Black Sea Saint Posted 20 March, 2012 Share Posted 20 March, 2012 Seems to have been an odd decision. I'm not sure he's good enough for the Premiership, so if we thought he wasn't 'Saints fit' then why buy him? Seems to be a lot of money for a player that's going to sit on the bench most of the time. You might argue that his impact has been to make Lambert and Lee up their games, but that doesn't seem to ring true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperMikey Posted 20 March, 2012 Share Posted 20 March, 2012 He's been through a hell of a lot over the last 6 months, and he's just had to uproot his whole life from Yorkshire and move down here. Yes, his fitness wasn't great when we got him, but that will change. Give him a bit of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noodles34 Posted 20 March, 2012 Share Posted 20 March, 2012 Its interesting really, but then how can argue with anything that NA is doing at the moment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colinjb Posted 20 March, 2012 Share Posted 20 March, 2012 Simple, to stop West Ham adding a tenth striker to their roster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krissyboy31 Posted 20 March, 2012 Share Posted 20 March, 2012 I reckon he'll still have a part to play in our promotion procession. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty Posted 20 March, 2012 Share Posted 20 March, 2012 Thats a good point, I think he's seen as having PL potential myself. Plus he had a few issues when he came here, not least his family catastrophe, and a pretty major relocation from his beloved yorkshire. He will come good I'm sure, if NA signed him having worked with him before then thats good enough for me. In Nigel we trust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted 20 March, 2012 Share Posted 20 March, 2012 Hasn't exactly had a chance to show us what he can do yet has he? Lets not write him off too hastily eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxi_sopez Posted 20 March, 2012 Share Posted 20 March, 2012 i dont thing anyone is writing him off... but i agree with the OP strange that we bought him especially january if he is not going to play Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minty Posted 20 March, 2012 Share Posted 20 March, 2012 We bought him to add quality to our squad. And that's what he has done. With increasing fitness, I'm sure he'll play more of a part, but no player is guarenteed a place and as said above, who would argue with the way Adkins is managing this side at present? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNSUN Posted 20 March, 2012 Share Posted 20 March, 2012 I reckon he'll still have a part to play in our promotion procession. This. He still has a role to play this season, but who's to say he won't make it in the Premiership? I thought Steve Morison was a strange signing for Norwich from Milwall, but he's adapted very well and chipped in with a few goals this season. With the extra fitness he'll get in the next few months, his eye for goal alongside Lambert, Lee and A.N.Other (Or Guly even) could be priceless in the Premiership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aintforever Posted 20 March, 2012 Share Posted 20 March, 2012 It's good to have competition for places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supergoose Posted 20 March, 2012 Share Posted 20 March, 2012 At the time we had no idea how good Tadanari was. Sharp's a quality player and will come good when he gets a chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lighthouse Posted 20 March, 2012 Share Posted 20 March, 2012 Lee has been very good since he came in, perhaps better than expected. For whatever reason Adkins prefers Lambert and Guly, probably because Guly offers more movement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genk Posted 20 March, 2012 Share Posted 20 March, 2012 First of all, since Sharp has come in, we have generally been winning games, so he has found it hard to get a decent amount of game time. He had a chance at WHU and didn't take it, then Lee came in and impressed. Why change a winning side? Secondly, to have a chance at promotion, you need a good squad as has been pointed out numerous times, and there is always that chance that one or two of our attackers could pick up injuries, so you need quality in back-up which we have. I think it has been hard for him as he has come on when we have had the games won, and hasn't really had any clear cut chances bar WHU. Give him time, his chance will come and he will take it. He is a good player Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohwhenthesaints Posted 20 March, 2012 Share Posted 20 March, 2012 Could start on Saturday if Guly and Lee aren't 100%. That will be his chance to win his place in the starting 11. And of all the teams for it to be against... