Sam Curtis D St. Johnstone (loan from Sheffield Utd) b.2005

FWIW, I still stand by the current LOI being about as strong as it has ever been in terms of strength and depth, there just isn't 1/2 stand out teams running away with it, the bottom/middle clubs are the best they've ever been. We've the current 5th and 7th placed sides playing European playoffs next week. Europe is still a cup competition after all, so we will win games we shouldn't, and lose ones we should, all the time. The Derry result in Gibraltar is horrendous, but tbf they did dominate them at home with 10 men for over an hour, so there was a clear difference in ability, I'd blame coaching as much as the players for what's gone on at times. They're a bit of a weird team of LOI superstars closer to the end of their careers than the beginning.

A lot of football comes down to timing/luck and making the right move at the right time. It feels very common for Irish lads to get injured right when they move over, so I do wonder if one of the biggest issues is just how big and strong the average EFL player is, and the load that is expected to be put on their body. There's about as many lads going over and being successful as ones that aren't, and with different moves come potentially different results, but we will never know.

Coming home isn't always necessarily a failure, as said in many threads here recently, some have come home for family reasons while they still had offers in the UK, or because they're now being paid very well while getting to live near family, many people have very different priorities in life. Chris Forrester/Graham Burke are examples of players who came home years ago for those sorts of reasons, whatever about the younger recent moves.

As for Curtis, he was a center back originally, and ended up playing full back for Pat's because they didn't have any if I'm not misremembering things, maybe he needs to return more centrally now, I'm not sure if he's good enough to get away with not being any bigger thou. He's always been a strong athlete for his age, but there's only going to be more expected of him moving forward, it has been the guts of a year since he's played regular football, so maybe he just needs time, I definitely wouldn't be sure that Sheff United were the best place for him to be in the 2nd half of last season.

Wasn't at it or didn't see it but he started away at Shrewsbury today, played the full 90, played a part of that at LB and seems to have played well, forum is much more positive on what they've seen anyway. Peterborough won 1-4. The opponent are a drop in quality from the first two games, but he has had a better day.

Robbed of two assists by that absolute donkey playing up front!

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Originally Posted by 2 Year Contract

Robbed of two assists by that absolute donkey playing up front!

https://x.com/reptracker/status/1825...974448695?s=46

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An inverted creative right back who then switches to overlapping marauding left back that's very impressive. You have to give Peterborough credit for the work they have done with him in the last week

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Originally Posted by liamoo11

An inverted creative right back who then switches to overlapping marauding left back that's very impressive. You have to give Peterborough credit for the work they have done with him in the last week

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After game one the manager said he'd definitely play the cup game Tuesday because he really needed minutes in the legs, and the chairman podcast midweek said something about him being nowhere near fit but would be more than fine once he was. So maybe an injury pre season at Sheffield, hopefully he didn't report back out of shape, but after two second half substitutions he finished yesterdays match and looked better. Exeter away and Wrexham home next with a week between each.

Another 90 today, another win, 1-2 away at Exeter & a cute late booking to help see it out. Up to joint sixth and a forum warming to him week by week. Wrexham at home Saturday and if its not raining and I wake up in time i'll go. Szmodics sale and Ivan Toneys likely sale will see players arrive at Peterborough so an exciting season shaping up.

Long term contract given to an academy right full back this week who the club will look to develop as well, he's 19.

Went to Peterborough / Wrexham on Saturday & Curtis started again and at RB. The stadium was close to sold out & Wrexham played right on the edge & over it when they could get away with it, pushed right onto Peterboroughs young defence menacingly, so his two early misplaced passes drew thousands of groans and jeers from the away end.

Midway through the first half he got bullied from a corner for Wrexhams second goal, close range tap in which he just has to find a way to win, or prevent the score.

Upsides, he stood up to it all but maybe should have gone down when McClean raised his hand to his head. Some good passes, some a bit sloppy, too high. Some good last ditch defending and three very effective overlaps, but had to fire it across early on one of them, he was inside the box with players to hit but he took touches & it was closed down.

Was subbed with about ten to play, it was an ugly but very effective Wrexham game plan, grizzled mercenaries V young ballers & McClean going down the shin & into the instep of a sub who was doing well summed them up. They can play, but they like to roughhouse just as much. He did ok in parts, his side got sihthoused and they lost.

