Higdon

[Finn Keane o' Balmaqueen]

Did he run your dog over, shag your missus

Shagged his dog, that was enough.

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

Shagged his dog, that was enough.

 

[Revolution]

As a player, Clough was a decent header of the ball, and pretty skilful. Which makes it all the more odd that the ideal forward in a Clough team, as far as we can tell, is an injury prone lummox with a poor scoring record.

Clough used Chris Porter in his first year, recalling him from Chesterfield out of desperation really. Credit where credit's due, Porter is only deadly from 6 inches but he did about as well as can be expected, with 7 league goals and 4 important FA Cup goals. He also stayed fit, which was a bonus given his previous record.

Clough then tried to upgrade with Higdon, who played well for half a game, and got tired, and never played that well again. He was usually injured and looked to be carrying too much weight. He could head a ball, provided he didn't have to jump for it (see his goal at MK Dons). 13 league games and 2 goals under Clough, plus 3 useful cup goals to be fair. He's been on the downward spiral since.

Then Clough finally got hold of Chris O'Grady, his Dan Burn, so to speak. O'Grady looked a slight improvement on Higdon, but only slight. He scored once in 4 games - 2 defeats and 2 draws as we slid down the league in December - and then Brighton recalled him. We probably got off easy. He has played 56 league games in the last 2 seasons, scoring 4 times.

Steve Davies was next up. He ticks all the Clough boxes for a forward - former Derby and Blackpool player, frequently injured for months on end, scored roughly once every 5 games. Incredibly, he was actually fit enough to finish the season with us, and his league record was identical to Higdon's - 13 games, 2 goals. Plus he scored in the playoffs. Clough's sacking meant we didn't sign him in the close season, which was a lucky break, as he failed to score in his first 17 games for Bradford and had a 3 month layoff for injury between October and January, an event as predictable as the sun coming up in the morning. Then he had a burst of goals - 5 in 8 games, a run which a Bradford supporting pal of mine has described as "inexplicable", before missing the end of the season due to getting sending off.

Which brings us to Conor Sammon. I don't know whether this signing was Clough's doing - the club seem to be saying that it was - but he certainly ticks all the boxes. He has a nicely symmetrical 88 starts and 88 sub appearances in English league football, scoring a grand total of 20 goals. That's one every 8.8 games. Yikes. I don't need to tell you what he's like. You've all seen him.

I hope Burton have someone on the books already who can score goals, because if Cloughy's picking the forwards they are going to get about 35 goals in total next season

 

[Pollingtonblade]

Released by Tranmere.

God we've seen some mediocrity in the last few years, but Higgo is up there with the worst.

How are them fuckers releasing players and we aren't is the main point?

Yes another example of us trying to do things on the cheap.

 

[Pollingtonblade]

As a player, Clough was a decent header of the ball, and pretty skilful. Which makes it all the more odd that the ideal forward in a Clough team, as far as we can tell, is an injury prone lummox with a poor scoring record.

Clough used Chris Porter in his first year, recalling him from Chesterfield out of desperation really. Credit where credit's due, Porter is only deadly from 6 inches but he did about as well as can be expected, with 7 league goals and 4 important FA Cup goals. He also stayed fit, which was a bonus given his previous record.

Clough then tried to upgrade with Higdon, who played well for half a game, and got tired, and never played that well again. He was usually injured and looked to be carrying too much weight. He could head a ball, provided he didn't have to jump for it (see his goal at MK Dons). 13 league games and 2 goals under Clough, plus 3 useful cup goals to be fair. He's been on the downward spiral since.

Then Clough finally got hold of Chris O'Grady, his Dan Burn, so to speak. O'Grady looked a slight improvement on Higdon, but only slight. He scored once in 4 games - 2 defeats and 2 draws as we slid down the league in December - and then Brighton recalled him. We probably got off easy. He has played 56 league games in the last 2 seasons, scoring 4 times.

Steve Davies was next up. He ticks all the Clough boxes for a forward - former Derby and Blackpool player, frequently injured for months on end, scored roughly once every 5 games. Incredibly, he was actually fit enough to finish the season with us, and his league record was identical to Higdon's - 13 games, 2 goals. Plus he scored in the playoffs. Clough's sacking meant we didn't sign him in the close season, which was a lucky break, as he failed to score in his first 17 games for Bradford and had a 3 month layoff for injury between October and January, an event as predictable as the sun coming up in the morning. Then he had a burst of goals - 5 in 8 games, a run which a Bradford supporting pal of mine has described as "inexplicable", before missing the end of the season due to getting sending off.