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintNeil90 Posted 20 March, 2012 Share Posted 20 March, 2012 I'm amazed at all the excuses for him not playing, like not being 'saints fit'. I think you will find he was dropped after starting the first couple of games when he signed and has not been able to break into a side which has been performing well since. As for the major relocation etc, that doesn't really work when you have Lee starting games & playing well. Lets be honest, only Adkins knows why he isn't being used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colinjb Posted 20 March, 2012 Share Posted 20 March, 2012 I'm amazed at all the excuses for him not playing, like not being 'saints fit'. I think you will find he was dropped after starting the first couple of games when he signed and has not been able to break into a side which has been performing well since. As for the major relocation etc, that doesn't really work when you have Lee starting games & playing well. Lets be honest, only Adkins knows why he isn't being used. He strikes me as a very much a confidence player and a very modest young man. "Just a fat lad from Sheffield" comments indicate that he may not be the most gregarious of characters. He will settle, he will prosper. He just needs to find his feet, it's a shame that he didn't hit the ground immediately running as promosied in his first game where he and Rickie looked to have established an immediate rapport. That miss against Wham is such a pity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint_clark Posted 20 March, 2012 Share Posted 20 March, 2012 I know West Ham didn't think so, but if we can get him to the level of fitness the rest of the squad are at I think his intelligence will see him be a very useful player in the Prem - and from there we've got potentially 4 players who could put a shift in at the top level (I rate Guly a lot more than others, I know). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colinjb Posted 20 March, 2012 Share Posted 20 March, 2012 I know West Ham didn't think so, but if we can get him to the level of fitness the rest of the squad are at I think his intelligence will see him be a very useful player in the Prem - and from there we've got potentially 4 players who could put a shift in at the top level (I rate Guly a lot more than others, I know). Any chance of making trhe MOTM poll a sticky chap? Many thanks. Good man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st alex Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 Before we signed him, the general feeling was that we need a couple of extra strikers with Barnard not really making an impression this season and Connolly + Guly picking up knocks we needed the cover. Tanadari was more of a gamble since he an unknown quality, so it made sense to sign another stiker with a decent record in this division who could potentially make the step up. It seemed to be between Sharp and Maynard, and Maynard has had a similar quiet impact since joining West Ham. Adkins having worked with him before doesn't fill me with confidence as that was also true of Forte. However I think both Sharp and Maynard are in similar positions now, in that they are no longer the best players in poor teams, and it will take a little while for them to adjust and get back to form. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colinjb Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 Before we signed him, the general feeling was that we need a couple of extra strikers with Barnard not really making an impression this season and Connolly + Guly picking up knocks we needed the cover. Tanadari was more of a gamble since he an unknown quality, so it made sense to sign another stiker with a decent record in this division who could potentially make the step up. It seemed to be between Sharp and Maynard, and Maynard has had a similar quiet impact since joining West Ham. Adkins having worked with him before doesn't fill me with confidence as that was also true of Forte. However I think both Sharp and Maynard are in similar positions now, in that they are no longer the best players in poor teams, and it will take a little while for them to adjust and get back to form. Good post. Big Fish trying to adapt, instant rewards are not always the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opthomps Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 When we went in for him we had next to no backup in the striking department. If he never plays for us again but we go up it's still money well spent in my opinion, due to him being quality backup and adding to the competition for places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeSixty Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 Of what little i've seen of him in a Saints shirt (and the odd appearance elsewhere) its always looked to me as though he offers very little 'outside the box'. Which seems very un-Southampton at the moment. Still, i think he is a real good player, will get his chance and play a part in the run in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brizzie Saints Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 We bought him mainly so we could sing: He's just A Fat Lad From Sheffield, Fat Lad From Sheffield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pancake Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 Pretty sure Sharp is here to cover off when Lambert is out injured and suspended; not to play alongside him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 At the time we had no idea how good Tadanari was. Sharp's a quality player and will come good when he gets a chance. It did seem odd to buy two strikers when most people felt we needed 1 striker and 1 CB - but the oddity now is why Adkins makes such little use of him. Lee has rightly made himself first choice but with him out injured it seemed very strange that Adkins didn't bring Sharp in for the last two games as like-for-like replacement. Guly is playing well but he's not a Tadanari Lee, whereas Sharp has a lot of similarities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liquidshokk Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 It's obviously good to have backup players incase something goes wrong but how long before the likes of Barnard (who was once a very good player for us), Dickson, butterfield