The best form of Callum O'Dowda's career.

[big dosser]

2 hours ago, Port Said Red said:

LJ thought he could make it as a midfielder, DH obviously agrees. 

As does his international manager who has used him there more than we had until recently. 

He knows when to go down, there is a big difference between that and being brushed off the ball.

cant agree with that,4 times tonight running side by side and got pushed off far to easy,i thought he had a good game but would still like to see him bulk his upper body up and put his arms out a bit more for protection to himself and the ball

[Davefevs]

11 minutes ago, forestofdean said:

cant agree with that,4 times tonight running side by side and got pushed off far to easy,i thought he had a good game but would still like to see him bulk his upper body up and put his arms out a bit more for protection to himself and the ball

Exactly that.  Your arms can be so effective in avoiding body to body contact.

[Sheltons Army]

1 minute ago, JonDolman said:

People saying he is weak I have never really understood that view. His strength is one of the things that makes him different to some of the others. He uses his body which some others do not do very much, because they are not strong enough to.

I think he's physically at least second strongest we have in the box to box midfield role to Williams.

So if he's weak, then I don't know what that makes some of the others.

I expect if he puts his arm out whilst running at full speed with the ball then he concedes a foul. I don't think that's something players do.

Agree ,

He wasn’t too weak in his part in Patts winner midweek and on a number of occasions last night.

I challenge anyone to watch the game back from last night and watch COD , not the game (Could also apply to a few others) and actually watch his contribution , how many times last night he sprinted 30-40 yards to support going forward or back to get our shape and defend 

I thought he was very good last night and some of the comments about him on here before he even kicks a ball on matchday on here have become ridiculous

Has he fired on all cylinders for us in his career here - no

Is he a decent player - Yes (IMHO) Obvious decent attributes 

Get best from him and he’s very much a player for us going forward , That’s down to him and the coaches

And this run of games and the belief shown in him shown by DH looks like it may bear fruit (IMHO)

[Red Skin]

His best form was probably at Oxford where he was allowed to play with freedom. I Istill think he needs to be de-indoctrinated from LJ's over coaching. 

I'd always wanted to see O'Dowda in a front three on one side with Eliasson on the other and a pacey powerful striker in the middle.   Eliasson gone and don't think Semenyo ready for that role yet but could be in time.  

Would still like to see Callum played in more advanced role.   Maybe Semenyo right, Callum left, and Martin orchestrating attacks from the middle playing in those two and others. 

[Davefevs]

24 minutes ago, Sheltons Army said:

Agree ,

He wasn’t too weak in his part in Patts winner midweek and on a number of occasions last night.

I challenge anyone to watch the game back from last night and watch COD , not the game (Could also apply to a few others) and actually watch his contribution , how many times last night he sprinted 30-40 yards to support going forward or back to get our shape and defend 

I thought he was very good last night and some of the comments about him on here before he even kicks a ball on matchday on here have become ridiculous

Has he fired on all cylinders for us in his career here - no

Is he a decent player - Yes (IMHO) Obvious decent attributes 

Get best from him and he’s very much a player for us going forward , That’s down to him and the coaches

And this run of games and the belief shown in him shown by DH looks like it may bear fruit (IMHO)

I’ve never had a problem with his work rate....but his intelligence.  He runs too much without checking what’s going on.  Last night our shape was better.

Never had a problem with his talent either.  Bringing that talent from Failand to the pitch has been the issue.  LJ’s fault?  His fault?  I dunno.  He’s had 3 games on the spin...last night was his best game without the ball.  Still some work to do, but last night any off the ball weaknesses were overshadowed by what he did with it.  As I posted earlier, Wells played a big part in giving him the space to carry the ball into.

As for strength he is brushed off of the ball or out of control, because he doesn’t use his arms well.  He doesn’t have footballing strength, I’m sure physically he’s a good specimen.  He becomes unbalanced as a result, too often they aren’t being used to keep him away from body to body contact.  If you stood there with your arms by your side and I gave you a shove, you’d unbalance.  If I tried to shove you but you used your arms to stop me, you’d stand a better chance of remaining balanced.  Callum needs to use his arms for balance and to ward off opponents.

He won’t give away fouls as a result...it’s part and parcel of the pro game....in fact it’s a big part at any decent level.  We aren’t talking about flailing arms and elbows here we are talking about stuff that is well within the laws of the game.

[Dynamite Red]

I gave him like all the players who had been Johnsonised a clean slate, Callum was poorly utilised played in far to many positions and rotated to death, injuries and contract issues have also not helped.

Hopefully he now has a set position where he can finally kick on. There is a player there and he is slowly showing it.

[RedRock]

Where do I start?

 

How about the invisible opponents leg that randomly springs up from the grass in front of CoD which he is regularly tripping over?

