Oscar Garcia - Is he what we hoped he would be?

[Leighgull]

Well done all. That's the spirit. I see the OP join date has had nothing to do with it. If this is one of the groovy gang on a wind up...pretty shit.

 

[Machiavelli]

What a tiresome thread. Bloom's idea is to inculcate a culture of football, or what Oscar refers to as a philosophy. This is a long-term project, and Oscar fits perfectly into it. Many fans are understandably impatient, others would do anything for promotion -- Warnock, for instance -- but I'd rather we built steadily such that if we do get promoted, we're in a better position to stay in the Premier League.
Who are the successful recent arrivals in the PL? Southampton and Swansea would be leading candidates, and there's a reason behind this (for those unable to recognise this reason, it's in the previous paragraph).
What gets me about the serial moaners that are inhabiting this thread is that they're convinced that there's going to be a mass clear out this summer, and all our leading players are off. This presupposes that FFP only applies to B&HA. FFP will really begin to bite certain clubs that are ignoring it, and miss out on promotion. Forest and QPR look likely candidates here. What will happen in the summer is that those out-of-contract players will be offered reduced contracts. This will happen throughout the Championship.
Can the serial moaners please explain why this issue will only adversely affect B&HA, and not other Championship teams? I do recognise that there are a few, but only a few, exceptions, such as Forest and QPR, but see the above paragraph.

 

[Creaky]

In terms of points won OG has so far achieved everything I expected and hoped for following this summer's debacle. - i.e. a secure mid-table position.

I have been disappointed in two areas, cup philosophy and lack of adventure on the field - of course both of these may well explain his success in terms of points.

Overall therefore I have no complaints about OG's management performance, the real test will come next season where I will expect him to show that with the ground work completed we can push on and have a real chance of promotion combined with attractive football.

 

[British Bulldog]

Right it's a epic thread so if you have an attention span of a 2 year old, and what you post a one word reply calling me a ****, at least be original, I look forward to them. Anyone what to have a serious debate and prove me wrong, then I look forward to it! I could have posted it after the Watford game that saw us lose three on the bounce, but then I would have got ,tut only posting 'cause we lost, so whilst I know we haven't lost for a couple of games, try and look below the surface people!!!

Week after week we see negative shit from Brighton. I post this after 4 points from 6 games, although worth noting in those games we mustered two whole shots on target (one of which was a penalty).

Firstly I quite like Oscar. I meet him a couple of times, and he seems a humble pleasant sort of bloke. I ****ing hated Gus Poyet with a passion and wanted him out long before most others, but have to admit I'd rather him in charge than this gormless pair we have at the moment. Oscar Garica has to be the most under achiving manager I can recall at the Albion in 40 years supporting them. Absolutely ****ing clueless the pair off them.

Before anyone picks me up on that, I do not recall a manager getting so little out of a group of players. Sure we've had worst managers in terms of league position and results and performances in the past, but they had shit squads to work with. Garica has a good squad, a very good squad for this division, yet seems to bring the worst out in them week after week.

Ullah is painfully uninterested in playing as a lone target man, and who can blame him, and looking at Kuszazks body language and it tells you he aint sticking around next season for this shit.

Reading are a team on the slide, and we do not manage ONE SHOT on target at home. Did their keeper actually use his hands other to the place the ball for a goal kick?

Its not a one off, or a bad patch we are going through. It's week after week after week. It is so painful to watch.

And he has the gumption to comment on the radio and think we may have won it!!! What world does he live in!!

Oscar manage the ****ing team.. PLEASE... Pick a system that works for our players. Your system does not work. One goal a game is not good enough.

Why have THREE WINGERS on the bench? What was that all about? Three wingers on the bench, but none from the start?? Someone explain that to me!

Watch Garica against QPR Tuesday. I sit right behind him and not once did he interact with the team. Hardly ever does. Plenty to say to his little "yes man" next to him, but all he does is pace up and down the whole game , hands in pockets without any interaction with the team. He just stands and watches the game hunched with his hands in his pockets. Not exactly motivating for the side is it!! I noticed Kuszczak hold him arms aloft after Greer got sent off, as though to say, "what the **** we doing". The players get no, or very little direction from the bench during a game.

Results and league position is not what is going to drive fans away from the Amex. Its the lack of entertainment, boring football and Oscars style of play that will cause much more damage to attendances and season ticket renewals than league position. I am trying to convince my group of 5 to renew their season tickets next year. Didn't have much chance after watching that type of performance again! Yet, remarkablely we find ourselves 2 points outside the play offs and still in touch, yet this should no gloss over the fact we should be up there and running away with Burnley at the moment.

But once again yesterday, the crowd turned on the referee who despite having a piss poor game, got the Gordon Greer 2nd booking spot on. But lets all blame him, instead of looking at the main cause of the problem.... which is Oscar Garica and his brand of negative football.

I honestly believe we have a squad that is good enough. The only loss to that group of players over last season IMO is Bridcutt. Wayne Bridge was struggling at the end of last season, and with hindsight Ward is the much better option of the two.

All this talk of a striker crisis is rubbish. We only play with one Ulloa, and check your programmes people, when he was out injured, we seemed to have our most entertaining period and best in results terms as well. Is that because Barnes was better than Leo....... I think not. So why when Leos playing do we struggle to score goals. I agree with most on here who will say he's one of the best strikers we've ever had, certainly in recent times, so why do we struggle to score when he plays. Answer - tactics, style of play. It is not suited to him, just as it isn't suited to the squad, and that is the moan. CMS and Hoskins would have made the same different as Leroy Lita, none, because Oscar will sit them on the bench.

