2025/26 Jake O'Brien

Miked1e said:
He gets the slack because the manager is playing him out of position.

It is the manager who is at fault for this. Not Jake.

He is arguably our second best CB.

Not rocket science
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I mean ‘arguably’ is doing some heavy lifting there and that’s kind of what I mean. People keep saying he’s been ‘great’ at centre half and I’ve seen more than one person say he and branthwaite could be the best partnership in the league. They could be obviously, but there’s precious little to base that on. O’Brien has done pretty well at centre half but great is a massive overstatement, he was pretty poor against Leeds I thought, in his last game there.

Again, I don’t think you’re really understanding my point. I get that he’s playing out of position (that’s why I used the example of Harrison to show that not everybody gets the same leeway you’re talking about but nevermind) and obviously that is a consideration when looking at his performances, but it can’t be the defining point in every single conversation about him. Whether we agree that it’s where he should be playing or not, it’s where he is playing, so it’s not ‘turning on him’ to say he’s been crap there, it’s just passing comment on what he’s actually producing. You can have sympathy for him, take things into account, but still be honest about his performances. Nobody who’s been crap for us has wanted to be crap, they just have been. Lots of them will have had extenuating circumstances too. We still say they were crap though.
 
Lanolin said:
I mean ‘arguably’ is doing some heavy lifting there and that’s kind of what I mean. People keep saying he’s been ‘great’ at centre half and I’ve seen more than one person say he and branthwaite could be the best partnership in the league. They could be obviously, but there’s precious little to base that on. O’Brien has done pretty well at centre half but great is a massive overstatement, he was pretty poor against Leeds I thought, in his last game there.

Again, I don’t think you’re really understanding my point. I get that he’s playing out of position (that’s why I used the example of Harrison to show that not everybody gets the same leeway you’re talking about but nevermind) and obviously that is a consideration when looking at his performances, but it can’t be the defining point in every single conversation about him. Whether we agree that it’s where he should be playing or not, it’s where he is playing, so it’s not ‘turning on him’ to say he’s been crap there, it’s just passing comment on what he’s actually producing. You can have sympathy for him, take things into account, but still be honest about his performances. Nobody who’s been crap for us has wanted to be crap, they just have been. Lots of them will have had extenuating circumstances too. We still say they were crap though.
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He hasn’t been good…. I agree with you.

But I blame Moyes for that and not the player himself.
 
Miked1e said:
He hasn’t been good…. I agree with you.

But I blame Moyes for that and not the player himself.
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Yeah I agree, that’s all I’m saying. I don’t blame 99% of the players I’ve seen be rubbish for us, they don’t want to be seen that way and they might well succeed in other circumstances, but when they’re rubbish I’ll say it. O’Brien has been really poor this season, I feel for him but I’m not going to pretend he hasn’t been or just refuse to comment at all, it’s fine to comment on his performances, it doesn’t mean we hate him.
 
Not just Jake but the whole back four were constantly under threat on Tuesday as Bournemouth poured through a non existent defensive midfield.

This was from the kick off, not just in the second half.

Admittedly it was my first time seeing them in the flesh this season but what was glaringly obvious was a complete lack of midfield protection - a wet tissue would have been stronger.

The absence of an enforcer is a major problem imo. Too light, too lackadaisical, jogging around - simply unacceptable.

If the back four make mistakes, then criticism is warranted, but if they are under the cosh because of a midfield that's not doing its job, then that should also be called out.
 
Bluerover said:
Not just Jake but the whole back four were constantly under threat on Tuesday as Bournemouth poured through a non existent defensive midfield.

This was from the kick off, not just in the second half.

Admittedly it was my first time seeing them in the flesh this season but what was glaringly obvious was a complete lack of midfield protection - a wet tissue would have been stronger.

The absence of an enforcer is a major problem imo. Too light, too lackadaisical, jogging around - simply unacceptable.

If the back four make mistakes, then criticism is warranted, but if they are under the cosh because of a midfield that's not doing its job, then that should also be called out.
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Spot on! The fact that our midfield is so reluctant to ,carry the ball forward and end up passing it back means our centre halves in particular rarely get any breathing spade. The ball is constantly coming at them, if not from our opponents, then from our midfielders.
 
Bluebonic said:
Spot on! The fact that our midfield is so reluctant to ,carry the ball forward and end up passing it back means our centre halves in particular rarely get any breathing spade. The ball is constantly coming at them, if not from our opponents, then from our midfielders.
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It's where we miss Grealish at least he helped take pressure off them by keeping hold of the ball.
 
Bluerover said:
Not just Jake but the whole back four were constantly under threat on Tuesday as Bournemouth poured through a non existent defensive midfield.

This was from the kick off, not just in the second half.

Admittedly it was my first time seeing them in the flesh this season but what was glaringly obvious was a complete lack of midfield protection - a wet tissue would have been stronger.

The absence of an enforcer is a major problem imo. Too light, too lackadaisical, jogging around - simply unacceptable.

If the back four make mistakes, then criticism is warranted, but if they are under the cosh because of a midfield that's not doing its job, then that should also be called out.
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We don't have anyone who naturally sits in front of the back 4. In theory Idrissa should be the player to do it but he's positionally ill disciplined and is a bit like a headless chicken at times. Ohh for a Lee Carsley type
 
Marcus Kendall said:
We don't have anyone who naturally sits in front of the back 4. In theory Idrissa should be the player to do it but he's positionally ill disciplined and is a bit like a headless chicken at times. Ohh for a Lee Carsley type
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Gana’s never been that player though. He’s not ill disciplined. It’s just that his strength has always been pressing and winning the ball around the pitch. Garner is much more suited in style to being the one to sit (it’s not ideal for him either but it’s a better fit).
 
Marcus Kendall said:
We don't have anyone who naturally sits in front of the back 4. In theory Idrissa should be the player to do it but he's positionally ill disciplined and is a bit like a headless chicken at times. Ohh for a Lee Carsley type
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Garner can do it, and played that role v Villa with Armstrong and Rohl either side. Worked a treat only to not be seen since.
 

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