Chris O'Grady

[KZNSeagull]

I wonder if someone will ask some pertinent questions at the press conference today (I assume it is today) re CoG and Toko? Would be good to get clarification from Sami.

 

[Rookie]

I wonder if someone will ask some pertinent questions at the press conference today (I assume it is today) re CoG and Toko? Would be good to get clarification from Sami.

Check the argus website (would pay link but I'm phone), looks like Naylor has done just that (not Toko though)

 

[KZNSeagull]

Check the argus website (would pay link but I'm phone), looks like Naylor has done just that (not Toko though)

So he has - well spotted.

Albion manager Sami Hyypia has slapped a not for sale sign on Chris O’Grady.

But he has revealed the centre-forward signed by the Seagulls in July could go out on loan.

O’Grady, 28, has started only two of Albion’s nine games in the Championship since a £500,000 move from Barnsley.

That has prompted speculation over his future, with one report at the weekend claiming Hyypia is prepared to offload him for £250,000.

Hyypia said: “I don’t know where they get this information. I am sure during the season we will need everyone in the squad.

“We don’t know about injuries and what’s going to happen. It’s totally untrue that I would let him go, 100% I don’t want to let him go.”

Hyypia could, however, exploit the emergency loan system, to give O’Grady and other fringe members of the squad game time.

The Finn said: “That gives you maybe an opportunity with players who are not getting many minutes to let them go somewhere to get minutes so that they will be more ready to play for us when the time comes that we need them.

“We need to try to take advantage of this situation with maybe the likes of Chris O’Grady. Maybe that could be one option for him to get more minutes on the pitch if he would go somewhere on loan but that’s also up to him.

“I wouldn’t let him go at the moment while Sam (Baldock) is a bit injured.”

 

[Zebedee]

So he has - well spotted.

Albion manager Sami Hyypia has slapped a not for sale sign on Chris O’Grady.

But he has revealed the centre-forward signed by the Seagulls in July could go out on loan.



O’Grady, 28, has started only two of Albion’s nine games in the Championship since a £500,000 move from Barnsley.

That has prompted speculation over his future, with one report at the weekend claiming Hyypia is prepared to offload him for £250,000.

Hyypia said: “I don’t know where they get this information. I am sure during the season we will need everyone in the squad.

“We don’t know about injuries and what’s going to happen. It’s totally untrue that I would let him go, 100% I don’t want to let him go.”

Hyypia could, however, exploit the emergency loan system, to give O’Grady and other fringe members of the squad game time.

The Finn said: “That gives you maybe an opportunity with players who are not getting many minutes to let them go somewhere to get minutes so that they will be more ready to play for us when the time comes that we need them.

“We need to try to take advantage of this situation with maybe the likes of Chris O’Grady. Maybe that could be one option for him to get more minutes on the pitch if he would go somewhere on loan but that’s also up to him.

“I wouldn’t let him go at the moment while Sam (Baldock) is a bit injured.”

I bloody well hope we wouldn't get rid of O'Grady whilst Baldock is injured: and certainly he shouldn't go without a definite replacement. It's not as if we have an abundance of strikers and are banging in goals. FFS.

 

[KZNSeagull]

I bloody well hope we wouldn't get rid of O'Grady whilst Baldock is injured: and certainly he shouldn't go without a definite replacement. It's not as if we have an abundance of strikers and are banging in goals. FFS.

There should not be an issue with him going out on loan, if he wants to, as long as we can recall him if necessary. But I would hope that he stays put and tries to get into the team.

 

[spanish flair]

I love that so many on NSC have no idea what David Burke does on a day to day basis yet want him sacked. All clubs sign players who turn out to be duffers. Palace fans were all for getting rid of Murray too after one season, when he scored only six league goals.

O'Grady looks poor, but too many immediately jump on this or anything negative about the club as an excuse to implement their anti-Burke/Barber/Bloom/Jones/Hyppia agenda.

Below is the list of the 34 players Burke has brought to the club and I include Ulloa in that list, who had been spotted and negotiations were going on before Burke arrived. I would be very interested to know the reverse and for you in your opinion, to list who has been a great success for the club? I personally would only say around 6 of them. I would say that another 5 could go on to join them in being successful, but 66% of duffers is high in my book.
But we all look at players and judge them differently, thats what football is about opinions.
BRIDGE Wayne
DOBBIE Stephen
KUSZCZAK Tomasz
LOPEZ David
ORLANDI Andrea
SALTER Bruno
AGUSTEIN Kemy
ANDREWS Keith
CHICKSEN Adem
CONWAY Craig
INCE Rohan
LITA Leroy
MAKSIMENKO Vitalijs
ULLOA Leonardo
UPSON Mathew
WALTON Christian
WARD Stephen
BENNETT Joe
COLUNGA Adrian
GARDNER Gary
HUGES Aaron
LINGARD Jesse
McCOURT Paddy
MONAKANA Jeffrey
OBIKA Jonathon
O'GRADY Chris
RODRIGUEZ SANCHEZ David
STEPHENS Dale
STOCKDALE David
TEXEIRA Joao Carlos
TOKO Nzuzi
BALDOCK Sam
HOLLA Danny
HAMMOND Dean

You would also think with signing 34 players the majority would go to making our eleven each week, sadly that is not the case.