All I want is a Brighton manager to drop this formation and style, and look at his squad and pick the best side, and pick a formation that best suit those players. What I do not want to a manager who picks the best players to suit a formation, when that formation is too much for those players to perform, which I think our current one is. That is not having a pop at the squad, because as I said before I believe this is one of the strongest squads in the division, but they nor for that matter, sides outside the top 6 in the premiership are good enough to play Oscar's "Barcelona way" and scoring one goal a game, and with not many more shots on target a game, I believe goes some way to proving that. If the day ever comes that our squad is best suited to the current style, then I look forward to seeing it. But that day is a long long way away I'm afraid.

Some may say they are enjoying the football at the moment. Fair play if you do. Personally though I'd rather see us win games and be chasing an automatic promotion place, then scrap for the final play off spot, which I believe we will fall well short off in the end. Rather than play pretty tippy tappy football around the halfway line (which at times I fully admit is stunning), and register one or two attempts on target during 90 minutes, I'd rather see us attack the other goal more! If the Football League ever change the league tables, so that the points column or even the goal different column is changed for a possession column, I might change my view, but for now I think we are one of the most underachieving sides in the division, and certainly one of the most underachieving Albion squads I can recall

Here's looking forward to our ONE goal against QPR on Tuesday (thats if we manage a shot on target). Let's hope they don't score any and we may be okay!! If not we can always blame the ref and Harry Redknapp!

Rant over! Look foward to ignoring the usual idiots who are bound to come along, but do look forward to a decent debate with someone who completely disagrees with that.

That's an awful lot of moaning with very little substance to it. Oscar has come in with a blueprint of how he feels the game should be played and it's something that would have been discussed at length during his interview and agreed by the board, But the only way to make that successful long term is to install it from top to bottom throughout all the squads which he's doing. Now at this late stage in the season when we're sat just outside the play off's you want him to rip that up as far as the first team is concerned and change style? Do you not feel that would be counter productive? I know people will reply saying we don't score enough goals playing this way but I firmly believe it's not the style that's stopping us scoring but the players inability to shoot on target and take the chances that are created, At the end of the day it doesn't matter what style you play it still relies on players shooting on target to score goals.
Just touching on the subject of playing better when Ulloa was injured well I think a lot of that can go down to 3 players, Barnes who despite not scoring as many as we all would have liked played very well in the lone striker role. Crofts who was not just playing very well and scoring but also offering great support to the striker and lastly Conway, Maybe not everyone's favourite but he was good on the ball, added great balance on the left side and built up a great understanding with Ward and to me was the best crosser of the ball we've had this season.

 

[MarioOrlandi]

Nowhere in that article do you mention our chronic injury crisis this season which is as bad as I have ever known. CMS, Hoskins, Crofts, Bridcutt and Orlandi just for starters. The reason we have 3 wingers on the bench is because none of them can last a whole game; March is coming back from injury, Lua Lua can't complete a 90, Buckley can barely complete 45. Ince played yesterday with an injury, Stephens, Orlandi (again), Andrews, Ulloa, Bruno, Ward - all playing or not playing to a greater or lesser degree with injuries. I would argue that OG has worked MIRACLES to get us where we are. If you haven't got the (fit) players to be exciting then make your team hard to beat and then hopefully if and when we have a fully or nearly fully fit squad we can give it a go. There is no point playing an exciting formation if you haven't got the fit players who can do it and, for me, it shows the sign of an EXCELLENT manager that he has thought this situation through and is potentially curbing his natural attacking instinct in order to get us enough points to keep us in contention.

Well said, and a point proven last night when it took an hour to get to grips with QPR's midfield, which IMHO was probably the most mobile and accurate (passing) we have seen play against us at home this season.

 

[Machiavelli]

Well said, and a point proven last night when it took an hour to get to grips with QPR's midfield, which IMHO was probably the most mobile and accurate (passing) we have seen play against us at home this season.

That's a delicious

 

[RupertsFlan]

QPR had an outstanding midfield last night - Morrison is a class above most things in this league and the fact that he is not playing at West Ham is more an indictment on that twit Allardyce than 'Arry getting him on loan at QPR.

However it never ceases to amaze me the myopic nature of football fans when either defending or critiquing their own club.

Garcia is a very different animal from Poyet. We were brought up to love Poyet on his brand of attacking fluid, possession football that hurtled us out of League One.

There were numerous incidents when he was 'found out' lack of plan B - whatever your personal view is on him there were times (Bristol City away last season) when I really did wonder what the plan was. However overall and in hindsight there is no argument that he played a huge part in the ascent of this club.

The landscape has now changed. FFP is a reality- whether the FA or Football League have the nuts to grasp it head on and actually make it work is a different issue. WAtching the quality that QPR had on the pitch last night made me realise that I don't want the future of our club based on the QPR model.

It was sweet to see the goals go in in the last 13 minutes and I think Garcia is doing an outstanding job. this seems to be a season of best endeavours, financial evaluation, fine-tuning of the business model at the Amex as well as ensuring the club has a sound footing to move on.

Theres no point me engaging with those who think we should be bringing in high value signings because I'd rather we didn't at the moment. We need to see what the new revenue streams that barber has been working on, the way that the club has been able to evaluate and then change whatever needs to be changed.

I love the Amex experience, its a little sanitised I know - but seeing so many young people absolutely loving the match day experience is really heartening.

When I want to go a little 'off the leash' and hark back to the more traditional experience then I can always have an away day!

 

[B.W.]

What last night proved to me was that Oscar finally realises Lopez is not a winger.