Sammie Szmodics M Blackburn Rovers b.1995

[Diggs246]

Has score twice already tonight

[irishfan86]

Guy really needs to be integrated into our squad ASAP.

[zero]

i think if his wife is still pregnant by the time the march friendlies roll around we can safely rule him out.

[irishfan86]

i think if his wife is still pregnant by the time the march friendlies roll around we can safely rule him out.

Can you expand on this/are there clear indicators he doesn't want to play for us?

[samhaydenjr]

Guy really needs to be integrated into our squad ASAP.


i think if his wife is still pregnant by the time the march friendlies roll around we can safely rule him out.


Can you expand on this/are there clear indicators he doesn't want to play for us?

It's not actually clear if Zero is making the sensible point that if Szmodics's wife is still pregnant in March, then we can rule him out for the March friendlies due to the issues they're obviously having; or if he's snarkily saying that if he pulls out of the March friendlies for "personal reasons", then he has lost interest in playing for us - I think we need Zero to clarify.

[SkStu]

There’s a question around his commitment, rightly or wrongly. He was a combination of ignored by and then unavailable to Kenny so, bearing the scars of being burnt in the past, some fans are wondering if he has lost interest or will switch to Hungary. I’m not actually too worried but I’ve asked myself the same question a few times because his absence hasn’t made a lot of sense for a while.

[Diggs246]

It's not actually clear if Zero is making the sensible point that if Szmodics's wife is still pregnant in March, then we can rule him out for the March friendlies due to the issues they're obviously having; or if he's snarkily saying that if he pulls out of the March friendlies for "personal reasons", then he has lost interest in playing for us - I think we need Zero to clarify.

I think "zero" is saying females tend to be pregnant for 9 months!.if she was "heavily pregnant" in our last international window, but remains pregnant by March 2024, we should be suspicious!

[John83]

I think zero is saying that he suspects poor Sammy might have been cuckolded by an elephant.

[JR89]

Who else but Sammie gets the equalizer for Rovers. Nice header at the back post. That's his 14th league goal this season.

[zero]

I think "zero" is saying females tend to be pregnant for 9 months!.if she was "heavily pregnant" in our last international window, but remains pregnant by March 2024, we should be suspicious!

Yeah this was my implication. If he comes up with another personal reason to pull out in March it would want to be fairly compelling otherwise you'd wonder if he has any real intention of playing for us.

[CraftyToePoke]

Yeah this was my implication. If he comes up with another personal reason to pull out in March it would want to be fairly compelling otherwise you'd wonder if he has any real intention of playing for us.

Yeah, also the first personal reasons excuse was the October window so the heavily pregnant maths are already against this story come March.

[pineapple stu]

The division's leading scorer does it again. 15 now.

A day of attacking optimism to start the year off, with Azaz and Cannon on target too. Now we just need to convince them to commit to us...

[Razors left peg]

The division's leading scorer does it again. 15 now.

A day of attacking optimism to start the year off, with Azaz and Cannon on target too. Now we just need to convince them to commit to us...

Didnt Szmodics come out recently and say that he is committed to play for us? Azaz has given no indication that hes not, so its really only Cannon that needs a bit of convincing and hopefully that'll be high on the list of priorities for the new man.

[Diggs246]

Didnt Szmodics come out recently and say that he is committed to play for us? Azaz has given no indication that hes not, so its really only Cannon that needs a bit of convincing and hopefully that'll be high on the list of priorities for the new man.

I think Cannon deleting all his Irish stuff from his social media accounts is a massive statement. I would say he's gone

Finn can't see any issue there

Sammie has pulled out of two squads, which is a worry, but we will know for certain come March. One more personal issue and I would say he simply isn't interested. Let's hope he just rocks up without complaint or issue.

Let's hope McAteer gets his paperwork over the line

[pineapple stu]

Didnt Szmodics come out recently and say that he is committed to play for us? Azaz has given no indication that hes not, so its really only Cannon that needs a bit of convincing and hopefully that'll be high on the list of priorities for the new man.
I guess I'm just cynical, but we've been bitten a couple of times before, so until Szmodics turns up to a squad I'm wary. That's not to say he mightn't have legitimate reasons for turning down the call-up until now.

[Razors left peg]

I think Cannon deleting all his Irish stuff from his social media accounts is a massive statement. I would say he's gone



Thats become a bit of a contract negotiation tactic amongst the younger generation of sports stars over here in the US. Kyler Murray whos the Quarterback for Arizona did the same couple years ago and everyone thought he was gone until the new contract was agreed, then all of a sudden the Arizona stuff magically reappeared on his Instagram. Apparently theres a way to archive it without deleting.

Im not saying Im confident that Cannon is still with us, but I also dont think its necessarily a done deal that hes gone either. New manager cant have the same attitude to these things that Martin O'Neill and Mick McCarthy had, in that they also said its the players job to come to them. New manager will have to proactively go after him and offer him a place in senior squad, sending Crawford to negotiate him coming into u21s isnt gonna cut it.