Why appeal to the referee when you fall over this obstruction that no one else can see? It’s not the ****** referee’s fault. 

I just don’t get it. 

[big dosser]

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

I’ve never had a problem with his work rate....but his intelligence.  He runs too much without checking what’s going on.  Last night our shape was better.

Never had a problem with his talent either.  Bringing that talent from Failand to the pitch has been the issue.  LJ’s fault?  His fault?  I dunno.  He’s had 3 games on the spin...last night was his best game without the ball.  Still some work to do, but last night any off the ball weaknesses were overshadowed by what he did with it.  As I posted earlier, Wells played a big part in giving him the space to carry the ball into.

As for strength he is brushed off of the ball or out of control, because he doesn’t use his arms well.  He doesn’t have footballing strength, I’m sure physically he’s a good specimen.  He becomes unbalanced as a result, too often they aren’t being used to keep him away from body to body contact.  If you stood there with your arms by your side and I gave you a shove, you’d unbalance.  If I tried to shove you but you used your arms to stop me, you’d stand a better chance of remaining balanced.  Callum needs to use his arms for balance and to ward off opponents.

He won’t give away fouls as a result...it’s part and parcel of the pro game....in fact it’s a big part at any decent level.  We aren’t talking about flailing arms and elbows here we are talking about stuff that is well within the laws of the game.

looking at your posts dave im sure you have played a good standard yourself so you will know where im coming from,as a young boy of 10 stone wet through playing in the county league I had to learn quick and that meant being taught from some good old fashion pros how to protect yourself and ball.i could skin players for fun and new where the net was but lacked the strength and was pushed of the ball to much.by the following season I put on 2 stone still had the pace skill and brain but most of all learnt how to use the upper body strength I did not have before,and like you said dave I would always put my arm out to balance myself and unbalance the defender.mind you football has change abit since them days,the county league now at a patch on the 80s and 90s

[big dosser]

1 hour ago, RedRock said:

Where do I start?

 

How about the invisible opponents leg that randomly springs up from the grass in front of CoD which he is regularly tripping over?

Why appeal to the referee when you fall over this obstruction that no one else can see? It’s not the ****** referee’s fault. 

I just don’t get it. 

with cod sometimes there is a saying that comes to mind (running down a blind alley)but as I said I think hes getting better game by game

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, forestofdean said:

looking at your posts dave im sure you have played a good standard yourself so you will know where im coming from,as a young boy of 10 stone wet through playing in the county league I had to learn quick and that meant being taught from some good old fashion pros how to protect yourself and ball.i could skin players for fun and new where the net was but lacked the strength and was pushed of the ball to much.by the following season I put on 2 stone still had the pace skill and brain but most of all learnt how to use the upper body strength I did not have before,and like you said dave I would always put my arm out to balance myself and unbalance the defender.mind you football has change abit since them days,the county league now at a patch on the 80s and 90s

Yep, exactly.  I wasn’t a great player at all, as a Centre Half I was good in the air, quick (believe it or not to some of the people I know on here!) and disciplined, certainly at the best level I played.  But one of my best traits was I was willing to learn.  At one point, the three CBs keeping me on the bench were an ex-City player (only played a few games), an ex-City / Exeter apprentice and an ex-West Brom academy player.  The first of those three taught me loads, especially as I’d never played at that level previously despite being 24/25 (late to that level).  Another player I learned loads from (when I was 18) played for Almondsbury in the FA Vase final at Wembley.  He was the one who told me to jump early.

So I identify with all that you say.  When I was at Brislington I was probably the fittest I’d ever been (I wasn’t a naturally fit person), but I’d lost best part of half a stone over the second pre-season I was there.  I could no longer use a bit of my body to push my opposing striker around.  So I purposely put the weight back on.  It made a big difference.

The number of young strikers I played against, especially those let go by local pro clubs, who didn’t know how to use their body or arms used to mystify me.

[steviestevieneville]

8 hours ago, JonDolman said:

At 1-0 up we had little going forward. Martins legs had gone. O'Dowda was the one player driving us on. I think he was one of the key players to us winning last night.

I am happy to see him sometimes not go at a player when we are in a winning position hanging on against a side dominating us.

But he turned into trouble more than once giving the ball away. He ran towards the touch line initially , so push the ball past so try to win a throw , not lose the ball. Really can’t see how you’re defending him here , you do have blinkers with Callum . However, as I said previously . Much improved from him last night. Hope he kicks on 

[RedRock]

1 hour ago, JonDolman said:

You don't get how someone can fall over?

I do get when my mum falls over. She’s 90+. Even then, she doesn’t fall over on level ground.

 

I don’t get when one of our most experienced, professional athletes just falls over when chasing a football. No contact, perfect surface, not windy........the only thing I can think of is he’s playing in daps.