Sam McCallum

[Wimbledoncanary 9]

Sign this man up to another contract please ! If we go up will be a good back up or if we stay in championship has done enough for me to be number 1 choice and let Dimi  go (because if wages)

 

I thought Brady had a good game yesterday , perhaps could be an option for the champs if we don't go up ....

[RobJames 884]

44 minutes ago, Wimbledoncanary said:

Sign this man up to another contract please ! If we go up will be a good back up or if we stay in championship has done enough for me to be number 1 choice and let Dimi  go (because if wages)

 

I thought Brady had a good game yesterday , perhaps could be an option for the champs if we don't go up ....

eh ?

Gino is out of contract,so  we have no requirement to meet any demands, as with Gibson. I doubt either will be offered the same PL contract they enjoyed with us.

Gino may be offered a better deal in Europe, but I doubt Gibson will find any better in the Championship.

It is down to us whether we see either as part of our plans, which if we are in the Championship is unlikely.

[By Hook or Ian crook 917]

It all really depends on how much he wants vs how much we can afford to pay. My gut feeling is the club are keen on Montoia making the step up as I’ve heard a lot of promising things coming out of Colney about him. 

[Ken Hairy 3,779]

1 hour ago, RobJames said:

eh ?

Gino is out of contract,so  we have no requirement to meet any demands, as with Gibson. I doubt either will be offered the same PL contract they enjoyed with us.

Gino may be offered a better deal in Europe, but I doubt Gibson will find any better in the Championship.

It is down to us whether we see either as part of our plans, which if we are in the Championship is unlikely.

I think their point is it would be cheaper to re-sign McCallum than Gino.

Personally I'd suspect Gino wants to move on regardless of whether we offered him a new deal or not to be honest.

[Nuff Said 5,161]

I don’t normally do negative but we need to replace him. He’s just not good enough at defending, which is the most important aspect of his role. Maybe it can be coached, but I would have thought if it was possible, it would have been done by now.

[dylanisabaddog 4,970]

5 minutes ago, Nuff Said said:

I don’t normally do negative but we need to replace him. He’s just not good enough at defending, which is the most important aspect of his role. Maybe it can be coached, but I would have thought if it was possible, it would have been done by now.

Quite agree. He was all over the place yesterday. 

[BroadstairsR 2,199]

Very good game yesterday. Energetic and caused endless problems for the PNE defence, along with some decent defensive work. I am warming to him at a rate of knots.

Dimi can be erratic, possibly more classy but big wages. I would be happy for McC to assume that role whatever league we are in. We can't afford too many replacements, in any case, so will have to grit our teeth, hope for the best and take the cash bonanza.

I wouldn't know much about Montoia, but we have to assume that youngsters like Callum are on an upward trend.

Edited April 14 by BroadstairsR

[Indy 3,314]

I don’t get this negativity around McCallum, he’s brilliant going forwards and he’s only really broken through this season. 
Yes he gets caught up pitch but that’s our style, that’s why McLean sirs deep, Gibson or McLean should cover this if it happens.

personally he’s better in the air than Dimi, he’s better going forwards and there’s not a huge amount of difference at the defending. I’d be signing him up regardless of promotion or not.

Edited April 14 by Indy

[Capt. Pants 4,274]

I read negative comments about McCallum and Stacey. Fair enough but people need to remind themselves this is NCFC so had those players been totally perfect, well they wouldn't be here in the first place.

I'd happily keep Sam and Dimi for our current style and set up.

Edited April 14 by Capt. Pants

[TheGunnShow 5,985]

McCallum's always more up for a dogfight than Giannoulis, has a decent long throw in his locker, and he's the younger player. If I had to pick between him and Dimi, McCallum gets the nod.

[Robert N. LiM 4,464]

50 minutes ago, dylanisabaddog said:

Quite agree. He was all over the place yesterday. 

 

46 minutes ago, BroadstairsR said:

Very good game yesterday

Funny game, this football, isn't it?! Two posters I really respect with completely opposite views.

On this I'm with Dylan. Thought it was a tough afternoon for Sam yesterday. Felt like their right wide player had the beating of him. 

[Bovril 219]

I thought McCallum had the proverbial game of two halves yesterday:

1st Half = Woeful. He was constantly backing off allowing the cross, not closing down and generally had a torrid time.