etc get fed up of bench warming (if even that) and start dreaming of elsewhere. They can't be happy with their current position surely?!?! Sharp cant be too happy going from a goal scoring hero to a bench warmer either. Wonder if he knew that was the initial plan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 When we went in for him we had next to no backup in the striking department. If he never plays for us again but we go up it's still money well spent in my opinion, due to him being quality backup and adding to the competition for places. ^ This Sharp was/is an insurance policy. Money very well spent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouldy Coat Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 Guly has played ahead of Sharp because he can fill in to midfield when we change our shape away from home. Sharp is an out and out striker/goal poacher and I think we are more likely to see him feature in more games at home than away IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedelldays Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 ummm.....to improve the squad. hardly difficult to see is it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamsaint Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 Sharp made the equaliser at Millwall. That was pretty helpful, really ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sussexsaint Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 When we bought him we only had one fit out and out striker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 The team is winning and picking itself,a far cry from the position we found ourselves in when Sharp joined (tho note DC is again injured).We've also benefitted from the pace that the likes of lee bring away from home where teams push up. Evaluate Sharp again after the busy Easter period during which we'll be invariably rotating players and freshening things up. A lovely luxury to have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joensuu Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 At 1.85m he was a bargain. This made it a low risk deal, and i'm sure someone like Wolves or Leicester would happily match or better that if we did decide to cash in. Having watched Billy being interviewed, i got the impression that he is lacking in confidence. A bit of luck and he will come good IMO. Will he get on the scoresheet against his former club this weekend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special K Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 Give him a close season to get himself right and in the groove of the way we play. He will be good next season and will be a valuable member of the squad. Sometimes it takes a while for a player to make an impression. I'm sure NA will give him every opportunity and it will be up to him to take advantage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eurosaint Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 The reason we bought him is clear ! There were strong demands from the wrist slitters on Saintsweb and Nicola felt obliged to take action ! Simples !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint86 Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 He is a proven goal scorer at this level, for a strugiling team like Donny. What do you think would happen if Lambo goes down? And our backup is just Barnard and connoly. I doubt we would get auto's to be honest. Not after seeing us lambertless during the "blip". He also gives another way to play should we need it, and Adkins and knows him, he hasn't made a bad purchase yet. I'm studdned people are asking this question considering the fuss about "we must buy a new striker" bla bla bla. You should ask about falque who doesnt even make the bench tbh. Trust Adkins and support the saints! Stop getting on the backs of players who look useful when they get game time and whoose newborn kid has died and he has moved the length of the country... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldNick Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 He will come good. i think it is great that we can get a player in and he is given time to acclimatise ready to play in our system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norwaysaint Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 He gives more depth to our strikers and is a good back-up for Ricky. From his side, it was still a good move as he will probably get the chance to play in the prem next season. He has to wait for his chance to break into the side, just like Niemi had to wait quite a while to get past Paul Jones and Killer was kept out of the team for a while by Paul Williams. His chance will come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
up and away Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 We bought him to add quality to our squad. And that's what he has done. With increasing fitness, I'm sure he'll play more of a part, but no player is guarenteed a place and as said above, who would argue with the way Adkins is managing this side at present? Never really a big fan of Billy, but he is a decent Championship striker. Adding him to our squad made a lot of sense and when you look what was on general offer at the time and our needs, still looks the right way to go. I expected out of Billy and Connolly to have one decent striker along side of Lambert for the rest of the season. Billy will get his chance and who knows what he will deliver after a full close season with Adkins or even the run in. Disappointed with his form which is mainly due to "niggles" not allowing to get up to full fitness. My biggest concern is that he offers nothing different to the forward line as he does not have the pace. Lots have commented upon his good link up play with Lambert but I feel this blunts Lambert fractionally, rather than adding. I don't see Billy as near Premier quality but you never know when Adkins and his staff start polishing him up, as I expect them to do for some valuable contributions for the remainder of this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattio Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 Once he's fit he could suprise everyone, never know he might end up scoring 20 in the prem next season! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
