Sam Szmodics-Your thoughts?

[bluebruce]

1 hour ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

But he’s not 23.

That really wasn't my point whatsoever. I believe he's good enough right now. The point about his age was merely to say why there's not a large queue for his services from the Prem. They rarely spend big on any 29 year old, which is what he'll be soon into the next season. But I could definitely see someone plumping for him at about 8-10 mill.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

7 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

That really wasn't my point whatsoever. I believe he's good enough right now. The point about his age was merely to say why there's not a large queue for his services from the Prem. They rarely spend big on any 29 year old, which is what he'll be soon into the next season. But I could definitely see someone plumping for him at about 8-10 mill.

I like the lad a lot but he’s not a Prem player. Adam Armstrong was better equipped for the Prem than Sammi because he was quick and was an equally good finisher but he never reached the standard required either.

[bluebruce]

8 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I like the lad a lot but he’s not a Prem player. Adam Armstrong was better equipped for the Prem than Sammi because he was quick and was an equally good finisher but he never reached the standard required either.

Needs a lot more than just pace and finishing to be a Prem player. Armstrong was selfish and not particularly smart in his decision making. Besides, any move can go wrong.

We'll just have to disagree, there's no way you're convincing me Sammie couldn't play for someone in the Prem and be at least useful, and I'd imagine there's no way I'll change your mind either so we'll leave it there.

[simongarnerisgod]

34 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I like the lad a lot but he’s not a Prem player. Adam Armstrong was better equipped for the Prem than Sammi because he was quick and was an equally good finisher but he never reached the standard required either.

szmodics is a better player than armstrong,he`s more aware,holds the ball up better and is a constant menace to defenders because he`s never still,you never see amstrong working the flanks or tracking back

[roversfan99]

Armstrong appears to have become a more rounded player as he has aged. He has 11 assists and often plays from a wide position.

I never fully was having the criticism of him being greedy in that last season, I dont think you can question someone too much who scores 28.

[Upside Down]

2 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

Armstrong appears to have become a more rounded player as he has aged. He has 11 assists and often plays from a wide position.

I never fully was having the criticism of him being greedy in that last season, I dont think you can question someone too much who scores 28.

You can certainly question why we didn't challenge the playoffs when he scored 28

[bluebruce]

8 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

Armstrong appears to have become a more rounded player as he has aged. He has 11 assists and often plays from a wide position.

I never fully was having the criticism of him being greedy in that last season, I dont think you can question someone too much who scores 28.

You could certainly question it by the end, where he was just taking stupid pot shots instead of playing people in. A lot easier to score 28 when you rarely pass. Szmodics has a decent chance of hitting the same figure in a worse team, often from a deeper position, but doesn't have that failing.

Armstrong was still very valuable to us, and we weren't better off without him as some suggested, but it was a definite weak point of his game. Good for him if he's moved past that. Probably been forced to, playing in a better side and spending time in the Prem where he couldn't just do what he wanted.

Edited March 12 by bluebruce

[bluebruce]

8 hours ago, simongarnerisgod said:

szmodics is a better player than armstrong,he`s more aware,holds the ball up better and is a constant menace to defenders because he`s never still,you never see amstrong working the flanks or tracking back

I think Szmodics is probably the best all-round player we've had since we came down under Venkys tbh.

[47er]

8 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

Armstrong appears to have become a more rounded player as he has aged

Or is he a success in the Championship but not good enough for the Premiership?

[windymiller7]

I was queueing for a burger with my daughter on Saturday at the burger van behind the club shop when a young woman with a pram and another little girl in tow needed to get through making her way from the car park towards Nuttall St. Naturally I shuffled back a bit & allowed her to pass through, she said thank you & went on her way.

It was at this point my daughter said "do you know who that was?". (I don't do all this SM stuff) "No idea love, why?". "That's Sammie's missus & *insert kids names*"

The point I'm making here is that this could've been any young mum, not glammed up like most footballer's wives would be & I think that's a fair reflection on Sammie & his principals. No airs & graces, what  you see is what you get, work hard & pick up the rewards you deserve.

Absolutely love Sammie. 100% all the time, nothing less will do. Unfortunately I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's not here next season, regardless of what division we're in.

Edited March 12 by windymiller7

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

38 minutes ago, windymiller7 said:

I was queueing for a burger with my daughter on Saturday at the burger van behind the club shop when a young woman with a pram and another little girl in tow needed to get through making her way from the car park towards Nuttall St. Naturally I shuffled back a bit & allowed her to pass through, she said thank you & went on her way.

It was at this point my daughter said "do you know who that was?". (I don't do all this SM stuff) "No idea love, why?". "That's Sammie's missus & *insert kids names*"

The point I'm making here is that this could've been any young mum, not glammed up like most footballer's wives would be & I think that's a fair reflection on Sammie & his principals. No heirs & graces, what  you see is what you get, work hard & pick up the rewards you deserve.

Absolutely love Sammie. 100% all the time, nothing less will do. Unfortunately I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's not here next season, regardless of what division we're in.

Don’t you just love predictive text - changing “ airs “  to “ heirs “  I presume. His wife had two “ heirs “ in tow.

[windymiller7]

22 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Don’t you just love predictive text - changing “ airs “  to “ heirs “  I presume. His wife had two “ heirs “ in tow.