Cian Hayes came on and he gets you off your seat with the wing play but he is yet to put a good ball in after getting everyone excited. Chris Conn Clarke was the sub who did really well until McClean fixed his instep for him. O'Connor, for Wrexham was good, played CB but stepped into midfield mostly, takes their corners & some frees, left footed, good player.

A guy arrived on deadline day from Man City who was on loan here last year and was excellent at RB. He's arrived as a CB, can play either role. Someone's getting dropped for him, hopefully a CB though.

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Originally Posted by CraftyToePoke

A guy arrived on deadline day from Man City who was on loan here last year and was excellent at RB. He's arrived as a CB, can play either role. Someone's getting dropped for him, hopefully a CB though

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& it was Curtis who missed the cut today, went to a five & played an attacking player at RWB. The Man City lad being comfortable at RB enabled that, he played right of the three. Team played well, were three up after an hour but set about pis sing it away late on. He was subbed on in the 80th minute to shore it up. Won 3.2.

Fair to say it's been a tough first year in England for Curtis. Was on the end of some fairly critical comments from Chris Wilder earlier in the year about how far off the standard he was at Sheffield United and how much catching up he needed to do to get up to speed with the pace of the game in England.

His loan to Peterborough hasn't been much better unfortunately. He has only played one full 90 in the league since September, was an unused sub last week and dropped out of the match day squad entirely at the weekend. Peterborough as a whole haven't been brilliant this season, down in mid table in League 1, but even at that level he hasn't really been able to make an impact.

Will be interesting to see whether the lack of action in recent games is a sign that Peterborough are ready to cut their losses and send him back in January or if he can recover and regain his place. If he gets sent back hopefully he can at least get a loan to League 2 to see if that's a more suitable level for his ability at this (still early) stage of his career.

The academy lad Dornelly who was unheard of pre this season has been given a new contract & was recently called into an England U20 squad & made his debut for them in a 4-0 win against Germany. He's far from perfect himself, errors & inconsistent but he is Peterboroughs player. Curtis isn't. Looks like they might putting the development into their own asset & you can't blame them given Curtis performances.

Curtis has had plenty chances, plenty minutes & hasn't done enough, I watched a bit of midweek game recently on the red button, he started LB, was moved to RB & twice in very good middle third possession with good options ahead of him & alongside him, he rolled the pass straight to an opponent. It was desperate like. He was subbed off at HT. Ferguson gave an interview around that time which wasn't complimentary about the defenders available to him. Then Curtis vanished soon after.

The forum tonight is saying the Posh+ broadcast is speculating he's gone / going back to Sheffield United. Unconfirmed but what point in staying if he's not even on the bench tonight v Northampton in the EFL Trophy.

What was he thinking going to a club where the entire defense is under 23 & all but one are in their debut season in English football. Madness.

I don't know the background but I'm guessing he was maybe sent to Peterborough more than choosing them. It's a shame it hasn't worked out but it sounds like he's just not good enough to play at that level yet.

It he is indeed sent back the question now might be whether he is taken out of the limelight for a few months to train with the development team at Sheffield United, or do they try and find a different loan for him at a better level for his ability, to see whether he can use that as a platform to improve.

To be fair to the lad, he only turned 19 two weeks ago. He would probably have benefitted from a few months in the development squad to get up to speed. If he spends 6 months back at development at Sheffield United and looks for a fresh loan in the summer it might be the most beneficial move for all involved.

He did get half a season in the development squad at Sheffield United though, before going out on loan. He has plenty of time in hand, but his 2024 has definitely come in well below where some people's expectations were for him this time last year. Quite a few thought he'd be getting decent game time for Sheffield United this season, not coming up short in the division below.

Recalled by Sheffield United
https://www.theposh.com/news/curtis-recalled-blades

And a Blog post on the club forum on all players so far this season ::

https://londonroad.net/2024/12/31/pe...f-term-report/

Sam Curtis– Quite possibly the worst right back I’ve ever seen at Posh. And I remember Kerrea Gilbert and Darren Lyons. The only positive is he’s only on loan, and we can send him back to Sheffield United tomorrow. Hopefully he’ll be made to walk there. I don’t care how cheap he was as a result of the Harrison Burrows deal, we paid over the odds. 1 / 10

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Probably a touch harsh, I watched some real muck playing for them, but no one arguing with it on the forum I notice so far. He had worked his way back into the matchday and even started yesterday but at RWB, they were 2-0 down early to the bottom side, and was subbed off on the hour.

