I know this is seemingly becoming a running theme of me defending Brown's signings who are normally criticised, BUT... I thought he had a stormer in the first half yesterday, unfortunately he just disappeared in the second half. It sometimes seems as if he's almost "too clever" sometimes, he sees space and hits a ball to it expecting somebody else to pick it up on it, and half the time they don't and it makes him look a bit ****. Still, I think he's still got a bit to offer and he's a useful player to have around.
he went on a good run in the 1st half and i thought he was set to run the game.. but like you say he just disappeared, seems to do that a lot for me, do something good in a game then almost think thats enough and gives up. could be so much more but just too lazy imo, i know not every midfielder has to run about like a headless chicken, but got to break a sweat a bit more often.
Agree, I specifically focused on the midfield yesterday, when we went 1 down Oli was the only one trying to win the ball back! he actually put more yards in than anyother midfielder I watched. As for the other two, enough said!!!!
Yeah Olofinjana did well yesterday. I like him really. But he isn't a crucial first team member and will not get a new contract.
I got the impression that after about twenty minutes of him basically running the midfield they just put someone on him and closed the space, which was why we then began passing it from side to side and getting nowhere. Shame nobody could pick a pass out to Rosie in the first half, god knows how many times he was in space with one man to run at and calling for a ball that never came
In fairness those balls he played which were 'too clever' they were both intercepted not because the City player wasn't there but because a defender was and it was straight to him. Your vision can be as clever as you like but if you're kicking it to a defender that's a bad pass. My issue with Oli is that on the ball he's an absolute tank, no one gets it off him and he shows strength and composure just dancing round people but when he's defending he has no impact whatsoever. People just walk past him and he does nothing about it, his strenght just disappears when he doesn't have the ball.
Oli occasionally looks the part and his passing's usually sound but with Quinn, Koren, Evans, Meyler and Cairney all battling for a spot in the middle I can't see him featuring much even when we start to get fixture congestion.
Oli had a good first half and faded badly second half as most posters have said. The team had far too many changes from the successful league starting eleven that it suffered the same way NB's much changed side did against Crawley last season. Mckenna had an awful gamwe (unusual for him, he was so consistent last season), whilst for me Cairney continues to disappoint. Felt sorry for Daws having to play in an alien 3-5-2 particularly at this late stage of his career - it was as if he had to prove himself to SB and this shouldn't have been the case.
In this modern era of football, is it really necessary to have a stereotypical "hard man" in your team? I'd much rather have a player who can pass, personally.
Cairney can pass sideways and backwards without using his weaker foot til the cows come home, and that's what he's there to do, but people slate him for it. Oli is there for the opposite- to boss the midfield and get in amongst it. You can say all you want about Iniesta and Xavi bossing matches in internationals and champions league matches, with their passing and work rate, but this is the championship, it's different. The yard stick is a lot lower and you don't have the same sort of players with that ability, or else they would play in a better league. Whilst you play in the 2nd tier in England you should expect to have a level of physicality to the game. Evans and Meyler are better options because they actually get stuck in, whereas Oli doesn't. Oli & Mckenna were ****e on saturday and got bossed by Orient.
He was my MOTM yesterday, as it was pretty much impossible to pick one due to complete dire state of our players in that match. He actually jumped for headers, used his strength (which has been questioned at times as he comes across as quite a fairy) to get through, played some quality passes but just lacked that defensive intuition. He'd be useful to have around as midfield cover but if someone offered for him, I wouldn't think twice.
He's not good enough, the fact that he got the deal he did remains an embarrassment to the club and the sooner he's gone, the better. If we can shift him in Jan, we will do. Ditto McKenna.
Sometimes you watch Oli and you think, jesus this lads a class above, then 5 minutes later he does something and you're thinking 'what the **** are you thinking?' He won't get a contract, Mckenna is a good player and does a great job, but he's rusty and getting on a bit.
Oli is a bit of an enigma, he did well for Cardiff when he was out on loan a couple of seasons ago, but never seems to do anything for us.
