Albumen
Don't wait for me!
Are you for real?
It's glaringly obvious we miss Stephens. Apart from his rushed debut and the Wigan game we were robbed in, he's been a great replacement. Lack-luster?
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How disruptive WAS the summer to Oscar/Albion's preparations?
- Thread starter Brighton Breezy
- Start date
Are you for real?
It's glaringly obvious we miss Stephens. Apart from his rushed debut and the Wigan game we were robbed in, he's been a great replacement. Lack-luster?
- Aug 7, 2003
- 7,814
I have confidence in Oscar. In my opinion, we're not ready to go up this season, but with a summer of team consolidation and rebuilding and a fully operational training complex and academy I'm looking forward to great things happening next season. #glasshalffullatpresent
Ernest
Stupid IDIOT
Why wasn't he in the squad for Saturday ?
TottonSeagull
Well-known member
I understand all the has he had a full pre season and did the Gus debacle unsteady the good ship Albion? I would ask though, taking the injuries etc into consideration, why are we set up so negatively, especially at home? I don't get how people can say that Oscar is suffering from a short pre season or injuries. IMHO we still have a decent side but the tactics really are baffling me. We have loads of possession in the first 2 thirds of the pitch but seem utterly clueless in the last third. This is surely, after over three quarters of season, down to the coaching by the management. I do not hanker for the Premier League but I do ask for a performance (especially at home) that will get the crowd something to get behind the team. Quite frankly this season's home form has been generally turgid football hoping we nick a goal and defend the lead. What is wrong with having a pop every now and again from outside the penalty area, the only one who was doing this was Crofts and now the players seem scared to shoot!
Albumen
Don't wait for me!
I don't know, presumably this. Are you thinking he's not good enough to be in the squad if fit?
Andy Naylor @AndyNaylorArgus Mar 29
Calderon among the subs but not Stephens. Presumably he is still feeling the effects of the virus which has hit the camp. #bhafc
nwgull
Well-known member
I've been impressed with Stephens, particularly his last performance at Bolton, but I didn't realise that our record with him was as good as that!
Grombleton
Surrounded by <div>s
- Dec 31, 2011
- 7,356
I think with every player, there's an element of luck. A club can do all the scouting and research that they want but a club can't know if a player will work for certain in their team (they can get a good idea, but no-one would be 100% certain) and also taking into account their personal circumstances (if they settle in the area, or if they get along with their team mates etc).
Kemy is a good example - I'd assume we did a lot of scouting on the player and thought he would be ideal for the side, but there are other obvious issues that perhaps the club couldn't envisage before signing the player.
I think it would be hard and a bit unfair to attribute the blame to one person - sometimes it just isn't a good fit for both parties and it isn't until the player is at the club that it is clearer.
Ernest
Stupid IDIOT
Stephens said he was fit to play, he was dropped
Albumen
Don't wait for me!
Sauce?
symyjym
Banned
Yep it hasn't helped, but the combination made it worse.
Also we have to remember that sorting out the muck from the brass and the fragile to the strong is a season job in its own right. No time for sentiment this summer and that's when the real work starts.
Assuming Garcia wants to play his best team, what with football being a results business and his job being to pick a team most likely to win, I'd have thought they probably assessed his fitness and decided that despite Stephens deciding he felt fine, his fitness assessment suggested otherwise.
The good news is that if he felt fine on Saturday, then by Tuesday he probably WILL be match fit and in the squad. Why on earth wouldn't he be?
Ernest
Stupid IDIOT
Dale Stephens
Albumen
Don't wait for me!
Riiiiight. I see I'm wasting my time.
We had Bridcutt (effectively both quarterback and strong safety) and Vicente (hardly played but, when he did, never passed the ball backwards, not once) under Poyet. Now we were never going to keep the latter (nor should we). As soon as Poyet was suspended that was effectively Bridcutt's cards and money. The mystery injuries began. The one time he played with Ince was against Leicester and look what happened. It's not so much that the passing game has gone backwards under Oscar (though it has) but that we do not have the individuals to carry it out to plan. I'm in the "give him the summer to have a clearout" camp.
I think that confirms we were undercooked though. We didn't have that knitted together strategy going in to the season. I would imagine we are already assessing candidates for next season based on if we go up or not (though less chance of that now). At the same stage in the season last year you would have had (from what TB said) those two permutations plus ones for Gus staying and each new manager we were lining up to replace him with when the inevitable happened.
keaton
Big heart, hot blood and balls. Big balls
- Nov 18, 2004
- 9,667
We'll get a top ten finish, i'm not sure anyone could sensibly argue we've progressed at all.
Brighton Breezy
New member
- Thread starter
- #56
That is my issue. The relegated clubs last season were not competitive. The chances were at least a couple of those who came down this season would be up the top of the division. For that reason, in terms of league position, I felt top ten would be fine - hopefully keeping in with a shout of the Play Offs for as long as possible. On course to do that.
But we had a squad which - albeit overachieving - finished fourth last season. It presumably then did not require major surgery or the sort of clear-out people are hoping for at the end of this season. We signed Upson, which was hugely important. We replaced Bridge with Ward who has been among our most consistent players. Added to that we have seen the hugely encouraging emergence of Ince.
An attacking and creative midfield player and perhaps a striker was probably what was called for. Those problems only became more pressing once Crofts was injured and Barnes sold.
Oscar arrived within a couple of days of the players returning from pre season. Yes, arriving sooner may have meant it was better in terms of recruitment, but I don't genuinely think much was needed.
Therefore I don't think it is unrealistic of supporters to have expected, if not obvious progress, at least not a noticeable dip. The injuries did not help. Neither did having to be without Bridcutt for the first part of the season and then seeing him leave. But my frustrations have been to do with the system and the approach rather than a lack of ability in the players.
On the face of it, we have an Ireland international with Premier League experience in deep sitting midfield position, the superb Ince and arguably the division's best defensive unit. That is a strong enough platform on which to rely if you wanted to play a more attack-minded game, particularly at home. We also have a highly-rated young Manchester United player available in attacking areas, last season's top scorer and usually one of Buckley or Lua Lua. We COULD be more attacking if Oscar was inclined to be.
I appreciate Lingard, Ulloa and Buckley have been played together fairly consistently of late. But it isn't just about picking attacking players. It is about playing a system which gets them on the ball in the right areas and gets the best out of their talents.
Don't think Oscar should be sacked. Am patient enough to stick with him. But have been left slightly disappointed by our recent performances and lack of improvements on Poyet's approach.
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Stuart Munday
Well-known member
The worrying thing is that when we were down to the bare bones at the start of the season we wern't that bad but it seems the more players we have at our disposal the worse we become. You also get the arguments from fans saying he should of picked this player instead of that one or made this sub instead of that one, things were alot easier when we only had about 13 fit players and no one could complain about team selections etc.
keaton
Big heart, hot blood and balls. Big balls
- Nov 18, 2004
- 9,667
I agree with all of that.
London Irish
Well-known member
The undercooked theory would be more convincing if there has been improvements over the season or if there had been really effective players brought in to play the Oscar style - maybe the past week has been a blip, but we'll see. We need to see that improvement over the next 8 games really.
And I remain very against the "clear out" gamble - the loss of Bridcutt was bad enough, we don't need to voluntarily cull a good squad of players that have proven their effectiveness at this level. My two cents anyway!