Sometimes it's hard to change clubs. Even for Billy Sharp.

[Woodwardfan]

If you study Billy Sharp's career statistics you will see that our legend and captain certainly had difficulty finding his scoring boots at a new club when playing above the L.1. level.

Our 3 new strikers cost a lot of money in our terms, but are very modest signings for the Premier League.

We needed 10 players to make up a P.L. squad and we bought 8 and kept Freeman (K) and Clarke. We spent around £43m (est.), not a lot of money at this level.

The following players were signed elsewhere in the P.L. last summer:, Joelinton £40m at Newcastle, Pepe Arsenal £72m, Perez £30m Leicester, Southampton Adams £15m, Ings £20m, Brighton £20m Maupay, Wesley Villa £22m, West Ham Haller £45m.

Ings and Haller are doing OK at this stage. The rest are settling-in somewhat and are seasoned professionals.

Career records for our new lads show that Mousset ( 23 years old) had his best season at Le Havre in French League 2 when he was 19 y.old and he scored 14 of his 18 career goals.
McBurnie ( just 23 years old), in the last season and a half scored 9 at Barnsley and 22 at Swansea and they are 31 out of his 40 career total.
Robinson (24 y.old) scored 19 in 68 games in the last 2 seasons and has scored 37 in his career.

These lads are under severe pressure in the P.L. and at a new and bigger club with 30000 crowds; the attendances at Stamford Bridge and Goodison Park were dreams just a few months ago. We bought potential, not the finished product, which was out of the question. The quicker they settle in the better and let's wish them all the success they and we dream about. Our manager has staked a big proportion of his club budget on the lads and expects a return from their development. It might not bear fruit before Xmas even but they are on good contracts and will produce at some stage, maybe even this weekend. Even if it's not until next season we have bought young lads of good character with a group ethos. Two have been successful this past year or so and our manager thinks they have what it takes. Mousset is an intriguing player with obvious talent and not much experience; a very brave acquisition but not done without good reason for sure, this is Wilder we are talking about!!

I don't think we had the opportunity to sign Defoe or another experienced veteran striker, nor could we afford the wages anyway. In any case perhaps they would not have lasted a full season fitness-wise and would have wanted a two year contract, maybe 3. Defoe was sub at Rangers when I've watched them.

We have invested for the 'here and now' and definitely for the future as well. Let's give the lads every encouragement at this critical stage of their careers. Much depends on them and of course Sharp and McGoldrick; a very good 5 man strike force in a really good squad, probably the best we have ever had in depth and quality since the 1970's.

Always remember that criticism of the players, including ' just not good enough at this level', is a direct criticism of our manager - give him and the players your total backing and the lads will settle in all the better. There's real pressure on the manager, despite his record. The owner and any potential new owners/ investors will be watching closely how he spends his budget and manages at this level. If anything, Wilder has usually signed more experienced players in the past, but he is building for the future and this season is not the 'end-game'.

P.S. Sharp was 21 when he re-signed for us in 2007 and in that spell he scored 8 goals in 51 appearances in the Championship. I am a big Billy Sharp fan, always was, but even with all his ability, things sometimes take a while.

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

That's a lot of words to say 'be reyt'.

 

[Woodwardfan]

That's a lot of words to say 'be reyt'.

Ha ha, it's my diary and there are a few messages in there, intended anyway.

 

[SwitchBLADE Smiles]

For me, Billy needs to play a more prominent role in our strike force. As good as I think Robinson, McBurnie & Mousset will all be, as you say they're potential.

Billys biggest asset is his ability to put the ball in the net. He's proven in his latest stint at United that he's a deadly finisher & we're now playing in a division where if you don't take your chances, you WILL lose. Southampton & Liverpool being the most recent examples.

Another string to Billy's proverbial bow, which may have gotten forgotten about, it his ability to draw a foul. He's strong as an ox and can hold the ball up well. With the ball at his feet in the box, I believe he would win more than his fair share of penalties, something we have yet to receive this season.

 

[Cerberus Blade]

Players are like flowers. Some bloom early and fade. Some look like they are never going to flower, then they bloom very late. Some hardly bloom at all. Very few are perennials.

In the case of Sharp, he used to remind me a lot of Clive Mendonca. Sensational in our reserves, but couldn't do it in the first team - then sensational for other teams after we'd sold him. Since he's come back I think he's been in the form of his life. He's a late bloomer for Sheffield United in that respect. He looks fitter and stronger now than he ever did and his contribution to the team is excellent. I'm of the opinion that we'd have had more points on the board now if he'd played more. I hope he's in the starting 11 this weekend at Watford.

