Max o'leary

[Monkeh]

Max doesn’t command his box well enough which is understandable considering his experience and age,

give the lad some time and a break, you can’t expect him to be too draw every week when he’s not really had the experience of our size crowds and pressure,

he wouldn’t be in the side and out on loan learning his trade if it wasn’t for injury’s and coming in and performing like he has has to be commendable,

 

[GlastonburyRed]

Will need to develop physically to be able to enjoy a career at this level due to not currently being able to claim crosses/punch away corners etc. etc., as has already been pointed out. Shot stopping, tidy enough. 

[Mr Popodopolous]

Made some top saves last night.

Thought his command of the box was perhaps lacking at times, punched a bit too much not that I am against keepers who can do both.

Let's get a bit of perspective though- this is only his 10th Championship appearance for us. 10th! One of which was off the bench at Preston. Other aspects should come with time and experience. 10 though- think he has done well this season considering.

[Shtanley]

Apart from one shaky moment where he came and got nowhere near it I thought it was a very solid performance from him. 

Some very good saves. Excellent distribution too. He can hit Diedhiou almost every time.

He even came and did some great punches and one or two claims which calmed everyone down.

[Slacker]

If West Brom had Max in goal last night they would have won the game.

[Major Isewater]

1 hour ago, Slacker said:

If West Brom had Max in goal last night they would have won the game.

Of course they would , no keeper at our end would have been a bit of a disadvantage.

[jayjay]

3 hours ago, GlastonburyRed said:

Will need to develop physically to be able to enjoy a career at this level due to not currently being able to claim crosses/punch away corners etc. etc., as has already been pointed out. Shot stopping, tidy enough. 

I agree that he needs to develop physically by which I suspect you mean body mass. However I feel his greatest shortcoming (excuse the pun) is his height. At just over 6" 0" he needs to grow another 2.5" at least. I would suggest that most keepers nowadays are around 6"3". At his age I cannot see that happening.

[Dolman Block B]

 Max is a breath of fresh air!

Undoubted talent but young and fairly inexperienced.

He will be a top top keeper 

Hopefully confirmed as our No 1 near season!!!

When he “punched the air” at the end of the game. 

Loved every moment. 

[marcofisher]

Great shot stopper, obviously will develop with his command of the box, but did anyone notice how good this kids kicking is? At the start he seemed to hit somebody whenever he had a kick, which made it so much easier for us to keep possession and start attacks. 

[Roger Red Hat]

4 minutes ago, marcofisher said:

Great shot stopper, obviously will develop with his command of the box, but did anyone notice how good this kids kicking is? At the start he seemed to hit somebody whenever he had a kick, which made it so much easier for us to keep possession and start attacks. 

Yes, his distribution is excellent, probably better than Nikki and Frankie.

[Monkeh]

27 minutes ago, jayjay said:

I agree that he needs to develop physically by which I suspect you mean body mass. However I feel his greatest shortcoming (excuse the pun) is his height. At just over 6" 0" he needs to grow another 2.5" at least. I would suggest that most keepers nowadays are around 6"3". At his age I cannot see that happening.

Rubbish, some of the best goalkeepers in the world are only 6ft,

its more about keeper agility and ability to read the game at the highest level

[Robbored]

At this early stage of his career he reminds me of Flapper. Very agile and great shot stopper but indecisive with crosses. I noticed the Baggies players at set plays targeted him by surrounding his space and he seemed to struggle with it.

We see the same tactic in virtually every game and it’s something more experienced keepers are used to. The more he starts the better he’ll get.

[Bazooka Joe]

2 hours ago, marcofisher said:

Great shot stopper, obviously will develop with his command of the box, but did anyone notice how good this kids kicking is? At the start he seemed to hit somebody whenever he had a kick, which made it so much easier for us to keep possession and start attacks. 

Agree - looks like a good shot-stopper and his kicking was pretty impressive.

The Coaching Team need to help him improve on crosses/punching the ball and being more commanding in the penalty area.

[Eddie Notgetinya]

I think people are getting carried away. He missed almost everything he came for last night by a country mile. Yes he made a couple of saves that looked good but they were pretty much straight down his throat. I love his passion and I love that he’s from our own academy but I don’t think he’s ready yet

[weepywall]

7 minutes ago, NorwichbasedWurzel said:

I think people are getting carried away. He missed almost everything he came for last night by a country mile. Yes he made a couple of saves that looked good but they were pretty much straight down his throat. I love his passion and I love that he’s from our own academy but I don’t think he’s ready yet

Agree with that but he is the best available at the moment, got the makings of a good keeper but its heart in the mouth time when crosses go in, he will be targeted as the weak link in our defence in the remaining games but good experience for the lad.

