Tom Lawrence – Rotherham Loan Report

Chris Saxon from the Millers Trust (Rotherham) has provided us with this report on Tom Lawrence’s loan period.

"Here is my assessment of Tom Lawrence, who returned to you last week after a brief, but I believe successful, loan spell with Rotherham United.

After a dire home performance against struggling Birmingham City, our manager Steve Evans promised major additions to our playing squad. Four new players arrived at the club as “emergency loans”. Amongst them was a little known young striker from Leicester City, Tom Lawrence.

It’s fair to say given our rather desperate need for a proven goal scorer that Lawrence’s signing, was initially viewed with disappointment amongst our fans. He arrived with a decent pedigree though, having come through the ranks at Manchester United.

Nigel Pearson had clearly identified something special in this young Welshman and a big albeit undisclosed fee had been paid by the Foxes in the summer.

His debut was, shall I say, something of a hit and miss affair. Bottom of the Championship Blackpool were the opposition, and he began well, especially given that he’d probably only been introduced to his new teammates hours before the kick off.

He was quick and skilful in that first half and mesmerised their defence with his style of running directly at defenders. One particular moment of sublime skill is still remembered as he appeared to bring the ball down and flick it towards goal in one movement. This player had skill!

I suppose that lack of match fitness was bound to tell and he faded in that second period, but it had been a good debut.

A man of the match performance away at big spending Cardiff City followed the week after. Opposition forums were positively drooling at his superb display, one Cardiff fan in his Christmas wish said he’d like Tom Lawrence to be signed by Cardiff City! He didn’t score that day, indeed the game ended goalless but Tom’s reputation was beginning to grow. At times it seems that the ball was glued to his foot as danced around opponents at ease.

Another fine home performance against one of your rivals Nottingham Forest followed and then his first goal duly arrived away at Wigan Athletic. He’d threatened several times to open his account, leading the home defence a merry dance before seizing on a mistake, using his pace to leave opponents standing before despatching the ball into the net! This boy had it all, pace, strength and that eye for goal! That day, he became a favourite amongst the Millers faithful.

His final game for Rotherham was to be the return game against Blackpool. He’d taunted and teased their defence a few weeks ago and they must have been dreading facing Tom Lawrence again so soon! We began well and Tom might have scored on a number of occasions as he ran the opposition ragged.

Their keeper was in inspired form as he saved, what looked to be certain goals. A twisting double turn ending in a shot which was saved being the highlight of that spell. Then, came his opportunity to score as he was brought down in the penalty area. Frustration clearly getting the better of at least one of their defenders.

Unfortunately, his resultant penalty kick was saved and he was denied the opportunity to depart on a high! Perhaps his inexperience finally showed at that moment but such was the fans esteem, no blame nor recriminations were levelled at him that day.

Judging by the reaction on a variety of Millers websites, Tom Lawrence was much admired throughout his loan spell and we would certainly welcome him back if another deal could be arranged in the future. He has many attributes, he’s quick, pacy and skilful with a true eye for goal. He has the potential to play at the very highest level in my opinion, a view shared by many at our club including our management team if reports are anything to go by. 

I wish him well and hope he has an opportunity to show the Foxes fans what he can do.”

Chris wrote the above piece prior to Tom’s debut for LCFC against Newcastle, so as Tom had played in three different positions during that game, we asked Chris more about the role he played at Rotherham

“He tended to play in a free role just behind the main striker(s). Apart from his skill, he possesses pace to burn, an attribute absent in our squad. Steve Evans deliberately gave him a completely free brief and he popped up on the wing and down the middle. He is also able to tackle strongly despite his rather sleek build, often robbing opponents of the ball in their half of the pitch.

He has a great shot too and knows where the goal is. This was amply demonstrated at Wigan when his quick thinking, seizing upon a mistake by two defenders, ended with a calm finish past the keeper. He does tend to shoot on sight, not always the best option, but as his experience grows he should be able to assess goalscoring opportunities better.
He's still a little raw and is, in my opinion, a confidence player. At Blackpool last weekend, his poor, weak penalty was easily saved and after that his head went down and he ought to have been replaced. 

In conclusion though, he quickly became a crowd favourite and I know Millers fans would welcome him back anytime. Not the case with some of our other loan signings!”