It would be fair to say that David Obua is a player who has rarely set the proverbial heather on fire during his time with Hearts.
A Csaba Laszlo signing – not something that helps him in the eyes of the fans it has to be said – Obua has been something of an enigma in that he has on very rare occasions shown that he does possess the skills necessary to be a good player in the SPL, but far too often has appeared to be not interested enough to put the effort in to make his mark in games, which is something that you cannot expect to do in Scotland and be popular.
However credit has to be given where it’s due, and I thought the big man had a really decent game against St Johnstone yesterday. I must admit I still don’t know what Obua’s best position actually is, if indeed he has one, but he was effectively asked to ‘be’ Kevin Kyle yesterday and didn’t actually do too badly believe it or not. He won virtually everything he was asked to in the air and if he’d been playing alongside a sharper strike partner than Gary Glen we would probably be talking about a much more statistically comfortable victory than the eventual 1-0 result, as several of his knock-downs and flick-ons were crying out for a nippy striker to take full advantage. He also linked very well with some of the midfield players on the left side too, despite what the guys behind me who barracked his every touch seemed to think.
Given the obvious lack of depth in the Hearts squad’s striking department and the injury problems that Kevin Kyle is having to contend with, we are probably going to have rely on the likes of Obua and Glen a lot more as the season continues. So it’s therefore in everyone’s interests that these guys do well and gain some confidence. For me Glen is still struggling a bit but perhaps a run of games – something he’s never really had – will enable him to show us that he can be a better player than the one we’ve seen to date. As for Obua, I do think that if the fans give him a bit more encouragement then he can do a job for us, even if it is just to deputise for the likes of Kyle on the odd occasion.
In the meantime, well done to big David for proving some people wrong yesterday.
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Sorry MrH, but I couldn’t disagree more. I know he did okay yesterday (not great, but okay) but at best (like yesterday) he is mediocre. At worst it’s like playing with a man short… or given the amount of times he gives the ball to the opposition like playing 10 v 12. He has had ample opportunity to show what he can do, and we discovered he can do the amazing trick of missing an open goal from two yards out by somehow blasting it over the bar. The rest of the time, he just doesn’t look interested and wanders aimlessly around the park. Simply not good enough. Hearts should be looking to offload him as soon as possible IMO.
What is it that you’re disagreeing with SJ? I’m not saying I rate the guy and I don’t disagree we should be looking to offload him, but while he’s there and the only viable alternative to Kyle, surely it’s better that he receives encouragement for the occasional good things that he does do rather than being barracked?
He did ok yesterday – you’re right. He does jump well, but I’m not sure the ball often goes in the direction he’s intending. So its hard for any other forward to read it. Can’t help feeling he’d be better at basketball or long distance running instead of SPL football !!
True, although the same could be said for Kevin Kyle if we’re honest…..
Sorry MrH, I thought you were implying that Obua was suddenly a good player and the fans should “lay off him” because he didn’t commit any major foul ups in yesterday’s game. If you weren’t saying that, then I apologise and I agree 100% that he is, indeed, mince.
Also, I should add, that I will *always* support the players in maroon, even those (like Obua) who are unworthy of the jersey. But we have alternatives to KK – we could play Elliott and pass the ball to feet instead of launching high balls hoping for a knock down…….
I’d much prefer us to play that way as well, as our biggest strengths are actually down the wings when we keep it that way anyway. Playing a big lump down the middle only encourages the centre-backs to go for the easy option too often in my view…..
Yes, our team strong point is our wing play – from Wallace and Thomson overlapping, to the likes of Templeton and Suso running at defenders. The low cross/pass from Craig Thomson yesterday for Rudi’s goal is the type of intelligent play that gets the fans off their seats in anticipation.
‘be kevin kyle for the day’ – i know so many who said this about obua yesterday… if the thinking there is that we need someone tall up front to hold up the ball and play off we’d be as well playing Zal up front! I agree Obua is mince, but I’m one of a very few to have rarely seen him play really badly (i dont get to many games!!), i dont expect him to start in glasgow, I’d rather see us concentrate on our very good passing game rather than trying to run off a big front man, I doubt rangers will give us space for that!
” I’m one of a very few to have rarely seen him play really badly” – love your multi-negatives there, PTJ !! My wee brain is too tired to work out if you’re paying a compliment to him, or being critical of him !!!
I’d agree with the article here. For me Obua did pretty much all that was asked of him on Saturday but received scant support from Glen who appears incabable of anticipation.
i’m not sure what i meant either… he’s clearly not always the player i have seen the few times Ive seen him in the flesh – particularly a game against falkirk a couple of years back, when we won about 5 in a row, he and driver were brilliant consistently swapping wings. Though i also saw him taking pot shots at goal at a game at st mirren, where he couldnt have passed it into the 6 yard box!