Sammie Szmodics M Blackburn Rovers b.1995

[Jd2793]

Oh right... apart from the interviews he did recently saying he does want to play for us and the fact that he went and got Irish citizenship

why did he leave after the last call up? getting an irish passport proves nothing. if this chap wanted to play for us he'd have done so by now.

[Razors left peg]

why did he leave after the last call up? getting an irish passport proves nothing. if this chap wanted to play for us he'd have done so by now.

Well up to this season he really didnt merit a call up so lets see what the new man thinks

[SkStu]

why did he leave after the last call up? getting an irish passport proves nothing. if this chap wanted to play for us he'd have done so by now.

https://blog.nukemberg.com/img/opinion.jpg

[elatedscum]

why did he leave after the last call up? getting an irish passport proves nothing. if this chap wanted to play for us he'd have done so by now.

Cause his wife had a pregnancy scare and was brought to hospital and he felt he had to be there

[weldoninhio]

why did he leave after the last call up? getting an irish passport proves nothing. if this chap wanted to play for us he'd have done so by now.

Because his wife was having a difficult pregnancy and he didn't want to be away from home for an extended period of time. Which is 100% a fair excuse.

[SkStu]

Continues his fine form with another goal. I think that’s 24/25 goals this season. Some haul.

[JR89]

Scores his 20th league goal tonight.

[mark12345]

Scores his 20th league goal tonight.


Do we know when O'Shea will announce his first squad? Sammi has to be included.

[JR89]

Do we know when O'Shea will announce his first squad? Sammi has to be included.

Next week.

[mark12345]

Next week.

Thanks

[pineapple stu]

27th of the season today

Mad that they're only two points off the drop after all that

[mark12345]

27th of the season today

Mad that they're only two points off the drop after all that

At the very least Sammi has to be looking at a Premier League move next season.

[irishfan86]

Really hope this guy is playing for us.

[JR89]

Signed a new contract this season but Blackburn are financially ****ed. If they get a good price they'll likely sell. Use the Wharton and Szmodics fee's to rebuild the squad. Fans are worried though the club won't reinvest.

[Eirambler]

Linked with a summer move to Brentford this morning.

[Eirambler]

Despite all the doubters it looks like Sammie has turned down the Euros this summer with Hungary to play for us.

[JR89]

Seems Kenny's reason for Szmodics being unavailable for November's games were possibly BS. Szmodics said he didn't receive any phone call about November's camp.

1768152370209530221

[John83]

Now that is weird.

[Razors left peg]

Or maybe Sammie acted the b0ll0cks when he got called up and left so Kenny didn't want to deal with him knowing it was last game.

[Eirambler]

I'd say a lot of what Kenny spouted in those press conferences was just verbal diarrhoea made up on the spot by a nervous man who was miles out of his depth. He looked absolutely terrified in front of the cameras most of the time, the poor fella.

[Jd2793]

good stuff from mister szmodics no pressure son

[ifk101]

“People don't know, I've always been on standby but never been picked.”
Eh?

“You do take it personally because 20 people get picked and I didn't despite being on the top of the game in the last international call-up. I didn't get anything.”
Endearing.

[Fixer82]

Wow. If that's true it's such a bad call from SK. Maybe Kenny didn't like him personally or something.
But to paraphrase Aiden McGeady when talking about Lewis Grabban, 'he's a goalscorer so you manage him! it doesn't matter if he's awkward, just manage him.'

[Eirambler]

Looking forward to seeing him get a few runs out now. Much as we have a lot of potential in our forwards, most of it is based on just that - potential - at this point. As someone born in 1995 Szmodics age profile is basically exactly what we need between now and Euro 2028, we have a shortage of quality aged 25-30. He looks much better than Scott Hogan or Will Keane and can be an important player for us for the next while as the younger lads continue to find their way in the game. He'll probably be a Premier League forward next year and with a lot of our Premier League players involved in the relegation battle (or already all but gone in the case of the Burnley lads) he could become an on field leader for us fairly quickly.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Only fair to see what Kenny has to say in response, but if true that paints a really strange looking picture. It seems pretty clear that he wants to play for Ireland, he's banging in goals, so just bloody play him.

[ltfc_2004]

So after all the talk, how do people think he did ? I couldn't make it but on TV he looked a decent addition and worked hard and tried to make things happen.

[liamoo11]

So after all the talk, how do people think he did ? I couldn't make it but on TV he looked a decent addition and worked hard and tried to make things happen.

I don't think that position is going to suit him been wide. Hopefully we play narrow 4 in midfield and let him.play as a 2 with ferguson and get our wing backs to get into that wide space like to be fair Brady did when Sammie drifted inside. On the other side that never happened cause ohbene just stays wide taking that right wing back space which really l8mits us cause its so predictable and gives us no chance to actually create overloads centrally in actual.areas of the pitch where goals are scored from

[irishfan86]

So after all the talk, how do people think he did ? I couldn't make it but on TV he looked a decent addition and worked hard and tried to make things happen.

He looked good. Sharp, engaged, lively. Seemed to link well with Ferguson. Considering it’s his first time with a new group of players, he seemed to just naturally fit in.

I don’t like forwards burning too much energy tracking back, but he picked some good moments to apply pressure to Belgian midfielders and actually won the ball back from advanced positions which also impressed me.

[elatedscum]

He was probably our best player on the day. He wasn't as fast as I expected, seeing him in person. And I think that was more apparent out wide than elsewhere. He worked tirelessly, up and down the whole game.

He’s probably better playing centrally, either part of a front two or the attacking midfielder, or the striker in a 4-3-3 or striker in a 5-2-3 like last weekend. He linked up well with Ferguson and Ogbene, feeding off Ferguson’s flick ons and playing balls into space for Ogbene. His passing range was better than expected, really creative. He was also quick and comfortable on the turn, swivelling as he received the ball. He also got shots off well and you’d imagine playing more centrally, that would work even better. He had at least 4 shots, which could have led to goals. I could see him both functioning well with a big man like Ferguson and Idah, and alongside a quick player like Obafemi, which Sammy’s distribution would unlock well.

He’s possibly the player we hope Troy Parrott will one day become.

[JR89]

Would like to see him play centrally but can't see O'Shea going 4-2-3-1. Would allow us to get Mikey Johnston on at LW.

[Razors left peg]

Would like to see him play centrally but can't see O'Shea going 4-2-3-1. Would allow us to get Mikey Johnston on at LW.

That would be my ideal formation for tomorrow

[mark12345]

So after all the talk, how do people think he did ? I couldn't make it but on TV he looked a decent addition and worked hard and tried to make things happen.

He does indeed look like a decent addition. I would like to see him start as central striker tomorrow (against the Swiss) with Ogbene on one wing and Mikey Johnson on the other.

[Stuttgart88]

Target for Celtic

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68663518

[JR89]

1772974907082539048

[Stuttgart88]

1772974907082539048

Agree totally.

[CraftyToePoke]

1772974907082539048

ffs ....

[pineapple stu]

I guess the question then is now to fit him and Ferguson into the same team?

[SkStu]

I had a problem with that tweet as it is not comparing apples to apples. You cant compare a heatmap with the location from where the striker scores goals. So i went and did a little digging. As the heatmap here shows, where he was deployed yesterday is not a million miles off how he is deployed at Blackburn, albeit he was far more involved defensively yesterday.

https://www.sofascore.com/player/sammie-szmodics/354782

[Stuttgart88]

Interesting Stu, thanks. I felt he was operating wider than at club level and was bemoaning how we're often (going back ages) forced to play our better players in less-than-ideal roles just to get them on the pitch at the same time. Maybe in this case it's not as clear as I felt watching him play for us.

[elatedscum]

I guess the question then is now to fit him and Ferguson into the same team?

Kelleher/Bazunu

Coleman/Doherty
O'Shea/Egan/Omobamidele
Scales/Collins/Duffy
Brady/Manning

Cullen
Smallbone/Molumby/Browne

Ogbene/Ebosele
Szmodics/Knight/McGrath
Johnston/Connolly/McAteer

Ferguson/Idah/Obafemi/Parrott/Keane

[backstothewall]

I guess the question then is now to fit him and Ferguson into the same team?

