Sam Szmodics-Your thoughts?

[Upside Down]

On 10/10/2022 at 10:46, chaddyrovers said:

But what we don't know what has been said Rovers medical department and fitness department about Dack. Plus, what the data shows about his work rate in training and in games. 

There isn't any data yet for his performance in games because he hasn't played any.

Whatever the reason is for not playing him, it can't be football related. He is by far the best player we have and if "he doesn't suit the style of play" or whatever bollocks they come up with then there's clearly a problem with said style of play if you can't fit a guy like that into your team. 

By the way is this style of play the one that leads us to lose away at Wigan without having a shot on goal?

[Dan]

Good job we don’t have Tugay at the club, he’d never get a game. 
 

Dack doesn’t need to runaround like a headless chicken, give him the ball and there’s a good chance he’ll make something happen, he has the vision and skill that most of our other players don’t. 
 

I appreciate fitness levels are important, especially if we are going to one day play like the manager wants us to, but right now winning matches is more important than how many miles we run during games and training.  

[K-Hod]

What I find the most bizarre about Dack not being picked to start is that JDT played in the same position as him as a player!

[AllRoverAsia]

6 hours ago, Dan said:

Good job we don’t have Tugay at the club, he’d never get a game. 
 

Dack doesn’t need to runaround like a headless chicken, give him the ball and there’s a good chance he’ll make something happen, he has the vision and skill that most of our other players don’t. 
 

I appreciate fitness levels are important, especially if we are going to one day play like the manager wants us to, but right now winning matches is more important than how many miles we run during games and training.  

Just to add that weeks ago Dack stated that he was in peak fitness, fully over the injuries and as fit as he'd ever been. He does look in better shape.

He may well lack match sharpness and the reason for that is he's not being started in top level games for I suspect non footballing reasons.

To start Szmodics ahead of Dack is proof of that. 

Szmodics may well be a willing runner but that is about it as far as his skill set goes.

 

[Mattyblue]

Just shows the emperor’s new clothes world of ‘data’ that even a top forward in his day like JDT seemingly can’t see the wood for the trees.

Will the ‘stats’ show Dack running and/or pressing (not that I’m seeing much of either from any of them at the minute) as much as a Dolan or a Szmodics? No, but is running like a headless chicken going to break down a well drilled defence or unlock one with a pass ‘through the lines’ (to use a modern parlance) that no other bugger in the squad would even spot? And does running about a lot mean you also have that knack of finding that little bit of space in the box?

We are throwing the baby out with the bath water here…

Edited October 13, 2022 by Mattyblue

[arbitro]

Dack certainly has the sharpest football brain at Rovers even if he isn't our most athletic player. He showed his vision in the under 21 match last night. He is something we certainly don't have in any of Tomasson's squad. 

[DE.]

Can't help but think Dack's absence has more to it than just stats. Think there may be a clash of personalities there.

[Mattyblue]

Has to be, if we were playing a settled XI and system, you could say ‘we’ll that’s his method and he just doesn’t fit into it.

Whereas at the moment we are constantly chopping and changing players and set up, sending players to the U21s, then bringing them back to start first team games… apart from one senior pro.
 

Edited October 13, 2022 by Mattyblue

[J*B]

2 minutes ago, DE. said:

Can't help but think Dack's absence has more to it than just stats. Think there may be a clash of personalities there.

I'm putting it down to this as well. It's a tried and tested technique when you're coming in and changing big things, get rid of the previous regime. 

[dingles staying down 4ever]

4 hours ago, AllRoverAsia said:

Just to add that weeks ago Dack stated that he was in peak fitness, fully over the injuries and as fit as he'd ever been. He does look in better shape.

He may well lack match sharpness and the reason for that is he's not being started in top level games for I suspect non footballing reasons.

To start Szmodics ahead of Dack is proof of that. 

Szmodics may well be a willing runner but that is about it as far as his skill set goes.

 

To be honest, to me Dack still does not physically fit enough. Ive said it before but before his injuries he looked unfit and he still does.

Still play him over Szmodics though

[dingles staying down 4ever]

2 minutes ago, J*B said:

I'm putting it down to this as well. It's a tried and tested technique when you're coming in and changing big things, get rid of the previous regime. 

Or get rid of the big earners

[Hasta]

Don't play him. Fair enough. But if we are poor or need a goal give him 45 minutes or half an hour.

To have him on the bench and either not bring him on or give him a few minutes right at the end when we need a goal is baffling.

Interesting that every starting lineup on the Boro thread by members on here has Dack in it.

No hate to Sammy by the way. He's not shown enugh apart from odd flashes but he's not alone and the system maybe doesnt help him either.

[J*B]

6 minutes ago, dingles staying down 4ever said:

To be honest, to me Dack still does not physically fit enough. Ive said it before but before his injuries he looked unfit and he still does.

Still play him over Szmodics though

I thought this, but I was watching some highlights on the Rovers twitter of the last time we played Rotherham (I think) and Dack looked exactly the same then. He gave up when he lost the ball, he made a token attempt to press and didn't make any runs in behind.

He's never chased down balls, he's never covered lots of ground in a game, he's never been especially quick. What he did then and still does now is be capable of playing a killer ball and have the unteachable ability of being in the right place at the right time. 

[MarkBRFC]

I just think the system is a load of garbage, i was hoping these bizarre formations with no strikers would have been out of the door with Mowbray.

Why can't we just get one of the strikers central and play off him a bit? We can still play out from the back if we must persist with that, but it's no coincidence that in the last 3 away games we haven't threatened at all bar a last minute missed penalty.

Diaz does seem to be at his best coming from the left to be fair, but why can't we get Dack playing off Gallagher/Hirst and see if he can recapture his old form? Hedges out on the right.