2nd Half = Superb. He was much more aggressive, good positioning, and made a goal-line clearance (may have gone wide). 

That sums him up as a player really, he's a very decent back-up to have at this level or first team starter for a mid-table side but if we want to progress we need to bring in another starter for Dimi. 

[Mr.Carrow 378]

9 minutes ago, Bovril said:

I thought McCallum had the proverbial game of two halves yesterday:

1st Half = Woeful. He was constantly backing off allowing the cross, not closing down and generally had a torrid time.

2nd Half = Superb. He was much more aggressive, good positioning, and made a goal-line clearance (may have gone wide). 

That sums him up as a player really, he's a very decent back-up to have at this level or first team starter for a mid-table side but if we want to progress we need to bring in another starter for Dimi. 

He's 23 and hasn't played that much at Champs level. What I'm seeing is a young player with many positive attributes gradually gaining consistency and ironing out his weaknesses. At his current rate of improvement he's well worth keeping on imo and has a higher ceiling than Dimi.

[JonnyJonnyRowe 451]

2 hours ago, Ken Hairy said:

I think their point is it would be cheaper to re-sign McCallum than Gino.

Personally I'd suspect Gino wants to move on regardless of whether we offered him a new deal or not to be honest.

As you say, I strongly suspect that Gianoullis will fancy getting some Europa League football or something, probably with one of the big three Greek clubs or perhaps even an Eredivisie side, he's an international with a profile.

McCallum meanwhile would probably have his choice of a dozen Championship clubs for decent Championship money but not much else on the table. His prior success at Coventry under Robins and popularity with their fans does worry me though, hardly going to be a backwards step if we're stuck in this league without parachute payments, more like a sideways move, and I'm sure they will make a move (and that the firm interest will see that he won't be as cheap as some are making out)

[Bobzilla 151]

50 minutes ago, Robert N. LiM said:

 

Funny game, this football, isn't it?! Two posters I really respect with completely opposite views.

On this I'm with Dylan. Thought it was a tough afternoon for Sam yesterday. Felt like their right wide player had the beating of him. 

Having kicked the **** out of him early on in the first half without so much as a protest from the ref.  Holmes was a dirty cheating **** yesterday.

[ron obvious 1,514]

Sam has one huge problem, one which cannot be coached away; he's slow. Anyone with pace will outrun him all day long. That means his positioning & timing has to be immaculate at all times, which makes his life very difficult.

What he does have, though, is an amazing heading technique. He can hang in the air better than anyone I've seen in a long time. I'm wondering if he'd be better as a CD? Has he ever played there? Obviously speed isn't such an issue & he's more agile than our other incumbents & no weakling. Just a thought.

[cambridgeshire canary 6,778]

Still not convinced he should be a regular but to be fair he is second choice. Had a shaky first half but improved greatly in the second half..

 

Which oddly seems to be a thing with him as I do remember him doing that against the binners in which his first half was awful but then went and played great in the second

[TheGunnShow 5,985]

6 minutes ago, ron obvious said:

Sam has one huge problem, one which cannot be coached away; he's slow. Anyone with pace will outrun him all day long. That means his positioning & timing has to be immaculate at all times, which makes his life very difficult.

What he does have, though, is an amazing heading technique. He can hang in the air better than anyone I've seen in a long time. I'm wondering if he'd be better as a CD? Has he ever played there? Obviously speed isn't such an issue & he's more agile than our other incumbents & no weakling. Just a thought.

Didn't he actually close out a few games at centre-half in pre-season? I think he did....

[chicken 2,640]

3 hours ago, Mr.Carrow said:

He's 23 and hasn't played that much at Champs level. What I'm seeing is a young player with many positive attributes gradually gaining consistency and ironing out his weaknesses. At his current rate of improvement he's well worth keeping on imo and has a higher ceiling than Dimi.

He's played two seasons at this level for Coventry and QPR... including with us it's 75-80appearances.

 

[RobJames 884]

Sam is not a left back, i anything he is a left winger. With someone solid behind him, he has great potential, without the need to keep an eye on marking his man.

This is becoming more obvious as others (above) have noted. However at the moment it's a case of needs must - Gino out.

Hopefully he will sign a new contract and be played further forward next season.

[Creedence Clearwater Couto 1,297]

1 hour ago, RobJames said:

Sam is not a left back, i anything he is a left winger. With someone solid behind him, he has great potential, without the need to keep an eye on marking his man.

This is becoming more obvious as others (above) have noted. However at the moment it's a case of needs must - Gino out.

Hopefully he will sign a new contract and be played further forward next season.

If we don’t go up and lose Sainz / Rowe / Sarge and Gabby… there will be riots if McCallum is labelled the new attacking wide player. In my house, anyway.

[NWC 245]

I think Sam Mac is a really decent championship left back. He can be a threat going forwards, and he is a much better headerer of the ball than Dimi. He also has that long throw, which can be useful if we want to mix it up a bit.

His limitation for me is his pace. He looks so slow compared to nearly every other player on the field. I don't think this can improve, so championship will be his level, as he is far too slow for the prem.

Out of the 2, I do prefer him over Dimi. 

[canarybubbles 1,937]

I have no idea where I stand on McCallum. He seems to be either very good or very poor, with little in between. I notice that other sides seem to be targetting him, though, which is not a good sign.

Re. his slowness. Not going forward, only going back. This seems weird. Is it because he can't read a game very well as a defender, is that what slows him down going backwards?

Edited April 14 by canarybubbles

[GodlyOtsemobor 2,361]

I agree. 

Keep Sam, let Dimi go. 

Go and sign Harrison Burrows from posh to battle it out with Sam and have montoia out on loan. 

 

While we're at it, raid posh for Ronnie Edwards. 

 

Guess I'm not the only one who rates Young Harry then...... 

Edited April 14 by GodlyOtsemobor
Adding the EFL award

[Mengo 825]

10 hours ago, Capt. Pants said:

I read negative comments about McCallum and Stacey. Fair enough but people need to remind themselves this is NCFC so had those players been totally perfect, well they wouldn't be here in the first place.

I'd happily keep Sam and Dimi for our current style and set up.

EXACTLY  THIS?  Perfect. You have to wonder don't you. Its impossible to be the same top performer week in week out. EVEN that noggie forward with man city is having a bit of a lean spell. AS you say if it was perfect,they certainly would not be at Norwich. 

[shefcanary 2,444]

5 hours ago, ron obvious said:

Sam has one huge problem, one which cannot be coached away; he's slow. Anyone with pace will outrun him all day long. That means his positioning & timing has to be immaculate at all times, which makes his life very difficult.

What he does have, though, is an amazing heading technique. He can hang in the air better than anyone I've seen in a long time. I'm wondering if he'd be better as a CD? Has he ever played there? Obviously speed isn't such an issue & he's more agile than our other incumbents & no weakling. Just a thought.

Ron, I've commented on here in the past about this. I do see him as being the potential solution to our LCB position. I had the pleasure of seeing him play in CD for QPR at Bramall Lane under Beale a couple of years ago. He was very composed, kept the Blades forwards quiet, and was able to spray balls out wide well.

I would keep him on purely for that reason. We have several right footed CB's coming through, but I think I am right no left footers!

[Serinus canaria 14]

I have been of a similar opinion re. McCallum and Giannoulis - I would keep McCallum as the cheaper and younger option and let Dimi go as he is more expensive and not quite a PL player.

However, I wonder why it is taken as given that Dimi would be too expensive? If he left NCFC I can't see him going to a team much higher in the pyramid - so why would he command a wage higher than what we can afford?

[Grumpy 123]

On 14/04/2024 at 05:24, Wimbledoncanary said:

Sign this man up to another contract please ! If we go up will be a good back up or if we stay in championship has done enough for me to be number 1 choice and let Dimi  go (because if wages)

 

I thought Brady had a good game yesterday , perhaps could be an option for the champs if we don't go up ....

Agree with you about Sam but you spoilt it with your thoughts on Brady.Knapper has designs on lowering the age group

[All the Germans 1,081]

I don't really rate McCallum. He's OK as backup squad player, but as a starter, he is a weak link for a team wanting to be at the top end of this league. Dimi is by far the better player in my opinion, despite his own weaknesses, and cannot understand peoples preference for McCallum.

Edited April 15 by All the Germans

[Midlands Yellow 4,044]

If we go up then neither is good enough. Stay in this division then I can’t really split them.