Callum O'Dowda

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Quite often O'Dowda's name gets mentioned as being a reason for our loss of form after a bright start to the season. Others have done the stats to prove that's not really accurate.

I'm genuinely not trying to put the player down here at all, I'm only looking at the high pedestal some fans have placed him on. I read someone, somewhat mockingingly calling him 'The Irish Messi' on here the other day and that seems fair.

O'Dowda has just turned 29, so is in the peak years of his career. He's not an up-and-coming youngster. He's been unlucky with injuries and it's possible this will continue to blight his career.

He was released by Bristol City, a mid-table Championship side, in 2022. I can't remember us releasing any players we didn't think were very good. Of all the offers he had on the table he chose to join a side that had struggled in the bottom half of the table. Maybe his injury woes had turned other suitors away. Few fans were convinced that he'd be a good signing at the time, yet after one season being ok in a side close to relegation, he's almost been seen as the saviour.

Again, I'm not trying to knock the player, he's tidy enough, but I don't see him leaving us for a bigger club. I'm just interested in why some think his absences are part of the reason we haven't done better.

[2b2bdoo]

Since he has signed I think he’s been very good when he’s played to be fair, if he’s fit he starts for me be it wing, fullback, wingback. He just seems to have the intelligence above most of the rest of the squad. He has never been a regular goal scorer but he can get goals and his general play is very good.

The sad truth is that with his injuries he just can’t be relied on, I don’t think there is any concerns about him leaving for a bigger club. If he could stay fit season after season maybe he would have played consistently at a higher level.

[North Cardiff Blue]

Since he has signed I think he’s been very good when he’s played to be fair, if he’s fit he starts for me be it wing, fullback, wingback. He just seems to have the intelligence above most of the rest of the squad. He has never been a regular goal scorer but he can get goals and his general play is very good.

The sad truth is that with his injuries he just can’t be relied on, I don’t think there is any concerns about him leaving for a bigger club. If he could stay fit season after season maybe he would have played consistently at a higher level.

Spot on, I totally agree, he starts for me!

Ramsey was an even bigger loss, with both match fit we would have finished even higher in the top half.

[Tuerto]

There's a Phenomenon on here that involves three type of player. Those who are young and have shown glimpses of being decent, and just decent is enough. Those who are long term injured-This one is my favourite, because even if they've been bang average their stock seems to rise the longer they're out. The final piece in the player jigsaw are players who were average or even poor, leaving us and doing alright at a lower level. Even though they played 100 games for us and had ample opportunity to show us what they're about. They're all considered much better than they actually are. So, in short, be around the 20=23 age range, get injured, be out for around a year and then get a transfer to Wycombe or something similar and said player will actually be better than they ever were. Simple but affective.

[North Cardiff Blue]

Quite often O'Dowda's name gets mentioned as being a reason for our loss of form after a bright start to the season. Others have done the stats to prove that's not really accurate.

I'm genuinely not trying to put the player down here at all, I'm only looking at the high pedestal some fans have placed him on. I read someone, somewhat mockingingly calling him 'The Irish Messi' on here the other day and that seems fair.

O'Dowda has just turned 29, so is in the peak years of his career. He's not an up-and-coming youngster. He's been unlucky with injuries and it's possible this will continue to blight his career.

He was released by Bristol City, a mid-table Championship side, in 2022. I can't remember us releasing any players we didn't think were very good. Of all the offers he had on the table he chose to join a side that had struggled in the bottom half of the table. Maybe his injury woes had turned other suitors away. Few fans were convinced that he'd be a good signing at the time, yet after one season being ok in a side close to relegation, he's almost been seen as the saviour.

Again, I'm not trying to knock the player, he's tidy enough, but I don't see him leaving us for a bigger club. I'm just interested in why some think his absences are part of the reason we haven't done better.

Five wins - One draw - and four losses in games he's been involved in, including wins over Ipswich, Coventry, Bristol and Huddersfield and a draw away at Leeds.

Are those stats better with him than games without him?

[Dembe]

Spot on, I totally agree, he starts for me!

Ramsey was an even bigger loss, with both match fit we would have finished even higher in the top half.

Can we limit the amount of times per week you are allowed to trot this same old line out

[Dembe]

I think he's a tidy enough player, nothing special.

The same fans can't ever seem to think beyond ex loan players as new signings either

[North Cardiff Blue]

Five wins - One draw - and four losses in games he's been involved in, including wins over Ipswich, Coventry, Bristol and Huddersfield and a draw away at Leeds.

