Sam: Lloyd Ekow (Lloyd)
2010-Current
(Player Details)
Midfield
Born: Leeds: 27-09-1984
Debut: Nil
5’8” 10st 0lb (2010)
Sam was an initial reverse image of Paul Reaney, whereas former Leeds great was born in
London and came to Leeds at a very early age, Sam was exactly the opposite as he was born in
Leeds and went to London at a very early age. He was initially played youth football for Jets
FC and after he had scored twenty-three goals in twenty-five games, including five "hat-tricks",
from midfield, his ability was noted by the Charlton Athletic scouts and he was taken into
the club's School of Excellence in 1995. he seemed destined for a football career at the
Valley, but his association with Charlton was broken as his family moved to Senegal. He
maintained his football progress and enrolled at the Dakar Academy, where he also excelled at
athletics and volleyball. In 1998, Sam was asked to attend a trial with the Italian side
Empoli, with his older brother Andrew. However, neither was successful and, when Lloyd’s
family returned to London in 1998, he was offered trials at both Wimbledon and his dream-team
Arsenal, but instead re-joined the Charlton Academy. He became a professional in July 2003 at
the age of 18. He was initiated into the Charlton squad when, after the Charlton youth team
beat Leeds United, his and Osei Sankofa's impressive form for the youth side saw them called
up to the first team squad against Arsenal, but they did not participate in the game. It was
to be much later before he reached that stage. He did gain first team experience, but it was
with Leyton Orient. He joined Orient on 17th January 2004 and went straight into the squad
and debuted as an eighty-fifth minute substitute in the home game with Mansfield Town. There
were four minutes more a fortnight later at Cheltenham Town, but on 7th February 2010 he got
his run-on debut and eighty minutes playing time in the home game with Oxford United. He had
made five starts and five substitute appearance by the time he left Brisbane Road on 14th
April 2004 and returned to the Valley. He finally made his Charlton EPL debut on in the last
game of the 2004-05 season as an eighty-sixth minute substitute in the home game with Iain
Dowie's Crystal Palace, which condemned Palace to relgation and his fourteen minutes was well
remembered by the future Charlton coach. He was called up for his run-on debut in the League
Cup tie with Hartlepool United at the Valley on 20th September 2005, in which he played the
entire game. He was getting valuable experience with the Reserves and was rewarded when he
was given a fifty-ninth minute substitute role in the EPL home game with Blackburn Rovers on
29th April 2006 and then came on at half time at Old Trafford in the final game of the season
against Manchester United on 7th May 2006. It had been a frustrating campaign for Sam but new
head coach Iain Dowie wasted little time in securing the future of the gifted winger, who
signed a four-year a four year cointract which kept him at the club until June 2010. "I'm
delighted to sign this new deal,” said Sam, "As my old contract was up at the end of this
season I've been in negotiations since Christmas, but it's great to get it done. I thought
the change of manager might bring about some complications but it hasn't and I think the fact
that the new coach has given me a new deal after only a few weeks in the job shows a lot of
faith in me.” "I think everyone knows how disappointing last season was for me,” Sam
continued. "After making my Premiership debut against Palace, the following year was meant to
be my breakthrough year but I missed such a big chunk of the season with my foot injury that
I couldn't really make my mark. I actually thought I would have played more games after the
Hartlepool game, though. I thought I showed in that game that I can compete and affect the
game at that level but it didn't happen for me and then I got the injury.” It was beginning
to look like a season to forget when the new year came and went with Sam still confined to
the treatment room, but there was still time for the Leeds-born box of tricks to serve up a
reminder of his abilities before the campaign was out. By the end of April his troublesome
foot had finally healed and he was back in the first team squad for the last two games of the
season against Blackburn Rovers and Manchester United. In the latter game Sam played the
whole of the second half and was one of very few plus points of another forgettable afternoon
for the Addicks at Old Trafford. "It was nice for me to play in those two games before the
end of the season,” sam revealed. "There was a lot of disappointment prior to that so to come
back and do quite well in the final week of the season was a big boost.” Now, stabilised by
his new deal and free of injury, Sam was poised ahead of what he believed would be his most
active season in a Charlton shirt to date. "I'm looking forward to it,” said Sam. "I came
