Sam Szmodics-Your thoughts?

[chaddyrovers]

9 hours ago, smiller14 said:

Comparing to the Kean issue was me over exaggerating the point, but 'he's not playing so he isn't better' just shuts down any debate. JDT clearly doesn't see him as better (rightly or wrongly). Ultimately, I have no arguments - we won, played well and Szmodics worked his socks off. I'd personally like to keep Dack as he offers something different, but he also deserves to be playing regularly and happy. I don't agree with those decrying Dack's lack of selection as ultimately in the last 2 games we've scored 4 goals and got 6 points - JDT lives and dies by such decisions and our league position would indicate he's getting them right more often than not. 

 

I'm not saying Dack hasn't got quality but in how we are playing currently I don't see how he fits into the team. I wouldn't like Rovers to stop him leaving in January if he wishes to. 

[Andy]

Sam did well last night and can hopefully build on that - he's had some poor games this season (as have all of the players), but overall he's done quite well.

As for Dack, if he works hard and does what the manager asks of him, he'll play his part.

I don't buy into the 'financial' thing in this instance.

[Neal]

Can't say I rate Sammie based on the majority of appearances I've seen so far and often fails to retain possession in key areas of the pitch.  

 

He had a decent game against Sunderland, some good things and didn't look out of place. Hopefully he can keep those standards up. I want him to do well as he seems like a good honest character, just hope he can back it up with ability which is in question for me at the moment. 

[riverholmes]

Szmodics, I fear, will go down as mistaken signing for the fact that he incurs every injury going, it seems. The latest is, apparently, an 'acute neck injury' which kept him out of the last game.

Great credit to him that he has come back from serious injuries, including, I believe, further ankle surgery and a broken leg in the same calendar year at Peterborough.

He keeps coming back but you have to wonder for how long and at what cost to his body. I believe he missed out on Ireland international recognition after a call-up as a Peterborough player, due to a shoulder injury.

We'll have to wait and see as to whether he can stay healthy for a prolonged period but his record is not good.

Edited October 23, 2022 by riverholmes

[riverholmes]

I think it's a fair bet that Szmodics will be the new Lewis Holtby, in that he will play infrequently and drift towards the effluxion of his contract before drifting down the leagues, at best. Unlike Holtby, however, he wasn't a free signing and isn't in his 30s.

A cursory look at his WIkipedia page and an online search reveals that despite his age, decent record and clear resilience, he picks up a lot of and varying injuries. It was a massive risk to spend money on him and it would appear to be backfiring, though, he still has two and a half years on his contract to prove himself.

I hope I am wrong and wish him well - and admire him for his clear resilience in coming back from injury after injury (in one of his last season's at Peterborough, I believe he separately damaged/broke his ankle, had knee surgery and then was out with a hamstring injury in the same calendar year). However, you've got to question the due diligence on this one.

Edited January 3, 2023 by riverholmes

[Crimpshrine]

I like him as a commentator on Ifollow. Very open about some of the methods used in training. Interesting comments on fellow players ( BB is a very 'weird guy' apparently ) and too much information when he said he was going for a half time poo! 

Obviously a character. 

[Mercer]

It's simple.

Posh saw us coming big time and had us.

[Sweaty Gussets]

Worth a bump to give the lad his dues. I'd not been particularly impressed with him until he came back into the team after Dack's recent injury. He's always worked hard but I thought he lacked Dack's quality. SS was dropped quite early on so JDT obviously thought he wasn't playing well either. 

With hindsight, and now that he's found form, you can see why the Dack comparisons are unfair. He's playing in the same position but is a totally different player. 

Excellent performance yesterday.  He's got more quality than I gave him credit for and his work rate is phenomenal. Now that JDT has got the team playing the way he promised when he arrived, you can see how SS fits into his system. 

 

[Mattyblue]

‘Simple’ 😁

[Admiral Nelsen]

His performances since coming back has gone a long way to convince me that he will be money well spent. His early performances showed the could be useful enough and create/score the odd goal, but they tended to be against the poorer sides and he wasn't that great in general play.

 

Against a Premier league team and a team that will probably be there soon, he has been brilliant. The spell yesterday before he hit the bar he was looking imperious. If he can keep those levels then we have a very good player on our hands.

[tomphil]

He's certainly looking worth the money now without doubt and nice to see there's more to his game than just workrate.

Looking a good little player.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

 A very busy and enthusiastic little player but he gives the ball away a lot for me. He was playing at Peterborough for a reason.

Should he be starting for Rovers at the movement - definitely, his work rate is important to the way we play.

[Admiral Nelsen]

51 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

 A very busy and enthusiastic little player but he gives the ball away a lot for me. He was playing at Peterborough for a reason.

Should he be starting for Rovers at the movement - definitely, his work rate is important to the way we play.