[Razors left peg]

I guess I'm just cynical, but we've been bitten a couple of times before, so until Szmodics turns up to a squad I'm wary. That's not to say he mightn't have legitimate reasons for turning down the call-up until now.

Im with you to an extent. Szmodics p!ssed me off when he turned up recently to go home few days later. The rumors, whether true or not, were that he was told he wouldnt be playing and had a sulk. If that wasnt true Im surprised there wasnt a stronger statement made for why he had to leave on personal reasons.

But that being said, its a clean slate and much like with Cannon its up to the new man to figure it out quickly. Szmodics to me is very similar to Aaron Connolly in how he plays, maybe because they are a similar body shape its a lazy observation, but it seems clear that Szmodics is now more a striker than midfield option

[elatedscum]

Szmodics p!ssed me off when he turned up recently to go home few days later. The rumors, whether true or not, were that he was told he wouldnt be playing and had a sulk. If that wasnt true Im surprised there wasnt a stronger statement made for why he had to leave on personal reasons.

what i heard was that his partner had a pregnancy scare while he was on international duty and asked him to come home and stay close to home for the duration of the pregnancy. What Kenny in the press conference during the following international window made sense in the context of that information

[pineapple stu]

Another in the Cup against Cambridge this afternoon

[CraftyToePoke]

& again. On a hat trick now well before HT.

[CraftyToePoke]

& again. On a hat trick now well before HT.

& there it is. First half hat trick.

[pineapple stu]

March will be interesting

[CraftyToePoke]

March will be interesting

This January transfer window will be too. Must be a few twitchy for goals clubs in the division above about to take panic punts.

[pineapple stu]

Fair point. 19 goals for an average Championship team now. Doesn't have to be division above either I guess - a side looking for a boost in the promotion run-in might fancy a chance too

[CraftyToePoke]

Fair point. 19 goals for an average Championship team now. Doesn't have to be division above either I guess - a side looking for a boost in the promotion run-in might fancy a chance too

Anything can happen, remember Wigan dropping 3 million on Davey Connolly one time ? I had a season ticket at Leicester at that time & most fans couldn't stand him, if it wasn't inside the width of the goals and within the penalty area, he wasn't interested. One game a ball visibly held up in mud that was rolling out, and stopped. Connolly looked at it and just didn't move. Took some balls. Three million soon after ;)

[JR89]

Fair point. 19 goals for an average Championship team now. Doesn't have to be division above either I guess - a side looking for a boost in the promotion run-in might fancy a chance too

After losing Ben Brereton Díaz on a free they might feel some pressure to sell if a good fee comes in for Sammie. They got him cheap enough too at €2m.

[Diggs246]

You'd have to wonder why Hungary aren't all over him for the euros.
Maybe he's said no already or maybe they want to stick with the lads that got them qualified.
But he must be good enough for their squad

[Demesne Lad]

Not in the Blackburn squad today, ill for most of the week (Lancashire Telegraph)

[Fixer82]

You'd have to wonder why Hungary aren't all over him for the euros.
Maybe he's said no already or maybe they want to stick with the lads that got them qualified.
But he must be good enough for their squad

According to John Fallon of the Examiner he has been.

Not sure he’d be interested. There would be a language barrier.
I think if England came knocking it might be a different story though

[tetsujin1979]

You lost me at "John Fallon"

[CraftyToePoke]

Not sure he’d be interested. There would be a language barrier.

I'd be surprised if a major finals didn't interest him at 28 years of age & Callum Styles of Barnsley in L1 is doing ok with the language barrier, he's going to the finals with them. I'd also be surprised if Hungary haven't spoken to him.

But as tets says ... John Fallon

[JR89]

Yeah basically what Tets said. Fallon is more often wrong with stuff he reports that might happen. Think Cathal Heffernan to Newcastle was the only things he's been right about lately.

Think if a switch was happening it would have happened already. Hungary have a League One player starting in midfield for them so isn't like Szmodics was a level beneath the standard of players they have until he started scoring goals.

[Eirambler]

Presumably he would need to go through the process of gaining Hungarian citizenship, which might take a while. Although Orban is a football enthusiast so could probably push it through if it was deemed important enough.

A bit mental that we're in a position that we haven't capped him in the last three years. I know he left a recent squad for personal reasons, but there were plenty of opportunities before that and we capped plenty of League 1 players and bang average lads like Curtis and Hamilton, but somehow not Szmodics.

But probably not worth dragging up the last three years again, we just have to work from where we now are as best we can.

[JR89]

Presumably he would need to go through the process of gaining Hungarian citizenship, which might take a while. Although Orban is a football enthusiast so could probably push it through if it was deemed important enough.

A bit mental that we're in a position that we haven't capped him in the last three years. I know he left a recent squad for personal reasons, but there were plenty of opportunities before that and we capped plenty of League 1 players and bang average lads like Curtis and Hamilton, but somehow not Szmodics.

