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

[algie]

No doubts whatsoever. And if we did get rid of Oscar then who else out there is available and could do a better job and would want to come down here?

I can never understand why people bother to say - who else is available who could do a better job!

Look at Oscar for instance. Who has heard of him before? What about Gus? He was a gamble by Bloom which paid off. I'm sure there's plenty of managers out there.

What do you mean want to come down here? A brand new stadium which the largest crowds. A new training ground ready next season and a decent chairman. We are an attractive club.

 

[AZ Gull]

Lies, damn lies, and statistics. If you want to go down that route we can talk about how many goals we scored under Poyet - I noticed you conveniently left that off your stats run down. Do you go to football to see your team score or to hope for a nice clean sheet? Stats only tell some of the story. Nothing beats going every week and seeing it, but I digress,

It's a shame you've not managed too many games this season, did you get to many under Poyet? I think it's obvious that last season we looked much, much better. Among the season ticket holders I know I don't speak to many who disagree. But football is a game of opinions and I don't dislike Oscar - I wish him all the success in the world. But let's not kid ourselves that we're anywhere near last seasons standard, and a portion of that blame lays with the manager. He is, in my opinion, adequate, but far from exceptional.

YOU are the one who first suggested our biggest issue is organisation at the back, an "opinion" that is simply not borne out by the "fact" of goals conceded, and hence my original post.

Of course, nothing beats going every week; having first been a season ticket holder in 1983-84, and having clocked up over 80 league grounds, you are preaching to the converted. However, until my circumstances change I shall continue to rely on TV broadcasts and internet streams.

Are you going Hull? If so, give them a shout from me. I hope they show as much passion as Horton's Heroes did at Boothferry Park in 1998 when the 9 men clung on for a 2-0 win.

 

[BensGrandad]

Teams didn't have to park the bus when we were under Gus, we played most of the football in our own half.

Do you dream about Jonesy as well?

No I dont but I do know that virtually every team that we played at The Amex parked the bus and relied on breakaways and as I said the best example was Charlton. I would defy anybody who watched us then to disagree.

 

[symyjym]

No I dont but I do know that virtually every team that we played at The Amex parked the bus and relied on breakaways and as I said the best example was Charlton. I would defy anybody who watched us then to disagree.

Don't be daft, Gus parked the bus, that's why the CMS never got passed to.

 

[Biscuit]

YOU are the one who first suggested our biggest issue is organisation at the back, an "opinion" that is simply not borne out by the "fact" of goals conceded, and hence my original post.

Of course, nothing beats going every week; having first been a season ticket holder in 1983-84, and having clocked up over 80 league grounds, you are preaching to the converted. However, until my circumstances change I shall continue to rely on TV broadcasts and internet streams.

Are you going Hull? If so, give them a shout from me. I hope they show as much passion as Horton's Heroes did at Boothferry Park in 1998 when the 9 men clung on for a 2-0 win.

Nope not on a school night sadly

EDIT: Not trying to come over all morally superior btw, just because circumstances allow me to make the games. Didn't want to give that impression. Only that stats only tell half the story

 

[BensGrandad]

Don't be daft, Gus parked the bus, that's why the CMS never got passed to.

Gus built from the back most teams sat on the edge of their box and tried to defend against us and relied on a breakaway to nick the points.

 

[symyjym]

Gus built from the back most teams sat on the edge of their box and tried to defend against us and relied on a breakaway to nick the points.

Building from the back, playing in our own half and limited shots on goal is how I remember it.

 

[Simster]

I thought Gus was a top class manager for us, and still think he's a great manager. But even disregarding your take on his conduct at the end of his tenure, there are people getting very misty eyed over his Amex record. That first season under Poyet, we topped the table and then hit an alarming run where we went as low as 15th or something - it only turned round on New Years Day against Southampton. We did have games under Gus where we really were completely GASH, especially in those 2 months prior to Christmas.

In addition, Poyet was heavily backed financially. Ulloa, CMS, Buckley, KLL all cost £1m+, and Hoskins was another £750k. Where is Oscar's backing? I reckon he'll get funds when he needs it, but I'll bet it has been made clear by all parties that this is a longer term appointment where he will be backed in the summer after a year assessing his squad.

It's not a miracle that we're just outside the play-offs (he inherited a side that finished 4th and has lost a couple of key players) but it's FAR too early to write him off. Lets see what he does when he's had the chance to build a side himself.