Are those stats better with him than games without him?

Doing it quickly dividing the sixteen points by 10 games 1.6 points per game x 46 = 73.6 points that would have us in the playoffs if WBA lose on Saturday.

That is higher than we will finish, so confirms we are almost certainly better with him than without

[City123]

He's a decent Championship player, nothing more. That some rave about him shows how far standards have dropped

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Five wins - One draw - and four losses in games he's been involved in, including wins over Ipswich, Coventry, Bristol and Huddersfield and a draw away at Leeds.

Are those stats better with him than games without him?

Nice to see you claiming brief cameo appearances as sub in his stats.

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

Hes more than OK, tidy etc

He's a very versatile player who would have had a shout at the Premier league if he had kept himself fit which is clearly bad lick for him and us

I genuinely think if he played just half the games this season , Ramsey had done likewise and we had a goalscorer we would have challenged the top 6

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

Doing it quickly dividing the sixteen points by 10 games 1.6 points per game x 46 = 73.6 points that would have us in the playoffs if WBA lose on Saturday.

That is higher than we will finish, so confirms we are almost certainly better with him than without

Ten points between him and Ramsey and we would have been the play offs

[North Cardiff Blue]

Nice to see you claiming brief cameo appearances as sub in his stats.

Stats are stats old chap, one of those cameos he came on to score the winner against the mighty Ipswich

He makes a difference and the results prove that.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Stats are stats old chap, one of those cameos he came on to score the winner against the mighty Ipswich

He makes a difference and the results prove that.

But your attempt doesn't tell the whole story. Here's an entirely alternative way of looking at O'Dowda's contribution this season:

5 starts - 1 win, 1 draw, 3 defeats.

5 sub appearances - 4 wins, 1 defeat.

Let's break down these sub appearances:

45 minutes vs Swansea - went from 1-0 down to lose 2-0
15 minutes vs Ipswich - scores the winner
12 minutes vs Bristol City - game already won
6 minutes vs Huddersfield - game already won
5 minutes vs Coventry - game already won.

Ipswich apart, you could quite easily argue that O'Dowda's sub appearances have not contributed much to the result, other than just having some fresh legs on the pitch. When he's played 45 minutes or more we've won 1 out of 6. I wonder why he was dropped after the Sunderland defeat?

[North Cardiff Blue]

But your attempt doesn't tell the whole story. Here's an entirely alternative way of looking at O'Dowda's contribution this season:

5 starts - 1 win, 1 draw, 3 defeats.

5 sub appearances - 4 wins, 1 defeat.

Let's break down these sub appearances:

45 minutes vs Swansea - went from 1-0 down to lose 2-0
15 minutes vs Ipswich - scores the winner
12 minutes vs Bristol City - game already won
6 minutes vs Huddersfield - game already won
5 minutes vs Coventry - game already won.

Ipswich apart, you could quite easily argue that O'Dowda's sub appearances have not contributed much to the result, other than just having some fresh legs on the pitch. When he's played 45 minutes or more we've won 1 out of 6. I wonder why he was dropped after the Sunderland defeat?

Do you know anything about football?

It's a sport played by players that contribute in many ways.

You would be arguing for argument's sake as usual because you were proved wrong.

And that's with him not match fit, imagine if he'd stayed fit all season!

When he's played our results have been better, this is one of your daft OK we may be winning but with the wrong type of goals or OK we may be winning but only by one goal nonsense.

Mr Negative - Eric the half -Glass Empty

[Rjk]

There's a Phenomenon on here that involves three type of player. Those who are young and have shown glimpses of being decent, and just decent is enough. Those who are long term injured-This one is my favourite, because even if they've been bang average their stock seems to rise the longer they're out. The final piece in the player jigsaw are players who were average or even poor, leaving us and doing alright at a lower level. Even though they played 100 games for us and had ample opportunity to show us what they're about. They're all considered much better than they actually are. So, in short, be around the 20=23 age range, get injured, be out for around a year and then get a transfer to Wycombe or something similar and said player will actually be better than they ever were. Simple but affective.

I remember a similar effect with Jack Wilshere at Arsenal, the longer he was out for, the more of an impact they were convinced he would make on his return

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Do you know anything about football?

It's a sport played by players that contribute in many ways.

You would be arguing for argument's sake as usual because you were proved wrong.

And that's with him not match fit, imagine if he'd stayed fit all season!

When he's played our results have been better, this is one of your daft OK we may be winning but with the wrong type of goals or OK we may be winning but only by one goal nonsense.