back to pre-season two weeks early to really work on my fitness and it's up to me to attack
it. "There is always competition for places but the opportunity is there for me. I have
really enjoyed working with the new gaffer, even though it's only been a few days, and I like
his ideas. "I like the way training has gone so far. It's all very fresh and I can't wait to
start the pre-season games.” Though Dowie had only had the pleasure of Sam's company for a
matter of days at Sparrows Lane, the Addicks head coach revealed the extent of his knowledge
of the player. "I've been aware of Lloyd for some time,” said Dowie, who remembered Sam
coming off the bench for his Premiership debut despite the tension that day. I was aware of
him when he came on against Palace as he was a young player that a lot of people have had a
look at. He's now in a situation where he has had that grooming-in period and it's about
establishing himself as a first-team player. Clearly we have other good players in that
position, such as Dennis Rommedahl, Jerome Thomas and Darren Ambrose, and they've been ahead
of him up to now, but it's up to him to do something about that. Competition for places is
great and Sam has come back in good shape, as have most of the boys, but you can see that now
the contract is out of the way there is a determination that he wants to go and prove what he
is capable of.” He went on loan to Sheffield Wednesday on 23rd August 2006 and coincidently
made his debut against his hometown team in a rare away win for them that season at
Hillsborough on 27th August 2006, in which he started and played seventy-six minutes and was
also booked. He started four games for the Owls before returning to the Valley on 16th
September 2006. After his return from Hillsborough he was eased into the Charlton team with a
few late substitute appearances and starting games in the F.A. and Leaague Cups before a bout
of chickenpox saw him out for a while. When he came back he was loaned to Southend United but
only played two games as a substitute during the loan to Southend United which had started on
12th March 2007 but was cut short by a groin injury. When he returned to the Valley he played
in two games at the end of the EPL season on 7th May 2007 at home to Tottenham Hotspur, when
he got nineteen minutes as a substitute, and on 13th May 2007 against Liverpool at Anfield,
where he started and was given eighty-two minutes. After relegation to the CCCL at the end of
the 2006-07 season, Sam received an opportunity to break into Charlton's first-team. He was
given the number 18 shirt. He started the season well, scoring his first ever goals against
Stockport County in the League cup and Coventry City but was sent-off in October 2007
following a clash with Ian Ashbee of Hull City. Sam and Charlton narrowly missed out on
promotion back to the EPL after poor end of season form saw them drop out of the play-off
positions to eleventh place. It had proved to be a memorable year for Sam, with the winger
featuring in twenty-four games for the Addicks, scoring three goals along the way. Sam
impressed on both flanks during the campaign until a hamstring strain, suffered early on in
the 2-1 defeat to Preston North End, on 8th March 2008, saw him ruled out for the remainder
of the season. This presence continued through the 2008-09 season as Charlton continued their
slide down the football ladder as they were relegated from the CCCL. This was his second
relegation with Charlton, having played a minor part in the squad that was relegated from the
EPL in 2006/2007. He narrowly missed out on promotion in the 2009-10 season when Charlton
reached the League One playoff semi finals but ended up losing against Swindon Town. The
Charlton Athletic youth product was not offered a new contract by Charlton after they failed
to gain an immediate return to the Championship as they could not afford his wages, which had
been set during their final Premier League season in 2006/2007 under Ian Dowie. He had scored
six goals in one hundred and nineteen League games, of which twenty-four were as a substitute,
he had scored once more in three starts and two games from the bench in League Cup games, but
failed to score in seven F.A. Cup ties of which one was from the bench, two play-off Finals
and one Johnstone's Paint Trophy game. Sam signed a two year deal with his hometown club
Leeds United on 9th July 2010 on a free transfer. The contract also came with an option to
extend it further than the initial two years. Sam made appearances for England at
Under-Eighteen and Under-Twenty levels. He scored once for the national team, against Russia
in a match at his home stadium, The Valley, in 2005. Coming off the substitutes' bench for
the final fifteen minutes, Sam had been on the field just two minutes when he scored a
wonderful goal to wrap up a 2-0 win for his country. His brother, Andrew Sam, currently plays
for Dartford.