Massimo Donati?

I hope you are right and yes he has looked good pre-season. He just has always looked like he crumbles if things get tough. Just a feeling i get. On the other hand he looked very good in his first few games and for a couple of months sort of January-March in 2007-8 season before his confidence caved in again. In that good spell he even defended well and actually tracked runners well etc. I have him down the same as Sammy - talented but really fragile mentality. Problem with the SPL is a lot of it comes down to OF clashes and there is something about them that it comes down to mental strength more than anything else. Sammy and Donati need to go to the Wizard of OZ and get that if they are to have a future IMO.

 

well scott brown and barry robson are out injured just now right?
so if they werent ! they would be in front of him regardless? he has picked cos of injuries in the cm area! nothing major and i think he will get punted ?

 

Think hes one the worst player at celtic at the moment. Hope he goes. But is Mowbry turning Strachans rejects into stars?

 

Think your spot on here but Mowbray is saying the right things and that itself is a confidence booster to Donati ,i think he will get used a lot more also i would like to add when celtic got him he was rated very highly in Italy and was set for big things ,you dont lose that you lose confidence and Mowbray could be the guy to get the best out of him .

 

Really good points there mate he's got all the talent in the world but when the going gets tough he seems to diasppear and he is really afraid of a 50-50, its not nice, but hard tackling is a fundamental part of the Scottish game and he needs to stop being afraid of taking a whack sometimes. If he could do that we'd have a top class midfielder IMO.
Samaras when confident is a terrific player with lots of attributes but his head goes down so easily and when that happens all his talent seems to disappear.

 

It will be Brown and a n other. The Brown-Robson 2 box-to-box CM approach would take discipline but I have always loved the idea of it. By pure luck, form and injuries etc I think the combination has only been possible to use once or twice. Not sure about it in CL games but it would be ideal in most SPL games. Robson is a cracker of a CM when fit IMO

 

Donati will NOT make it at Celtic. I will be astounded if he makes 20 appearances form the start.

 

Sammy on top form and 100% fit has the raw talent to be world class. He is really big, good in the air, really fast for a big guy, has some really nice footwork for a big guy and can score a range of goals. His goals per game ratio was superb until him and JVOH hit the skids this year. Its not long ago he was hugely rated by big teams. If there is one thing about his game that doesnt suit the SPL its that he is better with the ball passed into space in front of him. The SPL is very tight defensively with strikers having to play deep with their back to the goal. However, if we get our passing movement quick and pinpoint enough we should get round that. I still think he is worth keeping and an outside punt that he could still be an amazing player. Needs a sports psycologist big time though!

 

im not convinced samaras is fast, strong or good in the air. i think hes weak for a guy his size.

 

I reckon he will get a chance (maybe on and off) until Xmas and if he is not up to it he will be punted and maybe a new player come in in that window. Mentality is a very hard thing to change so I have to admit I tend to think he will not make it. I feel his spraying about of long passes is the sort of thing that looks classy but he needs to add a lot more drive to his game going both backwards and forwards. Hope he does make it though. He seems a great bloke. Lenny rates him and he should know a CM.

 

I think thats what he will get but certain games Mowbray will change things about hence different players getting used ,im sure Donati would be happy with that at least he is floating around the first team again ,what Mowbray has done for him is ,he has opened the door for him to come out and play and express himself ,he see,s that Donati has something ,now its down to Donati to prove all the doubters wrong

 

I don't think He has been given the ability to go out and express himself...i think the game just panned out that way yesterday as the opposition were poor to average. When Brown comes back i doubt he will get a look in. As i said before, he looks elegant on the ball....but only when not under any pressure. He is slack and always likely to let the opposition in at some point in a game.

 

His pace dropped off a bit when he was coming back from injury but I saw him putting in some incredible bursts of pace where defenders were left for dead before that. Hes not a BBJ type collosis that everyone just bounces off but he doesnt need to be because he is far more mobile and has a lot of skill. Needs to work on his poaching and shooting though. Has a habit of trying to be too clever with his shots instead of putting his foot through the ball. he needs players in open play feeding the ball into space in front of him in central positions, not endless crosses into the box. He would have done well in a game like last nights but mince though Scottish football is, teams defend high and in big numbers and last nights opposition were a lot easier to open up than most SPL teams.

 

We rarely seen his pace and skill last season though and he gives the ball away far far too much.

 

To be fair mate we didnt see any stand-outs in that season past

 

thirded

nuthing against robson but if mogga is going with a 4-4-2 (4-2-4)
our cm should be brown,n'guemo,crosas,donati IMO

 

I think that its all up in the air if he will keep it consistent....having said that i think its going to be good now that his relationship with the staff is better!

 

Seems Donati has found a bit of motivation at last and it looks like management like what they see. If he proves to the coaching staff he's good enough then he's good enough.

 

id have to agree with that

 

Played well so far under mowbray but only freindlies if he plays on wednesday its a chance to prove himself