Jamie Ohara Appreciation Thread

[Rackybear]

Deserves a run in the team without a doubt.

Willing to put his foot in, good at defending, good going forward, good at passing and seems like his scoring isnt just a fluke here and their. He genuinely has an eye for a goal and gets himself in the right positions.

Id compare him to steven gerrard in a way, just without the energy. The difference is, whilst Jamie is good at this and good at that, puts in bag loads of effort and plays with passion; Gerrard is exceptional in every department.

I very much like JOH though, because he will offer an all in one display. He is a complete midfielder. A bit like corluka is with defending, he can become Mr. Consistent in our midfield. Whilst with Corluka his stand out trait is his composure on the ball, O'hara's is his work rate and passion; and thats a neccesity to any football team. It doesn't matter if you are Tottenham Hotspur or Blythe - his attidude to football is a breath of fresh air and would rile up his team-mates to give more and do better.

Every football team needs a JOH.

 

[Bus-Conductor]

The sniffy attitude some on here display towards O'Hara reminds me a bit of the very similar one some of my mates adopted towards Stevie Perryman when he first broke into the Spurs side nearly 40 years ago—a sort of damning faint praise that often ended up with adverse comparisons to Chelsea's Alan Hudson, who was about the same age as Stevie and us and undoubtedly a very fine footballer indeed, if also a bit of a knob.

I'd hesitate to compare O'Hara to Stevie, but I can certainly see the similarity between the comments. Hudson was very much a 'Spurs-type' player, arguably the classiest midfielder of his generation, and it really was a shame he played for those flash peasants. Stevie seemed, well, a bit of a journeyman by contrast, tirelessly hard-working, but, well, a bit of a plodder. Where were the silky skills?

Thing is, the best Spurs sides have never relied solely on silky skills. O'Hara's one of our toughest tacklers, passes the ball well, can take a very decent set-piece and bangs in the odd goal or three. He's always up for it. He's hungry. I haven't seen tonight's game yet, but, listening to the radio commentary, it was obvious that his simple, direct approach was far more effective than Bentley's showboating, and that he also provided far more effective protection for the stressed Bale. Bradley Allen, who's a very good summariser, was continually pointing out that, in contrast to Bentley, Jamie wasn't trying anything clever with his corners and free kicks, just plonking them into the danger area. It works!

I'm sick of the 'not good enough for us' talk. He clearly is.

He is good enough for our squad, but regardless of what Steve Perryman was (he actually wasn't a plodder when compared to the league back then) Ohara is still just a plodder with ability. He's a great player to have in our squad but pace is so much more crucial in todays EPL than when Perryman played. Compared to most footballers back then Perryman wasn't slow.

I like Ohara and I know it's harsh, but he is what he is and he's not going to get quicker or more intelligent. What you get with him is valuable to a squad where we are.

 

[stemark44]

He is good enough for our squad, but regardless of what Steve Perryman was (he actually wasn't a plodder when compared to the league back then) Ohara is still just a plodder with ability. He's a great player to have in our squad but pace is so much more crucial in todays EPL than when Perryman played. Compared to most footballers back then Perryman wasn't slow.

I like Ohara and I know it's harsh, but he is what he is and he's not going to get quicker or more intelligent. What you get with him is valuable to a squad where we are.

Do you think that Modric is a lot quicker?

 

[Rackybear]

B-C - your making it out as if a player without pace be written of in coming to terms with the EPL.

You dont have to be blessed with pace to be good enough for this league. Realistically, I could make a list of players from United, Liverpool, Chelsea & Arsenal who start week in and out but are not gifted with speed.

Other aspects of football are equally just as important.

Lennon is gifted with raw pace but that didnt get him anywhere against Burnley because he could not cross a ball for love nor money.

O'hara is a grafter, he works hard, he tries and he does his best whilst having decent ability with the ball at his feet.

He hasn't played much for spurs, but from all his games (since he broke into the fray for the starting 11), I have come away much more often then not with the feeling that he put in a decent shift and did well.

He has had his poor games, ones in which he did not showcase his abilities very well, but thats a rarity.

JOH is a player we need. When people talk about our lack of grit, determination and willingness to get stuck in - it sums up what he is all about and can offer us; and as we saw today, he can be a little gem in the midfield that allows us to steady the ship in the middle of the park and let Modric do his thing, allow Bale to bomb up the left whilst he and didier can boss the area in front of the defence.

He isn't a world beater by any means, and im sure some money would buy us a better alternative. But people sometimes underestimate the players we have at the club. I think he is very useful, and as he is on our books, we should be using him much more effectively then we have done.

Personally think he deserves to start more games the he does.

 

[themanwhofellasleep]

I love the fellow. What I find quite amusing about some of the comments is the notion that a player can't improve. In the year or so that he's been in the team, O'Hara has already improved vastly. He can pass, cross the ball, tackle and score goals, and he's getting better all the time. In his last few performances I've seen glimpses of skill from him that have really surprised me.

Here's a young player who has only been in the team one season, who is improving constantly, and yet there are people who categorically state that he'll never be more than a plodder or a squad player. Look at a player like Lampard. He was a fairly average attacking midfielder at West Ham, not blessed with vast amounts of natural talent, but over the years he's improved himself and shows a great level of skill and vision. I suspect that if O'hara's name was Jamie Ohizinho and we had signed him from Barcelona, more people would be purring over him.

 

[DC_Boy]

JOH deserves to start and should have started a lot more games recently - had he done so I'm confident we'd have more points than we now do

he's got a really good mix of skill and determination

 

[dcarney75]

O'Hara has clearly improved, and I dread to think what would have happened if he hadn't come on last night.

If his name was Javier Sanchez and we'd signed him from Boca Juniors in the summer, everyone would be raving about him!

