Team Samaras - Explained

Last night, I spent a highly amusing few hours encouraging people to join Team Samaras. Obviously, this was started as a bit of a laugh, however inevitably I did get some comments from those who were astounded that anyone could actually appreciate him as a football player. I promised an explanation, and this is it.

Giorgios Samaras is a highly frustrating player, of that there is absolutely no doubt. The reason for this frustration, for me at least, is down to the fact that, under that mess of hair, there is a player of some ability struggling to get out. When he signed initially on loan, he scored that fantastic debut goal in the 5-1 pumpfest at Rugby Park, darting down the wing and casually finishing. I immediately thought to myself "here, we could have a player here."  Sadly, as we all know, it hasn't quite worked out like that. His talent has flickered here and there, but all too often he, for want of a better phrase, makes an absolute arse of it.

And here, we get to the crux of my Samaras defence. If you were to take someone who knew nothing of football and played an audio of some of the abuse Samaras takes from his own fans, I'm sure at times you'd think he played for our biggest rivals. Errors that other players may get away with are just not acceptable when it comes to Samaras. And for me, the reason he is always so noticeable on the field is because, and I must apologise profusely for this cliché, he always gives his all. He is always looking to get on the ball and never hides on the football pitch, which is something he should be admired, not pilloried, for. The likes of Hooper and Stokes can go missing completely at times, which - some may say unfortunately - Samaras very rarely does.

Yes, Samaras makes aimless runs into players, refuses to release the ball, and is very often the definition of the "forward's challenge." However, let us not forget that with his frustration, at times comes genius. His delayed pass to Izaguirre to set up Hooper's second in the 3-0 game against Rangers at Parkhead last season. His entire performance in that game was outstanding, despite not troubling the scorers. And of course, who will ever forget the New Year game at Ibrox when we were all expecting a trouncing. The latter game showed Sammy at his best - up front on his own, with McCourt playing just behind him. Samaras is a forward who does not work well with other strikers. This has been evident on several occasions, most recently against Sion. And who do fans blame for this? Samaras, for the most part. The question I pose is this - does Samaras really deserve the blame for tactical decisions which don't allow him to perform in his preferred way?

That, my friends, is essentially it. I recognise Samaras is average as a football player, who often runs up blind alleys and borderline refuses to score goals. However, he's also a player that thrives on confidence. Is it any wonder he struggles when the fans are on his back for the slightest error? Jump on the bandwagon. Support Team Samaras.