As for the others - I think you're right - we don't expect the likes of McBurnie and Robinson to be in the same class as Sala, Mane, Firminho - the question is are they good enough to cut it at this level? and we don't know that yet. I'm confident that Mousset is though, based on what I've seen so far. And as for McGoldrick, I think he's more than capable of competing at this level, but not as a striker, as a midfield player.

 

[I should coco]

In the case of Sharp, he used to remind me a lot of Clive Mendonca. Sensational in our reserves, but couldn't do it in the first team -

That is so completely wrong.

Warnock never gave him a proper chance, then first sale.

Turry bought him because he thought he was a 'football man' but Mogadon Man didn't fancy him (and had Hulse, Stead, Beattie, Webber, Hendrie, Horsfield, Hendrie and Martin up front).

Blackwell played him on the wing FFS! Sold again.

Neither go was Billy's fault for not performing.

 

[Dronfield Blade]

Good post, I do worry that in this day and age fans expect instant results and that culture bothers me.

The likes of Mcburnie and Robinson will only improve under Wilder (like Stevens and Lundstrum ect.) but the fans dont seem to learn from the past.

Don't get me wrong I have often questioned why a player is in the starting line-up but I don't go actively out of my way to slate a player like you see on this forum, twitter and facebook.

Many fans say that there is no loyality from footballers, but can you blame them? A couple of bad games and fans turn on them.

This is not a swipe at our fans but football fans in general. People lack patience.

 

[Cheesebored]

Players are like flowers. Some bloom early and fade. Some look like they are never going to flower, then they bloom very late. Some hardly bloom at all. Very few are perennials.

In the case of Sharp, he used to remind me a lot of Clive Mendonca. Sensational in our reserves, but couldn't do it in the first team - then sensational for other teams after we'd sold him. Since he's come back I think he's been in the form of his life. He's a late bloomer for Sheffield United in that respect. He looks fitter and stronger now than he ever did and his contribution to the team is excellent. I'm of the opinion that we'd have had more points on the board now if he'd played more. I hope he's in the starting 11 this weekend at Watford.

As for the others - I think you're right - we don't expect the likes of McBurnie and Robinson to be in the same class as Sala, Mane, Firminho - the question is are they good enough to cut it at this level? and we don't know that yet. I'm confident that Mousset is though, based on what I've seen so far. And as for McGoldrick, I think he's more than capable of competing at this level, but not as a striker, as a midfield player.

Excellent post. Never held much belief in 'ones for the future'. Michael Owen was arguably at his best in his early 20s. If they're good enough, they're good enough at any age, goalkeepers a possible exception.

 

[snootyfenooty]

If you study Billy Sharp's career statistics you will see that our legend and captain certainly had difficulty finding his scoring boots at a new club when playing above the L.1. level.

Its a fallacy about Billy not being able to score above L1 level. He's scored half his goals in the Championship. He's always been denied the chance to show what he can do in the Prem, first at Soton, now here. That's shortsighted management as you're working on nothing but assumption.

 

[Kanye]

Excellent post. Never held much belief in 'ones for the future'. Michael Owen was arguably at his best in his early 20s. If they're good enough, they're good enough at any age, goalkeepers a possible exception.

Can't agree. Michael Owen was very much an exceptional case.

Every player is different, some peak early, some peak late.

Look at the 2 best players in the world in the last decade: Messi and Ronaldo, players who, at their peak, were capable of 60+ goals a season. They weren't capable of doing that at any age though.

 

[Torrix1889]

After reading this thread title half an hour ago I've had Tammy Wynette's Stand by Your Man on a loop in my head...……….."sometimes its hard to be a woman......giving all your love to just one man"

 

[Kanye]

Its a fallacy about Billy not being able to score above L1 level. He's scored half his goals in the Championship. He's always been denied the chance to show what he can do in the Prem, first at Soton, now here. That's shortsighted management as you're working on nothing but assumption.

We're denying him a chance to show what he can do in the PL?

Judging by the fact Clarke was on the bench at the weekend, and none of our strikers are looking particularly prolific yet, the last few games would have been the perfect opportunity to show what he can do and get some game time. Sadly he denied himself that chance with a silly sending off.

 

[I should coco]

After reading this thread title half an hour ago I've had Tammy Wynette's Stand by Your Man on a loop in my head

She's justified.....

She's ancient.....

And apparently her preferred mode of transport is a retail iced products vehicle.........

 

[coaxingstar71]

You know being a successful striker is a lot like making love to a beautiful woman.....
First you have to take it in the box....
Then you slam it in hard....
And shoot to finish it off.