This Charming Man Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 IMO the plan is for him to be a back up striker for us if we were to make the Premiership. Then get in a top quality, pacey striker to partner Lambert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genk Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 Never really a big fan of Billy, but he is a decent Championship striker. Adding him to our squad made a lot of sense and when you look what was on general offer at the time and our needs, still looks the right way to go. I expected out of Billy and Connolly to have one decent striker along side of Lambert for the rest of the season. Billy will get his chance and who knows what he will deliver after a full close season with Adkins or even the run in. Disappointed with his form which is mainly due to "niggles" not allowing to get up to full fitness. My biggest concern is that he offers nothing different to the forward line as he does not have the pace. Lots have commented upon his good link up play with Lambert but I feel this blunts Lambert fractionally, rather than adding. I don't see Billy as near Premier quality but you never know when Adkins and his staff start polishing him up, as I expect them to do for some valuable contributions for the remainder of this season. Yeah, I mean look at all the game time he has had. You are basing that on times where he has come on with games won, e.g Barnsley, and Lambert wasn't even on the pitch, so that is a ridiculous statement. And as for nowhere near Prem quality...I think a lot would have said that about Morison going from Millwall to Norwich yet he has been good in the Prem this season. Give him time for goodness sake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulletsaint Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 IMO the plan is for him to be a back up striker for us if we were to make the Premiership. Then get in a top quality, pacey striker to partner Lambert. Lot's of odd points in this thread, think Genk has it closest. Saints probably felt Lee would take time to acclimatise and that Sharp was more likely to hit the ground running. As it happens it's turned out to be the other way around. For people to suggest that Sharp moving from Yorkshire to Hampshire is not an issue because Lee hasn't had any problems with a greater upheaval are spouting rubbish. We're all different and react in different ways to these sort of things. Since Sharp has arrived our form has picked up and after a slow start he's found it hard to get in the team. Also Adkins doesn't strike me as the sort of manager that will automatically throw new signings into the team as first choice. When Fox arrived it took a few games for him to displace Harding. Anyway onto the reason I added the quote. Pace is an incredibly overrated trait (unless you're playing FIFA). Give me intelligence and finishing everytime over pace, Look at Forte. The way we play relies on the former attributes. In the prem I think these are more likely to win us matches. I've not seen alot of Sharp but I was very impressed by his movement and while not lightning quick he showed good acceleration. As others have said give him a full pre-season and fitness regime and I think we'll see a very different player next season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
up and away Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 Yeah, I mean look at all the game time he has had. You are basing that on times where he has come on with games won, e.g Barnsley, and Lambert wasn't even on the pitch, so that is a ridiculous statement. And as for nowhere near Prem quality...I think a lot would have said that about Morison going from Millwall to Norwich yet he has been good in the Prem this season. Give him time for goodness sake And why do you think Billy has such little game time, Adkins blanking him in training? Adkins and the staff have had more than enough time to look over Billy and evaluate what he has done during games. You only have to look at Chung to see how he has developed, even though given less opportunity than Billy at the beginning. There is a very good reason why Billy has not had further game time, his performances have just not been good enough at present. I clearly stated that I expect Billy to put in some telling contributions this season and would not be surprised if Adkins got him going in the Premier, given the chance. So far from not giving him time, that's the remainder of this season and next, no one is saying to kick him out. That's your muppet interpretation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 Anyway onto the reason I added the quote. Pace is an incredibly overrated trait (unless you're playing FIFA). Give me intelligence and finishing everytime over pace, Look at Forte. The way we play relies on the former attributes. In the prem I think these are more likely to win