Anyone else have doubts about Oscar being the right man to take us forward?

[algie]

It has seemed to me the tactics are to keep is safe and tight for about 60 mins and then unleash the bench to win the game. To be fair, in a few recent games that defensive approach has earnt the 3 pts. I just can't think of any team that over a season that has scored enough goals consistently with that approach to get promoted. I was really disappointed that we played one striker and no wingers yesterday - what injury crisis do we have now to justify that?
It meant we had a lot of the ball but looked toothless, too many aimless crosses, too many hopeful shots from distance - and we are meant to be happy that these were "chances". I don't buy it - I hope that he will think again and use both our wingers to support our lone striker. Rodriguez looked utterly lost in that nothing role he was given on the left, Ward was more threatening

The only team i can think of was Hull last year, They finished 2nd with a goal difference as low as plus 9. They heavily relied on a strong defence.

 

[c0lz]

Will judge him on next seasons performance but to be honest has not been brilliant so far. yes we all know about the injuries etc etc , but Oscar knew all of this when signing up.

 

[JCL - the new kid in town]

How many do you want to name? Both back up keepers.JFC, Chicksen,Maksimenko,Dickenson,Obika in fact most if our fringe players. Some of the younger players may progress to being 1st choice champion ship players but are not at the moment and are only capable of stepping in occassionally not playing week in week out. Neither keeper will ever be good enough.

Both keepers were good enough for the championship in our first season. DS players are there to develop and it would be unfair to include them. I think chicksen and JFC are good enough partly based in the fact they can step in and do a job effectively and theres no reason to say they cant do it more regularly however they aren't our best players in their positions yet. The fringe players may not be quite good enough for the top end of the championship but to say they are only league 1 quality is a bit insulting.

 

[Frutos]

No doubts here.

 

[Deleted member 2719]

Oscar is great. If we stick with him I truely believe he'll get it right at some point, where we're at now is just the beginning of a work in progress.You can't just bottle it after 8 months in charge without a really good reason.

Now is not the time to cast doubt over Oscar's reign, now is the time to back him to the hilt and hope he does what most of us believe he's going to do.

Also people need to stop saying they dislike Jones for no apparent reason, it's just stupid

I agree with Billy.

 

[BensGrandad]

Both keepers were good enough for the championship in our first season. DS players are there to develop and it would be unfair to include them. I think chicksen and JFC are good enough partly based in the fact they can step in and do a job effectively and theres no reason to say they cant do it more regularly however they aren't our best players in their positions yet. The fringe players may not be quite good enough for the top end of the championship but to say they are only league 1 quality is a bit insulting.

Gus soon realised that they werent and brought in Harper on loan. As regards DS they are learning but we are top half of the table and our expectations are geared to that not relegation fodder, that they may well be good enough for now like Yeovil.

 

[*Gullsworth*]

I agree with Billy.

I agree with Billy and Mouldy on this one!

 

[tommynockers]

I've heard it all now!! Our team whom draw 1-1 with premiership side Hull are now being compared to Yeovil. Are you serious?

 

[JCL - the new kid in town]

Gus soon realised that they werent and brought in Harper on loan. As regards DS they are learning but we are top half of the table and our expectations are geared to that not relegation fodder, that they may well be good enough for now like Yeovil.

So with our sub standard keepers where in the league did we finish? Harper played 5 games so didn't really play a meaningful role and why wasn't that loan extended if our keepers were so bad? How many teams have a DS full of players who are top end championship players, I think your expectations are unrealistic.

 

[drew]

Don't you just love the thought processes here. We've people believing that Paul Barber is doing all the scouting and signing of players, yet in others they see Nathan Jones being the one responsible. Yet more blame Burke. Some praise the players GP brought in but forget the likes of Harley and Paynter! Dobbie came with a good reputation but GP couldn't bring the best out of him, the same as Vokes, who now can't stop scoring. OG came in just as pre season training began but that is almost 6 weeks after the end of the season in which time other managers would have been hard at work bringing new players in, some deals they would have been working on even before that season had finished!

As for Burke overseeing us lose three good players, I think that was entirely out of our hands. Bridcutt was always going to play in the Premier League and we would stand in his way. If you have a problem with that then presumably you have the same complaints about Elliot Bennett and Crofts leaving under GPs reign. Barnes wouldn't sign a contract, presumably because he thought he was worth far more than the club did. El Abd wanted first team football and he is getting that in bucket loads down at Bristol.

As for OG, I am perfectly happy with him in the role. As disappointing as the result against Wigan was, we dominated the game for large periods and with a bit more luck would have gone in at half time a couple of goals up. I much prefer his manner to that of GP. He comes across as an academic of the game rather than a speak first think later exponent. Time will prove us all right or wrong.

 

[Guinness Boy]

I really don't get this line of reasoning at all, it's almost as if you think some kind of handicapping system exists in football. If we fail to make the play-offs because he's not used enough to the football of this league, that's an indictment not some kind of mitigation

No it really isn't.

We've brought in someone who shares Bloom's long term plans. In a few years this club will be the envy of half of England. Thinking that we had automatic promotion ambitions once Gus left is arrogant in the extreme. Oscar inherited an overpaid squad full of Poyet loyalists and a sceptical and divided fan base. Then he got loads of injuries. It IS a miracle that we're not 16th frankly.

