Tom Lawrence - Joined Rangers

[Caerphilly Ram]

Hi folks, I’ve been a long time lurker on the forum and thought I’d add my thoughts for once. I appreciate Lawrence will never be universally liked by everyone, my own opinion is that I like him, he’s a capable and occasionally frustrating player in a Rams shirt.
His Goals and Assists this season have directly helped us to a win against Bournemouth and draws against Millwall, Luton and Forest, 6 points in total. He also set up the goal against Barnsley, maybe the less said about that game the better…. I suppose my point is he is playing his part, if he carries on doing so and doesn’t leave in Jan it’s already looking like his most productive output, some will no doubt say it’s cause he’s trying to earn a move etc, for now I appreciate his effort and contribution to the team ? 

[VulcanRam]

I think he's done ok this season, he's warranted his place in the team against the likes of Jozwiak or Sibley as someone who's meant to be creative. It's inevitable he would leave, but to go in January for free doesn't send a great signal out to me.

All this "play the kids til the end of the season" is just rubbish. We'll get whacked every game, destroy their confidence and start next season on a complete downer.

Play the strongest team with have until the end of the season, amass as many points as we can, get the crowd with you, if we go down then go down with pride and fight, and that will help momentum for next season. And like it or not, Lawrence deserves his place in our strongest line up. 

[RoyMac5]

1 hour ago, VulcanRam said:

And like it or not, Lawrence deserves his place in our strongest line up. 

But freeing his wages might mean we can loan/buy a couple or more players into the squad?

[VulcanRam]

28 minutes ago, RoyMac5 said:

But freeing his wages might mean we can loan/buy a couple or more players into the squad?

If that's what it is used for, then yes absolutely, and it might depend on where we are with the takeover. If we lose him and don't replace then we are definitely weaker. 

He's not indispensable, but neither in my opinion is he even half as bad as some people like to make out. 

[ripleyram88]

Yes we probably overpaid for him, but we were throwing money around at the time and the transfer fee and wages given to him are hardly his fault.

When you compare him to the likes of Johnny Russell or Jamie Ward, 2 "fan favourites" that played similar roles who are thought of fondly, his overall stats come out very similar. Worse than Ward but better than Russell, but then Ward played up front for a large part of his Derby career.

Then half the people on here still rate Jozwiak who has 1 goal and 3 assists in 54 games, it's clear that Lawrence is the scapegoat at the moment for the clubs issues.

Multiple different managers have picked him as first choice when available.

On top of this, his Mum died, he had addiction issues, and he has suffered from serious mental illness through all of his time here. Some of the comments on here about him are in poor taste.

[The Scarlet Pimpernel]

Where is our threat this season without Lawrence? 

[SirBrian]

Tom  has he been value for his £5 million transfer fee, now well into his 5th season with an average of 5.8 goals per season so far, in my view no, cracking 2nd half against Bournemouth, however when was his last game that he performed so well?

Sad for anyone when you lose your Mum, me included, had one day off work and whilst feeling sorry for myself decided to go back to work the next day for my Mum would not have wanted me mopping, just think of the good times we had and still say nite to her 3 or 4 times a week and her death was 25 years ago!

Hope Tom can prove my view of him as a Derby player wrong, and he owes Derby after the Joiners debacle, I would have sold him without doubt, he has only 1/2 a season left so grow a set get stuck in and perfom every game till the end of the season and i will change my view and you will probably get back into the Wales squad!

[kingsy1884]

Like it or not at the moment he is our talisman.

If willing I would still try and renew his contract with a fair release clause. Would be an unbelievable asset in L1.

[Taribo]

1 hour ago, kingsy1884 said:

Like it or not at the moment he is our talisman.

If willing I would still try and renew his contract with a fair release clause. Would be an unbelievable asset in L1.

Not a chance, he's coming up to his prime playing days at the end of a contract on high wages and could probably get into most teams in the Champ.

I get that we have stood by him through thick and thin and made him integral to the team by giving him the captaincy but League One is not the place for him. If he stayed/signed a new contract then I would drop my (unfounded) dislike for him and hail him the new Messi(ah). 

 

 

[angieram]

 

[sage]

42 minutes ago, angieram said:

 

He is in the best form/application of effort since he arrived. I wish he had always had this attitude but I will take it now,. 

[Ghost of Clough]

21 hours ago, SirBrian said:

Tom  has he been value for his £5 million transfer fee, now well into his 5th season with an average of 5.8 goals per season so far, in my view no, cracking 2nd half against Bournemouth, however when was his last game that he performed so well?

