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Manor Born
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Things are quiet and as an Oxford fan I've been looking at this thread with interest - for the record, I like Sykes and you may have got yourself a player on the cheap here.
If you visited our forum you will have witnessed one of the maddest and longest running threads we've had regarding a player in a while. When Sykes arrived from Ireland he publicly said that we he saw us as a 'stepping stone' - not the most sensible thing to say but he's certainly not the first and won't be the last. We saw some glimpses of what he could do in his first season but he was generally off of the pace and needed to be more physical. His second season followed a similar pattern - increasingly frequent cameos but still not holding a place down. At this stage the club seemingly made a few attempts to offload him but for whatever reason, he stayed.
21/22 saw a distinct step-up, at least until January. His decision making, physicality and final ball all improved and he was getting into scoring positions and actually putting the ball away. At his best he was playing wide of a midfield four or front three and while best on the right, can also play on the left. I've not looked at the stats but he's fit, it's not unlikely he covered the most ground of any player and and has rarely been injured. He has enough pace and a good level of skill. However, from January his form dropped off, partly down to having a long stint at right and occasionally left wing-back, neither of which he is. This was primarily down to our manager not having recruited enough defensive back-up. I thought he generally gave it a go (although others would disagree) but he was nowhere near as comfortable or effective.
As it became increasingly likely he wasn't going to sign an extension, people became more antagonistic toward him - it's fair to say he became the scapegoat toward the end of the season and some idiots referred to him as 'coward' (he pulled out of a couple of heavy tackles that went for throws at Rotherham - didn't bother me) and 'cheating' the club of a wage.
It's fair to say that most fans never warmed to him - he was slow to acknowledge us and avoided ostentatious kissing the badge gestures. I liked him as a footballer and was disappointed we didn't get more out of him but I don't have a problem with someone wanting to better themselves - after all, it's a short career for most. I'm not sure I'll miss him much but he won't be as easy to replace as some would have it.
He'll probably need some TLC from the management but it's a worthwhile gamble on your part.
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Liam Manning - CONFIRMED NEW HEAD COACH
in Football Chat
Posted
Oxford fan here - I came on the site last year posting about Mark Sykes signing but thought I'd drop in and see the reaction to Manning's possible appointment.
Not surprised at the general reaction, I was a underwhelmed at best when he took over from the odious Robinson. However, he's done a good job - avoided relegation and then recruited and rebuilt in the summer, to good effect up to now. If he goes, I'll be very disappointed, as will most Oxford fans.
He wants to play football, a lot of it, hasn't been afraid to players youngsters - we've had 4 to 5 18/19 year olds contributing regularly and he's got older heads playing better. Oh and playing players in the right position, which wasn't a Robinson trait.
He's generally a level headed bloke - doesn't get too up or down and press conferences don't give much away. In fact they are boring compared to someone like Pearson, who is admittedly upfront.
It will be a big step for a relatively unproven coach but I'll be sad to see him go.