Which brings us to Conor Sammon. I don't know whether this signing was Clough's doing - the club seem to be saying that it was - but he certainly ticks all the boxes. He has a nicely symmetrical 88 starts and 88 sub appearances in English league football, scoring a grand total of 20 goals. That's one every 8.8 games. Yikes. I don't need to tell you what he's like. You've all seen him.

I hope Burton have someone on the books already who can score goals, because if Cloughy's picking the forwards they are going to get about 35 goals in total next season

Great post, and is exactly the kind of thing the 'technical board' should be looking at before signing players.

Can't wait for this summers strategy :-(

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

It's difficult to say who is worse, Higgo or Sammon. Possibly the latter, but it's close.

But did we ever play them together as a pair up front?

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

How are them fuckers releasing players and we aren't is the main point?

Yes another example of us trying to do things on the cheap.

My point all along concerning these 1-1's, what a waste of everyone's time, just release em.

 

[SwissBlade]

Higdon was clearly the back up plan for O’Grady when we couldn’t get him at the start of that season, showed a lot of promise against Bristol City and whilst in that game we went very direct to play to his strengths, you could see what Clough was trying.

The reference to O’Grady being Clough’s Dan Burn is perhaps a little misleading as Dan Burn never made it as far as Sheffield. At least Clough managed to get O’Grady in and if things had worked differently we might’ve kept him longer.

With Higdon, O’Grady, Davies, to an extent, Sammon, but also in a way Baxter, you could see the type of player that Clough wanted up front. To make his 4-5-1/ 4-3-3 work he needed that ‘Hold Up’ player up top. There was a tendency because we had someone good in the air (Higdon and Davies) that we would also go long, which at times could work as long as the front man could hold the ball or bring in the wider players.

This for me is the big difference between Clough and Adkins. They both favour attacking fullbacks, but:

Clough preferred a busy midfield, with high energy levels to close down and make swift counters through the middle, bringing in the Centre forward early (often with his back to goal) so that he could then bring in the two support strikers to play off that central Striker. This is why Murphy and Done had their success and you could see Adams replacing Murphy easily in this role. This is also why Scougs did well as he played in behind Baxter, with a shoot on sight approach.

Adkins, likes his wingbacks to get forward too, however, his midfield has been very different, slowing the pace of play down through the midfield, then getting the wingers and wingbacks involved. He prefers his one or two central strikers to make the moves out wide (often to create space through the middle for wingers/ wing backs). It hasn’t worked for Sammon for a number of reasons, but he struggled to get to grips with this and Billy was not the support striker he needed as he doesn’t have the pace, Adams or Done would’ve suited Sammon better. Adkins has also had Billy playing a less orthodox role than he’s used to and he’s found a system with Billy and Adams which has worked in sorts. Adams has had to learn this new role and Done no longer has a place because his game is on the front foot, chasing down defenders instead of trying to pull them out wide. Scougs role has also gone, but it went in the second season of Clough because Clough became more cautious on the attack.

I think if Adkins stays we’ll start to see an evolution up front.

Final point on Higdon, like the Sammon, Davies and O’Grady, they were all unfit and whilst none of them were fat, they were bulkier than they should be to play that role. Ironically, Baxter played the Lone striker the best because he kept fit, had great feet and had the energy and vision to bring others into play. The midfielders didn’t go as long because he didn’t have the pace but also he wasn’t great in the air. So we had to be smarter with Baxter up front.

 

[PeteBlade]

Wow Pete your hatred of clough is really strong it borders on scary! Did he run your dog over, shag your missus?

I don't hate him at all, there are very few people I hate, and non of those are related to a game of football.

He didn't shag my missus, he did buy a load of expensive and useless players that have/will take us two years to finally rid ourselves off.

I would have preferred he'd taken the missus.

 

[Revolution]

Higdon was clearly the back up plan for O’Grady when we couldn’t get him at the start of that season, showed a lot of promise against Bristol City and whilst in that game we went very direct to play to his strengths, you could see what Clough was trying.

The reference to O’Grady being Clough’s Dan Burn is perhaps a little misleading as Dan Burn never made it as far as Sheffield. At least Clough managed to get O’Grady in and if things had worked differently we might’ve kept him longer.