Mr Negative - Eric the half -Glass Empty

Oh come on, you won't be drawn into how poorly our results have been when he's started as it undermines your entire feeble argument. Once again you simply won't address what someone says, but continue your own rhetoric.

If your approach is correct, take Joel Colwill this season. 4 sub appearances, where we've drawn once and lost 3. Does that mean he's shit and he shoulders some of the blame?

[Tuerto]

I remember a similar effect with Jack Wilshere at Arsenal, the longer he was out for, the more of an impact they were convinced he would make on his return

It happens all of the time My favourite 'It'll be like having a new player when (insert name) returns from injury. Wintle was Blackpools version of Pirlo when he was on loan up there. McGuiness's stock went up while on loan at Sheffield Wednesday. If Mark Harris continues to score goals then i'm taking cover, although i'm convinced some on here blame the club for Harris turning out to be ordinary, even though he played the best part of 100 league games.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

It happens all of the time My favourite 'It'll be like having a new player when (insert name) returns from injury. Wintle was Blackpools version of Pirlo when he was on loan up there. McGuiness's stock went up while on loan at Sheffield Wednesday. If Mark Harris continues to score goals then i'm taking cover, although i'm convinced some on here blame the club for Harris turning out to be ordinary, even though he played the best part of 100 league games.

Most of our fans would look down on the idea of us signing a player from League 1, yet when our former players do well at that level, we should have kept them....

[Jimmy the Jock]

There's a Phenomenon on here that involves three type of player. Those who are young and have shown glimpses of being decent, and just decent is enough. Those who are long term injured-This one is my favourite, because even if they've been bang average their stock seems to rise the longer they're out. The final piece in the player jigsaw are players who were average or even poor, leaving us and doing alright at a lower level. Even though they played 100 games for us and had ample opportunity to show us what they're about. They're all considered much better than they actually are. So, in short, be around the 20=23 age range, get injured, be out for around a year and then get a transfer to Wycombe or something similar and said player will actually be better than they ever were. Simple but affective.

You put that so succinctly. Who did we loan to Blackpool, was it Wintle , had great season with them , big outcry about how useful he would be in the side at the time, why did we loan him out blah blah blah . Guy gets brought back , exact same posters ..he is shit...(he isnt )
We have had 5 minutes seeing some of the youngsters , fill the team with them and top up with our out on loan superstars , voila , best team in the league, for sure....

[2b2bdoo]

Remember when fans could watch a player and decide if he’s any good and just give an honest personal opinion.

Now all everyone wants to do is use stats to say this or say that or to tell someone else why they are wrong.

[Jimmy the Jock]

It happens all of the time My favourite 'It'll be like having a new player when (insert name) returns from injury. Wintle was Blackpools version of Pirlo when he was on loan up there. McGuiness's stock went up while on loan at Sheffield Wednesday. If Mark Harris continues to score goals then i'm taking cover, although i'm convinced some on here blame the club for Harris turning out to be ordinary, even though he played the best part of 100 league games.

Great minds.

[North Cardiff Blue]

Oh come on, you won't be drawn into how poorly our results have been when he's started as it undermines your entire feeble argument. Once again you simply won't address what someone says, but continue your own rhetoric.

If your approach is correct, take Joel Colwill this season. 4 sub appearances, where we've drawn once and lost 3. Does that mean he's shit and he shoulders some of the blame?

Do the stats on Colwill's appearances and we'll see how effective he is it would make a good comparison. He seems a decent player, I like him and O'Dowda and Rambo.

[Nobody's Rep]

It happens all of the time My favourite 'It'll be like having a new player when (insert name) returns from injury. Wintle was Blackpools version of Pirlo when he was on loan up there. McGuiness's stock went up while on loan at Sheffield Wednesday. If Mark Harris continues to score goals then i'm taking cover, although i'm convinced some on here blame the club for Harris turning out to be ordinary, even though he played the best part of 100 league games.

But Harris has a panini sticker doesn't he? Surely that's worth something 😂👍 wonder how many current or x city players this applies to ? Not many I suspect?

[Tuerto]

You put that so succinctly. Who did we loan to Blackpool, was it Wintle , had great season with them , big outcry about how useful he would be in the side at the time, why did we loan him out blah blah blah . Guy gets brought back , exact same posters ..he is shit...(he isnt )
We have had 5 minutes seeing some of the youngsters , fill the team with them and top up with our out on loan superstars , voila , best team in the league, for sure....

You said it Jim...