Yesterday we walked all over Wigan but they took their chances. Dare I day if we'd had Murray and Bennett we'd have won. Right now there are Poyet players embarrassing themselves in front of goal, not just the recent signings. The things that DO look right are the tactics, the bringing on of the cheaper youngsters in an FFP / 14 million loss environment and the fact we'll finish an abortion of a season, luck wise, in the top half.

I didn't have you down for such a short term reactionary LI.

 

[Machiavelli]

I haven't read the whole thread yet, so apologies if I repeat others, but I would say I have never been so sure that an Albion manager is the right man for the job even at a time when the team is underperforming.

A lack of goals at both ends of the pitch doesn't necessarily make a team boring. In fact, I think we have been far easier to watch this season than we were last season, and I think our football is generally excellent. I like the way Oscar has maintained some of the basic philosophies of Gus' style such as tremendous technical ability and plenty of passing, but evolved the side as the season has gone on. We pass it much quicker than we did under Gus, with more one-touch football than we ever produced last season. We are also more willing to put the ball in the box, even if the delivery/final pass is often not quite good enough to score from. Yesterday, I stood there at half-time thinking it was the best I have seen us play all season. I recall saying the same sort of thing at half-time against Doncaster, yet in both games we hadn't scored and that sums us up.

It's not Oscar's fault that a few of the players at his disposal in key positions are, sadly, not quite good enough to carry out exactly what he wants them to do. But what he has achieved with the squad available to him has been outstanding in my opinion, in terms of skill and tactical awareness. This summer is time for the club to back him by spending what it takes to get a couple of crucial high-class additions.

Agree with all of this.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Don't you just love the thought processes here. We've people believing that Paul Barber is doing all the scouting and signing of players, yet in others they see Nathan Jones being the one responsible. Yet more blame Burke. Some praise the players GP brought in but forget the likes of Harley and Paynter! Dobbie came with a good reputation but GP couldn't bring the best out of him, the same as Vokes, who now can't stop scoring. OG came in just as pre season training began but that is almost 6 weeks after the end of the season in which time other managers would have been hard at work bringing new players in, some deals they would have been working on even before that season had finished!

As for Burke overseeing us lose three good players, I think that was entirely out of our hands. Bridcutt was always going to play in the Premier League and we would stand in his way. If you have a problem with that then presumably you have the same complaints about Elliot Bennett and Crofts leaving under GPs reign. Barnes wouldn't sign a contract, presumably because he thought he was worth far more than the club did. El Abd wanted first team football and he is getting that in bucket loads down at Bristol.

As for OG, I am perfectly happy with him in the role. As disappointing as the result against Wigan was, we dominated the game for large periods and with a bit more luck would have gone in at half time a couple of goals up. I much prefer his manner to that of GP. He comes across as an academic of the game rather than a speak first think later exponent. Time will prove us all right or wrong.

This. You posted at just about the same time as me - but far more eloquently.

 

[breachy]

Happy to have Oscar ... but its his assistant Jones who i think is his weak link his apparent taste for shite players is obvious and quite frankly he aint at this level !

 

[Seagull on the wing]

Have to agree with Guinness Boy on this....Oscar came in at a time when the club had players whose heads were turned and the most horrendous injury list of all my time supportng ALBION. Some fans are callingfor us to sign a striker...but haven't any of you noticed we are buying up young development squad players who are already pushing for first team...Chicksen,Dallison....think of the future...if we don't make it this season...we will soon and have one of the best set ups of the Championship.

 

[Surf's Up]

I haven't read the whole thread yet, so apologies if I repeat others, but I would say I have never been so sure that an Albion manager is the right man for the job even at a time when the team is underperforming.

A lack of goals at both ends of the pitch doesn't necessarily make a team boring. In fact, I think we have been far easier to watch this season than we were last season, and I think our football is generally excellent. I like the way Oscar has maintained some of the basic philosophies of Gus' style such as tremendous technical ability and plenty of passing, but evolved the side as the season has gone on. We pass it much quicker than we did under Gus, with more one-touch football than we ever produced last season. We are also more willing to put the ball in the box, even if the delivery/final pass is often not quite good enough to score from. Yesterday, I stood there at half-time thinking it was the best I have seen us play all season. I recall saying the same sort of thing at half-time against Doncaster, yet in both games we hadn't scored and that sums us up.

It's not Oscar's fault that a few of the players at his disposal in key positions are, sadly, not quite good enough to carry out exactly what he wants them to do. But what he has achieved with the squad available to him has been outstanding in my opinion, in terms of skill and tactical awareness. This summer is time for the club to back him by spending what it takes to get a couple of crucial high-class additions.

At last someone speaking common sense! I can see the way the style of play is evolving under Oscar and, with 3/4 more players with the right level of skill we will be genuine promotion contenders. We just have to be patient, put our aspirations into perspective and see what happens in the summer. OG is the future of this club and given the hand he was dealt when he came here is doing a bloody good job and his team will get better and better the longer he is here.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

You have obviously not had the pleasure of a conversation with our chairman then.

He is extremely keen to get to the premier league.

As soon as possible.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

A Manager can only do so much before it has to come back onto the players. If Oscar's system can produce 20 shots on goal and restrict the opposition to 2 then it comes down to the players to finish off by scoring. That part of the game is out of the Manager's hands.

 

[BensGrandad]

I have faith in Oscar but feel that he is working with his hands tied but I could well be totally wrong.