17/18: 6 goals (8 assists)
18/19: 7 goals (5 assists)
19/20: 10 goals (4 assists)
20/21: 3 goals (2 assists) - only 23 games
21/22: 5 goals (3 assists) - only 18 games

He's averaged 1 goal or assist every 298 minutes for us. A reasonable record IMO

1 hour ago, sage said:

He is in the best form/application of effort since he arrived. I wish he had always had this attitude but I will take it now,. 

17/18: 7 goals/assists in 11 games
18/19: 6 goals/assists in 11 games
19/20: 8 goals/assists in 12 games
20/21: 5 goals/assists in 8 games
21/22: 7 goals/assists in 8 games

That's now 8 goals and 6 assists in his last 26 games

[Ted McMinn Football Genius]

I’m not having a go but….. is this another Kris Commons scenario here?

Coming to the end of his contract and all of a sudden the performance, goals and creativity spike look oh so reminiscent of KC prior to his move to Celtic.

[Leeds Ram]

Lawrence is a pretty average championship player. He's only gotten into a double figures goal tally once and hasn't racked up double figures in the assists range at all. He flatters to deceive because he's got a good technique, looks good on the ball and has moments of absolute brilliance. This is combined with a spike of form that from memory affected Commons in a similar manner.  Just like Morrison, I think his play has suffered from an immaturity and an apparent self-love of his technique to the detriment of the team and his overall development. 

I'd say in league 1 he'd obviously be a top player akin to someone like McGeady playing in that division. But whether he'll stay or not is another matter. I'm not massively fussed if he stays or goes tbh as the wages he's on are substantial and could probably be put to better use elsewhere. 

[Ram1988]

10 hours ago, Leeds Ram said:

Lawrence is a pretty average championship player. He's only gotten into a double figures goal tally once and hasn't racked up double figures in the assists range at all. He flatters to deceive because he's got a good technique, looks good on the ball and has moments of absolute brilliance. This is combined with a spike of form that from memory affected Commons in a similar manner.  Just like Morrison, I think his play has suffered from an immaturity and an apparent self-love of his technique to the detriment of the team and his overall development. 

I'd say in league 1 he'd obviously be a top player akin to someone like McGeady playing in that division. But whether he'll stay or not is another matter. I'm not massively fussed if he stays or goes tbh as the wages he's on are substantial and could probably be put to better use elsewhere. 

I think Tom Lawrence cerianly has the talent, but at the moment he is one of our only assets with any real value who we can sell.

[Taribo]

8 hours ago, Ram1988 said:

I think Tom Lawrence cerianly has the talent, but at the moment he is one of our only assets with any real value who we can sell.

…at a cut price in Jan or whoever is buying can wait until the end of this season and get him free.

Sad state of affairs when the best we can hope for is letting him go for free with the aim of just reducing our wage bill. 

[StarterForTen]

If the reporting on his wage level is to be believed (£38k per week?), then selling him for £500k in January has a net input of circa £1.5m to cashflow projections to the end of the season, which might go a long way in keeping our nostrils above the water line until the end of the season if a buyer is not found in the short term.

[OUTSIDER]

Tom Lawrence at Derby after only playing a good game every 5, he is staring to show on a regular basis what he is capable of...( played more suited to him mined) and now we sell him on the cheap.... i suppose it sums up the Derby way 

[Ghost of Clough]

45 minutes ago, OUTSIDER said:

Tom Lawrence at Derby after only playing a good game every 5, he is staring to show on a regular basis what he is capable of...( played more suited to him mined) and now we sell him on the cheap.... i suppose it sums up the Derby way 

He's averaged a goal and assist every 243 minutes (1 every 2.7 games) in his Derby career - that's a very impressive 9 games a season

[Simmo’s left foot]

I doubt he is on £38k a week. More like £20-25k. At £25k per week thats £650k in wages until his contract expires in the summer, so if we can get a nominal £500k, we will see a £1million plus improvement in cash flow before the summer. I imagine Jozniak will also be going for a fee which clears any future liabilities and removes his wage, quite possibly Bielik too. No doubt Marshall is on good money too, so add that one in too.

Big reduction in our cost base with those 4 going, £3-4 million per year? Wow, you can see how football and us in particular are in such a mess. A salary limit as a % of trading turnover is essential, before numerous other clubs go into admin.

Shame about Tom, as he has always had that touch of class and quality when he cuts in from the flank and looks to shoot.

 

Edited December 2, 2021 by Simmo’s left foot