 

Tends to give the ball away trying things though, which you can accept if a decent number of them come off. 

I was concerned that he would be a bit of a flat track bully, scoring and creating against the lower teams when we're on top, but not the sort of player who you can rely upon if you want to get promoted. Let's wait and see, but the last couple of performances have really impressed me with his quality as much as his work rate. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, Admiral Nelsen said:

 

Tends to give the ball away trying things though, which you can accept if a decent number of them come off. 

I was concerned that he would be a bit of a flat track bully, scoring and creating against the lower teams when we're on top, but not the sort of player who you can rely upon if you want to get promoted. Let's wait and see, but the last couple of performances have really impressed me with his quality as much as his work rate. 

Me too. I’m just going back to the Leicester game. He needed 3 good chances to score 1 goal. On Saturday in the spell were they were on top he gave the ball away more than I’d like. As you say mainly because he was overly ambitious in the passes he tried to make. He wasn’t on his own in that respect, there was a spell were we couldn’t put two passes together.

Whatever was said at halftime sorted that problem out. Our passing improved massively and we never looked back. Szmodics played his part in that and he was desperately unlucky with a finely controlled shot the just hit the bar. That would have a good goal.

[philipl]

Szmodics is a club legend for announcing he was going for a poo at half time when guesting on Rovers TV.

I thought he under performed compared with what he did at Peterborough but since he returned from injury and got his break with the Dack injury, he has been playing brilliantly. All credit to him.

Again from his stint in the commentary box, Neil Yardley asked him about players coming in and seizing their opportunity. Sammie bubbled away enthusiastically adding "and look at Dack, what a player, he's undroppable     now   " and his voice slowed down as the penny dropped.

[MarkBRFC]

Remember when someone posted on this thread about how they hope Szmodics breaks his leg one day? Presume that post got deleted.

I think he has been superb last few games, still not convinced he will do it over say 10-15 games but happy he is in the side and doing well.

[Mashed Potatoes]

23 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

Remember when someone posted on this thread about how they hope Szmodics breaks his leg one day? Presume that post got deleted.

I think he has been superb last few games, still not convinced he will do it over say 10-15 games but happy he is in the side and doing well.

From memory I think that particular post appeared in a match post an hour or two before kick off. A number of us posted our disapproval; I can't remember if the post was deleted but the poster concerned doesn't appear very often, if at all.

[tomphil]

4 hours ago, MarkBRFC said:

Remember when someone posted on this thread about how they hope Szmodics breaks his leg one day? Presume that post got deleted.

I think he has been superb last few games, still not convinced he will do it over say 10-15 games but happy he is in the side and doing well.

That's the good thing with players like him he's very much a squad man and he knows it. Only to stay in the side is to put the shifts in and hopefully hit a bit of form. He'll dip because of the type he is it's impossible to perform at such intense levels game in game out.

So when he's taken out he'll know why and hopefully refresh then go again once he gets chance again. JDT uses the squad method and the U21s much better than Mowbray ever did.

[BRFC4EVA]

He seems to be in great form at the moment! Long may it continue and hopefully he makes a few of us eat our words!

[Blow-in]

Congratulations Sammy on getting offical clearance to play for Ireland, God knows we need all the talent we can get!!!

 

https://www.the42.ie/celtic-mikey-johnston-soccer-6012602-Mar2023/

Edited March 8, 2023 by Blow-in

[R0verb0y]

54 minutes ago, Blow-in said:

Congratulations Sammy on getting offical clearance to play for Ireland, God knows we need all the talent we can get!!!

 

https://www.the42.ie/celtic-mikey-johnston-soccer-6012602-Mar2023/

As one who's one generation away from qualifying to get an Irish passport, I love the way the Irish media tell you which is the County connection by which someone qualifies to represent the country!

If I remember properly, Sammie qualified for three countries: Ireland; England; and Hungary (presumably through his father's side of the family tree).

[BRFC4EVA]

Not a big fan of the one grandparent qualification rule. Bit obscure to me

[Blow-in]

29 minutes ago, BRFC4EVA said:

Not a big fan of the one grandparent qualification rule. Bit obscure to me

He is not qualifying via a grandparent. His father is Irish.

Also he announced live on tv that he is "going for a shite" he is clearly Irish.

 

Bet he has brown sauce in his coffee.

Edited March 8, 2023 by Blow-in

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

2 minutes ago, Blow-in said:

He is not qualifying via a grandparent. His father is Irish.

I’m not up to speed with Irish football these days, what’s his chances of playing ?

[R0verb0y]

37 minutes ago, BRFC4EVA said:

Not a big fan of the one grandparent qualification rule. Bit obscure to me

I guess if you're a Championship player, you'd have very little chance of featuring on Southgate's radar.

So if you can pick up international caps through your family history, then why not?