[rigger]

16 minutes ago, DE. said:

Can't help but think Dack's absence has more to it than just stats. Think there may be a clash of personalities there.

Do you remember the video when JDT gave an early speech to the players, about what he wanted and expected. Dack seemed to be dis-interestedly lounging about. JDT might have taken that as a bad first impression.

[rigger]

4 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

I just think the system is a load of garbage, i was hoping these bizarre formations with no strikers would have been out of the door with Mowbray.

Why can't we just get one of the strikers central and play off him a bit? We can still play out from the back if we must persist with that, but it's no coincidence that in the last 3 away games we haven't threatened at all bar a last minute missed penalty.

Diaz does seem to be at his best coming from the left to be fair, but why can't we get Dack playing off Gallagher/Hirst and see if he can recapture his old form? Hedges out on the right.

Thats too many forwards, midfield and defence would be over-run.

[Guest]

Dack needs a change (up) of image - his long lanky hairstyle just give emphasis to the fact he is thinning on top - what next.. a comb-over?

Anyway, if he was to get a smart new haircut, and do something with his five o'clock shadow, he could bound back onto the first team stage like a man possessed.

Come on Bradley - time for a new start, eh? We NEED YOU! NOW!

[Mattyblue]

You could be right. 

This clean cut young chap would walk in to the side.

 

Edited October 13, 2022 by Mattyblue

[roversfan99]

I found it telling how easy a ride Tomasson will get over the issue in that the local journalists asked him the other night why Dack didn't get on, and he said that he didn't want to use his 5th sub too early in case of injury. On what planet when Szmodics and Hirst start and when a central midfielder, right back, Dolan and Gallagher are the first 4 subs is Dack behind all of them, in a game where we didn't have a shot on target?

Players like Dack might become less and less common in this age whereby data is everything and players who run further and play more sensible but accurate passes are the ones that everyone wants.

[dingles staying down 4ever]

8 minutes ago, J*B said:

I thought this, but I was watching some highlights on the Rovers twitter of the last time we played Rotherham (I think) and Dack looked exactly the same then. He gave up when he lost the ball, he made a token attempt to press and didn't make any runs in behind.

He's never chased down balls, he's never covered lots of ground in a game, he's never been especially quick. What he did then and still does now is be capable of playing a killer ball and have the unteachable ability of being in the right place at the right time. 

To be honest I have to disagree in the fact one of my main complaints in the past was that he used to back track too far looking for the ball and would be in midfield or defence when midfield or defence were looking for an out ball

 

28 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

I just think the system is a load of garbage, i was hoping these bizarre formations with no strikers would have been out of the door with Mowbray.

Why can't we just get one of the strikers central and play off him a bit? We can still play out from the back if we must persist with that, but it's no coincidence that in the last 3 away games we haven't threatened at all bar a last minute missed penalty.

Diaz does seem to be at his best coming from the left to be fair, but why can't we get Dack playing off Gallagher/Hirst and see if he can recapture his old form? Hedges out on the right.

Simple reason is that neither Gallagher or Hirst can hold the ball like Danny Graham. Im presuming that Hirst would be the extra body in midfield because as others have said we are already over run in midfield with two in there.

[MarkBRFC]

23 minutes ago, dingles staying down 4ever said:

Simple reason is that neither Gallagher or Hirst can hold the ball like Danny Graham. Im presuming that Hirst would be the extra body in midfield because as others have said we are already over run in midfield with two in there.

 

48 minutes ago, rigger said:

Thats too many forwards, midfield and defence would be over-run.

I obviously meant either Gallagher or Hirst not both of them.

I do agree that neither can hold up the ball like Danny Graham, but surely they are both more use stood central attempting to win things so the likes of Dack can thrive just off them? Rather than out wide where they just don't influence the game at all.

[rigger]

22 minutes ago, dingles staying down 4ever said:

To be honest I have to disagree in the fact one of my main complaints in the past was that he used to back track too far looking for the ball and would be in midfield or defence when midfield or defence were looking for an out ball

 

Simple reason is that neither Gallagher or Hirst can hold the ball like Danny Graham. Im presuming that Hirst would be the extra body in midfield because as others have said we are already over run in midfield with two in there.

Dack was doing similar in the second half for the U21s. He went looking for the ball in defensive positions. Not what you want from an attacking play maker.  

[rigger]

1 minute ago, MarkBRFC said:

 

I obviously meant either Gallagher or Hirst not both of them.

I do agree that neither can hold up the ball like Danny Graham, but surely they are both more use stood central attempting to win things so the likes of Dack can thrive just off them? Rather than out wide where they just don't influence the game at all.

You still wanted Diaz on the left, Hedges on the right, with Dack playing off either Gally or Hirst. That is four forwards, which in my opinion is too many. 

[Exiled in Toronto]

1 hour ago, J*B said:

I'm putting it down to this as well. It's a tried and tested technique when you're coming in and changing big things, get rid of the previous regime. 

Especially if the ringleader of the old regime isn’t taking the new one very seriously, didn’t go all out in pre-season, isn’t fully fit, doesn’t follow the on-field instructions, and, based on his last two fleeting appearances, can’t control the ball in those great spaces he finds when played in.

I’m pretty sure Denmark’s Champions’ League-winning record scorer knows skill when he sees it. I’m also sure he’s seen better managers than him fail by not imposing their authority on players who don’t buy in, just because short-term results might improve by playing them.

[Exiled in Toronto]

11 minutes ago, rigger said:

Dack was doing similar in the second half for the U21s. He went looking for the ball in defensive positions. Not what you want from an attacking play maker.  

He did it at Wigan and Cardiff too, and when he got the HT hook against Stoke.