With Higdon, O’Grady, Davies, to an extent, Sammon, but also in a way Baxter, you could see the type of player that Clough wanted up front. To make his 4-5-1/ 4-3-3 work he needed that ‘Hold Up’ player up top. There was a tendency because we had someone good in the air (Higdon and Davies) that we would also go long, which at times could work as long as the front man could hold the ball or bring in the wider players.

This for me is the big difference between Clough and Adkins. They both favour attacking fullbacks, but:

Clough preferred a busy midfield, with high energy levels to close down and make swift counters through the middle, bringing in the Centre forward early (often with his back to goal) so that he could then bring in the two support strikers to play off that central Striker. This is why Murphy and Done had their success and you could see Adams replacing Murphy easily in this role. This is also why Scougs did well as he played in behind Baxter, with a shoot on sight approach.

Adkins, likes his wingbacks to get forward too, however, his midfield has been very different, slowing the pace of play down through the midfield, then getting the wingers and wingbacks involved. He prefers his one or two central strikers to make the moves out wide (often to create space through the middle for wingers/ wing backs). It hasn’t worked for Sammon for a number of reasons, but he struggled to get to grips with this and Billy was not the support striker he needed as he doesn’t have the pace, Adams or Done would’ve suited Sammon better. Adkins has also had Billy playing a less orthodox role than he’s used to and he’s found a system with Billy and Adams which has worked in sorts. Adams has had to learn this new role and Done no longer has a place because his game is on the front foot, chasing down defenders instead of trying to pull them out wide. Scougs role has also gone, but it went in the second season of Clough because Clough became more cautious on the attack.

I think if Adkins stays we’ll start to see an evolution up front.

Final point on Higdon, like the Sammon, Davies and O’Grady, they were all unfit and whilst none of them were fat, they were bulkier than they should be to play that role. Ironically, Baxter played the Lone striker the best because he kept fit, had great feet and had the energy and vision to bring others into play. The midfielders didn’t go as long because he didn’t have the pace but also he wasn’t great in the air. So we had to be smarter with Baxter up front.

This may well be right...but there were never a lot of goals in Clough's preferred formation because he signed heaps of central midfielders with poor scoring records, and the poor scoring record of the centre forward can't make up for it. The only time it really worked was in the great 10 match winning run in early 2014, but the defence played a big part in that. If you play this formation you need to have a good defence, otherwise you'll draw 1-1 rather than win 1-0. Clough found this out when we sold Maguire.

Clough's midfield also got slower as he went on, but that's his own fault for signing Coutts and Basham.

 

[SwissBlade]

This may well be right...but there were never a lot of goals in Clough's preferred formation because he signed heaps of central midfielders with poor scoring records, and the poor scoring record of the centre forward can't make up for it. The only time it really worked was in the great 10 match winning run in early 2014, but the defence played a big part in that. If you play this formation you need to have a good defence, otherwise you'll draw 1-1 rather than win 1-0. Clough found this out when we sold Maguire.


Clough's midfield also got slower as he went on, but that's his own fault for signing Coutts and Basham.

The goals in Cloughs side were to come from the support strikers (post murphy, this would’ve been Adams and Done) and as I mentioned, I think that Clough’s midfield had also evolved.

Doyle going was a key decision and Baxter was playing much deeper, so I think between Baxter, Reed and Basham you had the blend, but without Scoug’s you also lost this additional goal threat through the middle.


You’re 100% correct regarding the defence. Clough built his side around not conceding, but didn’t replace Harry (neither did Adkins, which was criminal)

I think with O’Grady, Clough would’ve had a 20 goal striker. He was mobile enough (when he looked fitter) to get the chances, like Davies after him, except Davies missed a hell of a lot. Higdon was perhaps the compromise on the goals if we could’ve got him fit I think he’d have played the role. He was just never fit

One thing is for sure, I don’t believe Billy would fit the role that Clough wanted his central striker to play.

 

[Revolution]

The goals in Cloughs side were to come from the support strikers (post murphy, this would’ve been Adams and Done) and as I mentioned, I think that Clough’s midfield had also evolved.

Doyle going was a key decision and Baxter was playing much deeper, so I think between Baxter, Reed and Basham you had the blend, but without Scoug’s you also lost this additional goal threat through the middle.


You’re 100% correct regarding the defence. Clough built his side around not conceding, but didn’t replace Harry (neither did Adkins, which was criminal)

I think with O’Grady, Clough would’ve had a 20 goal striker. He was mobile enough (when he looked fitter) to get the chances, like Davies after him, except Davies missed a hell of a lot. Higdon was perhaps the compromise on the goals if we could’ve got him fit I think he’d have played the role. He was just never fit

One thing is for sure, I don’t believe Billy would fit the role that Clough wanted his central striker to play.

