let that bother you while the opposition manager brought a player who then virtuely score with his first touch. You say we lack quality which is true. We lack quailty on and Off the pitch as far as i can see. Time to leave Mr Wilder. RADIOFAN

1:03pm Wed 24 Oct 12

Doctor69 says...

HUGE game saturday at Wycombe. Need as many Yellows there as possible to try and inspire the lads to a much needed away win.

It still looks like Wilder has to go. Same old excuses, but never his fault. Im sorry but they are his players, following his coaching, if they dont perform then he has to take at least a portion of the blame.

still, roll on saturday. COYY
HUGE game saturday at Wycombe. Need as many Yellows there as possible to try and inspire the lads to a much needed away win. It still looks like Wilder has to go. Same old excuses, but never his fault. Im sorry but they are his players, following his coaching, if they dont perform then he has to take at least a portion of the blame. still, roll on saturday. COYY Doctor69

2:04pm Wed 24 Oct 12

yeomanry says...

Didn't see this one but if we dominated and should have won but for the inability of the forwards to find the net, then I don't see how we can put the blame on CW. In recent games you could blame his tactics and seemingly lack of planning but this time the teamplay seems to have worked and it was down to individuals not doing what they are supposed to be good at .No manager can influence a player on the day, if the ball comes to him in the right spot at the right time then six or seven times out of ten he should score, this is not down to the manager if he fails to take the chances.
Didn't see this one but if we dominated and should have won but for the inability of the forwards to find the net, then I don't see how we can put the blame on CW. In recent games you could blame his tactics and seemingly lack of planning but this time the teamplay seems to have worked and it was down to individuals not doing what they are supposed to be good at .No manager can influence a player on the day, if the ball comes to him in the right spot at the right time then six or seven times out of ten he should score, this is not down to the manager if he fails to take the chances. yeomanry

2:43pm Wed 24 Oct 12

jbowling says...

Sounds as though we played quite well.

A small point but the substitution of Potter with Heslop instead of Pittman demonstrates Wilder's continued cautious approach which I had hoped would last for more than one game.

He saw the chance of a point with fifteen minutes to go, went defensive and we end up with nothing.

If he played pontoon he would stick on 16 every time and win ........ nothing.
Sounds as though we played quite well. A small point but the substitution of Potter with Heslop instead of Pittman demonstrates Wilder's continued cautious approach which I had hoped would last for more than one game. He saw the chance of a point with fifteen minutes to go, went defensive and we end up with nothing. If he played pontoon he would stick on 16 every time and win ........ nothing. jbowling

4:06pm Wed 24 Oct 12

oldun says...

Heslop - the right sided version of Simpson or Beauchamp (?) - happy days (they were) -
Heslop - the right sided version of Simpson or Beauchamp (?) - happy days (they were) - oldun

4:31pm Wed 24 Oct 12

northampton yellow says...

what on earth was wilder doing last nite taking a goal threat of potter off and replacing him with heslop with us on top at that moment then heslop plays in midfield and we lose with him on the pitch yet again ,wilder you are getting a joke ,lose to wycombe on sat and we are looking down the barrell to basement .
what on earth was wilder doing last nite taking a goal threat of potter off and replacing him with heslop with us on top at that moment then heslop plays in midfield and we lose with him on the pitch yet again ,wilder you are getting a joke ,lose to wycombe on sat and we are looking down the barrell to basement . northampton yellow

7:36pm Wed 24 Oct 12

senior supporter says...

the manager says it is a lack of Quality that is costing us points, surely that mea ns he has bought the wrong players! How is it that teams like Crawley,Stevenage,Ro
chdale and many others can "buy" sucess on gates of under 3000. There is something wrong here.
the manager says it is a lack of Quality that is costing us points, surely that mea ns he has bought the wrong players! How is it that teams like Crawley,Stevenage,Ro chdale and many others can "buy" sucess on gates of under 3000. There is something wrong here. senior supporter

7:50pm Wed 24 Oct 12

A Scroat says...

Taxi.
Taxi. A Scroat

8:45pm Wed 24 Oct 12

Malcy69 says...

For flip sake just go WILDER
For flip sake just go WILDER Malcy69

10:27pm Wed 24 Oct 12

johnshuker says...

