#gary waddock

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Gary Waddock del Queens Park Rangers 1983/84.

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Waddock quits to become Oxford boss

Waddock quits to become Oxford boss

MK Dons’ head of coaching Gary Waddock has quit the club to takeover as manager of League Two side Oxford United.

The move was announced just an hour before the Dons kick off at Stevenage this afternoon and it has been confirmed midfielder Darren Potter will assist Karl Robinson on the touchline, along with Alan Smith and goalkeeper coach Paul Heald.

The 52-year-old has only been at the club…

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Blues seek success on the sea shore

Wycombe travel to Torquay on Friday knowing nothing less than a win will do to tighten their grip on an automatic promotion place.

The side now sit just one point clear of the carnivorous chasing pack and the Easter weekend looks set to go a long way to defining the side's eventual fate on the 7th May.

It's certainly the time of year where football cliches run amok with every game defined as a 'must-win game' or a 'crucial six-pointer' but Friday's clash with the 5th-placed Gulls really does represent the biggest game of the season so far.

For the second time in two weeks last Saturday we gave a team a two-goal lead only to show great character to fight back to claim a point but the players will be more aware than anyone that Plainmoor is not the place to show such generosity again.

Torquay arguably showed themselves to be the most complete side to visit Adams Park this season as they romped to a comprehensive 3-1 win in November, and after years of struggle in this division it is testament to Paul Buckle that they have emerged as genuine promotion contenders this time around.

Even losing 14-goal striker Elliot Benyon in January failed to derail the Gulls promotion hopes and the loan acquisition of Shrewsbury striker Jake Robinson has proved to be another master-stroke by Buckle.

IN THE GOALS: Ex-Wanderer Chris Zebroski has enjoyed a fine season on the south coast.

They have also owed a lot to the goalscoring form of former Blues' forward Chris Zebroski. Zebroski certainly had his critics at Wycombe but played a pivotal role in the 2008/09 promotion success and is certainly not a player to be taken lightly on Friday.

I still have very prevalent memories of his performance on the opening day last season against Charlton Athletic where he grabbed two goals and even proved to be too wily for the vastly experienced Christian Dailly. Although one swallow doesn't make a summer it is a timely reminder that despite the 'Bambi on ice' tag he picked up at Adams Park, he is still a player of great ability on his day.

The Gulls have also proved to be an efficient unit in defence too and that is in no small part thanks to experienced stopper Guy Branston who was recently voted into the PFA League Two team of the year this past Sunday.

Branston also donned the blue quarters in a brief two month loan spell in 2003 and despite his lack of pace and somewhat uncompromising style he has proved to be a huge asset at this level throughout his career.

Furthermore with our forward line still struggling to find any consistent goalscoring form, Branston's imposing figure is not one they will be relishing to face.

Anyway enough of our opposition's strengths. Despite a run of three consecutive draws it is easy to forget the Blues have not experienced the bitter taste of defeat since a 1-0 reverse to Stevenage on the 12th March.

IN-FORM: Scott Donnelly has found his feet at just the right time.

In that time we have also seen the emergence of Scott Donnelly as the driving force from midfield that we have been craving for long parts of this season.

A goal and an assist against Northampton showed what the on-loan Swansea man can do but it was his performance from the bench at the Kassam Stadium a week previously that thrust him back onto the forefront of Gary Waddock's plans.

Coming off the bench when your side is 2-0 down is a perilous situation for any footballer but Donnelly almost single handedly wrestled the control of the midfield battle away from Oxford and gave us the necessary impetus to grab what could be a crucial point.

A number of key surging runs kept the U's back line constantly guessing and although there were no goals and assists to his name, it was impossible for Donnelly to be left out against Northampton.

A smart finish following another one of these trademark storming runs started the fightback and it was his pinpoint corner that Leon Johnson leapt highest from to grab another unlikely point.

It's certainly reassuring for both the fans and the manager that when your strikers are failing to find the net, there is always another source of goals to turn to. Much alike what Kevin Betsy provided during his first spell at the club.

That brings me onto my next point, the strikers. Stuart Beavon's introduction from the bench last Saturday also proved to be a key catalyst in the Blues' comeback and Gary Waddock must be tearing his hair out with the selection dilemma he faces.

DECISIONS: Gary Waddock faces a selection dilemma up front.

Jon-Paul Pittman was a handful from the bench against Oxford but once again resembled a lost figure from the start against Northampton whilst strike partner Scott Rendell looked uncomfortable having to come deep for the ball when he is at his best playing off the last defender further forward.

There is no denying that Beavon provides brilliant link-up play but he has never shown any sign of recapturing the prolific form he enjoyed at Weymouth and this will certainly be playing on the manager's mind.

I for one would love to see the three of them start with Beavon in more of an attacking midfield role but this would really minimise the in-form Donnelly's impact. Furthermore although risks are necessary in the game of football, trying such a formation change just four games from the end of the season could spectacularly backfire and leave Waddock right in the firing line.

However I think there is certainly a necessity to take the game to Torquay. Allowing them to press and gain confidence early could be a catastrophe and with a 5-0 win over Shrewsbury already to their name at Plainmoor they are certainly not shy in the final third.

I will also be keeping my fingers crossed for the return of Gareth Ainsworth as I can't help but feel Kevin Betsy's place in the team is proving detrimental to our fortunes. I certainly don't doubt his ability but it's plain to see that his confidence has hit rock bottom and his reluctance to shoot when handed a guilt-edged chance in the second half last Saturday perfectly characterised that.

This has been quite a wordy blog this week so I'll aim to wrap it up by making my honest prediction. As mentioned in last week's entry I have come somewhat accustomed to the side disappointing on the big occasion but I have a quite unjustified sense of optimism about this Friday.

There's certainly a mentality in the side that they don't know when they're beaten and I think the big-game predicament is something that will inspire the team.

I'm going to put my neck out and say we're going to be in for an exciting afternoon and an eventual 3-2 victory for us. It certainly won't be an easy game and I also hope this scoreline doesn't come about after handing them a 2-0 lead early in the game.

I'll be leaving at 6am on Friday to lap up the sun and make the most of the day and I'm keeping my hopes high that the side will leave us singing 'I do like to be beside the seaside.'

See you all there and remember to follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/tombowers25 to receive any updates of my day on the south coast (if I remember!). Thanks for reading.