 

[Ernest]

It's not Oscar who is the problem yet it is the idiot who keeps signing rubbish like Obika, Lita, Agustien and all the over doughnuts. You won't get promoted with a foreign manager who knows nothing about the Championship whilst signing a load of old crocks. Look at Middlesboro and see how well Jimmy Krankie is doing, another team who can't score a goal like us

 

[Simster]

It's not Oscar who is the problem yet it is the idiot who keeps signing rubbish like Obika, Lita, Agustien and all the over doughnuts. You won't get promoted with a foreign manager who knows nothing about the Championship whilst signing a load of old crocks. Look at Middlesboro and see how well Jimmy Krankie is doing, another team who can't score a goal like us

That would be a fair comment if whoever is making these decisions had the funds to sign someone half decent instead. Given that we've talked to players like Conor Wickham, Craig Conway, Lewis Grabban and one or two others, it would appear that we haven't.

 

[Blues Rock DJ]

have we talked to Connor Wickham ?

 

[AZ Gull]

EDIT: Not trying to come over all morally superior btw, just because circumstances allow me to make the games. Didn't want to give that impression. Only that stats only tell half the story

Don't worry, no offence taken. It was ultimately my choice to move, and I knew what I was giving up in doing so. If we were to reach the "promised land", I would be able to see every single league game over here anyway; as it is, I'm very lucky to be able to get to see as many games as I do (although debacles such as last Saturday's, when the Wigan game was widely announced as being shown but then switched at the last moment, are bloody frustrating).

Enjoy the live games; you never know when you might not be able to make them. You certainly appreciate something more when it is no longer available to you.

 

[LamieRobertson]

I've got a feeling peeps are going to pile in later

 

[Geriatric Seagull]

Although some of his selections are confusing, to say the least, I feel it's the apparent lack of support he gets that is a more important factor. Something about silk purses and sows' ears?

 

[Biscuit Barrel]

I am starting to loose faith in OG. We just dont score goals. And before people say we create a load of chances, we dont. We have lots of shots from about 25 yards that go wide. We are a slow, predictable team with no plan B.

 

[keaton]

Football is, of course, very subjective; for anyone who found Albion under Poyet "a joy to watch" there will be someone else who found their build up play tentative and conservative, with a frustrating unwillingness to attack swiftly. As I live abroad I certainly don't get to see the team as many times as I would like, but based on the 9 matches I have seen this season, I think the football has been "as good as it was under Poyet".

I am a fan of statistics, because they can help to add reason and perspective to a debate. You state that your biggest concern is our organisation at the back; the fact is, we have conceded 7 fewer goals so far this season, than last. You state that you don't think Oscar is up to it, and we won't make the play-offs, and yet we have EXACTLY the same number of points after 31 matches as last season. I'm struggling to comprehend your assertion that Poyet's plan A worked pretty damn well, and yet you think Oscar isn't up to it, when both managers had achieved an identical points tally?

Why haven't you put the goals scored statistics?

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

Beat Millwall and Reading, along with the fact Forest play Wigan on Saturday, and the table will look very good from our point of view.

Let's throw everything at Millwall.

 

[surlyseagull]

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

Totally agree ,well said that man

 

[Brighton Breezy]

Not convinced yet, but certainly not calling for him to be sacked.

 

[London Irish]

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.

LOL Guinness Boy I bridle at the term reactionary but fear I'm even worse than short-termist, I'm - if anything - "past-termist".

I actually believe we should have gone up last season, we were the best team in the Championship from start 2013 and it was galling that Gus was just outwitted in one match at the end by one-trick pony Ollie, but shit happens.

Now, having believed that we should have already played 20-odd Premiership matches this season, I'm having no truck at all with this lame belief that "we have to put promotion off for two seasons" while Oscar learns where Wigan and Blackpool is on the map.

The so-called damage that the club so-called suffered due to Gus's messy exit has been overhyped on here absolutely comically.

The actual reality is that Gus left behind a fine squad of players - and the board upped the budget from last season to bring in even more quality this season. The idea that we have to settle for worse than last season I reject totally, matching last season's acheivements with another year of bigger-budget squad-building should be the minimum we should expect. The example of the likes of Burnley this season shows that a decent stab at automatic problem should have been a target for us this season, given misfiring QPR etc.

Hull for me was another example of what Algie was talking about when he started the thread - a 90 per cent fit Ulloa left isolated by a one-paced five-man midfield who couldnt get near him, and we go two behind with defensive tactics before Oscar attempts to attack with LuaLua and March, but of course it's all too late by then. The problem is not merely that we don't have another striking alternative to Ulloa, it's that we are not playing our best attackers who can create genuine chances rather than those aimless shots from distance that Opta record as a chance.