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Sorba Thomas has clear aim after being dropped both at Huddersfield Town and Blackburn Rovers
Sorba Thomas left the Terriers on loan in January specifically because he had found himself out of their starting line-up, only for him to repeat the exact same pattern while out at Blackburn Rovers.
The Welsh international started nine games in a row after making the switch from Huddersfield Town to Ewood Park in January, but then found himself largely benched from April onwards, starting just twice more in the remaining eight games that he was eligible to play – and both times, he got the hook at half time.
Asked why Thomas wasn’t starting earlier this month, Blackburn boss Jon Dahl Tomasson told Lancs Live gave a revealing answer: “What you are showing in training first, and what you show in games. You pick yourself, the manager doesn’t pick you, you pick yourself.”
Read more: Huddersfield Town’s World Cup-bound prospect has chance at fresh start after Neil Warnock exit
Jumping into the assumption that Thomas’ problem is attitude-related may be misguided – there’s any number of reasons that a player may not be completely at it in training, from fitness issues to personal problems to being unable to get to grips with certain specifics the manager wants to see.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that between club and country, Thomas has played a lot more minutes over the past two years than he ever had in any single season at his previous club Boreham Wood – and respectfully, that was at a level far below what he would have been expected to do in the Championship.
Carlos Corberan certainly never seemed to have such an issue with Thomas that he felt he was worth removing from the side; he played practically every game he was available for in 2021/22, even through a mid-season dip in form. Nor did Rob Page have any compunction about taking Thomas to the World Cup last winter, including him in a squad that has famously thrived on work ethic and team spirit. Neil Warnock said several times that he wished he had Thomas available to work with.
However, while we can’t claim to be privy to conversations had behind the closed doors of managers’ offices or to see what happens on and around the training pitch, let alone Thomas’ personal life, it is nonetheless a bit of a worry that it has happened to Thomas twice in one season at two different clubs.
In principle, Thomas should be one of two things to Town when he returns to the club this summer: either a key player in a position where options currently look very thin on the ground, or one of their more valuable and saleable assets in the transfer window. But Thomas’ experiences at both clubs this season – both being dropped twice over, and claiming just two assists since October – have dented the reputation he had entirely earned in his first full season at the John Smith’s Stadium.
Whether that will have an impact on what sort of interest he attracts in the transfer market is one question, but if he is still at Town next season, he and the new manager need to work in tandem to get him back to his best on a consistent basis – and perhaps a bit of acceptance that putting up with Thomas during the low moments is worth enduring for how good he is when he is on form.
