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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
The only way is up !Quote:
Originally Posted by Eirambler
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
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by 2 Year Contract
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.
Played the full 90 and kept a clean sheet up against Jota down Celtic's left hand side in a 1-0 winQuote:
Originally Posted by Eirambler
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.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eirambler
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.