Scougs' goal threat is not really a threat. He's scored 3 in 50 games for us.

And 20 goals from O'Grady? You should look at his record this year. Plus Clough teams never score enough goals. Look at his Derby teams - all 50 odd goals in his full seasons. The most any Clough team has scored is 66. Even Burton got only 57 this year. That's why he hasn't won promotions before - you need 75 to 85 goals minimum most years. It can sometimes be done with an excellent defence, which is presumably what he's had this year (as well as taking over in a favourable position - he has averaged points that a playoff team would get).

Clough was never going to produce a team to get us automatically promoted unless we had a rock solid defence, and we didn't have that thanks to Maguire's sale and his refusal/failure to sort out centre half.

You're right about Sharp. Not a Clough player.

 

[SwissBlade]

Scougs' goal threat is not really a threat. He's scored 3 in 50 games for us.

And 20 goals from O'Grady? You should look at his record this year. Plus Clough teams never score enough goals. Look at his Derby teams - all 50 odd goals in his full seasons. The most any Clough team has scored is 66. Even Burton got only 57 this year. That's why he hasn't won promotions before - you need 75 to 85 goals minimum most years. It can sometimes be done with an excellent defence, which is presumably what he's had this year (as well as taking over in a favourable position - he has averaged points that a playoff team would get).

Clough was never going to produce a team to get us automatically promoted unless we had a rock solid defence, and we didn't have that thanks to Maguire's sale and his refusal/failure to sort out centre half.

You're right about Sharp. Not a Clough player.

Yeah, as I said, the midfield evolved without Scougs, perhaps because of his injury, perhaps because we didn’t get the consistency, but we also evolved after Baxter dropped into Midfield. His best performances probably coming in a position which was not where he was best.

O’Grady in the set up like Clough played and in League 1, I think O’Grady would’ve hit 20. But of course that’s subjective. With Murphy and Done, we certainly had a bit of movement up top that chances would drop to a big lad. 20 goals should’ve been his target (McNulty got 12)

The Issue of the Centre Halves was massive, personally I thought it was the main reason to keep Clough, he had recognised this issue, despite persisting with Tel Kennedy, Brayford, JMac etc, it merely masked the issue. We needed two proper centre halves and perhaps this is where Clough and the Board should take the biggest flak.

It was true that Clough didn’t get his O’Grady type, but I don’t think that was anywhere near as critical to Clough’s side as the Centre Half

I still think it’s the biggest concern we have under Adkins.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

As a player, Clough was a decent header of the ball, and pretty skilful. Which makes it all the more odd that the ideal forward in a Clough team, as far as we can tell, is an injury prone lummox with a poor scoring record.

Clough used Chris Porter in his first year, recalling him from Chesterfield out of desperation really. Credit where credit's due, Porter is only deadly from 6 inches but he did about as well as can be expected, with 7 league goals and 4 important FA Cup goals. He also stayed fit, which was a bonus given his previous record.

Clough then tried to upgrade with Higdon, who played well for half a game, and got tired, and never played that well again. He was usually injured and looked to be carrying too much weight. He could head a ball, provided he didn't have to jump for it (see his goal at MK Dons). 13 league games and 2 goals under Clough, plus 3 useful cup goals to be fair. He's been on the downward spiral since.

Then Clough finally got hold of Chris O'Grady, his Dan Burn, so to speak. O'Grady looked a slight improvement on Higdon, but only slight. He scored once in 4 games - 2 defeats and 2 draws as we slid down the league in December - and then Brighton recalled him. We probably got off easy. He has played 56 league games in the last 2 seasons, scoring 4 times.

Steve Davies was next up. He ticks all the Clough boxes for a forward - former Derby and Blackpool player, frequently injured for months on end, scored roughly once every 5 games. Incredibly, he was actually fit enough to finish the season with us, and his league record was identical to Higdon's - 13 games, 2 goals. Plus he scored in the playoffs. Clough's sacking meant we didn't sign him in the close season, which was a lucky break, as he failed to score in his first 17 games for Bradford and had a 3 month layoff for injury between October and January, an event as predictable as the sun coming up in the morning. Then he had a burst of goals - 5 in 8 games, a run which a Bradford supporting pal of mine has described as "inexplicable", before missing the end of the season due to getting sending off.