Up to 78 Minutes this was a competent display, good approach play with the defence looking sound. The manager is right we did look like the home side and dominated for many periods. Simply, though look at our corner count this confirms our domination. The reality was the front four should have made the game safe.Raynes was undone with a long ball, and the second was tow yards offside, incompetent lino! Keep the faith!
Up to 78 Minutes this was a competent display, good approach play with the defence looking sound. The manager is right we did look like the home side and dominated for many periods. Simply, though look at our corner count this confirms our domination. The reality was the front four should have made the game safe.Raynes was undone with a long ball, and the second was tow yards offside, incompetent lino! Keep the faith! johnshuker

11:29pm Wed 24 Oct 12

Doctor69 says...

senior supporter wrote:
the manager says it is a lack of Quality that is costing us points, surely that mea ns he has bought the wrong players! How is it that teams like Crawley,Stevenage,Ro

chdale and many others can "buy" sucess on gates of under 3000. There is something wrong here.
Exactly how I see things. It's him who has assembled the squad. If they aren't up to it then who else can be blamed?
[quote][p][bold]senior supporter[/bold] wrote: the manager says it is a lack of Quality that is costing us points, surely that mea ns he has bought the wrong players! How is it that teams like Crawley,Stevenage,Ro chdale and many others can "buy" sucess on gates of under 3000. There is something wrong here.[/p][/quote]Exactly how I see things. It's him who has assembled the squad. If they aren't up to it then who else can be blamed? Doctor69

6:57am Thu 25 Oct 12

adlibber says...

johnshuker wrote:
Up to 78 Minutes this was a competent display, good approach play with the defence looking sound. The manager is right we did look like the home side and dominated for many periods. Simply, though look at our corner count this confirms our domination. The reality was the front four should have made the game safe.Raynes was undone with a long ball, and the second was tow yards offside, incompetent lino! Keep the faith!
Sorry John as much as I admire your optimism but competence usually means doing something well and in this case it means losing another game. 3 league wins in 12 games is not a faith keeping situation. Wilder has had his day and his choice of players has failed him but he won't accept any blame for this.

Remember how Pattison was after each defeat or Atkins? Must be a disease (notmesia) that affects the memory of these men in charge. Not many managers get four years to manage a club that is considered to be a biggish appointment in the lower leagues. Wilder has run out of excuses and his team has run out of ideas. I can't remember the last time we had a long unbeaten run. It's the same as it ever was under Wilder we have no consistency. I don't understand Lenagan here either - he owns a club that has potential for 10k plus gates yet he's allowing a manager to take us back to the bleak years. I don't care if we beat Wycombe 5-0 away from home because it will mean nothing if we then lose our next 3-4 games.

We still have a chance to rescue our season but not with Wilder or his coaching staff in charge.
[quote][p][bold]johnshuker[/bold] wrote: Up to 78 Minutes this was a competent display, good approach play with the defence looking sound. The manager is right we did look like the home side and dominated for many periods. Simply, though look at our corner count this confirms our domination. The reality was the front four should have made the game safe.Raynes was undone with a long ball, and the second was tow yards offside, incompetent lino! Keep the faith![/p][/quote]Sorry John as much as I admire your optimism but competence usually means doing something well and in this case it means losing another game. 3 league wins in 12 games is not a faith keeping situation. Wilder has had his day and his choice of players has failed him but he won't accept any blame for this. Remember how Pattison was after each defeat or Atkins? Must be a disease (notmesia) that affects the memory of these men in charge. Not many managers get four years to manage a club that is considered to be a biggish appointment in the lower leagues. Wilder has run out of excuses and his team has run out of ideas. I can't remember the last time we had a long unbeaten run. It's the same as it ever was under Wilder we have no consistency. I don't understand Lenagan here either - he owns a club that has potential for 10k plus gates yet he's allowing a manager to take us back to the bleak years. I don't care if we beat Wycombe 5-0 away from home because it will mean nothing if we then lose our next 3-4 games. We still have a chance to rescue our season but not with Wilder or his coaching staff in charge. adlibber

11:03am Thu 25 Oct 12

Megastar07 says...

Mr lenegan please sort this mess out now before our season is finished
What are you waiting for to be in the bottom two
We need a new manager now
Don't waste time it will cost u and Oxford big time
Mr lenegan please sort this mess out now before our season is finished What are you waiting for to be in the bottom two We need a new manager now Don't waste time it will cost u and Oxford big time Megastar07

Comments are closed on this article.

click2find

Get Adobe Flash player
About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree