Ellis Simms wasted no time in making an impression at Blackpool.
Prolific in the youth ranks for parent club Everton, the 20-year-old loanee stepped off the bench to score twice in five minutes on his senior league debut for Blackpool against Wigan Athletic in January.
Simms has long been seen as a rising star in academy football but this was a hint, at the first time of asking, that he might be able to replicate his impressive academy-level feats in the professional game.
After 21 league games for the third-tier club, he now has eight goals and two assists to his name — equating to a direct goal involvement every 135 minutes. With each passing week, he grows in influence. In his last two matches, he has scored three times, helping Neil Critchley’s side book a play-off place with a game to spare.
What happens beyond the summer is unclear. Simms will soon enter the final year of his Everton contract and is in the dark over his future.
But for now, the focus is on turning an impressive first spell at senior level into something more tangible: promotion for Blackpool, starting with a semi-final first leg away to Oxford United next Tuesday, and another step towards his dream of making it at Premier League level.
Blackpool were not the only club interested in signing Simms in January. The Athletic understands several other League One sides, including at least one of the other three in the play-offs, wanted him. In the end, a sit-down meeting with Critchley swung it in Blackpool’s favour.
A former youth coach for Liverpool, Critchley was well aware of Simms’ exploits in academy football.
During talks, he was able to point to his reputation in developing players, an important factor for Everton and Simms. Blackpool’s location on the north west coast of England, near not only Goodison but the Simms family home in Oldham, is said to have played a sizable role in the decision-making process.
“Around January time, we felt that we needed a striker to come in and supplement what we had,” Critchley tells The Athletic. “Looking around the country, Ellis was someone I’d been aware of for a good few years, having watched him play for Everton’s youth team.
“There was a lot of interest from other big clubs. I told Ellis what I thought he could bring to the team and what we could do for him. With the options he had, I was really pleased he chose us.”
As with any loan move, there is an element of gambling attached to heading off into a completely new environment. That risk is arguably even greater for players such as Simms who had yet to make their senior bow.
The youngster knew he would be providing competition for the established pair of Jerry Yates and Gary Madine, a formidable partnership and proven scorers at lower-league level. But the nerves were calmed by that double at Wigan after being sent on with 20 minutes to go.
“Ellis has been great to work with,” Critchley says. “He came in and scored a few goals straight away. He got himself off to a great start.”
Simms settled quickly into life at Bloomfield Road. He still lives with his family in Oldham, and several other Blackpool players make the same journey in to training every day.
Despite his immediate success, though, the physicality of league football is understood to have initially been a shock.
Simms has always been a powerful, imposing figure in youth football, but there is a stark difference between Premier League 2 defences and their League One counterparts.
After the initial buzz of scoring on his league debut, he was taken out of the firing line and given several pointers to work on. He is monitored regularly by backroom staff at Goodison and has returned to Finch Farm on occasion for video analysis and feedback sessions with professional development coach Leighton Baines and under-23s assistant, and former England striker, Francis Jeffers.
The direction from Critchley and the Blackpool coaches was to focus on his strengths, but also look at how he could use his physicality more to link play and trouble experienced defences.
COVID-19 has offered challenging circumstances for all players, Simms included.
Time at the club gym is limited, with Simms often forced to head home to do extra conditioning work. There is a sense that, with the third tier’s 46 games squeezed into a particularly congested schedule this season, Critchley has often been forced to do most of his coaching during games, instead of on the training field.
Yet those that know Simms best say he has always been able to find solutions. The response to initially losing his place has been impressive; indicative of a strong character.
“Like any young player with their first loan experience, the adrenaline gets them through the first few games and then we just took him out of the team for a little bit, just to give him the chance to recharge his batteries again, mentally and emotionally more than anything,” Critchley adds.
“He’s come back into the team and some of his performances have been outstanding, particularly (last month) against Gillingham and Lincoln. He scored some fantastic goals and he’s been a real handful for defenders. I’m delighted with how Ellis has done.
“What he’s doing now is realising what his strengths are and how he can utilise them to get the best out of himself in men’s football. You just need to keep reminding him and emphasising the things that he’s good at. He’s strong, he’s powerful and he can run. When he uses those assets like he has done recently, he’s a real handful.
“You coach the team to play to Ellis’ strengths. If you have Ellis up front, you don’t spend time having 600 passes in your own half. You need to get the ball up to him and you need to make sure he’s got things to chase, to run outside and run behind centre-halves.
“We’ve tried to do that for him and Jerry (Yates) and it’s worked well for us.”