I mean...

I know "a big un and a little un up top" is a bit 1900s, but it's what we have.

WWJD? (What would Jack do?)

[irishfan86]

There are plenty of options to play the two centrally. If we’re going to persist with wing backs, 5-3-2 could work. If we’re willing to play four at the back, 4-2-3-1 with Sammy in the hole…..or go real old school with 4-4-2.

[pineapple stu]

I mean...

I know "a big un and a little un up top" is a bit 1900s, but it's what we have.

WWJD? (What would Jack do?)
Ha!

The thought did occur to me too. We've a couple of decent old-style wingers. And no midfield anyway, so can it really hurt losing one? :)

[seanfhear]

Ha!

The thought did occur to me too. We've a couple of decent old-style wingers. And no midfield anyway, so can it really hurt losing one? :)
Brian Clough tended to have ' work-horse " midfielders ~ He did pretty darned well on it !

[backstothewall]

Ha!

The thought did occur to me too. We've a couple of decent old-style wingers. And no midfield anyway, so can it really hurt losing one? :)

It maybe isn't as mad as it sounds.

Would modern defenders know how to deal with it? Nobody does it anymore.

I've talked before, almost tongue in cheek, about going back to "Charltonism, red in tooth and claw". But how we have a couple of potential target men in Ferguson and Idah, a guy who can sniff out a scrappy goal in Szmodics, and no midfield worth talking about, maybe it's our best option.

Ironically the midfielders Jack was having us boot the ball over the top of were some of the best the English league had to offer. What we could do with someone like Ronnie Whelan now.

[seanfhear]

I maybe isn't as mad as it sounds.

Would modern defenders know how to deal with it? Nobody does it anymore.

I've talked before, almost tongue in cheek, about going back to "Charltonism, red in tooth and claw". But how we have a couple of potential target men in Ferguson and Idah, a guy who can sniff out a scrappy goal in Szmodics, and no midfield worth talking about, maybe it's our best option.

Ironically the midfielders Jack was having us boot the ball over the top of were some of the best the English league had to offer. What we could do with someone like Ronnie Whelan now.Would a Mark Kinsella and a Mattie Holland ( at their best ) be a step up from what we have now ~ ~ Probably.

[backstothewall]

Would a Mark Kinsella and a Mattie Holland ( at their best ) be a step up from what we have now ~ ~ Probably.

Definately. Either would be a significant upgrade.

Willie Boland would get at least 50 caps if he was around today.

[pineapple stu]

It maybe isn't as mad as it sounds.

Would modern defenders know how to deal with it? Nobody does it anymore.
I think given how quickly our formations seem to get found out these days, it'd get found out pretty quickly. One of the problems of 4-4-2 today I think is the midfield battle is lost. The defenders wouldn't have anything to worry about if the ball never came to them.

We could go long-ball for 90 minutes, and I know it's worked in the final few minutes of games when we need to put teams under pressure. I don't know if you could really sustain that for 90 minutes though, and then improved ball retention means you're chasing a lot more shadows than Jack's teams would have been.

I'd like to see someone give it a go, mind. I don't think it's entirely cracked. I'd just rather see someone else give it a go first :)

[ontheotherhand]

I had a problem with that tweet as it is not comparing apples to apples. You cant compare a heatmap with the location from where the striker scores goals. So i went and did a little digging. As the heatmap here shows, where he was deployed yesterday is not a million miles off how he is deployed at Blackburn, albeit he was far more involved defensively yesterday.

https://www.sofascore.com/player/sammie-szmodics/354782

Nicely done. It does seem like he gets involved centrally a lot more at club level. For us, Ferguson is dominating that area and Sammie has almost activity. Do Blackburn play a striker ahead of him or is he free to roam wide and then come in?

Ferguson did well enough, despite his obvious lack of confidence but he was really flagging towards the end of the swiss game. Would have been nice to see Sammie stay on in a different setup maybe.

[backstothewall]

I'd like to see someone give it a go, mind. I don't think it's entirely cracked. I'd just rather see someone else give it a go first :)

I'm the same, although the team who go first will benefit most from the element of surprise.