" STUART O'KEEFE? "

" RESTING STUART O'KEEFE? "

By Phil Smith

Sunday 10th April 2016

O'Keefe's demotion to the bench was the shock announcement at 2 o'clock, given he had been man of the match against Derby, Cardiff's best player this calendar year and was even beginning to chip in with a few goals.

Slade took the decision to give him a rest at Craven Cottage, presumably in the hope that he could return for the closing weeks full of energy.

It was a controversial call, but Aron Gunarsson's delicate chip to set up Lex Immers totally repaid his manager's faith.

The Iceland midfielder had a good game, solid enough defensively and almost nicking a goal of his own with a few headers from runs into the box.

Having said that, this was Joe Ralls' weakest game for some time, one of the players who did look a little short on energy.

Perhaps he would have been a better bet to make way.



VERDICT: Difficult to criticise given Gunarsson's success, but equally hard to justify dropping a player who has become so influential.

Certainly Joe Ralls has been looking weary lately but he has been having to cover a lot of the pitch due to our wide players spending most of the game out wide leaving great swathes of the middle of the pitch to be covered.

At this stage of the season play your best 11........a mistake in my eyes to drop okeefe....

Ridiculous decision to drop someone at the height of their form and confidence.
Why would he need a rest ffs? It's not as if he's played the whole season and is burnt out.

The player who keeps getting rave reviews and chips in with the odd goal gets dropped ?

Don't understand that at this stage of the season

surprised this conversation has taken so long to get going been watching okeefe and ralls closely over past few weeks watch how they talk and are starting to understand how each other plays been a massive part of our improvement and the big bonus is PW think he is really enjoying his football along side two technically very good footballers who will outwork the opposition mr slade very sorry but you ****** up at fulham

To give him a rest, when he only became a regular late in the season strikes me as bizarre. Slade dropped a right bollock. I'm not gonna criticise him too much though, as making mistakes with selection can happen to the best Managers.

Collective wisdom on here is shit sometimes.He was a bit sore so he got a rest as we had an able replacement.Better that than him tweeking a hamstring at this stage of the season.

"bit sore" really who made that up I spoke with him after the game you could see his upset

"bit sore" really who made that up I spoke with him after the game you could see his upset

What did he say?

Nobody yet has explained how playing O'Keefe would have stopped the 2 Fulham goals which came from defensive lapses?

We must play the best eleven v. QPR. Connolly, Pilks and O'Keefe have to be selected.

Nobody yet has explained how playing O'Keefe would have stopped the 2 Fulham goals which came from defensive lapses?

..because it wouldn't have ! Might be strange leaving him out but it didn't effect performance from what I heard it was just typical errors cost us goals

Nobody yet has explained how playing O'Keefe would have stopped the 2 Fulham goals which came from defensive lapses?

Maybe with him we may have scored 10..... We will never know...but at this stage you play the best 11......this is not the first time that slide has left out a player that has been performing..

He ain't been in the side long at all. Not as if he has played every game this season. That is why I feel Slade does not know what he is doing.