Buckley&District Reds

Cherno Samba’s cult status at Wrexham owes less to the impact he made as a player at the Racecourse, than the baggage he’s been carrying since the age of 14. In January 2007, shortly after he became manager Brian Carey made two loan signings.One a young unknown Stoke midfielder called Robbie Garrett, the Plymouth Argyle striker Cherno Samba.

 

By the end of the season Garrett had become a true hero earning a place in the hearts of Wrexham fans with Samba fast becoming a fading memory. Anyone who had played the Championship Manager PC games of the early millennium however had prior knowledge of Cherno Samba. He became a legend in his teens for his prolific strike rate in the footballing cyber world.

 

Cherno first came to prominence at the turn of the millennium. A striker with Millwall’s Centre of Excellence, at the age of 13 he bagged an incredible 132 goals in 32 games. Born in Gambia, he was picked for the England U-15 team for the annual schoolboy Victory Shield tournament. He scored against Wales and made a big impact. At around the same time he was making the back pages of most tabloid newspapers because of the hype and speculation beginning to surround him. Leeds United and Liverpool in particular were said to be interested, the latter rumoured to have offered £1.5 million for him.

 

Cherno still at school went for various trials, with Millwall Chairman Theo Paphitis accusing Cherno’s agent of hawking him around the country to other clubs while he was still with the Lions.

 

Though he came close, Cherno did not leave Millwall. He signed as an apprentice in 2001, and as a professional shortly after. Many had expected him to make an early breakthrough into the first-team but three years later it still hadn’t happened for him. He was released in 2004 and went on trial at other League clubs. There were no takers.

 

He went to Spain to sign for Cadiz CF, who later loaned him out to Malaga CFB for the 2005-06 season. He was still a member of the England Youth set-up, by now playing for the U-20’s. The move abroad appeared to help him regain his appetite for the game after the disappointments he had previously suffered, enabling him to mature and think about his career. This was certainly the impression he gave in an interview with The Guardian in February 2005.

 

In August 2006 Ian Holloway brought Cherno back to English football as he signed for Championship side Plymouth Argyle. He made a dream debut for the Pilgrims, coming on as a substitute at Coventry and scoring the winner with a terrific header. Was he finally starting to realise his potential and prove the doubters wrong?

 

On an interview for ITV’s ‘Championship’ programme Cherno seemed adamant that he was. However, he made more substitute appearances for Plymouth without scoring or making a breakthrough. It was then that he joined Wrexham at a chaotic time.

 

Denis Smith had been sacked with Carey appointed manager and people starting to realise we were in a relegation battle. We needed reinforcements who were up to the challenge, and Samba, along with Garrett signed as emergency loans.

 

Both players made their debuts at home to Stockport the following night. Cherno was given the final 20 minutes on the right of midfield showing some nice touches and promise going forward. Unfortunately we lost 1-0 to a last minute County winner.

 

The following Saturday having been placed on standby for the England Under-21 squad, Cherno was given a start at home to Wycombe. He failed to impress as he looked disinterested, lethargic and struggled to get into the game. He was subbed after less than an hour. He remained in and around the squad for the rest of the month taking up space on the bench that could have been given to someone like Josh Johnson.

 

His final appearance was as a sub for the last 10 minutes at Grimsby playing as a striker. Again we lost the game to a last minute winner. He soon departed back to Plymouth having disappointed those who had high hopes for him.

 

There were mitigating circumstances. It can’t have been easy coming to a new club struggling at the bottom of the Football League. There were rumours he struggled to adapt to living in North Wales but also that his ego didn’t match his ability. Perhaps he’s still coming to terms with the disappointment of having not hit the heights predicted for him, the disappointment suffered so young of not joining a top club having come so close. Maybe as he got older other players overtook him in terms of ability that he’s not as good as many first thought.

 

What did our club mean to him, other than being another brief stop in his journeyman career? Did he care, like Robbie Garrett did, whether Wrexham stayed up or not?

 

Whatever the case Cherno Samba will probably always have the hype attached to his teenage years as a weight on his shoulders. He was a gamble by Brian Carey which didn’t work out. It’s a shame because it would have been nice for Wrexham to have been the club which re-launched his career with him helping us to survival earlier. Sadly the stay of Cherno Samba at Wrexham will be remembered as a bizarre episode, one of many at the Racecourse last season and in recent years.

 

At the time of writing, though still at Plymouth, Cherno has been told he can leave for free by Ian Holloway as he has no future at the club. He’s currently trialling at other League clubs, but on the evidence of his time at Wrexham, it doesn’t look like he will stay anywhere for very long or come close to fulfilling his youthful potential.