He played in midfield during the qualifiers for Euro 88 as did McGrath (who also turned out at fullback). O'Leary didn't figure much under Charlton excepting the penalty against Romania in Italia 90. Moran and MCCarthy were pretty much his preferred combo from the get-go. No-nonsense stoppers pretty much in Charlton's own mould.
O’Leary’s situation was somewhat self-inflicted. Did he Not turn up ( was it in Iceland ) for some match early in Big Jack’s reign and Big Jack never seemed to forget that. O’Leary may have refused the call up rather than just Not turned up.
Dave had his family holiday booked and the dates clashed with the tournament in Iceland.
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/ple...es-go-1.158218
I just finished reading a book called This Is How it Feels, about Oldham Athletic 1982-1994 and when they play Arsenal in 1989, O'Leary and Tony Adams are referred to by the author as being "widely regarded as the best centre-back pairing in the game".
(It's an absolutely fantastic book by the way and details the exploits of Mike Milligan and Denis Irwin)
All in the Game: Wolves fans dust off a quite wonderful Nathan Collins ditty – The Irish Times
To the air of ‘My old man’s a dustman’:
“Bruno said to Jeff Shi,
I need a number four,
So Jeff Shi got the credit card,
and headed to Turf Moor.
He didn’t want Tarkowski,
He didn’t want Ben Mee,
He said he wants the Irish lad,
who plays like Maldini.”
Gave the ball away for Liverpool's goal but has been decent
I'm a bloke,I'm an ocker
And I really love your knockers,I'm a labourer by day,
I **** up all me pay,Watching footy on TV,
Just feed me more VB,Just pour my beer,And get my smokes, And go away
Only turned on for last half hour but commentary have singled him out for praise a few times. Winning every header anyway.
Just gave him player of the match!
Last edited by passinginterest; 07/01/2023 at 8:49 PM.
He was very good, apart from giving the ball away fatally. Not too many standouts for man of the match (it’s okay it’s mens football so we can still say MOTM). I probably wouldn’t have given him the MOTM due to that costly error
Collins was very good, although his error led to Liverpool’s second. He intercepted to start the play leading to the equalizer so between that and his overall play, more than made up for it.
Struggling against Man City and Haaland today so far it has to be said. Static and beaten to the ball by Haaland for their opener and very lucky not to have a penalty called against him for a challenge on Grealish in the box.
But of course as soon as I hit post he makes a superb clearance off the line. A smart decision.
He didn't even jump. He's hard to work out if he's just not good enough or inconsistent
I'm a bloke,I'm an ocker
And I really love your knockers,I'm a labourer by day,
I **** up all me pay,Watching footy on TV,
Just feed me more VB,Just pour my beer,And get my smokes, And go away
He’s definitely good enough. It’s more of what PC said about Haaland and the strength of Man City in general. That goal came through a pass and a cross in about a second they moved it so quick.
He’s 21 and will just get better and better for the next few years. Could see him move to a team like City at some point. He’s got what it takes.
Ya I'll reserve judgement for now, I haven't seen enough full games at wolves to judge but for Ireland he's been pretty good if a bit wayward. Hopefully that's the learning of him being a young fella.
Dare I say it but if we find one more young lad in the middle and we could have the makings of a very good team. A team that can actually play football not just wants to
I'm a bloke,I'm an ocker
And I really love your knockers,I'm a labourer by day,
I **** up all me pay,Watching footy on TV,
Just feed me more VB,Just pour my beer,And get my smokes, And go away
I think that's a fair, if brief, assessment of his performance. Should be doing better for the first goal, wasn't a penalty imo, but otherwise his team's man of the match imo.Nathan Collins 6
The scoreline would have been much worse had it not been for Collins. He made two vital clearances from underneath his own crossbar in the first half and was the pick of the Wolves defence.
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/spo...s-man-26043434
Charlton left him out of the original squad for a short summer tour. O’Leary went and booked a family holiday. A run of injuries led to Charlton calling him up last minute, but he declined, saying he had already booked his holiday. To be honest it was a flag of convenience for Charlton to blame subsequent omissions on the issue. He never wanted O’Leary in the team, preferring the more basic attributes of McCarthy and Moran. If it had been a player he wanted it would have been a different story. He only started to call O’Leary up to squads when he was running out of options, and rarely put him in the team if he had a choice.
On Nathan Collins, I think he’s a gem, and is going to be one of our most important players for the foreseeable future. Future captain I’m guessing too.
Out for a spell, got neglected, lay on the bench unselected.
I'm biased because I've a vested interest in Collins, some here would be aware of it. I've seen him since 15 and I'm a huge fan. I've seen nothing to concern me greatly in the past 6 months to think that his trajectory isn't going to keep going up. I think he's probably a bit weak going towards his own goal - or better way of putting it he's got some work to do - and while he's not slow, he's not the speediest without the ball either. When you're playing in weak teams failing in defensive duties, everyone suffers and everyone is prone to messing up - either because of the dirge around you, or because of the uncertainty around you. You're almost second guessing what your teammates are going to do (or more inappropriately, what they aren't going to do).
For me, I'd have him in the centre of a 3, particularly when he's so adept at taking the ball out of defence and into traffic. Also, from an Irish perspective, if the ball breaks down while he's moved into the next phase of play, it's better if he's that middle cog, rather than the right cog. I'd have Andy RCB, Nathan CB and Dara LCB going forward. I love John Egan to bits, and he's a super option from set-pieces in the opposition box, but he's made a few mistakes in the last 6 months for Ireland.
Nathan is absolutely a future captain for us. I've said that I see him in the CL in the next 3 years (probably 2 its so long since I said it :-) ) and not necessarily in England either.
Here they come! It’s the charge of the “Thanks” Brigade!
I agree actually, I think he's doing fine overall. Would be better if he didn't end up with another relegation on his CV, but then that didn't do Aaron Ramsdale any harm.
I think it's too soon to put the three young lads together and drop Egan though. I'm not sure Omobamidele is quite there just yet, though he's another promising talent. I'd keep Egan along with Collins and O'Shea for now.
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