 

[MrWoolley]

I love the fellow. What I find quite amusing about some of the comments is the notion that a player can't improve. In the year or so that he's been in the team, O'Hara has already improved vastly. He can pass, cross the ball, tackle and score goals, and he's getting better all the time. In his last few performances I've seen glimpses of skill from him that have really surprised me.

Here's a young player who has only been in the team one season, who is improving constantly, and yet there are people who categorically state that he'll never be more than a plodder or a squad player. Look at a player like Lampard. He was a fairly average attacking midfielder at West Ham, not blessed with vast amounts of natural talent, but over the years he's improved himself and shows a great level of skill and vision. I suspect that if O'hara's name was Jamie Ohizinho and we had signed him from Barcelona, more people would be purring over him.

A pretty fair post. I think O'Hara is our most improved player in the last year or so, and yet people seem to think he cant improve any further. Why? His decision making is improving every game, and the more expierence he gets the more it will continue to improve. He's also got a very handy eye for goal, which if he can develop this further can really help us out when the strikers aren't scoring (which isn't a rare thing at the moment). He may never be world class, but if he keeps improving and working hard, he can nail down a place in this Spurs side and give us the balance in midfield which we've craved for years.

 

[Green Samot]

I've been very impressed with him lately and he's clearly improved and is still improving.

He was just what we needed last night. He was trying to get the players going when he came on at half time which was good to see. Not enough of our players are like that.

 

[llamafarmer]

Love Jamie O, always have and I hate reading those (probably bollocks) rumours of him being used as a transfer make-weight. I think he's one of those youngsters we can definitely afford to persevere with - playing him is hardly a huge risk and he's improving all the time.

 

[mil1lion]

He's closer and closer to reaching Malbranque status out on the left. I'd actually love to have Malbranque back, as between him and O'Hara i think left midfield would be sorted, and we could play the 4-4-2 with Modric in the middle, and still have the defensive cover in midfield to win the ball back. Theres no doubt that O'Hara is commited to the cause and you have to love a player like that. Those are the players that every team need in the squad. Whether they're challenging for the title or fighting relegation. And after we sold Tainio and Malbranque, O'Hara is the one remaining soldier in our midfield.

 

[Mr Gamgee]

Its great to see a player who has some real passion in him. This guy really deserves to start instead of Bentley. Wont happen though

 

[WhiteHart4Ever]

Had a great half yesterday. Gets his foot in, and has excellent crosses and a fierce shot. Way better than Bentley at the moment. Way better.

 

[whl_yid1982]

I'd like to see him start against wigan on sunday maybe in a 5 man midfield, he certainly deserves it on current form.

 

[Chiedozies_Afro]

O'hara is quality and he adds a bit of steel & bite to our midfield which we've been lacking recently.

 

[striebs]

....
....I like Ohara and I know it's harsh, but he is what he is and he's not going to get quicker or more intelligent. What you get with him is valuable to a squad where we are.

That prompts the question of where our squad is , not so much in terms of league position but development and potential .


Modric was superb again last night but was making passes for people who just didn't get it and we lost possession .

I don't think we have even one other player in the squad on his exalted wavelength . Would you agree ?

However all the other players in the squad are on a simmilar wavelength including Jamie O'Hara .

Realistically what is the way forward for Spurs ?
- attempt to assemble sufficient players of Modric quality at the same time as is neccessary to make a difference and retain Modric .
or
- complete our squad of players of simmilar ability who are all on the same wavelength ?

 

[whl_yid1982]

That prompts the question of where our squad is , not so much in terms of league position but development and potential .


Modric was superb again last night but was making passes for people who just didn't get it and we lost possession .

I don't think we have even one other player in the squad on his exalted wavelength . Would you agree ?

However all the other players in the squad are on a simmilar wavelength including Jamie O'Hara .

Realistically what is the way forward for Spurs ?
- attempt to assemble sufficient players of Modric quality at the same time as is neccessary to make a difference and retain Modric .
or
- complete our squad of players of simmilar ability who are all on the same wavelength ?

I know what your saying about no one being on modric's wavelength. Take last nite for example bale and modric exchanged passes on the left wing and modric then knocked it down the wing in a hole for bale to run onto. However after passing bale stopped then after not anticipating modric's pass he turns to modric and looks at him with disgust. I thought fuck sake bale it's not his fault you should be more intelligent and anticipate his intelligent passing.

 

[eddiebailey]

I think when a youngster breaks into the team, unless he is an out and out flair player, then the emphasis from the coaching team, and in the player’s own head, is on following instructions and not making mistakes. As Jamie becomes more settled and grows in confidence he is starting to express himself more and show what a technically accomplished player he is, and always was. As a trainee no-one doubted his talent, the question marks were over his aggression and concentration – watching him for the reserves I lost count of the goals conceded as the result of a sloppy 80th minute O’Hara pass and he did not have the bite to compete against more physical teams. It was the inveterate risk-taker Ramos who gave him his chance, but the biggest influences on turning O’Hara into the player we see today were Jol and Davids, who both spent a lot of one-to-one time with him, toughening him up mentally and physically; Davids seems to have been particularly successful in getting into his head. When Davids joined he said that one of his goals was to develop some young players who could be the future of the club; the four he picked out to work with were Lennon, Routledge, McKenna and O’Hara. Two out of four is not a bad return.

 

[Firekid]

And davids was back at the training ground the other day, and O'Hara puts in one of his best displays? Coinecidence? (Probably)

 

[Stoof]

I'm changing my name to O'Stoof in recognition of his 6 minutes of absolute sublimety last night (it's a word). Probably the best 6 minutes he's ever had.

Except that one time after Faces in Gants Hill Sauna. :wink: