Showing more Consistency

Georgios Samaras consistency:

I’ve always liked Samaras from the day he signed on loan way back in 2008’ on loan, & I know he has been some rough times at the club but always believed he would come good, I’ve had umpteen arguments well debates both on this forum & with friends about Samaras, but if you remember his debut against Kilmarnock in the Scottish Cup, his solo goal, it gave you an insight into the type of player Samaras actually is, he did go on to score more vital goals for us to help us retain the title for the 3<SUP>rd</SUP> successive season & then signed permanently in the Summer & started that season on fire, he was our top goal scorer for a while before he got injured & when he came back he still scored & ended the season with 16 goals which is a really good return for his first season.

When Tony Mowbray came in, he was still scoring goals maybe not as much as the season before but he did get that vital last minute goal in Russia to get us through into the next stage of the Champions League Qualifiers, but he wasn’t the only player that lost his way under Mowbray, Mowbray ruffled to many feathers & tried to change things far to quick & in the January as well which was even more baffling, kind of what Villa Bois did at Chelsea, try to change things far to quick.

Then Lennon came in & a part from a hat trick in the League Cup against Inverness C.T & a good pre season he had as well Samaras wasn’t really scoring as much & I think that’s when the fans started to turn on him a little & I think went a little to far at times, then he had that amazing game at Ibrox when he scored those 2 goals & tore Rangers apart, we had an injury crisis then if you remember? & Lennon said he spoke to Strachan for advice on how to line up against Rangers & Strachan said to play Sammy as the lone striker & it worked! Samaras then got a new contract but didn’t really show much of that form again that season, although didn’t play all that bad in games just not really to the heights he set himself that day.

I would say the turning point for Samaras was in the January of 2012’ (Neil Lennon’s first Championship), when Samaras was moved to the left hand side against St Mirren, I remember watching it on link & he was amazing that game & scored our first goal as well, then he took it into the next game against Dundee United up at Tannadice, he didn’t score that game but he was tearing United to pieces with his pace & trickery & then the goals started to come & he played a vital role to us going on to win the title even though Rangers had been deducted those 10pts.

Then last season, winning Celtic player of the year which I feel was well deserved, because every big game we had Samaras performed & scored in all of our away European matches which was just incredible & came away with 14 goals for the season. This season he already has 6 & looks as strong as ever & feeding off his plaudits from last season, to me Samaras is now playing with a smile on his face, a freedom that now the fans are behind him & not constantly on his back, his confidence is booming & Celtic are reaping the rewards for it, he is doing it now on a consistent basis, I don’t think anyone can argue with that, I’d say from January 2012’ to now, since he had the move in position he has been outstanding!

I would hate to think if the fans who wanted Samaras out after Lennon’s first full season had have got their own, cos had he went to Italy which was probably going to be his destination, I think we would have regretted it had he then gained confidence & showed the form he now shows for us but showing it in the Serie A were arguably players like Samaras get more space & time on the ball, so for Samaras to produce what he does in the SPL, ok the level isn’t the best, but your constantly getting defenders nipping at your ankles & getting marked out the game from 2-3 players for him to come back for more time & time again & succeed & to prove most of the Celtic fans wrong, shows what kind of character he has & that has to be applauded, Georgios Samaras is Celtic’s main danger man in all the big games we go into, he is the player that all teams mention they fear the most & is one player I would say plays for the badge, which for a foreign player is few & far between these days.

You hear Samaras talking in interviews & you can tell he loves it at Celtic & he always includes his team mates, never talks about himself or tries to turn the lime light on himself, you can see that with how he plays as well, he always seems to put a good ball into the box when he gets to the touchline, which I suppose they do say strikers are the best crossers cos the know exactly where they would want the ball to be, but I’m really glad he has turned a corner at Celtic & I hope a new bumper deal will be coming his way, because there is one thing that cant be doubted now about Georgios Samaras & that’s his attitude because he is now a consistent performer in the Hoops & although he may have the odd off game, more often than not he has a good one now & makes something happen in the game & genuinely is the difference in the end.

What do you guys think about how Samaras has turned his Celtic career around?

 

I was at the match against Morton on Tuesday there & I said that to my pal that Samaras was what we were missing, someone who has a little imagination & someone who will run directly at the heart of Morton & have some physical power & height for any cross put into the box, cos even though Pukki didn’t have the best of games the service into him was ridiculous at times, for the size of the guy how the * was he meant to get onto the end of anything? Samaras would have made a difference on Tuesday & to not even have him on the bench was a real disappointment & to me made it wasted trip in the end, although we dominated the match & had loads of chances & corners, I do think Samaras would have took at least one of them or opened the game up enough to allow someone else to have taking one of the chances & seeing him yesterday against Kilmarnock kind of proved my point a little, because the side looked a bit under par again & that’s how Samaras stuck out so much because he was the only one performing to his full, I may be bias cos Samaras is my favourite player at the club, but he does bring something to the table & when he doesn’t play now a days you really do notice something is missing.

 

If Sammy had left for Serie A (Palermo I think it was) a couple years ago...he would be a £10-15million player today.

A real quality player who has always been a big player for us domestically and particularly in Europe. I think the fact he plays in Scotland and the fact he was labelled as a dud in England that he is constantly being under-rated. I think he was an important a player for us as Wanyama and Hooper last year. Coincidentally he and Broony are the longest serving players in the current squad, both have had major stick from our own and both are now without a doubt the first 2 players on Lenny's team sheet. Credit to both these guys...both will become legends for this club!