Needs to chose his next move carefully, needs to be alongside experience, but equally has to do better himself too.

Found it strange that he started yesterday, were they desperately short in the position or were they just taking one more look at him just to absolutely confirm to themselves that he wasn't good enough before they let him go?

Either way it's been a shocking loan for him - from being the standout young player in the League of Ireland in 2023 to being a country mile off the pace at a mid table League 1 team in 2024. No major injury excuses either. It just shows the step up in standard required even to be competent at that level as a young player coming from Ireland at 18.

Curtis' story so far will likely influence the decisions of other 16 and 17 year olds faced with the choice of going to continental Europe or staying at home until 18.

Yesterday made no sense, they went to a five with Cian Hayes on the left, he's no LWB, he's a tiny ball carrier type. It looked panicky because they're dropping like a stone. Even if it was a last chance for Curtis, he didn't perform.

Perhaps it's just yet another example that the playing style differences between League One and League of Ireland are very different.

A ball playing right back isn't going to slot into a kick and chase physical league like League One.

I think both leagues have teams that play a range of playing styles. Plenty of players go out on loan from Premier League and Championship clubs and do well in League 1. Troy Parrott would be an example of a player who went on loan there and excelled (at MK Dons) without necessarily having the strength or pace that might be considered necessary in a supposed "kick and chase" league. Ultimately the overall football ability of a player at any point in time will be the main deciding factor in whether a player does well at a new club. Peterborough supporters appear to consider Curtis to have been their worst player in the first half of the season.

Sheffield United now have to decide whether it's better for his development to have another half season of development football with them or whether another loan, likely at a lower level, would be better.

Recalled from his loan spell
https://www.sufc.co.uk/news/2025/jan...urtis-returns/

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Originally Posted by tetsujin1979

Recalled from his loan spell
https://www.sufc.co.uk/news/2025/jan...urtis-returns/

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Already posted and discussed tets.

Has gone back out on loan to St. Johnstone, who are cut adrift at the bottom of the SPL. That's an incredible drop off to be honest, the Scottish equivalent of signing for the bottom team in League 2. A few League of Ireland sides would be better than the current St. Johnstone team I'd say.

Peterborough haven't stopped there,
Jack Sparkes the summer signing LB who had played 30 odd games for Portsmouth in their promotion to the Championship has left on loan, he was at 23 the oldest defender by three years at Peterborough. They have signed a NI 21s cap to replace Curtis from Fleetwood with 100 league apps, Johnston 22. A 27 year old CB journeyman has arrived & a young CB will drop to the development squad & a 26 year old LB with 100 league apps also arrived. And there could be more, Jekyll & Hyde keeper could yet get the road if they can replace within budget.

So Curtis didn't do well, but none of them did is my point and he put himself in an environment where it was always uphill. He now has time playing launch it in Scotland to consider that.

He's probably better than he's shown, his head dropped & he stopped talking on the pitch I noticed. But he also forgot how to pass ten yards & didn't look fully fit late on at times to me.

Well the good thing is that he should apparently be a regular starter at St Johnstone as they're desperately short at right back. But playing at this level he really needs to be an absolute stand out, to get back anywhere near to some of the predictions that were being made about him at the end of his time at St Pats.

Danny McNamara also went on loan to St Johnstone at right back, when they were considerably better than they are now. He was outstanding for them but has since found his level as a squad player at a mid table Championship team. So this does need to go really well for Curtis given the last 12 months he has had. Even at 19 he seems to be playing catch up in a big way.

Was involved in the Sky TV game against Hearts today and was unfortunately fairly average once again. Not standing out at all in the worst team in the SPL, in fact he's in danger of losing his starting place.

Randomly he was actually tackled by his own teammate, fellow Irishman Graham Carey, at one point today. This entire video clip more or less sums up how his time in Britain has gone so far:

https://x.com/ScotlandSky/status/189...zapPmGhPw&s=19

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Originally Posted by Eirambler

Was involved in the Sky TV game against Hearts today and was unfortunately fairly average once again. Not standing out at all in the worst team in the SPL, in fact he's in danger of losing his starting place.