 

[OzMike]

I was talking to an ex-player a couple of days ago and he said that COG can be a nightmare to play against, is strong, holds it up well and is a decent finisher. He also said COG was weak mentally and centre halves know this, and they will be in his ear from when the teams line up, because he will go into his shell. He said that nothing is off limits if it subdues the opponent, including using the race card against him.

He should get hypnosis and whilst under be told that this sort of abuse will fire him up, it would me.

 

[cjd]

Is Kemy Agustein still masquerading as a professional footballer for our club ?

 

[keaton]

Ken Brown has a lot to do with it, as any half wit would know. His over spending on infrastructure and the squad (extra year for players part of the promotion squad anyone?) means we are still paying for it now

Why was giving the promotion squad an extra year a bad thing(if we did that)?

In our first season we finished top half and didn't look at any point in a relegation battle. While not everyone made the step-up Ankergen, Brezovan, El-Abd, Calderon, Greer, Dicker, Navarro, Barnes, Bridcutt, all played a part in that

 

[Icy Gull]

Is Kemy Agustein still masquerading as a professional footballer for our club ?

I think he may well have a part to play, by all accounts he was influential at Leeds before he got injured and we were poorer for it after he went off. He is now recovered from injury. The guy has talent far in excess of what we have seen so far, I'm still not ready to write him off.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

There should not be an issue with him going out on loan, if he wants to, as long as we can recall him if necessary. But I would hope that he stays put and tries to get into the team.

If the loan is arranged in this loan window, it cannot be recalled in the first 28 days.

We need to be a little careful here as Fenelon also cannot be recalled until January.

I reckon OGrady will only go out on a 93 day loan, if another striker ( Zamora ) comes in on one.

 

[Mowgli37]

BRIDGE Wayne - Excellent signing. His place on the legends t-shirt tells you all you need to know about how good he was.
DOBBIE Stephen - Was he a panic buy who felt treated as such? Was he just simply a lazy player? Never worked out for us but what a stupid move that was to send him to Palace.
KUSZCZAK Tomasz - Bar his last couple of months he was excellent, particularly so in his début season. A very good keeper.
LOPEZ David - Took a little while to settle but was sublime for the rest of the 2012-13 season. Even as one of his staunchest defenders I must admit he was poor largely last season (though his cause wasn't helped by being played out of position. The 20 minutes we saw of him in the middle against Ipswich showed that.).
ORLANDI Andrea - Excellent first season. Hampered by injury for much of the last campaign. Pretty good overall.
SALTER Bruno - He's had his critics but Bruno has been for the most part very good at right back. Proved his worth in the middle earlier in the season as well.
AGUSTEIN Kemy - A bad signing. A player of his undoubted skill really should be playing in the first team.
ANDREWS Keith - Another 'did his job' player. Not exceptional but we'd been spoilt with Bridcutt's talent in the DM role so Andrews was always on a hiding to nothing in terms of being accepted by the fans. Its often forgotten his run in the side towards the back end of last season helped secure the results that got us into the play-offs.
CHICKSEN Adam - He's done okay when he has featured but seemingly not enough to stop the club signing a player only a year and a half his senior as this season's 1st choice. Signed a three year deal so next season will be make or break for him (assuming we give him his chance).
CONWAY Craig - I was impressed with him. Got a number of assists and scored a damn good goal against Leicester so naturally I was miffed when we didn't sign him in January.
INCE Rohan - Has done very well so far. Showed plenty of early promise last season and whatever worry you might have about him not getting picked ahead of Holla, the long term deal we have him on speaks volumes about the club's faith in him.
LITA Leroy - Wasn't very good but I think we expected way too much of him, he was only ever cover until Ulloa recovered from his injury.
MAKSIMENKO Vitalijs - Sadly it doesn't seem to have worked out with Maxi.
ULLOA Leonardo - There can be no debate about what a good player he was.
UPSON Mathew - Ditto above. His player of the season award speaks volumes.
WALTON Christian - Another youngster on a long term deal, his future with us looks bright.
WARD Stephen - Not quite as good as Bridge but still did a sterling job, runner up in the POTS award and scored some crucial goals.
BENNETT Joe - Has looked good so far, still too early to judge.
COLUNGA Adrian - No goals as yet but I do like the look of him. Very good on FIFA.
GARDNER Gary - Haven't seen enough of him to judge. Have a feeling he will come good.
HUGES Aaron - Dependable back-up, nothing more. Dunk has seen to that!
LINGARD Jesse - There seems to be a school of thought that believes he was a failure for not knocking them in every match. Another case of inflated expectations after his 4-goal haul for Birmingham. He was often, if not always, deployed as a wide player and for my money did a good job in helping us get to the play-offs.
McCOURT Paddy - Took a while to get going due to a lack of fitness but if his recent displays are anything to go by then we have plenty to be excited about in Mr McCourt.
MONAKANA Jeffrey - Sadly I think he may go the way of Maxi. A prospect but never making it into the team (bar Maxi's solitary appearance against Derby).
OBIKA Jonathon - Shoddy player from what we saw. It didn't help him however that he never started a league game for us, was a short term loan anyway and we had ridiculously inflated expectations after he scored six goals in a reserve match.
O'GRADY Chris - Given our pursuit of Baldock and Colunga, COG was always intended as another 'option' in our squad, rather than the main man up top. He'll get his chance later in the season and I'll judge him then.
RODRIGUEZ SANCHEZ David - Fair enough, D-Rod was a damp squib.
STEPHENS Dale - Was getting better and better before his injury. Has the look of a quality midfielder so I can only hope he returns the same player.
STOCKDALE David - Another I feel has been unfairly maligned. Marked down by some for not keeping out a few nigh unsaveable shots who ignore his quality distribution and command of his area.
TEXEIRA Joao Carlos - Has impressed so far, very pleased we have him down for the season.
TOKO Nzuzi - Sadly we haven't seen much of him, there could be all manner of reasons as to why this is the case but we shouldn't write him off just yet.
BALDOCK Sam - As with Toko it is too early in his career with us to assess his status as a success or failure.
HOLLA Danny - Looks to have a bright Brighton future, based on what we have seen as far.
HAMMOND Dean - Did a decent job, scored a couple of goals and was a useful squad player, got a lot of undeserved stick.