[1960maaan]

I don't get the criticism , and for that the over exuberant praise. I think the middle ground is somewhere nearer realty. 
I like that he comes off of his line, FF's divers boots used to annoy me, but his attempted punches rarely go far.
He didn't pull off any saves that you wouldn't have expected to save, some good blocks , I agree. 
He's a confident young man (still learning his trade remember) , seems pretty vocal , which is good.
The thing that impressed me most was his distribution. Some of the passing last night was really top drawer. One was like a 'Pack' no look pass to DaSilva near the half way line. 
If he improves his decision making around crosses, that would remove the main question mark I'd say. I think in todays game, his stature and build is against him, doing a great job for a young lad. 

[Alex_BCFC]

Is it a coincidence that we have started conceding soft set piece goals or goals from crosses since he came in? 

[MC RISK77]

4 hours ago, Dolman Block B said:

 Max is a breath of fresh air!

Undoubted talent but young and fairly inexperienced.

He will be a top top keeper 

Hopefully confirmed as our No 1 near season!!!

When he “punched the air” at the end of the game. 

Loved every moment. 

Absolutely no chance will he be our first choice keeper next season...nowhere near good enough albeit at a very early stage of his career.

[Cowshed]

15 hours ago, 1960maaan said:

I don't get the criticism , and for that the over exuberant praise. I think the middle ground is somewhere nearer realty. 
I like that he comes off of his line, FF's divers boots used to annoy me, but his attempted punches rarely go far.
He didn't pull off any saves that you wouldn't have expected to save, some good blocks , I agree. 
He's a confident young man (still learning his trade remember) , seems pretty vocal , which is good.
The thing that impressed me most was his distribution. Some of the passing last night was really top drawer. One was like a 'Pack' no look pass to DaSilva near the half way line. 
If he improves his decision making around crosses, that would remove the main question mark I'd say. I think in todays game, his stature and build is against him, doing a great job for a young lad. 

 

14 hours ago, MC RISK77 said:

Absolutely no chance will he be our first choice keeper next season...nowhere near good enough albeit at a very early stage of his career.

Distribution is two thirds of a Keepers game. Bristol City are a team who build from the back. Max O'Leary key qualities are abilities with his feet. The above poster mentions last night,  in other games I have noted a ability to hit wide receivers quickly with varying techniques. We have seen Keepers in City's goal who cannot do what are becoming desired standards in professional football.

Nowhere near good enough - Max O'Leary possess advanced ability in areas of his game.

Teams with Keepers who are not highly competent at distributing the ball logically lack tactical flexibility. Next season the goal kick rule changes significantly. A ruling that will favour teams with Keepers who are adept with the ball at their feet.

[Trueredsupporter]

20 hours ago, marcofisher said:

Great shot stopper, obviously will develop with his command of the box, but did anyone notice how good this kids kicking is? At the start he seemed to hit somebody whenever he had a kick, which made it so much easier for us to keep possession and start attacks. 

modern keeper. its something the academy really focus on. City, teams really play it about at the back using the keeper. 

[Big C]

He looks like a third choice young keeper, who should be out on loan but due to our other keepers playing catch with a black cat has been thrust into the limelight. He does look dodgy coming for crosses and he will make mistakes and he will learn. I don't think he will be first choice next season, I think he's at least a couple of seasons away to be claiming that, he will be out on loan somewhere whilst we get someone in, Zack Steffen on loan from Man City is my bet!

[marksy]

On 10/04/2019 at 16:51, Robbored said:

At this early stage of his career he reminds me of Flapper. Very agile and great shot stopper but indecisive with crosses. I noticed the Baggies players at set plays targeted him by surrounding his space and he seemed to struggle with it.

We see the same tactic in virtually every game and it’s something more experienced keepers are used to. The more he starts the better he’ll get.

If he found it difficult against WBA with the balls into the box then wait till he's got to face Millwall?