Randomly he was actually tackled by his own teammate, fellow Irishman Graham Carey, at one point today. This entire video clip more or less sums up how his time in Britain has gone so far:

https://x.com/ScotlandSky/status/189...zapPmGhPw&s=19

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The only way is up !

To offer an alternative view to the doom and gloom, they’ve won 5 of the 7 games (including 2 cup wins) they've played since he signed and started every game, having been absolute miles adrift at the bottom before then, they are now just 3 points below Dundee. I’ve seen much more positive reports on his performances than mentioned above

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Originally Posted by 2 Year Contract

To offer an alternative view to the doom and gloom, they’ve won 5 of the 7 games (including 2 cup wins) they've played since he signed and started every game, having been absolute miles adrift at the bottom before then, they are now just 3 points below Dundee. I’ve seen much more positive reports on his performances than mentioned above

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Dundee playing St Johnstone this weekend in Dens Park. Real relegation six-pointer. Realistically, they're going to finish in the bottom two in Scotland this season, it's the order that's yet to be determined.

Played better last night apparently. About the first time I've heard anything positive said about him all season, but if he could play an important role in saving St Johnstone from relegation it would be a starting point for him at least.

They have a chance, and that's more than could be said before he signed, good turnaround, so far

Another disappointing outing for Curtis in Scotland yesterday unfortunately. Was dispossessed in his own box for the opening Hibs goal, just took far too long on the ball in that part of the pitch (about 1 minute into the video below).

https://youtu.be/riGs0bXJ4JA?si=QODt76dRTUroHwWx

Seems to be struggling to adjust to the pace of play, even at SPL level. Was taken out of the firing line by the manager at half time.

Am genuinely surprised that it hasn’t gone better for Sam. I thought he was a real talent when he was at Pats. I really thought he was a potential Ireland right back for the future. Of course he’s still only 19, so he might get there. If it doesn’t work out for him I’d have him back at Pats anytime.

You might have your wish the way things are going. One side of it is that he's only 19 and has plenty of time to get better. But, on the other hand, he's far from the only teenager playing in that division, and many others, who probably won't amount to a huge amount themselves, are currently doing better than him.

St Johnstone playing in the early Sky game today at home to Celtic and in desperate need of points, hopefully Curtis will get another start.

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Originally Posted by Eirambler

St Johnstone playing in the early Sky game today at home to Celtic and in desperate need of points, hopefully Curtis will get another start.

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Played the full 90 and kept a clean sheet up against Jota down Celtic's left hand side in a 1-0 win

Good to see they stuck with him after last week and it worked out. He badly needed that, hopefully he can kick on now.

Curtis has concluded a disappointing season by being part of the first St. Johnstone team to be relegated for more than 20 years.

Not sure what his next step is really. Maybe a League 2 or National League loan next season, or else back to Ireland maybe? Obviously his parent club is one game away from the Premier League, but it doesn't seem likely to have too much relevance to him at this point in time.

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Originally Posted by Eirambler

Curtis has concluded a disappointing season by being part of the first St. Johnstone team to be relegated for more than 20 years.

Not sure what his next step is really. Maybe a League 2 or National League loan next season, or else back to Ireland maybe? Obviously his parent club is one game away from the Premier League, but it doesn't seem likely to have too much relevance to him at this point in time.

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League 2 would be a great loan especially if he joined before preseason let him bed in with the managers system. He has close to 100 first team appearances and won't be 21 until December. First half of next season in league 2 hopefully goes well gets league 1 move for season half of the season and is back next summer at sheff utd at 21 with a genuine chance of playing in the championship.

He looked like a weak link anytime I saw him unfortunately.

I think getting back to League 1 at any point next season would be overly ambitious. He was dreadful at Peterborough earlier this season and didn't excel either at St Johnstone who would be well below League 1 standard. A full League 2 season might be more realistic to see if he can at least establish himself as a capable player at that level. I'd be surprised if another Scottish Premiership team took him on.

Would like to see him give it a go on the continent before a L2 loan. Think once he drops into L2 I fear he's going to go the Lee O'Connor route and stay in L2. Don't think he's athletic enough and technically he's not that great to make up for his lack of athleticism.