My thoughts on all of them

 

[spanish flair]

My thoughts on all of them

Pretty fair assessment I would say, but bottom line in total, a good or poor return on the player budget?

 

[KZNSeagull]

Pretty fair assessment I would say, but bottom line in total, a good or poor return on the player budget?

I would say good, other than up front, which has not been proven either way yet. It is difficult to judge though as it can be argued that the squad of 2 seasons ago was stronger, but we could not afford that one, and this one is work in progress and we do not yet know if we can afford this one either!

But I think the only way we can do an assessment is to judge whether the players coming in are better than the ones going out and I would say, on the whole, that they have been either better or similar with a few exceptions, mainly in the striking department.

 

[symyjym]

Pretty fair assessment I would say, but bottom line in total, a good or poor return on the player budget?

Good for consolidation in the Championship, but falls short on going the extra mile for the £100m prize of Promotion. It could be argued that failing to secure the services of Grabben & Conway meant we sacrificed our potential of a serious shot in the playoffs last season. By playing it safe then we have now got to rebuild and spend in other ways, without the benefit of the prize we failed to grab.

 

[El Presidente]

Pretty fair assessment I would say, but bottom line in total, a good or poor return on the player budget?

In our first season in this division we finished 10th with the 16th highest wage budget, second season 4th with the 8th highest, last season was 6th with 9/10th highest budget so a good return IMO.

 

[spanish flair]

I would say good, other than up front, which has not been proven either way yet. It is difficult to judge though as it can be argued that the squad of 2 seasons ago was stronger, but we could not afford that one, and this one is work in progress and we do not yet know if we can afford this one either!

But I think the only way we can do an assessment is to judge whether the players coming in are better than the ones going out and I would say, on the whole, that they have been either better or similar with a few exceptions, mainly in the striking department.

I am sorry I cannot agree the players coming in are better. Bennett better than Ward= No. Hughes better than Upson= No Stockdale better than Kuzczak=No Hola better than Bridcutt=No but that is my opinion. And like you say we are sadly lacking from last season upfront.

 

[BensGrandad]

I am sorry I cannot agree the players coming in are better. Bennett better than Ward= No. Hughes better than Upson= No Stockdale better than Kuzczak=No Hola better than Bridcutt=No but that is my opinion. And like you say we are sadly lacking from last season upfront.

I think the only debatable one is possibly Holla as good if not better than Bridcutt and Stockdale is improving with games.

 

[Easy 10]

I think he may well have a part to play, by all accounts he was influential at Leeds before he got injured and we were poorer for it after he went off. He is now recovered from injury. The guy has talent far in excess of what we have seen so far, I'm still not ready to write him off.

I keep seeing references to this amazing talent that Agustein apparently posseses. But I am genuinely struggling to remember him actually...you know...SHOWING any of it in a blue and white shirt. Each time I've seen him, he's lumbered around looking fat and listless as he proceeds to give the ball away, get caught in possesion or overhit multiple passes into touch.

Am I missing something ??

 

[spanish flair]

I think the only debatable one is possibly Holla as good if not better than Bridcutt and Stockdale is improving with games.

Lets hope you are right about Hola, then it could mean another £2/3 million coming into the club for the all important driving force for BHA FFP.