[Rich]

I can't help thinking that having Max in goal for the remainder of the season will cost us a play off place. I'm all for giving youth a chance but, with that comes the inevitable mistakes. As GK is such an important cog in the team, it will need a lot of luck to not have that inexperience severely tested. Max's main attribute is his good footwork with the ball, it's a shame it's not as good without the ball. There seems to be a lack of that instinctive desire to keep the ball out of the net at any cost, especially to himself. I've noted several times when the ball has been within touching distance of him and he's failed to make a move toward the ball and opposition striker, choosing instead to stay on his line and react to the shot, Stoke, Brum, Wigan and WBA come to mind when close in strikers have not been closed down by him, in the case against Brum, he could have cut out the cross to the striker as well. Evidently he's also made cock ups at Reading and somewhere else that escapes me for now. Seeing as he's only made about ten appearances, that's a glaringly large amount of goals to concede due to not wanting to go in where it hurts. Add in the statuesque non attempt also against Wigan and you can see why I don't fancy our chances and, I'm puzzled by this love in with him, just because he's come through the academy. Hopefully I'm proven wrong and he goes on to play for England after helping us win promotion.

[Davefevs]

10 hours ago, Rich said:

I can't help thinking that having Max in goal for the remainder of the season will cost us a play off place. I'm all for giving youth a chance but, with that comes the inevitable mistakes. As GK is such an important cog in the team, it will need a lot of luck to not have that inexperience severely tested. Max's main attribute is his good footwork with the ball, it's a shame it's not as good without the ball. There seems to be a lack of that instinctive desire to keep the ball out of the net at any cost, especially to himself. I've noted several times when the ball has been within touching distance of him and he's failed to make a move toward the ball and opposition striker, choosing instead to stay on his line and react to the shot, Stoke, Brum, Wigan and WBA come to mind when close in strikers have not been closed down by him, in the case against Brum, he could have cut out the cross to the striker as well. Evidently he's also made cock ups at Reading and somewhere else that escapes me for now. Seeing as he's only made about ten appearances, that's a glaringly large amount of goals to concede due to not wanting to go in where it hurts. Add in the statuesque non attempt also against Wigan and you can see why I don't fancy our chances and, I'm puzzled by this love in with him, just because he's come through the academy. Hopefully I'm proven wrong and he goes on to play for England after helping us win promotion.

And yet you don’t balance your argument with any of the saves he’s made.  

Personally, I would rather play Max and accept it being unfortunate if ultimately injuries to Frank and Niki cost us play-offs / promotion.  He will benefit from the experience, and ultimately City will too, because he’ll be “more ready” next time.

In terms of stats and highlights from my memory:

Brentford - clean sheet (so no errors to add to glaringly large amount of goals conceded) and two fantastic saves, one a point blank reaction save, the other tipping a Watkins shot on the angle against 

Hull - clean sheet (so no errors to add to glaringly large amount of goals conceded) and one brilliant save early on when he was going the wrong way.

Stoke - one goal conceded, no chance as Fletcher was allowed to control a ball 7-8 yards out and volley home.

Reading - conceded 3 - Meite scored from a 12 yard shot having been presented with the ball from a defensive mistake.  Kelly curled a 25 yarder in.  It’s the kind of long-range goal that Frankie has a slight weakness with.  3rd goal, breakaway, sidefoot from 10 yards.  So still nothing to add to the glaringly large amount of goals conceded.

Preston - no goals conceded after coming on as sub.  General consensus was that he was assured and confident

Leeds - yep, potentially at fault, but it was the same kind of ball across the 6 yard box where staying on his line meant he saved v Hull and West Brom.  Ya win some ya lose some. Some 1 error in total so far.

Sheffield Utd - 2 conceded.  First one, the fault wasn’t with staying on his line (when Diedhiou got tripped by Sharp), but failing to react and get a hand to the header.  A bit static with his reactions.  Baldock’s cross to Sharp for the second he had no chance with.

Boro - clean sheet, plus important saves.

Wigan - Reece James worldy....although still think a keeper should dive for everything...ya never know.  But it was a bit of a brilliant-mishit from James.  Second goal, bit of head tennis 15 yards from goal, so Max shouldn’t be coming anyway.  No fault for that goal by staying on his line.

West Brom - no chance with Gayle’s header.  No chance he can come through the crowd for Dawson’s flick on for Rodriguez’s goal either.  Plus 2/3 other really good saves.

So I name it a grand total of 1 goal conceded by staying on his line.  If you want to add Leeds then 2....in 10 league games (9 starts - 11 conceded in total, including games against all of the top 4).

If you’d said you wish he came off his line more but not added the bit about glaring amount of goals, I'd agree to an extent.  There have been times when he hasn’t been totally committed / confident coming into a pack of players....but it’s not true that it has cost us goals.  I think his positioning when the ball is 25 yards from goal, should be 2-3 yards further off his line...Frankie is the same.

As a 22 year old keeper he has a lot to learn, but he has covered our two experienced keepers as well as we could’ve expected imho.