Which brings us to Conor Sammon. I don't know whether this signing was Clough's doing - the club seem to be saying that it was - but he certainly ticks all the boxes. He has a nicely symmetrical 88 starts and 88 sub appearances in English league football, scoring a grand total of 20 goals. That's one every 8.8 games. Yikes. I don't need to tell you what he's like. You've all seen him.

I hope Burton have someone on the books already who can score goals, because if Cloughy's picking the forwards they are going to get about 35 goals in total next season

I have to disagree re O Grady. He was worlds better than Higdon and Porter and better than Davies who was also better than those two. If I had to rank our big forwards over the last 3 seasons it'd be

OGrady
Davies
Sammon
Porter
Higdon

I'd love O Grady back as an alternative to the SHarp/ Adams combo. A big man who can actually run and head.

 

[Bladeian]

Let's face it - we sold or let go our England Back four..... Walker - Jags - Cahill [on loan] - Naughton ...
3 of them home grown and one we should have made permanent before he went on to [much] better things
You have to ambition though to keep your best players.... er sorry dreamin again

 

[SwissBlade]

I have to disagree re O Grady. He was worlds better than Higdon and Porter and better than Davies who was also better than those two. If I had to rank our big forwards over the last 3 seasons it'd be

OGrady
Davies
Sammon
Porter
Higdon

I'd love O Grady back as an alternative to the SHarp/ Adams combo. A big man who can actually run and head.

I'd forgotten about Porter, but I always felt he was a slightly different player to what we needed with O
Grady.

I wouldn't rank Sammon above Higdon or Porter

O'Grady
Davies
Porter
Higdon
.
.
.
.
.
Sammon

4-4-2 O'Grady and Adams would work well

3-5-2 under Adkins lends itself better to Sharp and Adams

4-5-1 O'Grady

4-3-3 Adams O'Grady Sharp/ Done

 

[Revolution]

I have to disagree re O Grady. He was worlds better than Higdon and Porter and better than Davies who was also better than those two. If I had to rank our big forwards over the last 3 seasons it'd be

OGrady
Davies
Sammon
Porter
Higdon

I'd love O Grady back as an alternative to the SHarp/ Adams combo. A big man who can actually run and head.

Oh, I agree he's probably the best of a poor bunch - but have you seen his record since we had him? I'd rather have Sharp, thanks.

 

[SwissBlade]

Let's face it - we sold or let go our England Back four..... Walker - Jags - Cahill [on loan] - Naughton ...
3 of them home grown and one we should have made permanent before he went on to [much] better things
You have to ambition though to keep your best players.... er sorry dreamin again

Walker - Sold in the Championship having made very few appearances. Took several years to make the england team
Jags - Sold due to Clause in his contract upon relegation. Not an england player when we sold
Cahill - never ours to sell. Fixed term loan. Not an england player during his time with us
Naughton - Sold in the Championship. How many england appearances has he made?

Oh, I agree he's probably the best of a poor bunch - but have you seen his record since we had him? I'd rather have Sharp, thanks.

In fairness, had you compared the two in a like for like scenario, you might favour O'grady, say if you'd compared games in a United Shirt prior to this season... Sharps previous record at United makes even Sammon look class

 

[1danewhitehouse]

Oh, I agree he's probably the best of a poor bunch - but have you seen his record since we had him? I'd rather have Sharp, thanks.

I agree he's not prolific but he's just a far better all round footballer and team player than the rest. He's mobile, decent in the air, hard working etc. If he was a natural goalscorer too he'd be Brian Deane Mk2!

There's a reason he's playing above the championship. I reckon if we'd had him over the last couple of years we'd have done much better. He'd be a great foil for either Sharp or Adams IMO.

 

[SwissBlade]

I agree he's not prolific but he's just a far better all round footballer and team player than the rest. He's mobile, decent in the air, hard working etc. If he was a natural goalscorer too he'd be Brian Deane Mk2!

There's a reason he's playing above the championship. I reckon if we'd had him over the last couple of years we'd have done much better. He'd be a great foil for either Sharp or Adams IMO.

I'd go with that, I think whilst you can't take anything away from Billy's quality AND his exceptional work rate, I personally feel that O'Grady would suit the division and our style of play better than Sharp.