Oops, yeah, well spotted. Edited now. Cheers Tyrone.

[ben_the_beast]

Stay up or go down I'm sure Szmodics will be leaving this summer. I don't think the squad has ever needed a rebuild as much as it does now. If he picked up an injury between now and the end of the season I can't see where the next goal would come from.

He's actually outperforming his Xg by 5 goals this season. He's an absolutely brilliant finisher.

[bluebruce]

5 hours ago, windymiller7 said:

I was queueing for a burger with my daughter on Saturday at the burger van behind the club shop when a young woman with a pram and another little girl in tow needed to get through making her way from the car park towards Nuttall St. Naturally I shuffled back a bit & allowed her to pass through, she said thank you & went on her way.

It was at this point my daughter said "do you know who that was?". (I don't do all this SM stuff) "No idea love, why?". "That's Sammie's missus & *insert kids names*"

The point I'm making here is that this could've been any young mum, not glammed up like most footballer's wives would be & I think that's a fair reflection on Sammie & his principals. No airs & graces, what  you see is what you get, work hard & pick up the rewards you deserve.

Absolutely love Sammie. 100% all the time, nothing less will do. Unfortunately I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's not here next season, regardless of what division we're in.

In fairness, a factor in that may be that he hasn't earned the vast sums many have. Until he came here he was probably never on more than about 5k per week, and that would have been relatively recently too. It's great money to the man in the street, but if he's become a millionaire yet it will have been inside the last year I expect. Short career, and already coming into the last few years or so of it on a good wedge (relative to the footballer life), with a family to raise...yes other footballers might still feel the need to be silly and flash with it, but a bit of financial prudence is to be expected of someone with a brain. If they're still keeping it low-key after his inevitable big move then it'll be more of a testament to character.

That said, I do agree he seems the type to focus and work hard without getting distracted by all the other trappings of the footballer life. Big fan of the guy's ability and application. It's scary to think where we'd be without him this season, probably in Rotherham's position. Which is a real shame because we do have other talented players. We just lack proper depth and a cohesive unit (largely stemming from having a manager who was fed up followed by a manager who seems to be shit, but also just characteristics we lack as a squad such as height, bottle and enough pace).

[Blow-in]

On 11/03/2024 at 11:02, 47er said:

Will leave for a low-placed Premier league Club or a Championship club looking for promotion.

Given the state of our finances and his age---£10M?

Unfortunately he is worth more to us than he is to anyone else.

[Blow-in]

Sammie is a class act. Not even a hint of a story about him going to another club, obviously keeps his agent on a short leash.

And he is a much better finisher than Armstrong, not saying he would do well in the Premier League but Armstrong's pace was nullified in the PL because everyone is quick. SS has more nous and intelligence in my opinion.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/soccer/arid-41351755.html

Good news for Ireland, looks like the Hungry links are very much dead in the water.

Article also mentions 15m link to Brentford. Surprising amount of true.

Don't care how much he goes for we won't see any of it. Hope he stays another year or two and runs his contract down and then leaves for free. 

Edited March 13 by Blow-in

[Rogerb]

6 hours ago, Blow-in said:

 

Article also mentions 15m link to Brentford. Surprising amount of true.

Don't care how much he goes for we won't see any of it. Hope he stays another year or two and runs his contract down and then leaves for free. 

There was mention of Brentford and Luton yesterday. Think Brentford expect Toney to go in the summer so should have a sizeable wedge from that sale.

[bluebruce]

7 hours ago, Blow-in said:

Sammie is a class act. Not even a hint of a story about him going to another club, obviously keeps his agent on a short leash.

And he is a much better finisher than Armstrong, not saying he would do well in the Premier League but Armstrong's pace was nullified in the PL because everyone is quick. SS has more nous and intelligence in my opinion.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/soccer/arid-41351755.html

Good news for Ireland, looks like the Hungry links are very much dead in the water.

Article also mentions 15m link to Brentford. Surprising amount of true.

Don't care how much he goes for we won't see any of it. Hope he stays another year or two and runs his contract down and then leaves for free. 

I'm a bit confused, you said no hint of a transfer story, then posted a link that mentions a transfer story?

[Blow-in]

1 hour ago, bluebruce said:

I'm a bit confused, you said no hint of a transfer story, then posted a link that mentions a transfer story?

You know what, I never even copped that. I linked the story as news for Irish rovers that it looks like he will be playing for us and got sidetracked with the story about the fee, my bad as the kids say.

I stand by the class act comment though 😁.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Give him the player of the Season Award now..no one else comes close.

[bluebruce]

25 minutes ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

Give him the player of the Season Award now..no one else comes close.

I agree, he could get injured for the rest of the season tomorrow and he'd still be my pick by some distance.

[steved]

He'll be gone by the start of next season.  Probably the only way to keep the lights on at Ewood Park for a few more months, given today's news from India.

[AllRoverAsia]

Sammie is back in the RoI squad and well up for it.

Good luck!👍

[NeilInBristol]

27 minutes ago, AllRoverAsia said:

Sammie is back in the RoI squad and well up for it.

Good luck!👍

Glad for him but hope he doesn't get injured!! Player of the season by a mile

[roversfan99]

Not good news for us. Even if he avoids injury, he needs a rest.