Most liked posts in thread: Richard O'Donnell

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.

 

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.

 

I know we’re being down on ROD here (generally with justification) but that 1st goal is completely down to rank bad defending.

After the ball gets touched on I don’t think it has enough pace on it for ROD to know for definite he’ll be first there, so he leaves it for POC to clean up - which for me is right, if you’re not going to definitely make it, don’t go if you have defenders covering.

POC gets there first but then inexplicably loses it despite having more than one chance to clear, the follow up challenge to prevent the cross once he loses it is non-existent and the scorer then isn’t marked.

I’ve seen plenty of goals where the keeper gets megged at a tight angle, not brilliant but not what I’d call a huge error. That goal was a defensive horror show.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

The keeper has to help the defender as he can see the opposition, Any keeper worth his salt would have been shouting at the top of his voice shouting either KEEPERS BALL or AWAY to help the defender decide, Instead he left him in no mans land which as a keeper is unforgivable and led indirectly to a sloppy goal

 

McCall won’t drop him because he’s too loyal to his players. Add to that he made him captain so he won’t want to look stupid. Hornby must have feared the worst when he got the armband because barring injury, I can’t see him getting the nod no matter how badly ROD performs.

 

I get that he has been at fault at times but
It was poor defending that was why we conceded not down to o'Donnell yesterday. Was their keeper at fault for our 2 goals? Or Southend keeper last week I would say no so why make O'Donnell the scape goat just because we let in 2?

The two muppets on the radio were criticising him from the off especially with his kicking upfield yet the Exeter keeper did similar and they called it as good play.

 

I think a lot of the frustration comes because he's been given the armband and shows no leadership qualities whatsoever. We've seen this for a few seasons now. He doesn't organise his own defence let alone the rest of the side. He has the advantage of seeing everything in front of him yet we're often at sixes and sevens defensively. He's a poor communicator and distributor but good shot stopper.

I haven't seen enough of Hornby to say whether he'd be an upgrade or not, but this reminds me a bit of the the Sattlemier era when the reserve keeper got better each week without playing a game, only to be so much worse than the incumbent.

 

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

 

His mistakes costs goals, He needs to be rested

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Agree with all of this Bantam, but I would also like to add that getting beat at his near post, for a 'keeper, is usually classed as 'criminal'.