But probably not worth dragging up the last three years again, we just have to work from where we now are as best we can.

He only got his passport back in March.

[Eirambler]

He was called up back in 2021 though?

https://m.independent.ie/sport/soccer/international-soccer/sam-szmodics-receives-first-ireland-call-up-as-three-players-ruled-out-of-andorra-and-hungary-friendlies/40480359.html

Not necessarily saying you're wrong, as I wouldn't rule out us being badly enough administered that we'd call up an ineligible player to the senior squad, but that would have been a story in itself at the time surely?!

[CraftyToePoke]

Yeah, there isn't a Kenny blame claim to be had here however you spin it but that wont stop people taking lazy shots like the one two posts above. He was called up soon as we could and chose not to show up once and to go home the next. He paperwork seemed to take an age and if he does decide to go elsewhere, that and the squad no shows and go homes will become much clearer as to why.

[CraftyToePoke]

He was called up back in 2021 though?

https://m.independent.ie/sport/soccer/international-soccer/sam-szmodics-receives-first-ireland-call-up-as-three-players-ruled-out-of-andorra-and-hungary-friendlies/40480359.html

Not necessarily saying you're wrong, as I wouldn't rule out us being badly enough administered that we'd call up an ineligible player to the senior squad, but that would have been a story in itself at the time surely?!

Yeah and more recently:

It was Szmodics’ first call-up since the summer of 2021 when he missed out on the chance of a debut due to a shoulder injury. Since then, there had been some administration issues surrounding the paperwork submitted for his Irish passport, which were resolved earlier this year.

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/23850769.sam-szmodics-withdraws-republic-ireland-squad/

[Eirambler]

The bit in bold is a contradiction in itself though surely? Or else we fortuitously avoided an absolutely massive administrative balls up?

[JR89]

The call up in 2021 I'd assume he was either only gonna train or one of the matches (likely Andorra) was gonna be non competitive to allow him play in it. Definitely would have been a massive **** up if he played in those games and then turned out he was ineligible to play.

[SkStu]

Definitely would have been a massive **** up if he played in those games and then turned out he was ineligible to play.

*laughs in Tony Cascarino*

[Eirambler]

Cas was always eligible in fairness. Did manage to cast a bit of doubt over it in order to sell his book though! I think I read somewhere that Callum Robinson might have technically been ineligible when he first played for Ireland, but FIFA had cleared the switch so there was no error by the FAI. Aldridge played despite only having Irish great-grandparents, however again that was permissible at the time so it was all above board.

[seanfhear]

Cas was always eligible in fairness. Did manage to cast a bit of doubt over it in order to sell his book though! I think I read somewhere that Callum Robinson might have technically been ineligible when he first played for Ireland, but FIFA had cleared the switch so there was no error by the FAI. Aldridge played despite only having Irish great-grandparents, however again that was permissible at the time so it was all above board.That was a marketing gambit by Cascarino in the UK to help the book sales and his media career ~ ~ And it worked.

[JR89]

Cas was always eligible in fairness. Did manage to cast a bit of doubt over it in order to sell his book though! I think I read somewhere that Callum Robinson might have technically been ineligible when he first played for Ireland, but FIFA had cleared the switch so there was no error by the FAI. Aldridge played despite only having Irish great-grandparents, however again that was permissible at the time so it was all above board.

Yes Callum Robinson's switch to us shouldn't have been allowed at the time but FIFA didn't know their own rules or didn't care until Luxembourg highlighted the rule when Ryan Johansson wanted to switch.

[tetsujin1979]

Cas was always eligible in fairness. Did manage to cast a bit of doubt over it in order to sell his book though! I think I read somewhere that Callum Robinson might have technically been ineligible when he first played for Ireland, but FIFA had cleared the switch so there was no error by the FAI. Aldridge played despite only having Irish great-grandparents, however again that was permissible at the time so it was all above board.
Aldridge qualified through his grandmother, who was from Athlone
https://www.westmeathindependent.ie/2017/02/03/aldo-speaks-about-athlone-roots/

[SkStu]

Cas was always eligible in fairness. Did manage to cast a bit of doubt over it in order to sell his book though!

I know, I know. Just having a laugh.

[pineapple stu]

Aldridge qualified through his grandmother, who was from Athlone
https://www.westmeathindependent.ie/2017/02/03/aldo-speaks-about-athlone-roots/

Funny, it's given as great-grandmother here - https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/shamrock-scousers-liverpool-fc-hero-3380446

But that was never the rule, was it?

[Fixer82]

Not so sure, I read in a few places it was a great grandparent and it was a bit of a grey area that we got away with

[JR89]

1746876973941448907

[Diggs246]

1746876973941448907


Sorry Im lost, explain relevance to Sammie?

[SkStu]

I'm guessing he hasnt shown an interest in switching to Hungary and/or gotten his paperwork sorted out (which is the "on the one hand" criteria)...