 

[snootyfenooty]

We're denying him a chance to show what he can do in the PL?

Judging by the fact Clarke was on the bench at the weekend, and none of our strikers are looking particularly prolific yet, the last few games would have been the perfect opportunity to show what he can do and get some game time. Sadly he denied himself that chance with a silly sending off.

What on earth are you talking about. Soton was 6 games in and he wasn't selected as a starter in any of them. He's missed the "opportunity" in the last two games due to his red card and he wouldn't have started in them either. We'll see in the upcoming fixtures so stop making daft comments in the meantime.

 

[Woodwardfan]

Its a fallacy about Billy not being able to score above L1 level. He's scored half his goals in the Championship. He's always been denied the chance to show what he can do in the Prem, first at Soton, now here. That's shortsighted management as you're working on nothing but assumption.

I never said anything of the sort. My reference was to 'settling-in periods' and that is fact, not fallacy.

 

[snootyfenooty]

I never said anything of the sort. My reference was to 'settling-in periods' and that is fact, not fallacy.

Who said this then?

If you study Billy Sharp's career statistics you will see that our legend and captain certainly had difficulty finding his scoring boots at a new club when playing above the L.1. level.

 

[Woodwardfan]

You know being a successful striker is a lot like making love to a beautiful woman.....
First you have to take it in the box....
Then you slam it in hard....
And shoot to finish it off.

@coaxingstar71 , you need to read a few books, that's half a story, much more to it -both sex and striking!!

 

[Woodwardfan]

Who said this then?

I did, read it again - 'finding his scoring boots at a new club'.

The theme of the O.P. was 'settling-in at a new club.

 

[coaxingstar71]

@coaxingstar71 , you need to read a few books, that's half a story, much more to it -both sex and striking!!

Check out Charlie Higson as 'Swiss Toni'....

 

[Bartleby]

That's a lot of words to say 'be reyt'.

as Jake Thackray said "never use three or four words when a couple of thousand will easily do!"

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

You know being a successful striker is a lot like making love to a beautiful woman.....
First you have to take it in the box....
Then you slam it in hard....
And shoot to finish it off.

And then flog 'em a half'n'half scarf.

 

[Charlieblade]

I agree that the new signings are taking time to settle in. The club tactics and formation are still quite new to most. They are also having to step up to the PL.

Wilder recognises this, and they are getting the chance to have game time at a new club at the top level.

Wilder also likes McGoldrick in the side for obvious reasons. He has put pressure on himself to bed the new lads in, and denied himself the luxury of picking two proven winners in Sharp and McGoldrick.

While we must trust Wilder to get it right, it's probably not as simple as we think to get all the talent firing right away. His other problem is growing, as the PL season is so short on games.

We can't forget how complimentary and productive the Sharp McGoldrick partnership was, albeit a league lower with more time to click together.

Our front two combination needs to start firing soon, whoever they might be.

 

[snootyfenooty]

I did, read it again - 'finding his scoring boots at a new club'.

The theme of the O.P. was 'settling-in at a new club.

I've read it again and here's what it said again.

If you study Billy Sharp's career statistics you will see that our legend and captain certainly had difficulty finding his scoring boots at a new club when playing above the L.1. level.

He had no difficulty finding his scoring boots above L1 level as his record testifies. He scored half his goals above L1 and he got them from the outset. The only time he had difficulties was when he was played out of position or didn't play at all, as is the case now. Neither of these two reasons can be attributable to Billy.

 

[Woodwardfan]

I've read it again and here's what it said again.



He had no difficulty finding his scoring boots above L1 level as his record testifies. He scored half his goals above L1 and he got them from the outset. The only time he had difficulties was when he was played out of position or didn't play at all, as is the case now. Neither of these two reasons can be attributable to Billy.

Sorry snootyfenooty I can't help you any more with it.

 

[snootyfenooty]

Sorry snootyfenooty I can't help you any more with it.

Its me that's trying to help you.

 

[Houston_Blade]

P.S. Sharp was 21 when he re-signed for us in 2007 and in that spell he scored 8 goals in 51 appearances in the Championship. I am a big Billy Sharp fan, always was, but even with all his ability, things sometimes take a while.

I know this is not at all the point of your OP but the reason that Billy wasn't successful the first 2 times around was that he was played in the wrong position. The other teams he played for (and now CWAK) know that his strengths lie in being on the end of balls into the box.

Our managers at the time used to have him running the channels and providing for others. Don't get me wrong, he's good at this and still does a job at this now when called upon, however he needs to be in the box for the chances to be "successful" as a striker (i.e. scoring goals).