us matches. I've not seen alot of Sharp but I was very impressed by his movement and while not lightning quick he showed good acceleration. As others have said give him a full pre-season and fitness regime and I think we'll see a very different player next season. Talk about stating the bleedingly obvious-it goes without saying that pace without quality is useless-read the quote properly. If you've watched the interviews, NA has stated clearly that Lee has got the nod at places like Watford because of his pace and ability to keep defenders on the backfoot, thus giving midfielders more space. And if you've seen us away from home, you'll know alot of teams have pressed us high up the pitch because of our lack of pace as well as giving us an additional outball. As to Sharp, I've been slightly disappointed by his ball retention and link-up play which is strange given he often played as the lone striker for Donny. With time, I'm sure he'll get better - whether it's enough is another matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
This Charming Man Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 Anyway onto the reason I added the quote. Pace is an incredibly overrated trait (unless you're playing FIFA). Give me intelligence and finishing everytime over pace, Look at Forte. The way we play relies on the former attributes. In the prem I think these are more likely to win us matches. I've not seen alot of Sharp but I was very impressed by his movement and while not lightning quick he showed good acceleration. As others have said give him a full pre-season and fitness regime and I think we'll see a very different player next season. Hence why I said "top quality". Ask a full back if they'd rather defend against Beckham or Bale. Look at Arsenal when they play with both Walcott and AOC, defences are terrified of them. Same goes for Spurs with Lennon and Bale. Pace is a key attribute to any side and something we will desperately need if we do get promoted as it's not going to be that easy to pass our way through Premiership defences. Even the mighty Arsenal have struggled in recent years for their refusal to adapt to a different style. It's only recently that Wenger has started to play Walcott more and AOC and adapt their style of play. It's no coincedence their form has started to improve because of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VectisSaint Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 We bought him for 3 reasons: (1) So that he is unavailable for Donny this weekend (2) To stop Wet Sham buying him (3) As reserve goalkeeper Seriously though, he has suffered because he has not been able to demonstrate anything much in the chances he has been given, whereas Chung has grabbed his chances with both hands and made a huge impression. I suspect Billy is finding it a bit difficult to settle. But I am also confident that he will come good, but maybe it will be next season before we see him at his best. He really does have some competition at the moment, with Chung, Connolly and Guly all playing well (despite what the moaners say about Guly and even Connolly). I think Barnard is no longer in NA's plans and will be off at the end of the season. I would be surprised if Billy doesn't start on Saturday though, since Chung, Guly and Connolly all seem to have injuries to varying degrees. But I would be delighted if Chung is fit to start ahead of Billy, because he is a better option if fit at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint86 Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 Hence why I said "top quality". Ask a full back if they'd rather defend against Beckham or Bale. Look at Arsenal when they play with both Walcott and AOC, defences are terrified of them. Same goes for Spurs with Lennon and Bale. Pace is a key attribute to any side and something we will desperately need if we do get promoted as it's not going to be that easy to pass our way through Premiership defences. Even the mighty Arsenal have struggled in recent years for their refusal to adapt to a different style. It's only recently that Wenger has started to play Walcott more and AOC and adapt their style of play. It's no coincedence their form has started to improve because of it. I was about to highlight Swansea to counter your argument, then I realised that they have dyer. I then thought of the players we have sold, Walcott, bale, Oxlade… who is the next pacey winger in the youth team? Anyone know? Or are we going for Adam and Jason down the flanks next year? Personally, I want to see us playing like Bilbao I suppose we do have de rids, and I reckon he will be a better player in the prem, you only have to look at what he did to the West Brom defenders in the pre season, fall over much ;,…,; Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KelvinsRightGlove Posted 21 March, 2012 Share Posted 21 March, 2012 Prior to January, in the midst of our 'blip' many argued we were light up top, especially in the absence of Sir Rickie. January came, we added Lee - who rode a wave of underwhelmed welcomes & Sharp. Lee has been performing well, and on merit of late, keeping Sharp out of the team. For me, shows Adkins has done his job well. An area of weakness in the squad was identified, and subsequently strengthened. I can't see it as a bad thing as having Billy to fall back on, and having worked with him previously I am happy to trust Adkins on this one. As said above, I find it hard to argue with anything NA is doing at the minute! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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