Well, it's always good to have options. Sledge and O'Shea are capable of playing as fullbacks, so if O'Dea improves it still gives us options.Originally Posted by geysir
O'Dea is certainly not a left-full though. I've always been impressed when I've seen him in the centre, but his lack of pace makes him a liability out wide.
Glad to see that Mowbray recognizes this and seems to be using him in the centre in pre-season.
started at CB today and was also captain with the likes of caldwell and mcdonald rested. I can see McManus having a hard enough time getting back in, even though im a big fan of his.
Its funny he was on the fringe of the 1st team when strachan arrived, and was suddenly thrown into the starting 11 and has been ever present since.
Could the same now happen O'Dea under mowbray? I hope so.
Celtic beat spurs 2-0 with a much weakened team, bodes well for wednesday
Havin a weekend away is quite frankly,lettin ur team mates down!
I reckon Mowbray will go with Loovens and Calwell on wednesday. With McManus still to come back, I reckon Darren O'Dea is still fourth choice. Reckon a move away is enevitable if he doesn't gain a starting place before Christmas.
Always look on the bright side of life
Thought O'Dea looked very good when he came on for the second half against the Egyptian team not sure whether he will start on Wed night Strachan was playing him as a full back and Fox will probably play considering they have splashed out the cash on him.
Is Wednesday's match available on TV normally BBC Scotland show the preliminary CL rounds involving the Scottish teams can get on the Sky Platform on other channels section?
Its on BBC2 Scotland, can that be gotten on the Sky Other Channels option?
You show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser - Vince Lombardi
Regardless I think O'Dea has a long way to go before he could be considered a viable option at international level. There isn't many quality players in that Celtic squad and O'Dea inability to establish himself as a regular in the team is telling.
Strachan never gave youth a chance during his reign, with the exception of McGeady, who was simply too talented to leave out (although he made every effort to upset him it seems).
Caldwell and McManus are decent at best, but I'd say most Celtic fans talk about centre-half as Celtic's weakest area, and have done so for a couple of seasons now.
I'm not saying O'Dea is the finished article just yet, but if he gets a run of regular first team football and plays like I think he can, I'd be happy to have him as our third choice centre-half behind Dunne and St. Ledger (assuming O'Shea will be a fullback).
I've never been impressed with him as a fullback, but every time I see him at centre-half he rarely puts a foot wrong.
A top top manager would have let him break into the Celtic team sooner, like say...after not conceding any goals against AC Milan over two legs in 90 minutes...
according to the official site, the game is exclusive to Channel 67 in the UK and Ireland - http://www.celticfc.net/news/stories...709155355.aspx
Not sure what the options are for elsewhere, but I'd keep an eye on myp2p.eu for streams
I think thats just the away leg.
I thought you were off the drink Ronnie?
"No, I drink to help me mind my own business....can I get you one? (c) Ronnie Drew
Well apart from McManus of course who had been largely ignored by MON and Strachan brought in to the first and then later made captain. O'Dea would be coming up to a similar age now I suspect -22/23ish.
And of course our own Cillian got a decent run in the side as well before being loaned out to Motherwell, including Old Trafford in the Champions League.
I was no lover of Strachan but what you say isnt entirely true.
I would say, Celtic fans have been pining for a decent LB for the last two seasons - Strachans failure to get one in was frustrating and now Mowbray has purchased Fox, we will have to see how tht goes. No doubt though you are correct in saying the CB pairing is often met with derision from the fans - though Im not sure the stats back up that it was that bad. McManus is certainly a no nonsense defender but is capable of bad mistakes and is currently club captain. Caldwell is more of a footballing CB (won player of the year in Scotland last year).
If anything, with McManus injured at the moment I can see Loovens stepping in and retaining his place, then its down to whether McManus jumps ahead of O'Dea in waiting for an injury/loss of form/suspension.
Last edited by Junior; 27/07/2009 at 9:35 AM.
I thought you were off the drink Ronnie?
"No, I drink to help me mind my own business....can I get you one? (c) Ronnie Drew
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Home leg not on.
if he keeps putting in performances like yesterday when he gets his chances he will make it impossible for the manager to leave him out
Its really not that complicated!!!
O'Dea is a quality footballer with great attitude and will be in the Ireland team in time.
O'Dea should move on if he wants to get first-team football and improve.
why not wait to see if he will get first team football under the new manager
Its really not that complicated!!!
O'Deas problem is that he's very, very similar to Caldwell in almost every aspect and I couldn't see those 2 working together. While himself and McManus are both left sided CH's. I think the most suitable partner for him by a mile is Loovens (right sided, willing to follow O'Deas lead, plenty of height and pace) but by playing those 2 together you have Scotland's 2 first choice CH's on the bench. I just can't see it as much as I'd like to.
He was solid yesterday from what I saw.
So do Celtic pick their strongest team for their most important matches or do politics play a part in team selection? Seems weird for a professional club to sacrifice potential victories just to ensure that Scottish CHs are on the pitch. Like I could never imagine Man Utd starting Wes Brown at centre half instead of Vidic just because he is English. It's a little sad if that is the case, especially for O'Dea.
No I just can't see both McManus and Caldwell being dropped. To go from first choice centre half pairing there would be months of different combinations before a manager would drop both of them. We'll see though.
Unlikely that he'll drop McManus, but what's on O'Dea's side is that he is a footballing CB, and so far it seems that Mowbray is a fan of players who can well, play football. Although that last sentence sounds rather banal, I hope you get my point. If he can show well while McManus is still injured, he could be undroppable by Christmas. However, if he doesn't get his chance, he'll have to move. I actually really think Italian football would suit O'Dea's style of defending.
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