They deserve a chance because they're in the squad. If they're not good enough they should be released. Bednarek. Didn't get a look in under MP2. Looked like our best defender under MH. Under Poch Reed looked like a certain for the first team. He played like a little terrier. Since then... nothing. However, he could have played Romeu off the pitch last season IMO. Every player in that squad is talented, they wouldn't be there if they weren't. And they're from our academy, we have an obligation to give them chances, again just my opinion.
If several managers don't fancy a player there is a strong chance that the player is lacking in some regard....however, ain't necessarily so. May be a decent player but doesn't suit the managers style as much as another player.....or needs to mature more. I would always be delighted if an Academy player gets a chance and thrives.
At worst he offers us the same as what we had last year, a bang average striker that needs a team playing with some level of confidence and not under immediate threat of relegation or 4 months of “will we sack him”. At best, he offers something different as an option up front; we’ve all been craving another SRL and he is as close as we’re going to get to that without a prolonged financial battle with Everton, Wet Spam, etc. We’re loathed to pay anything other than exactly what a player is worth rather than pay a vastly over inflated price tag because multiple other clubs are interested. I just hope that he gets a decent chance in games and across the season. Watching when the U23s won their league or whatever it was 2 seasons ago, he grafted the whole game, wasn’t hugely skilful but then slammed home a left footed winner worthy of any MOTD discussion. Sometimes it takes time and belief.
I’ve liked the look of him ever since he scored against Yeovil in the Cup when he was a lanky teenager:
Sam is young enough to possibly improve with experience....better to use him as a back up striker than spend money (and possibly get lumbered) with another average player. We either need to go big (unlikely if what Hughes says is true about needing to sell) or stick with what we have.
And which non mediocre PL team is he going to be playing for who will provide him with decent service? Oh you meant Saints
I haven't seen enough of him to really judge how good he is/can be. When he first broke into the team (OK, he was only 18) he didn't really impress me and I didn't see anything from him that made me think he was definitely going to make it at the highest level. 2 decent but not much more loan spells in the Championship doesn't scream to me that he is ready to be part of the squad in the PL. There is also the problem that if he is going to be 4th choice (behind Austin, Long and Gabbi which is a very real possibility) then it would be better for him to go out on loan again and get minutes under his belt. He is 22 and in theory improving, playing a few cameos and maybe a cup game here and there is usually the job description of a 4th choice striker, he should be playing more at his age if we really want to see what we have.
Can I take it, from this thread, that Sam Gallagher has been given the nod by MH, to be in his reckoning for the new season? He’s certainly more mobile than Chaz, and his speed of thought, as in running into space as soon as the ball broke for a teammate in the game against the Chinese club, his control and finish were very accomplished. I can still remember this match winning goal in a cup final. Give the boy a chance, I say.
Gabbi being the first choice, I hope!! God help us if Austin and Long are chosen ahead of the Italian!!!!
We have spent enough over the years on strikers who have failed to score 1 in 4, midfielders to score 1 in 8; what have we to lose?
I've got no problem giving him a go. But if we are to, it would have to be in place of Long or Austin. We can't be putting our eggs in his basket, so we should still be signing a new striker. And a new striker plus Gabbi, Long, Austin and Gallagher is too many, if Sam is to get a go. He'd almost never make the bench, let alone the pitch. Whether selling Austin or Long, to allow Gallagher a chance, is advisable, only time would tell.
I think some have got carried away with Bednarek. Just my opinion. Sam isn’t really from our Academy. He’s from Plymouth’s, but that’s just splitting hairs. I don’t think we have an obligation to give them a chance because they are from our academy, if they aren’t good enough or the coach doesn’t think they’re good enough. They maybe talented, that doesn’t mean they are talented enough. I love the thought of us supplying the first team with home grown youngsters, but I don’t want us to just pick them because they are from our Academy. It would be great if Cortese’s dream came true.... but only if it’s right to play them.
It also isn't to their benefit to keep players like Gallagher around as a fourth striker. Unless we're fully prepared to give him a bunch of playing time, including when Gabbiadini and Austin are available, and intending to drop a veteran striker from the squad entirely, we're not helping his career a whit.
I like Gallagher - he's tall, he's bulked up, has decent technique and realtively fast considering his size - and I want to see what he could do given a run in the team. Considering how poor our strikers fared last season, he can't possibly be any worse.
Counterpoint: people made that argument in favour of signing Carrillo, too. It's entirely possible to be worse than our current strikers!
In what way was he worse? You might argue that he didn't score a goal in his couple of matches for Saints, but team performances weren't markedly worse than those with Austin/manolo/Long