It's
not exactly been a vintage year for Chris Wilder, with promotion
plans going drastically awry and the support of a large section of
the Oxford United fanbase drifting away. Saturday's goalless
draw at home to York was met with yet more calls for the
manager's head and chants of 'Wilder out' after the game. But Wilder
still has his supporters and Richard
Hanna believes that he deserves our support.
So
exactly what sort of a manager do we have on our hands? Is Chris
Wilder the same as he was the day he walked in to the club as a
relative unknown and quickly turned our fortunes around?
I
believe he is all that and a whole lot more.
I use
Twitter a lot and always try to be positive when tweeting about
Oxford United. It’s a very instant format and it's easy to vent
spleen when things are not going well. I don’t blame other fans for
doing it and won’t make an apology for doing it myself sometimes.
The
beauty of social media is that opinions and thoughts can be shared
straight away and during live events it can really contribute to the
event itself and for those involved. However the flip side I believe
is that when things go bad the negative tweets start and texts to
radio stations come in and it’s very easy to get that bandwagon
rolling and others will quickly find themselves jumping on it. I have
noticed that football phone-ins and Twitter is a lot more lively when
Oxford lose than when Oxford win. I have decided that ‘no views is
good views’. I always try to be positive however I have been
accused of giving ‘blind support’ to our manager.
That
led me to think about why I do actually give my support, blind or
otherwise.
I wrote
a piece back
in May last year on a very similar subject and don’t want to
repeat myself and so will concentrate on what Chris Wilder has
achieved this season. It may look at best mediocre but if I could
point out a few highlights maybe you will be able to be a bit more
positive about the 12/13 season. Bearing in mind there is still 14
games to be played out.
Firstly,
we won the opening three games of the season, a great start for
Oxford United.
Before
the season really got started we had beaten
League One Bournemouth in League Cup setting up a tie versus
Leeds
United.
Chris
Wilder has so far been nominated three times for Manager of the Month
awards, he may not have been given award but to be considered by
people in the games says a lot.
From
the 20th November Chris Wilder’s team embarked on a
ten-game run of unbeaten matches, scoring 19 goals and ensuring all
Oxford fans could have an enjoyable Christmas period (gold dust to
long-suffering fans).
Along
with the two League Cup games we also enjoyed a run of four JPT games
going
out on penalties to Southend. But amongst those four games was a
1-0
win against Swindon Town; Chris Wilder has a 100% record when
managing Oxford v Swindon. The fact that they were in a higher
division this time just made it sweeter.
This
season will also be remembered as the season we got to the third
round of the FA Cup for the first time in ten seasons.
Chris
Wilder has this season been able to give full debuts to Max Crocombe
and Tyrone Marsh – something they will never forget and I am sure
they will be forever grateful.
Talking
about injuries and suspensions may seem like offering excuses for our
dips in form but I do feel it’s worth just noting the key injuries
(missed two or more games) to the squad that we have had: Clarke,
Duberry, Davis, Whing, Leven, Craddock and Smalley. There's seven
from memory, but look at the names and think about the types of
players they are and the experience they have and contributions they
make when fully fit. Leading scorer James Constable has been in and
out of form this year, with two red cards (inexplicably v Wimbledon)
and has missed seven games through that process.
Another
big thing that Wilder has had to deal with as a man and as a
man-manager was the passing of Mitchell Cole. I would have no idea
what kind of an impact that would have on a group of young, fit
footballers but if anyone heard Wilder's interview post-Accrington
in the FA Cup they will know it had a profound effect on him as a
person and I think he felt himself as a father figure to those
footballers and he praised them and supported them as best he could.
It should not go unnoticed that that sad passing occurred during our
ten-game unbeaten run.
Rest In
Peace Mitchell.
And
although we have struggled in late January and February there are a
couple of signs that we are beginning to rediscover some form with
three games unbeaten; indeed our last ten league game form reads Won
4 Drawn 2 Lost 4 – it's as good as it is bad.
So
there is a considered opinion as to why I offer my whole support to
Chris Wilder, I don’t think this season has been all doom and
gloom I don’t think Chris Wilder is destroying this club, I don’t
think he is clueless or devoid of ideas and until that changes I
will continue to support him.
Follow @oufc_turkish
2 comments:
What a well considered and accurate piece. The issue with any manager is his value to the future. More than any of us, he is paid for what he might achieve, not for what he did yesterday. CW now needs to outline a plan for the club in 2013/4, to take us forward in playing and coaching terms. I'm sure this is already underway, and I look forward to it. I'm no sycophant, I run my own small business and get bruised and battered too. Often though, people tell me how good my staff are, and ask me where I find them. The answer is of course that you don't find find them, the trick is not to lose them. That's where we are right now with Chris Wilder, the eighth longest serving manager in the football league, and for good reason. Give him room and patience, with a measure of ambition and the thing he really needs; unequivocal support.
By the way, that was me above at 16.46, I don't know how to select a profile, this internet thingy is very complicate! @highlandyellow
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