We should be playing Chris O'Grady

[Hampster Gull]

CoG is never going to set the world alight at this level but he had found form and was adding real value to a struggling team. His hold up play is excellent, and he seems to most balls put his way. Really odd to treat him this way after blocking a move to SU. He deserves a bit more, its not as if Best is getting close (yet).

 

[Meade's Ball]

What I've seen of him hasn't rocked my world, but I'd go along with da grandad's notion about Best being in the side thanks to his mobility. He's really not producing anything, but it's possible that the threat of his explosiveness has oppositions playing differently as to when COG goes about his brave but heavy-footed business. Not bringing him on as a replacement for Best seems a mistake though. CMS tends to now only be worthy of late in the game inclusion for the slight comedy of his war of limbs and instincts - seeing him round a player with sudden surprise and then excitedly stumble out of play with the ball without any challenge had me tragically chuckle on Saturday.

 

[JBizzle]

6 goals in 43 Championship games. Yup - that's what he'd managed before joining us. I think expectations are way too high. He is a proven failure at Championship level

I want to be supportive of CH but he must stop picking his mate over COG who was just coming into form. A travesty. I've seen absolutely nothing from Best so far that suggests he isn't a graduate of the school of dross with his classmates Obika & Lita.

A bit Devil's Advocate here, but how've we done since Best signed? Won two, drawn two and lost two and our general form seems to have improved over the last 3 games. Maybe he's bringing more to the team than just goals?

 

[Soulman]

A bit Devil's Advocate here, but how've we done since Best signed? Won two, drawn two and lost two and our general form seems to have improved over the last 3 games. Maybe he's bringing more to the team than just goals?

O'Grady was involved pre Best against Fulham Charlton and motm v Ipswich, won all three.

 

[Surf's Up]

There's some kind of love-in going on with Hewton and Best. Didn't Best say he came down here because he worshipped the ground that Hewton stood on, he would willingly have his babies and he always got the Best out of him, or words to that effect?

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

O'Grady for all his efforts, does not look like scoring more than the odd goal. I still maintain that Sam Baldock, despite his woeful shooting against Birmingham, is the best of a bad bunch but should be played centrally.
Quite clear from his Argus interview that he is unhappy playing left-wing and that we'll never see the best from him in that position.

 

[BBassic]

And why did CMS come on for Best, and not O'Grady?

Whilst I do think O'Grady should be getting more of a look in I think the decision to bring on CMS was correct.

Bringing on an energised CMS with 20/15 minutes left to chase around tired, nervous defenders who have shipped 3/4 goals already is a pretty good tactical choice IMO.

 

[JBizzle]

Whilst I do think O'Grady should be getting more of a look in I think the decision to bring on CMS was correct.

Bringing on an energised CMS with 20/15 minutes left to chase around tired, nervous defenders who have shipped 3/4 goals already is a pretty good tactical choice IMO.

Although I agree with your point, in bringing on CMS and not O'Grady you are sacrificing a player who can hold the ball up and relieve pressure on our own defence in favour of one to put pressure on the opposing defence. I just think, given we are hideous defensively, relieving pressure would have been as important as applying it.

Hey, we won though. So it clearly worked!

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

Although I agree with your point, in bringing on CMS and not O'Grady you are sacrificing a player who can hold the ball up and relieve pressure on our own defence in favour of one to put pressure on the opposing defence. I just think, given we are hideous defensively, relieving pressure would have been as important as applying it.

Hey, we won though. So it clearly worked!

Absolutely. When time is running out and we are trying to protect a narrow lead, we need a target man who can hold on to the ball, someone tall, someone strong, and someone who isn't likely to lose the ball without a fight.

And from the players at our disposal, that man just has to be Chris O'Grady in my opinion.

 

[Soulman]

Absolutely. When time is running out and we are trying to protect a narrow lead, we need a target man who can hold on to the ball, someone tall, someone strong, and someone who isn't likely to lose the ball without a fight.

And from the players at our disposal, that man just has to be Chris O'Grady in my opinion.

This, plus O'Grady should not have been dropped in the first place.

 

[Baldseagull]

Hughton knows Best.

 

[symyjym]

Whilst I do think O'Grady should be getting more of a look in I think the decision to bring on CMS was correct.

Bringing on an energised CMS with 20/15 minutes left to chase around tired, nervous defenders who have shipped 3/4 goals already is a pretty good tactical choice IMO.

The argument to that is that Birmingham scored twice after he came on.

 

[BBassic]

The argument to that is that Birmingham scored twice after he came on.

