How good is Sam Byram?

[Oscar]

I am not saying he is a bad player or anything like that but in my opinion I don't think he is good enough for the premier league yet.
My criticism of Sam:
I still feel he hasn't progressed since his debut 12-13 season (where he was exceptional both defensively and going forward). I also don't think he has enough of an end product 3 goals and 4 assists in his last 3 seasons. Although most of the time he has been at right back, I still think he needs to improve on this to be a great right winger at the club. I also think he is probably one of the most inconsistent players at the club in my opinion.
However, if Sam can improve his end product and consistency then he could be as good as Robert Snodgrass or maybe depending on how quickly he progresses he could be similar to Aaron Lennon/James Milner etc. In my opinion he is excellent at getting past left backs etc and has plenty of pace.

[gessa]

I think if he did go to a Premiership club, it would be as a right back.

[Ratscoot]

Tend to agree Gary, I feel he's is a good player but he hasn't improved and the likes of Cook, Mowatt and Taylor have all passed him. If he went to a Prem team I feel is career would go the way of Beckford, he needs to spend at least another year here and make improvements to his game and consistency

[John in Louisiana]

He's a good player, not a great player. With some work he could be a great player.

We all laughed over it........

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z85zt_EUySg

[Crude]

To be fair, Sam did have a fair share of nagging injuries over this time frame too. Seems to lacking a bit of confidence, but think he'll be fine under Rosler. Better than average currently, could be great given time and space to grow.

[Whitecapswhite]

By the sounds of it to me, he can be as good a player as he wants to be, a gem what needs more polishing? he's young enough and if his head is screwed on right, should do okay for himself.....

Hup to you, Sam lad

[lufc1304]

He's good, but he's not good enough........yet. His da needs to take his head out of his arse and realise that, if he's allowed to develop and grow here, he can stride into the Premiership. As it stands, he'd be lucky to last a season, imo

[Dr. Robert]

Going totally against opinons, when I've seen him this season on the right side of midfield I've been very very impressed. He can take people on and to be honest looks a class above the fullbacks he's come up against.
But if he feels more comfortable at right full back then play him there. But he's gonna have to get past Berradi who hasn't put a foot wrong so far.

[Oscar]

the likes of Cook, Mowatt and Taylor have all passed him.

Definitely agree with that, plus he is the oldest of the 4 (I think) and has played the most games out of the 4.

[Oscar]

Going totally against opinons, when I've seen him this season on the right side of midfield I've been very very impressed. He can take people on and to be honest looks a class above the fullbacks he's come up against.
But if he feels more comfortable at right full back then play him there. But he's gonna have to get past Berradi who hasn't put a foot wrong so far.

In my opinion the only time I have seen him as being a class above this season was the first half of the Burnley game he was absolutely superb. However, I can't remember him even having a decent game (in my opinion) since then (however, I did not see the Reading or Bristol City games.) I can't see him playing at right back in the near future either at Leeds as I think Berardi is defensively the best right back in the championship.

[Dr. Robert]

To say beradi is the best in the Championship might be pushing it a bit, but he has been superb.
But Charlie Taylor by a counrty mile is the best left full back in the division.

[1964white]

To say beradi is the best in the Championship might be pushing it a bit, but he has been superb.
But Charlie Taylor by a counrty mile is the best left full back in the division.

I don't think it is pushing it a bit to say Berardi is one of the best RB's in the championship. Gaetano is by far our most consistent player over our first five games, he's hardly put a foot wrong. I've followed Berardl's LUFC career from his early games where is disciplinary record wasn't great, he was suspended & struggled to retain his place back into the squad let alone the first eleven. He was given his opportunity last January in a cup-tie v Sunderland where he was given a bit of a torrid time in the first-half by the winger who scored their goal, he stuck by his task & got better as the game went on.
In the following game at Bolton, Berardi began to show his true colours where he was one of the best players in the park.
Unsure if he lost is place to injury or was dropped for the next game, Wootton came in played RB from then on.
Berardi was brought back to play the LB role when Charlie Taylor was pushed up into the midfield at Wigan in early March where from then on Gaetano retained his place until the end of the season putting in some solid performances

I've only missed three of Berardi's 27 appearances & i've witnessed a significant improvement in his game after several setbacks last season. He has obviously shown a strong mentality & worked hard to achieve the reward of being a fans favourite this season elected as our player of the month on here & other forums.
Imo he is without the best tackler in the squad, reads the game well making some vital interceptions. One of the first players on the team sheet for me. I suspect our CB's love him as he stops so many crosses coming into the box.
Our best right-back in a very long time !