Sorry to go through in detail, I just think there is too much criticism on this forum when it’s not justified.  Feel free to counter my arguments.

[bpexile]

On 07/04/2019 at 04:35, RedDave said:

Poor to not go for the first one. For me, he loses concentration quite a lot. Maybe it’s due to his inexperience. The player lined up a shot and he wasn’t ready so didn’t move for it. A quick step left and dive and he may well have got to it. 

Left leg in & shake it all about 

[Rich]

13 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

And yet you don’t balance your argument with any of the saves he’s made.  

Personally, I would rather play Max and accept it being unfortunate if ultimately injuries to Frank and Niki cost us play-offs / promotion.  He will benefit from the experience, and ultimately City will too, because he’ll be “more ready” next time.

In terms of stats and highlights from my memory:

Brentford - clean sheet (so no errors to add to glaringly large amount of goals conceded) and two fantastic saves, one a point blank reaction save, the other tipping a Watkins shot on the angle against 

Hull - clean sheet (so no errors to add to glaringly large amount of goals conceded) and one brilliant save early on when he was going the wrong way.

Stoke - one goal conceded, no chance as Fletcher was allowed to control a ball 7-8 yards out and volley home.

Reading - conceded 3 - Meite scored from a 12 yard shot having been presented with the ball from a defensive mistake.  Kelly curled a 25 yarder in.  It’s the kind of long-range goal that Frankie has a slight weakness with.  3rd goal, breakaway, sidefoot from 10 yards.  So still nothing to add to the glaringly large amount of goals conceded.

Preston - no goals conceded after coming on as sub.  General consensus was that he was assured and confident

Leeds - yep, potentially at fault, but it was the same kind of ball across the 6 yard box where staying on his line meant he saved v Hull and West Brom.  Ya win some ya lose some. Some 1 error in total so far.

Sheffield Utd - 2 conceded.  First one, the fault wasn’t with staying on his line (when Diedhiou got tripped by Sharp), but failing to react and get a hand to the header.  A bit static with his reactions.  Baldock’s cross to Sharp for the second he had no chance with.

Boro - clean sheet, plus important saves.

Wigan - Reece James worldy....although still think a keeper should dive for everything...ya never know.  But it was a bit of a brilliant-mishit from James.  Second goal, bit of head tennis 15 yards from goal, so Max shouldn’t be coming anyway.  No fault for that goal by staying on his line.

West Brom - no chance with Gayle’s header.  No chance he can come through the crowd for Dawson’s flick on for Rodriguez’s goal either.  Plus 2/3 other really good saves.

So I name it a grand total of 1 goal conceded by staying on his line.  If you want to add Leeds then 2....in 10 league games (9 starts - 11 conceded in total, including games against all of the top 4).

If you’d said you wish he came off his line more but not added the bit about glaring amount of goals, I'd agree to an extent.  There have been times when he hasn’t been totally committed / confident coming into a pack of players....but it’s not true that it has cost us goals.  I think his positioning when the ball is 25 yards from goal, should be 2-3 yards further off his line...Frankie is the same.

As a 22 year old keeper he has a lot to learn, but he has covered our two experienced keepers as well as we could’ve expected imho.

Sorry to go through in detail, I just think there is too much criticism on this forum when it’s not justified.  Feel free to counter my arguments.

Will do, after the weekend as I'm not able to post after this. It's a matter of opinions.

[Roger Red Hat]

28 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Personally, I would rather play Max and accept it being unfortunate if ultimately injuries to Frank and Niki cost us play-offs / promotion.  He will benefit from the experience, and ultimately City will too, because he’ll be “more ready” next time

Agreed. It's not as if we've got a better alternative anyway!

[WhistleHappy]

On ‎10‎/‎04‎/‎2019 at 16:34, marcofisher said:

Great shot stopper, obviously will develop with his command of the box, but did anyone notice how good this kids kicking is? At the start he seemed to hit somebody whenever he had a kick, which made it so much easier for us to keep possession and start attacks. 

Are goalkeepers allowed to kick the ball direct to one of his own players though...?

I've been watching City long enough to know that that must be against the rules of the game!

 

[Super]

Shot stopping I don't have any worries but coming for crosses he is really poor. Maenpaa should be back for the Reading game.

[Numero Uno]

We can moan about O’Leary all we like but right now the ONLY alternative is Marinovic...........I’ll cut the kid some slack I think and, as others say, if having both your best keepers injured at the same time  for such a long period on two occasions this season is the only thing that costs us a play off place then we ain’t done too bad tbh.