CMS can't really be blamed for our poor defending though, can he?

However I will cede to [MENTION=16359]JBizzle[/MENTION] that O'Grady may very well have held the ball better which could have resulted in not shipping those two goals.

 

[GT49er]

Fickle or what? A few months ago COG was being denounced on here as the worst £500K ever spent, and joy abounded when he was shipped off to Sheffield United!
I think Hughton has done a good job stabilising the ship, so I'll just have to go along with his choices - they seem to be working. Personally, I wouldn't have dropped O'Grady, but then, I don't have a fraction of CH's knowledge of the game.
Have to feel sorry for COG though - he appeared to be happy at Sheffield, only to get dragged back here. He didn't sulk, but knuckled down and did his job well. Now he's bench warming again. Wouldn't blame him if he went back north in the summer.

 

[Rugrat]

Fickle or what? A few months ago COG was being denounced on here as the worst £500K ever spent, and joy abounded when he was shipped off to Sheffield United!
I think Hughton has done a good job stabilising the ship, so I'll just have to go along with his choices - they seem to be working. Personally, I wouldn't have dropped O'Grady, but then, I don't have a fraction of CH's knowledge of the game.
Have to feel sorry for COG though - he appeared to be happy at Sheffield, only to get dragged back here. He didn't sulk, but knuckled down and did his job well. Now he's bench warming again. Wouldn't blame him if he went back north in the summer.

TBF there were a fair number saying he was OK.

He was actually largely lambasted before he kicked a ball because he was cheap didn't come from an unknown Spanish 2nd Div side and didn't have a name that couldn't be pronounced correctly without a bit of practice.

I'm with you except I fear CH is favoring Best based on his previous association and that worries. I also imagine COG will be off unless there's a sudden change of heart in terms of selection

 

[seagulls4ever]

2

But more looked like they were coming didnt they.. he was picking up some form.. he seemed to be getting some confidence. I think he was only going to get better.

Incorrect. He's scored 0 (zero) goals in the league.

I was going to ask you to remind me how many goals Leon Best has scored this season, but I reminded myself.

Although Best's goal scoring record this season is equally as poor as O'Grady's, every single league appearance Best made for Derby was as a substitute.

6 goals in 43 Championship games. Yup - that's what he'd managed before joining us. I think expectations are way too high. He is a proven failure at Championship level

I want to be supportive of CH but he must stop picking his mate over COG who was just coming into form. A travesty. I've seen absolutely nothing from Best so far that suggests he isn't a graduate of the school of dross with his classmates Obika & Lita.

That's simply not true. He's got 31 goals at this level (not amazing but different from your numbers) and to say he's failed is incorrect considering he's spent all of his career either in the Premier League or the Championship, and Championship sides have paid 1.5m and 3m for him in the past.

If we say he scored 10 goals in 29 Premier League games for Newcastle things look a bit different don't they?

At the end of a day, no matter how good a player's all round ability, if he's a striker, he has to at least score a goal every now and then otherwise he can't expect to stay in the team. O'Grady hasn't scored a single goal in the league for us, something we have struggled with, and so now is the time to give Best a run of games. If Best does no better then he can eventually be rotated out of the team again - but he at least needs to be given a chance.

 

[symyjym]

CMS can't really be blamed for our poor defending though, can he?

However I will cede to [MENTION=16359]JBizzle[/MENTION] that O'Grady may very well have held the ball better which could have resulted in not shipping those two goals.

I am not blaming CMS for poor defending, just pointing out that we conceded twice after he came on. O'Grady, could have been the better option for the reasons you suggest.

 

[BensGrandad]

I think that CH did right in bringing on CMS as the best form of defence is to attack.

The problems we had were nothing to do with Best or CMS as we lost the midfield when Kayal went off and we could have brought on Didier Drogba but it wouldnt have stopped our defenders going to sleep when Birmingham lumped the ball forward.

As much as I like and rate him, it must be said that understandably Stephens was off the pace when he came on. I hope thst with more game time he will be back to the influential player he was prior to his injury.

 

[Rugrat]

I think that Best is the option to go for, as he holds the ball up as well as COG but is more mobile.

You must have a real downer on COG to spout such stuff.

Best spent half of Saturday on his arse and one thing evident to me was how he was out muscled almost 100% of the time. I'll give you more mobile but we might as well select CMS and go right back to square 1

 

[BensGrandad]

I have nothing whatsoever against COG and consider him to be a valuable member of the squad but consider Best to be a better bet for us at the moment, as does CH it appears.