 

[Cerberus Blade]

That is so completely wrong.

Warnock never gave him a proper chance, then first sale.

Turry bought him because he thought he was a 'football man' but Mogadon Man didn't fancy him (and had Hulse, Stead, Beattie, Webber, Hendrie, Horsfield, Hendrie and Martin up front).

Blackwell played him on the wing FFS! Sold again.

Neither go was Billy's fault for not performing.

If I'm completely wrong it's highly likely you may be right!

 

[BushBlade]

I know this is not at all the point of your OP but the reason that Billy wasn't successful the first 2 times around was that he was played in the wrong position. The other teams he played for (and now CWAK) know that his strengths lie in being on the end of balls into the box.

Our managers at the time used to have him running the channels and providing for others. Don't get me wrong, he's good at this and still does a job at this now when called upon, however he needs to be in the box for the chances to be "successful" as a striker (i.e. scoring goals).

The first time, I don’t think he played more than a couple of games.

Under Robson/Blackwell, it was an almost pointless signing. We’d already paid £4m for Beattie, who was a box player. His best position/role was the same as Billy. In the box, getting on the end of things. It was a classic example of a fuckwitted approach to recruitment. As soon as Billy went to Donny and played in his proper position he started scoring.

If the general point of the OP is that it can take time for players to settle into a new club, particularly if they’re also stepping up a level, I have to agree.

 

[DronnieBlade]

If you study Billy Sharp's career statistics you will see that our legend and captain certainly had difficulty finding his scoring boots at a new club when playing above the L.1. level.

Our 3 new strikers cost a lot of money in our terms, but are very modest signings for the Premier League.

We needed 10 players to make up a P.L. squad and we bought 8 and kept Freeman (K) and Clarke. We spent around £43m (est.), not a lot of money at this level.

The following players were signed elsewhere in the P.L. last summer:, Joelinton £40m at Newcastle, Pepe Arsenal £72m, Perez £30m Leicester, Southampton Adams £15m, Ings £20m, Brighton £20m Maupay, Wesley Villa £22m, West Ham Haller £45m.

Ings and Haller are doing OK at this stage. The rest are settling-in somewhat and are seasoned professionals.

Career records for our new lads show that Mousset ( 23 years old) had his best season at Le Havre in French League 2 when he was 19 y.old and he scored 14 of his 18 career goals.
McBurnie ( just 23 years old), in the last season and a half scored 9 at Barnsley and 22 at Swansea and they are 31 out of his 40 career total.
Robinson (24 y.old) scored 19 in 68 games in the last 2 seasons and has scored 37 in his career.

These lads are under severe pressure in the P.L. and at a new and bigger club with 30000 crowds; the attendances at Stamford Bridge and Goodison Park were dreams just a few months ago. We bought potential, not the finished product, which was out of the question. The quicker they settle in the better and let's wish them all the success they and we dream about. Our manager has staked a big proportion of his club budget on the lads and expects a return from their development. It might not bear fruit before Xmas even but they are on good contracts and will produce at some stage, maybe even this weekend. Even if it's not until next season we have bought young lads of good character with a group ethos. Two have been successful this past year or so and our manager thinks they have what it takes. Mousset is an intriguing player with obvious talent and not much experience; a very brave acquisition but not done without good reason for sure, this is Wilder we are talking about!!

I don't think we had the opportunity to sign Defoe or another experienced veteran striker, nor could we afford the wages anyway. In any case perhaps they would not have lasted a full season fitness-wise and would have wanted a two year contract, maybe 3. Defoe was sub at Rangers when I've watched them.

We have invested for the 'here and now' and definitely for the future as well. Let's give the lads every encouragement at this critical stage of their careers. Much depends on them and of course Sharp and McGoldrick; a very good 5 man strike force in a really good squad, probably the best we have ever had in depth and quality since the 1970's.

Always remember that criticism of the players, including ' just not good enough at this level', is a direct criticism of our manager - give him and the players your total backing and the lads will settle in all the better. There's real pressure on the manager, despite his record. The owner and any potential new owners/ investors will be watching closely how he spends his budget and manages at this level. If anything, Wilder has usually signed more experienced players in the past, but he is building for the future and this season is not the 'end-game'.

P.S. Sharp was 21 when he re-signed for us in 2007 and in that spell he scored 8 goals in 51 appearances in the Championship. I am a big Billy Sharp fan, always was, but even with all his ability, things sometimes take a while.

This weekends squad will be more than interesting.

The inclusion of Clarke over Sharp, will signal the end of his time here.

Of that I have no doubt whatsoever.

UTB