How would Sam Winall rate alongside Billy or CoG, i haven't seen much of him personally

 

[Woodwardfan]

Simon Clough ventured outside his comfort zone which was anywhere within 15 miles of his newsagents shop where he also followed the Scottish League 1 avidly in the Scottish Herald. Higdon looked good on videos though.

 

[Revolution]

I'd go with that, I think whilst you can't take anything away from Billy's quality AND his exceptional work rate, I personally feel that O'Grady would suit the division and our style of play better than Sharp.

How would Sam Winall rate alongside Billy or CoG, i haven't seen much of him personally

Sharp has just scored 21 goals.

Say you had O'Grady instead. How many would he have scored? And if less than 21, who would make up the slack?

20 goal men are a rare thing at the Lane this century. I don't think we should be so blasé about their contributions.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

I'd go with that, I think whilst you can't take anything away from Billy's quality AND his exceptional work rate, I personally feel that O'Grady would suit the division and our style of play better than Sharp.

How would Sam Winall rate alongside Billy or CoG, i haven't seen much of him personally

Winnall and Sharp wouldn't work IMO. Too similar. Winnall is perhaps a bit quicker but not quite as aggressive as Sharp.

 

[blade too long]

I have to disagree re O Grady. He was worlds better than Higdon and Porter and better than Davies who was also better than those two. If I had to rank our big forwards over the last 3 seasons it'd be

OGrady
Davies
Sammon
Porter
Higdon

I'd love O Grady back as an alternative to the SHarp/ Adams combo. A big man who can actually run and head.

really

ogrady

hes scored 4 goals since leaving barnsley in 2014

why the fuck would we want someone like that

really

 

[Lane Ender]

Clough's midfield also got slower as he went on, but that's his own fault for signing Coutts and Basham.

Then Hammond arrived and it ground to a halt

 

[SwissBlade]

Winnall and Sharp wouldn't work IMO. Too similar. Winnall is perhaps a bit quicker but not quite as aggressive as Sharp.

Sorry i didn't mean as a partnership, but as a comparison. Should've made that clearer

 

[SwissBlade]

Sharp has just scored 21 goals.

Say you had O'Grady instead. How many would he have scored? And if less than 21, who would make up the slack?

20 goal men are a rare thing at the Lane this century. I don't think we should be so blasé about their contributions.

I have no issue with Sharps goal return, he's surpassed my expectations in that respect and it wasn't intended to be a slight on his achievement.

However, i think with a different type of striker, you can can take the pressure off the midfield and defence if the Striker holds the ball well and brings others in. I'm not convinced that we've held the ball well up front and we've certainly not had options when we need to keep the ball. Sharp and Adams are all about turn and go, often leaving a gap between them and the midfield. Having a striker with the ability to hold the ball better allows time for the midfield to catch up - especially when the defence launch the ball forward to clear the lines.

 

[Rodley]

I have no issue with Sharps goal return, he's surpassed my expectations in that respect and it wasn't intended to be a slight on his achievement.

However, i think with a different type of striker, you can can take the pressure off the midfield and defence if the Striker holds the ball well and brings others in. I'm not convinced that we've held the ball well up front and we've certainly not had options when we need to keep the ball. Sharp and Adams are all about turn and go, often leaving a gap between them and the midfield. Having a striker with the ability to hold the ball better allows time for the midfield to catch up - especially when the defence launch the ball forward to clear the lines.

I think Sharp holds the ball up well. He's tough as teak for a shortarse and pretty strong.

I think Evans & Sharp is a very good partnership at this level.

 

[SwissBlade]

I think Sharp holds the ball up well. He's tough as teak for a shortarse and pretty strong.

I think Evans & Sharp is a very good partnership at this level.

For his size he does a decent job.

Evans and Sharp wouldn't work for me as i think Evans needs a battler to play off - Like Cresswell

Evans, Adams and Sharp though - I'd like to see that

 

[Revolution]

I have no issue with Sharps goal return, he's surpassed my expectations in that respect and it wasn't intended to be a slight on his achievement.

However, i think with a different type of striker, you can can take the pressure off the midfield and defence if the Striker holds the ball well and brings others in. I'm not convinced that we've held the ball well up front and we've certainly not had options when we need to keep the ball. Sharp and Adams are all about turn and go, often leaving a gap between them and the midfield. Having a striker with the ability to hold the ball better allows time for the midfield to catch up - especially when the defence launch the ball forward to clear the lines.

Catch up and do what? None of our midfielders can shoot to save their lives.

This is my point. If that was Clough's plan, he bought the wrong players to execute it.