It was telling that on Sunday, with a play-off place secured, Critchley chose to rest Simms alongside a host of other key players. With his partnership with 20-goal Yates flourishing, neither was risked in the starting XI against Bristol Rovers.
After 71 minutes, Critchley brought Simms off the bench. Four minutes later, he provided the decisive moment of quality to swing the game in Blackpool’s favour, exchanging passes with Demetri Mitchell and firing home a volley into the far corner.
“Brilliant”, was Critchley’s post-match assessment.
Simms’ goals have shown pleasing variety in his game. There have been tap-ins, one-on-one finishes and scorching efforts from the edge of the box with both feet.
Brett Ormerod, the former Blackpool and Southampton forward, now works as a summariser for BBC Radio Lancashire and has been impressed by Simms’ progress.
“He’s got a bit of everything: he’s a big lad but he’s mobile; he’ll come short or run in behind; he has strength,” says Ormerod.
“The best thing for younger players is to get out and play. You can’t replicate it. He’s taken to it really well and scored a few goals. He’s a handful but he’s not just a big lad — his movement is good too. He’s just got better as the season has gone on.
“You can see that his confidence has just grown. Not many sides play with two up front anymore. When Madine got injured, Simms came in and made that position his own. He was pretty raw when he first came in but it’s been a really, really good loan for him.
“He’ll have learned a lot under Critchley, who is a great manager. He’s been fantastic for Blackpool and Blackpool have been fantastic for him. He’s made massive strides, scoring some fantastic goals, and he’s only 20.
“If he keeps his head down then who knows. You improve through experience. He’s got everything in the locker that you need as a forward.”
Everton, The Athletic understands, are also pleased with Simms’ development.
Although no decision has yet been taken over the next step, he is likely to return to Goodison for pre-season this summer until the relevant discussions take place.
His form has sparked interest one rung up the ladder at Championship level, which would be the logical follow-on if Everton do decide to loan him out again.
Whatever happens, the next year feels crucial. In the next 12 months, Simms must convince Everton that he is worth a new deal, or impress sufficiently to earn a contract elsewhere.
If the loan at Blackpool continues as expected, potentially with the fairytale ending of promotion to the Championship, Simms may well end up looking back on the 2020-21 season as the year his career really started to accelerate.
(Photo: Dave Howarth – CameraSport via Getty Images)
Prolific in the youth ranks for parent club Everton, the 20-year-old loanee stepped off the bench to score twice in five minutes on his senior league debut for Blackpool against Wigan Athletic in January.
Simms has long been seen as a rising star in academy football but this was a hint, at the first time of asking, that he might be able to replicate his impressive academy-level feats in the professional game.
After 21 league games for the third-tier club, he now has eight goals and two assists to his name — equating to a direct goal involvement every 135 minutes. With each passing week, he grows in influence. In his last two matches, he has scored three times, helping Neil Critchley’s side book a play-off place with a game to spare.
What happens beyond the summer is unclear. Simms will soon enter the final year of his Everton contract and is in the dark over his future.
But for now, the focus is on turning an impressive first spell at senior level into something more tangible: promotion for Blackpool, starting with a semi-final first leg away to Oxford United next Tuesday, and another step towards his dream of making it at Premier League level.
Blackpool were not the only club interested in signing Simms in January. The Athletic understands several other League One sides, including at least one of the other three in the play-offs, wanted him. In the end, a sit-down meeting with Critchley swung it in Blackpool’s favour.
A former youth coach for Liverpool, Critchley was well aware of Simms’ exploits in academy football.
During talks, he was able to point to his reputation in developing players, an important factor for Everton and Simms. Blackpool’s location on the north west coast of England, near not only Goodison but the Simms family home in Oldham, is said to have played a sizable role in the decision-making process.
“Around January time, we felt that we needed a striker to come in and supplement what we had,” Critchley tells The Athletic. “Looking around the country, Ellis was someone I’d been aware of for a good few years, having watched him play for Everton’s youth team.
“There was a lot of interest from other big clubs. I told Ellis what I thought he could bring to the team and what we could do for him. With the options he had, I was really pleased he chose us.”
As with any loan move, there is an element of gambling attached to heading off into a completely new environment. That risk is arguably even greater for players such as Simms who had yet to make their senior bow.
The youngster knew he would be providing competition for the established pair of Jerry Yates and Gary Madine, a formidable partnership and proven scorers at lower-league level. But the nerves were calmed by that double at Wigan after being sent on with 20 minutes to go.
“Ellis has been great to work with,” Critchley says. “He came in and scored a few goals straight away. He got himself off to a great start.”
