Olowu

[GazLaz]

What a player he is. We will get big money for him if we keep developing him correctly.

[keith79]

Absolutely. We need to extend his contract.

[Lewis Mottram]

Extend it?! Were lucky he signed the last one, mugged him right off there…

[Chris Black come back]

If (IF) he does continue to develop well then realistically we are going to have to sell him next summer. His contract is up in summer 2025. Potentially if we get promoted at end of this season he might think about signing a new deal and play in League One, but a talented, strong and fast centre back is going to be in real demand.

Similarly I see Whiteman has been out injured this summer so it looks very unlikely anyone is going to be signing him this window. His contract is up next summer so unless he signs a new one, he goes for peanuts in January or more likely he walks out next summer for free and we lose any chance of pocketing a decent fee.

[BillyStubbsTears]

I'll put decent money on Olowu never playing above the bottom end of L1.

I really do not get what people see in him. He's reasonably able, with a regular mistake in him.

[Padge_DRFC]

He's going to be a busy lad playing with Wood.

[GazLaz]

I'll put decent money on Olowu never playing above the bottom end of L1.

I really do not get what people see in him. He's reasonably able, with a regular mistake in him.

If we stay in L2 his next move is likely to skip L1. I’m pretty much certain of that.

[Pancho Regan]

I'll put decent money on Olowu never playing above the bottom end of L1.

I really do not get what people see in him. He's reasonably able, with a regular mistake in him.

You had a bad day BST?
We all love you for being a grumpy t**t but even by your standards you seem very negative this evening.

[Pancho Regan]

Oh and just to answer the point of the thread, I thought Olowu had an excellent game and was very unlucky to concede the penalty.

Playing alongside Wood will definitely help his development but today I would say Joe was the better central defender of the two.

Certainly his forward movement and distribution was better than Wood’s. But they will make a good partnership I think, and Olowu has a good career ahead of him despite BST’s views.

[drfchound]

People really shouldn’t fall into the trap of responding to wind ups.

[Colemans Left Hook]

Last season Richard Wood had scored 4 goals after 7 Championship games and was Rotherham's top scorer - so hopefully we too can make use of him from corners
also the manager tried not to play him in midweek matches to give him time to recover --so hopefully he will be rested on Tuesday

[Chris Black come back]

Tuesday seems a good opportunity for Anderson to start.

[pib]

Thought they were both decent today, the centre halves.

We were quite open at times when the full-backs and midfield had pushed on so I think it put a lot of pressure on JO and RW, despite Bailey, to my mind, having a decent game.

I think McCann will do what he can to rectify this issue, but I also think that we are going to have to accept that, at times this season, we will look a bit open and vulnerable to counter attacks, because that’s kinda what you sign up for with McCann, and that’s not a criticism. The guy likes to go for it and get bodies forward.

[Filo]

I'll put decent money on Olowu never playing above the bottom end of L1.

I really do not get what people see in him. He's reasonably able, with a regular mistake in him.

He’ll get to Championship level minimum

[pib]

23, lightning quick, good on the ball, massive stature. He’s got all the raw materials there that people are looking for, and time on his side for the other stuff to be coached. I’d be amazed if he doesn’t play higher than L1 in the next few years.

[Copps is Magic]

If he gives away an unnecessary penalty like that every week we'll be relegated.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Thought they were both decent today, the centre halves.

We were quite open at times when the full-backs and midfield had pushed on so I think it put a lot of pressure on JO and RW, despite Bailey, to my mind, having a decent game.

I think McCann will do what he can to rectify this issue, but I also think that we are going to have to accept that, at times this season, we will look a bit open and vulnerable to counter attacks, because that’s kinda what you sign up for with McCann, and that’s not a criticism. The guy likes to go for it and get bodies forward.

I think that's a very fair observation and yesterday we could see at times we were too anxious to get the ball forward quickly, because that's the message from the manager, but as a result we're giving the ball away too cheaply with too many aimless balls, percentage balls, blind passes etc. The balls then coming back at you just as quick.

Of course there's a balance and that's football all over. Sometimes less haste is more speed.

On Olowu, he's got all the attributes and let's not forget, he's still young and learning so he should benefit from Wood alongside him to reduce those cock ups.

Wood probably regrets not shouting Olowu to stay on his feet for the pen. He will next time.

