2012 squad review - goalkeepers and defence

With the post-season hysterics starting to subside, clubs up and down the country are going through the cathartic process of shedding themselves of deadweights. This process of renewal - soon to be followed by a slew of new signings - encourages everyone to return in August with renewed vigour and enthusiasm.

Reading some views of our squad, it's a wonder that we have any players left at all. Some would have preferred a  frenzied mass slaughter with no player spared the pyre. One of the few exceptions was Ryan Clarke, who gets the Oxblogger Player of the Year Award for the second year running. It is to our massive advantage that other clubs seem too dopey to look at Clarke. His presence, or not, has defined our season. With him in goal we were dependable and effective. Then, when injured he palmed the ball into his own net against Torquay which was a pivot in our and his season.

In came Wayne Brown, who I'd envisaged had spent most his time doing odd jobs around the stadium. He proved himself to be more than a worthy replacement. Just as we thought we'd got away with it he too got injured. Connor Ripley came in and looked shakey beyond belief. We completed the season with four keepers in five games. It was hardly the bedrock upon which to sustain an effective promotion chase. If people want to blame Chris Wilder for any failure; they might want to consider how good Ryan Clarke was up to the point he got injured and how much we missed him at the moment we needed him most.

The hand-ringing that surrounded our failure to reach the play-offs masks the fact that defensively this season has been a vast improvement on last. Last season we looked porous and niave. The introduction of Michael Duberry has transformed the back-four. His influence, assurance and experience made a critical difference. For a period he was neck and neck with Clarke in terms of player of the year, but he seemed to fade marginally as the season progressed.  Phil Gilchrist was similarly dominant when he returned to the club in our first Conference year, but his performances fell away as a career of wear and tear took their toll. The only concern about Duberry, given his age, is that he could blow up spectacularly at any point next season.

Jake Wright is a great leader and clearly respected by his team mates, but he still gives me the heebie jeebies. He has been caught out many times over the last couple of years trying to be too clever; glancing back headers or playmaking from the back-four. I do wonder whether Harry Worley, whose brief appearances this season have shown him to be a more than able deputy, might feature more regularly next season.

With the introduction of Liam Davis our full-backs have looked more balanced. Davis is pacey and strong, although his crossing could be improved and he always seems to want to beat one too many players. On the other side, Damien Batt, fresh from being voted the best right-back in the division at the end of 2010/11, seemed a more subdued. Perhaps he was fulfilling his pledge to work on his defensive work, perhaps age is beginning to catch up on him a little. It's a tricky balance because Batt is a potent force going forward; but it does leave us with a gap at the back when he does.

Wembley romantisists will be saddened by the inevitable departure of Anthony Tonkin. Oddly, Tonkin has looked more aggressive than in previous years, with his performance against Swindon being his standout display for Oxford. The emergence of Davis and the largely absent Capaldi did leave Tonkin with little future at the club.

Kassam All Star XI - Left back

Paul Powell was the best player I ever saw in a yellow shirt. Better than Joey Beauchamp, better than John Aldridge, better than Matt Elliot. He lit up a dour team, all from left back. I thought he’d play for England. At one point he was heading for the Premier League. My Derby-supporting uncle heard rumour that County were in for him; “Is he, y’know, an English Powell” he said referring, I think, to the likes of the ‘foreign’ (or black) Powell’s Chris and Daryl, who were with the Rams at the time.

Powell’s problem is that he didn’t do it for very long. His career ended the night he sustained a bad injury in August 2000 at Walsall. Even though he limped on for another 3 years he was never the same again. He scored the first ever goal at the Kassam, and featured in the first league game, albeit not at the left-back position he often played.

In fact, we didn’t really have a left-back in the first game, unless you count Wayne Hatswell. Perhaps Mark Wright was blinded by Hatswell’s fame. He gained notoriety on Match of the Day as an illustration of the failings of the lower leagues, shanking one into his own net in a cup game playing for Forest Green. He wasn’t a player, more a curiosity. Like Jimmy Glass.

As always, it took Ian Atkins to bring a degree of sanity to the situation. He brought in Matt Robinson, who held the position for four years until we were relegated. In his pomp, Robinson looked like he should have been playing 2 divisions higher up. He struggled to hold his form as the baton was passed from one manager to the next. By the time we were relegated, he looked like a man who was just fed up with it all. As a result, he went off to become a policeman.

Robinson was replaced by 37-year-old Gavin Johnson. For a period he looked like just the player we needed; experienced and capable. When he became incapable – first by injury and then by the march of time – he was replaced by another 37-year-old, Rufus Brevett. By the end of that season, as we clung onto the hope of scraping back into the league, the left-back slot was being swapped between two men with the combined age of 74. And it showed. Both retired shortly after the season ended.

Alex Jeannin, Chris Carruthers and Kevin Sandwich all babysat the position to no great effect. Chris Wilder wasn’t have any of that and finally brought Anthony Tonkin who took us back to the League. Tonkin’s rather laid-back style and occasional lack of concentration meant that in a position that’s been traditionally weak for us since the days of Paul Powell, he’s not getting the nod for the All Star Team.

I’m giving the position to Matt Robinson, for a period brilliant, for most of the time competent. And that, my friends, just about gets you in at left-back.

The season in review: the defence

A Chris Wilder squad is like Crash Mountain on Total Wipeout. It continually spins forebodingly. Some make it to the relative calm and stability of the centre, but most end up being thrown in the water.

In such a dynamic environment, it is somewhat ironic then that in a season in which we struggled to keep clean sheets and ended with a negative goal difference that the back five were the most stable component of the first team.

In a sense it’s telling, worrying really, that Ryan Clarke is my player of the season. When goalkeepers are noticeably the best player in team there’s usually something wrong that’s leading to all his champagne moments. But credit where it’s due, the odd flap aside, Clarke’s shot stopping has been of a quality of a much higher level.

Damien Batt’s inclusion in the team is a question of tactical philosophy. He may not be the best defender in the world, but to replace him would sacrifice something going forward. Nobody has his dynamism and impetus. For many years we’ve seen wingers toiling as they try to carve out a cross without any support. Batt’s willingness to get forward is something to be celebrated.

On the other side Anthony Tonkin has perhaps struggled a touch. Neither rock hard defender nor rampant wing back; he’s often caught between those two stools. It’s telling that a lot of goals have been conceded from crosses, and a lot from the left hand side. Tonkin doesn’t impose his game on opponents like Batt does. His place is perhaps most under threat.

For me, Harry Worley ran Clarke close for player of the season. He’s a modern defender in the sense that he mixes both athleticism and ability with the classic willingness to put his head where others won’t. If he’s missing something it’s the ability to organise, which will come with experience. Jake Wright clearly has the respect of his team, but of the two was probably more prone to individual mistakes during the season. If you’re going to tighten up the defence you’d expect to see some focus being put on the centre. Wright’s had a decent season, but may not be as prominent during 2011/12 has he has been.

Wee Stevie Kinniburgh looked a bit out of depth. He may be lacking match sharpness, but Chris Wilder isn’t the kind of man to give that kind of excuse any sympathy. It was not a surprise when it was announced he was free to go. Ben Purkiss is a bit more of a surprise as he is both versatile and dependable. He’s not likely to see an extended run in the team over, say, Batt, but when he was needed he did his job well.

Many other defenders wallowed in the water of Chris Wilder’s Crash Mountain pool - Lee Franks, Ben Futcher and Mark Creighton – joining them will be Eastwood, Hanson and Sangare, who enjoyed an odd but fleeting cult status, but none will be missed come next season.