Simms settled quickly into life at Bloomfield Road. He still lives with his family in Oldham, and several other Blackpool players make the same journey in to training every day.
Despite his immediate success, though, the physicality of league football is understood to have initially been a shock.
Simms has always been a powerful, imposing figure in youth football, but there is a stark difference between Premier League 2 defences and their League One counterparts.
After the initial buzz of scoring on his league debut, he was taken out of the firing line and given several pointers to work on. He is monitored regularly by backroom staff at Goodison and has returned to Finch Farm on occasion for video analysis and feedback sessions with professional development coach Leighton Baines and under-23s assistant, and former England striker, Francis Jeffers.
The direction from Critchley and the Blackpool coaches was to focus on his strengths, but also look at how he could use his physicality more to link play and trouble experienced defences.
COVID-19 has offered challenging circumstances for all players, Simms included.
Time at the club gym is limited, with Simms often forced to head home to do extra conditioning work. There is a sense that, with the third tier’s 46 games squeezed into a particularly congested schedule this season, Critchley has often been forced to do most of his coaching during games, instead of on the training field.
Yet those that know Simms best say he has always been able to find solutions. The response to initially losing his place has been impressive; indicative of a strong character.
“Like any young player with their first loan experience, the adrenaline gets them through the first few games and then we just took him out of the team for a little bit, just to give him the chance to recharge his batteries again, mentally and emotionally more than anything,” Critchley adds.
“He’s come back into the team and some of his performances have been outstanding, particularly (last month) against Gillingham and Lincoln. He scored some fantastic goals and he’s been a real handful for defenders. I’m delighted with how Ellis has done.
“What he’s doing now is realising what his strengths are and how he can utilise them to get the best out of himself in men’s football. You just need to keep reminding him and emphasising the things that he’s good at. He’s strong, he’s powerful and he can run. When he uses those assets like he has done recently, he’s a real handful.
“You coach the team to play to Ellis’ strengths. If you have Ellis up front, you don’t spend time having 600 passes in your own half. You need to get the ball up to him and you need to make sure he’s got things to chase, to run outside and run behind centre-halves.
“We’ve tried to do that for him and Jerry (Yates) and it’s worked well for us.”
It was telling that on Sunday, with a play-off place secured, Critchley chose to rest Simms alongside a host of other key players. With his partnership with 20-goal Yates flourishing, neither was risked in the starting XI against Bristol Rovers.
After 71 minutes, Critchley brought Simms off the bench. Four minutes later, he provided the decisive moment of quality to swing the game in Blackpool’s favour, exchanging passes with Demetri Mitchell and firing home a volley into the far corner.
“Brilliant”, was Critchley’s post-match assessment.
Simms’ goals have shown pleasing variety in his game. There have been tap-ins, one-on-one finishes and scorching efforts from the edge of the box with both feet.
Brett Ormerod, the former Blackpool and Southampton forward, now works as a summariser for BBC Radio Lancashire and has been impressed by Simms’ progress.
“He’s got a bit of everything: he’s a big lad but he’s mobile; he’ll come short or run in behind; he has strength,” says Ormerod.
“The best thing for younger players is to get out and play. You can’t replicate it. He’s taken to it really well and scored a few goals. He’s a handful but he’s not just a big lad — his movement is good too. He’s just got better as the season has gone on.
“You can see that his confidence has just grown. Not many sides play with two up front anymore. When Madine got injured, Simms came in and made that position his own. He was pretty raw when he first came in but it’s been a really, really good loan for him.
“He’ll have learned a lot under Critchley, who is a great manager. He’s been fantastic for Blackpool and Blackpool have been fantastic for him. He’s made massive strides, scoring some fantastic goals, and he’s only 20.
“If he keeps his head down then who knows. You improve through experience. He’s got everything in the locker that you need as a forward.”
Everton, The Athletic understands, are also pleased with Simms’ development.
Although no decision has yet been taken over the next step, he is likely to return to Goodison for pre-season this summer until the relevant discussions take place.
His form has sparked interest one rung up the ladder at Championship level, which would be the logical follow-on if Everton do decide to loan him out again.
Whatever happens, the next year feels crucial. In the next 12 months, Simms must convince Everton that he is worth a new deal, or impress sufficiently to earn a contract elsewhere.
If the loan at Blackpool continues as expected, potentially with the fairytale ending of promotion to the Championship, Simms may well end up looking back on the 2020-21 season as the year his career really started to accelerate.
(Photo: Dave Howarth – CameraSport via Getty Images)