[lufc1304]

Great summation, Leon; unless he loses form dramatically or picks up a suspension, there's no way Byram is displacing Berardi in the side. I don't know what, if anything, we paid for him, but he's looking more and more like an absolute steal with each passing game. A class act at this level, and one I think could make the step up. Sam may actually have more natural talent than him, but his head has gone to pieces since the Burnley game, where has was probably MOTM. Like I said in my original post, his dad/agent is doing him no favours filling his head full of Premiership nonsense.

[Gandalf]

Sam may actually have more natural talent than him, but his head has gone to pieces since the Burnley game, where has was probably MOTM. Like I said in my original post, his dad/agent is doing him no favours filling his head full of Premiership nonsense.

If what Phil Hay is saying is correct, then the reason he has not signed a new contract is that our offer is 40% less than the contract he is currently on. I can understand that this might affect his game. FWIW he would have no problems adapting to the Premiership.

[Genghers]

Sure, Byram has been in the first team (and a regular starter) for 3 seasons now, but he missed the best part of a season through injury and I think it took him a long time (until about midway through last season) to get his form back. Obviously he's been struggling since Burnley, but as has been said, a lot of that could be down to the speculation about transfers/contract.

If what Phil Hay is saying is correct, then the reason he has not signed a new contract is that our offer is 40% less than the contract he is currently on. I can understand that this might affect his game. FWIW he would have no problems adapting to the Premiership.

He was probably put on massive wages when he re-signed under GFH. I think all the players who we bought/signed new deals during that time were on big bucks as GFH had no clue how to run a club. Murphy took a wage reduction when he signed his new contract this season and I suspect one of the reasons Cellino was so keen to offload the likes of Morison and Warnock is that they will have been on high wages.

Sam has a big decision to make and I hope he realises what he has here and takes a new contract (though maybe some more negotiation is required). His place shouldn't be guaranteed though, and if Botaka does well I see no reason for him not to be a starter - might give Byram a kick up the arse!

[1964white]

As for Sam, had one of the best debut season's i've seen from a young kid. Unfortunately he never recovered from his serious injury the next season. Is he a RB or a midfielder....who knows ?

Defensively not as good as Berardi but better going forward. When he plays in midfield he chooses the wrong option too often for my liking, prefers to cut inside rather than take a defender on the outside.

As Nick has already said his dad needs to keep out of it, yes his old man wants his kid to play in the prem & make loads of dosh but quite honestly i don't think he is ready for that level even on his best form, he would become just another bench-warmer. Sam requires at least one more season in the championship although if an offer came in too good to refuse it would be foolish for LUFC not to accept it. Personally i can't see a club offering £8m+ right now as he doesn't look a £800,000 player atm, Sam needs to re-establish his form not running before he can walk !

[mav]

I think he has suffered from being pushed into different positions as he is developing his game, if he stays in one position now I can see him making the fringes of the England squad in a few years time.

[lufc1304]

If what Phil Hay is saying is correct, then the reason he has not signed a new contract is that our offer is 40% less than the contract he is currently on. I can understand that this might affect his game. FWIW he would have no problems adapting to the Premiership.

All about opinions, Gandi, I just don't think he's ready yet. Fair point re contract negotiations

[Gregsta]

He's a quality young player that's being played out of position for me. He's right back in my eyes.

At right back I think he's Prem quality. With a run in a prem side at right back he'd do the business in my opinion. As a right winger though, no not quite prem standard (And probably never will be) for me.

[hibbi86]

I still think hes abit too light weight in terms of his physique