Richard O'Donnell

A good shot stopper granted, but I'm not sure what he does all week in training when it comes to knocking the ball long. The amount of time he simply concedes possession or hits it aimlessly out of play is almost comical.

 

First thing McCall should do is take the captaincy off him,let him concentrate on his own performances.

Give the captaincy to someone on the pitch who will have influence at both ends of the pitch and I would give it to young Elliot Watt.

It might just be a great choice

 

Think McCall actually got it spot on in his post match interview. His distribution looks worse than it actually is because he's booting it wider in the hope one of the wing backs is able to meet it, rather than keeping them central for a Hanson flick on or a Wyke controlled layoff. Thats probably why we're seeing them go into touch so much.

Donaldson may win you a foul every now and then but he isn't going to do the Hanson or Wyke role from the goal kick and Stuart said as much. Pretty clear its a tactical decision therefore to play them wider as a safety precaution so that the opposition have a throw in rather than possession in the middle of the pitch when we inevitably lose the aerial duel.

 

There's a modicum of sense in that but surely a more sensible approach would be to distribute the ball to our fullbacks rather than punting it out for a throw every time.

 

His mistakes costs goals, He needs to be rested

 

I think that's the direction he's going, but he lacks the accuracy to pull it off. Its clearly his biggest weakness but not sure its that problematic in the grand scheme of things.

 

He gets caught cold, it always seems we concede with the oppositions first chance.

His diving technique seems odd occasionally too, i take it we do have a goalkeeping coach now as opposed to a couple of years back

 

So, you think we need to take the captaincy off someone so they can concentrate on their own performance, and give it to a youngster who, despite being in midfield, has already cost us a few goals this season with poor decision making of his own?

The issue isn't about who wears a piece of fabric, it's about the lack of leadership and having players of the right character throughout the squad.

 

O'Donnells problem is he does not command his 6 yard box let alone his penalty area. Anything coming into the 6 yard box he should be going for and the defenders should know this and get out of his way, making sure that they can make contact with the ball if he drops it or does not claim it cleanly.

 

After a good performance against Oldham midweek I think the lad Hornby wouldn't let us down, he's 25 now I know not a old age for a keeper but he should be pushing the first team keeper now.

 

You are absolutely correct and when you add to his shortcomings with a further list of his inherent weaknesses you can see just how soft we are at the back with him being the principle problem.
He does not appear around his area at any time there are players in the vicinity be they ours or oppos.
He seems to be noisy but says nothing of any value to our defenders when the chips are down.
He should be commanding his space and talking sensibly to the CBs as things develop. He does not.
There are no justifiable reasons for his kicking strategy.If it his his decision he is wrong and if it is management decides then they are wrong and he should not agree to continually kick possession away.
He is a poor goalkeeper at our level and never makes a save when it really counts.How often has failed even to move to save a reasonable shot from around the box which end up in the net with our statue waving it in without even a dive?
A proper keeper would be giving our centrebacks confidence through his knowledge and actions.
Why does he allow AOC to back off so often into his space without a challenge?
AOC is a gutless centre half who turns his back to anything that might hurt.
POC needs a hardman experienced CB to partner. POC has the tools and is improving over the last month or so and now does challenge and often
wins first ball either heading or more often intercepting. Has SM not played with or coached a nasty CB to help the coaching? Chris Morgan for example.

 

I think he was at fault for the first goal as he should have come claimed it or smashed the ball into row z. Instead he delayed causing Watt to make a mistake.

Like has been said he doesn't command his area and that is why he is playing for us and not higher up.

 

With respect to all goalkeepers, but they should never, ever be made captain.
That is the job for an outfield player (preferably experienced) who can get around the pitch and get at the players.
From what I have seen, O'Donnell does nothing to even warrant being made captain, for me it would be Billy Clarke.

 

On one occasion yesterday, he belted the ball from his own penalty area, straight down to the opposing goalkeeper - what a waste.

 

I agree he should have come for the original poor ball pumped forward and headed on, even when Watt made the mistake not sticking the ball in row Z he had chance to redeem himself with a near post save but failed to do that.

 

The second paragraph of this post I totally agree with you but the first part you are just nit-picking.

I don’t like goalkeepers been made captain and prefer a outfield player and I agree with you on players with the right character and this team is lacking in that especially in a Gary Jones midfield type player and a strong man at the back.

 

Know what you are saying but there were many on here previously saying why are we trying to play it short at the back when we dont really have the players to do that - so in many ways they cant win on this one.
Would make most sense for whoever is our biggest striker on the day to get wide from goal kicks so he either draws an opposition centre back out of position or he is at least up against one of their full backs - to just pump it wide to our smaller wing backs doesnt make a lot of sense I agree

 

None of the two goals were his fault yesterday yet the muppets on Radio Leeds were very much giving him grief all game. They kept saying Hornby is better well if that's the case why has he always been a no.2 keeper wherever he has been. O'Donnell might be at fault at times but he made 2 great saves late on yesterday securing us a point but neither muppets on the radio praised him. It works both ways doesn't it.

 

Why are they muppets?

He did make a crucial save to salvage a point but he was also part of a defence that let two soft goals in. He got megged for the first goal and doesn’t command his area one jot, putting pressure on the defence.