Football League World
·26 Januari 2025
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·26 Januari 2025
Winger Sorba Thomas endured a turbulent spell at Blackburn Rovers after his loan move from Huddersfield Town in January 2023.
The 2022-23 season was a positive one for Blackburn Rovers under the guidance of Jon Dahl Tomasson, but it ultimately ended in heartbreak.
After the controversial departure of Tony Mowbray earlier in the summer, Tomasson was named as Blackburn's new head coach in June 2022, and given that his only previous managerial experience had come in the Netherlands and Sweden, few knew what to expect from the Dane in the Championship.
However, Tomasson quickly made a big impression at Ewood Park as his side won their first three league games of the season, and while Rovers were inconsistent for large spells, they remained in play-off contention for much of the campaign.
Unfortunately for Blackburn, they lost form at the worst possible time as they went on an eight-game winless run towards the end of the season, and a dramatic 4-3 win at Millwall on the final day was not enough to secure a place in the top six.
With Rovers only missing out on the play-offs on goal difference, many supporters questioned whether adding more quality to the squad in the January window would have made a difference in the club's promotion push, and frustrations over transfers were a constant theme throughout Tomasson's tenure, leading to his eventual resignation last February.
Blackburn did bring in one new signing during the winter window in 2023, with winger Sorba Thomas arriving on loan from Huddersfield Town, but although the deal seemed to have plenty of promise, he failed to live up to expectations.
Thomas joined Huddersfield from non-league side Boreham Wood in January 2021, and he quickly established a reputation as one of the brightest talents in the Championship.
The 25-year-old made a name for himself in the 2021-22 season as the Terriers reached the play-off final under Carlos Corberan, and his creativity played a crucial role in his side's success, with the winger recording an impressive tally of assists.
Huddersfield were beaten 1-0 by Nottingham Forest at Wembley, and after Corberan resigned over the summer, they found themselves in a relegation battle the following season, but Thomas remained a shining light during a difficult period for the club.
Thomas registered six assists in 25 games during the first half of the 2022-23 campaign, but in a decision that surprised Town supporters, he was allowed to make a loan move to Blackburn in January, despite the club sitting in the relegation zone.
While the Terriers fan base were baffled by Thomas' departure, Rovers supporters were delighted to welcome the Welsh international to the club, and there was plenty of hope that he could help the club achieve their play-off ambitions, but it did not work out that way.
Thomas was immediately thrown into the Blackburn starting line-up after his arrival at Ewood Park, and he made a positive impact, providing the assist for Tyrhys Dolan's winner in the 1-0 victory over Lancashire rivals Blackpool on just his fifth appearance.
It was not just Thomas' attacking threat that initially impressed Rovers supporters, and a clip of him tracking back to steal possession from Iliman Ndiaye in their 1-0 win over Sheffield United in early March left many pleading with the club to sign him on a permanent basis.
However, Thomas was unable to reach anywhere near the same level of assists he produced during the previous season at Huddersfield, and as his loan spell progressed, he found himself drifting in and out of the starting line-up.
Thomas made just two starts in the final nine games of the season, coming off at half-time on both occasions, and despite Blackburn's form declining significantly during that time, Tomasson decided against giving him more minutes.
While he stopped short of publicly criticising the winger, Tomasson hinted that Thomas' lack of game time was due to his performances in training, telling Lancs Live: "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."
Thomas returned to Huddersfield last summer, and despite registering just two assists during his disappointing spell at Ewood Park, Terriers manager Neil Warnock insisted that he would be a big part of his plans and claimed that he would never have let him depart if he had been in charge at the John Smith's Stadium in January.
While Town suffered relegation from the Championship last season, Thomas did manage to somewhat rediscover his form, scoring four goals and registering nine assists in 42 games, and that was enough to earn him a loan move to French top flight side Nantes in the summer - quite the difference from rocking up at Blackburn.