[andyst79]

He seems to posses all the qualities but is yet to string a competent run of games together as he's been hampered by injuries and the fact he's played in a poor team last season.Can only improve at the side of Wood but needs to cut out needless errors which are more down to lack of concentration than ability.

[Drover]

If he gives away an unnecessary penalty like that every week we'll be relegated.

A bit harsh,In the premier league,with VAR that would not have been a penalty.

[mushRTID]

If he gives away an unnecessary penalty like that every week we'll be relegated.

Bit of a silly comment. Firstly it wasn’t a penalty.

Secondly what player good or bad in the history of the game, has given a penalty away every week.

We will also get relegated if we play without a goalkeeper every week or score 3 own goals every week.

[Copps is Magic]

I dun't know what the current zeitgeist is in defending but my impression  was you force the attacker to the outside and do not lunge in (certainly not in the box). At best he's got a shot from a tight angle. In a case where it's not clear where the ball went I'd say it's 50/50 whether the ref tries to make a name for himself and give a penalty so why risk it? (Live and on several replays I thought  it was a penalty so what chance has the ref got from behind the play?) It's poor decision making for me - he can clearly improve in this area.

[dickos1]

I’ve seen it lots of times and not once do I think it looks a penalty the ball clearly moves away towards the east stand.
It was a great tackle

[Drover]

I’ve seen it lots of times and not once do I think it looks a penalty the ball clearly moves away towards the east stand.
It was a great tackle

Exactly,if you keep your eye on the ball,it's momentum slows and changes direction as soon as Jo make his tackle,the extra camera angles used in premier league with VAR would have made it obvious to see.

[BillyStubbsTears]

No one is saying the ball didn't move.

The question is whether Olowu wiped out the player first. You cannot judge that from the video, full stop.

And the bigger question is whether a defender should be even thinking of making a challenge like that in that position.

[andyst79]

It was a good advantage by the ref on halfway and Olowu did brilliant to make up the ground as the lad was rapid , if he was through on goal on the face of it it looks an amazing tackle but Wood was covering and the player was going nowhere so it was a senseless tackle .

[Chris Black come back]

It likely wasn’t a penalty but he put himself in a position where Mr Magoo could make the decision he did. Olowu is clearly physically the right stuff and seems a very nice guy who wants to learn. The question will be whether he makes dumb decisions because we’ve been such a shitshow the last few seasons and ruined his early education but this will change, or whether there is just cotton wool between his ears full stop. Time will tell but fact he seems such a genuine and eager lad does give you some hope.

[Drover]

The reaction from all the players,including Harrogates,who was all around and closer than us to the incident was pretty clear they didn't think it was a pen.
In an ideal world,with ideal ref's,why should'nt he make the tackle if he is confident he can do it without fouling,but hey we don't have a perfect world or perfect Ref's,so yes he might have been better not making the tackle in that situation and position,but I have seen much better,experienced players in higher leagues do exactly the same.As for his career,Im split,he is at a juncture and it can go either way.

[Jonathan]

In real time from the South Stand I thought it looked clumsy and arguably a penalty (though certainly not clean cut). The video doesn’t change that much.

Interesting graphic posted by Gaz on Twitter. Why the hell was Wood that deep, and why did he not snuff this out before their player got into the box?

I think Wood and Olowu will be a great partnership for us, but if we’re apportioning blame on this one then both take a share.

[Colin C No.3]

It wasn’t a penalty in my view.

If he hadn’t made the tackle the player would have taken the ball across Olowu towards goal & a shooting opportunity or enabling him to dribble into a better angle for a shot as once he’d cut across Olowu any attempt to tackle him would have been a stonewaller.

A great tackle which neither the player, opposing fans or lino appealed against. How the ref could give it from the angle & distance he was from the incident is beyond me….a bit like CiM’s silly comment & BST’s bombastic attitude on Olowu’s future.

[DearneValleyRover]

No one is saying the ball didn't move.

The question is whether Olowu wiped out the player first. You cannot judge that from the video, full stop.

And the bigger question is whether a defender should be even thinking of making a challenge like that in that position.

Having viewed it several times on twitter Olowu clearly gets the ball not the man, the view the ref got you would say penalty however what’s the point of the assistant who had a better view if you don’t ask them