Sam Mantom

[AndyT]

Mantom is a one touch/pass player, so he needs good movement and a confident team around him. If he had played for Coventry yesterday he would have fitted in perfectly and when we played well early on in his career with us, he stood out.

However, yesterday, everyone needed three touches before getting a good ball option, so he looked crowded out and rushed,

 

[southendkid]

Probably because Managers are influenced by how a player trains during the week, his punctuality, his **se licking skills. Whereas we, the fans, purely judge,and rightly so, on what they do on a saturday afternoon when they cross that white line.

That doesn't make us better judges of ability, most fans have no idea what makes a good footballer because it isn't our area of expertise. Fans are too easily swayed by how flashy a player is rather than how much they contribute on the field, they also tend to hone in on the mistakes made than things they did right. Jordan Henderson for example is still called a crap footballer by many Liverpool fans despite one of their greatest ever managers viewing him as a vital part of their system. Look at Ladapo, everyone thought he was non-league standard with us but that clearly isn't the case given how well he's done since leaving us.

 

[Mr Browns Ghost]

But what do you really think ?

I quite like him

 

[Chrisb]

I’m going to doff my tin hat for this post:

I like Mantom and think he plays a similar role to Kevin Maher. I’ve seen him play a number of Maheresque performances which those who will remember he got similar abuse for his performances. Having Milligan as a partner doesn’t work and he needs a more attacking partner. If (hahaha) we sign the Macclesfield lad I’d like to see him partnered with Mantom.

Yes, I think the midfield pairing of Mantom and Dieng didn't work at all and, for me, that has influenced my opinion of them both so would like to see him alongside a different type of player.

 

[CM2 Blue]

I have some sympathy for Mantom and think he is a better player than some give him credit for. He works hard but doesn’t catch the eye- and is certainly not at all flashy. I don’t think we have the balance right in the middle of the park- and this has been the case all season- but we only have a limited number of players to select from. Mantom and Dru worked; Mantom with either Milligan or Ding doesn’t seem to. I would like to see Mantom with Phillips although this will have to wait for a while!

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

I have some sympathy for Mantom and think he is a better player than some give him credit for. He works hard but doesn’t catch the eye- and is certainly not at all flashy. I don’t think we have the balance right in the middle of the park- and this has been the case all season- but we only have a limited number of players to select from. Mantom and Dru worked; Mantom with either Milligan or Ding doesn’t seem to. I would like to see Mantom with Phillips although this will have to wait for a while!

We see things differently, the Dru partnership imo never was good, Timlin and Dru was much better. For sure Dieng and Mantom was weak. Milligan and Mantom is average at best. At the moment possibly Demi is the best pairing with him, with Milligan sweeping behind them and infront of back 4.
Sam is not a leader or natural motivator and that tends to show in that if things are going well he plays better but in adversity he tends to withdraw more as well.
A challenging midfielder, by nature of the role, will get yellow cards and yesterday for example, a challenging midfielder would have clattered O'Hare as he danced 60 yards to score, he should never have been allowed to make the yards un challenged.
Sam doesn't get many cards.