To all the naysayers who didn't want Billy back...

[The_Green_Man]

Billy is a great player and signing him was a no brainer. I said it all along from the first time I heard the rumours but to be fair I don't want to be dragged into a petty argument so I will leave it at that.

I really want to thank the Scunthorpe United fans though for a massive contribution towards Billy's performance today, as it was the booing, jeering and stick giving from the home terraces that gave him that bit of extra edge to his game. You would think that they should know better wouldn't you? I mean players generally come back to bite you on the arse anyway but seriously? Giving grief to the best player to play for your club in many a year? A player who is one of the main reasons for your greatest successes in recent years? Seriously? I'm not surprised Billy knocked one away and then celebrated it so emphatically.

Billy said it himself, "I wouldn't have celebrated like that in all honesty, I had some great times with the club. I honestly didn't expect to get stick like that and it just made me want it more and when it came......"

 

[Jon Bon]

IN YOUR FUCKING FACE

Well done sir, your patience has finally paid off. Nearly five months you've been waiting to post that. Good on ya, now go and have a lie down, you deserve it.

 

[GRENO]

He really said that ?? idiot

He did, but then he followed it up with. I don't know why I said that because sammon
doesn't offer anything.

 

[Sheff de party]

Thought Billy was excellent today, and Done for that matter with no service whatsoever! Both ran their socks off with absolutely fuck all help arriving from midfield!

Well done chaps!

Which only builds the Baxter case. If fuck all is arriving from midfield, we need our only creative player.

 

[boo radley]

He's also good at running the chanels.

 

[boo radley]

He really said that ?? idiot

He also back tracked later stating that he liked sammon but sometimes wondered why brcause he should often do so much more.

 

[Northyorksblade]

So none of this coy "refusal to celebrate in front of fans where I used to play"? Great to hear.

In the interview he gave after the game, he said the home fans had been giving him stick and he's a Sheffield United player now, so he celebrated as he would any other game.

 

[Deleted member 875]

If Billy Sharp scores 20-25 goals this season then as far as I'm concerned it is job done. He was signed for one reason, and one reason only and that is to score goals.

At the minute I think he is enjoying playing with Matty Done, I think he Billy Sharp plays better off the running of Matty Done, and they are building a mutual understanding, but the one minor criticism of Matty Done is that he does too much running and chasing down, and doesn't seem to be in the right places often enough and is often bollocksed after 70 minutes just because of the sheer volume of work he puts in.

 

[grafikhaus]

I'd disagree there. Look at the money we spent on him. Ridiculous amounts for his ability. £500,000 could have gone a long way if we were to have had any subtlety about us, we didn't even need any new strikers at the time.

Absolutely anyone would have thought he'd approach things to at least cover central defence with 2 tall and strong bodies. Unfortunately, I don't think Adkins resides on earth.

Well say hello to him when you're on Pluto. "we didn't even need any new strikers at the time." Really? Let's have a look at our prolific strike-force (League) without Billy.

Adams - 6. Three braces. Unfortunately often looks disinterested. Potentially excellent but always a step away from disciplinary problems.
Baxter - 4. See Adams. Plus we may well have seen the last of him.
Sammon - 4. Nowhere near enough for a 'target man'. Hope he goes back. Soon.
Murphy. Gone
McNulty. See Murphy.

The odd goal from the likes of Collins, Basham & Done (yet to be played in his most effective role). Take Billy's League goals away and to say we didn't/don't need any new strikers is ridiculous. Instead of knocking our one - only - effective striker look at the likes of Sammon (and Higdon before him).

 

[DronnieBlade]

Pleased for Bill. Some of the stick dished out on here during the recent dry spell was well over the top.

Which leads me on to the reason WHY the goals dryed up. As has been said, we have tightened up defensively as a unit, which in turn has led to far less creativity in the final 1/3. All the strikers have suffered because of this.

It's about finding the right balance and my fear is that this move towards greater defensive solidity will inevitably be at the expense of creating chances and scoring goals. Might be a bit dull to watch in the coming months but if we keep getting results..

I am beggining to wonder if letting McNulty out on loan was a huge mistake as I think a front 3 of Sharp Done and McNulty would be able to work on its own and be its own little mini creative unit. Sammon can go back for me but I suspect we are stuck. £11k per week I am reliably informed is what we are paying Sammon. Way too much !!

Great 3 points away at a bogey side.

UTB

 

[Jehovah]

Chuffed with the win but I can't get on board with Billys celebrations against former clubs.

 

[LSF]

Good. I'd be even more pissed off with myself if I'd called someone a cunt because of football. Completely unprovoked as well.

Luckily I haven't done that and I don't think I ever will. I've got a bit of something called respect.

A rarity nowadays I know.

Respect, you! Lol
The same respect you show Nigel Adkins in your vilifications of him. A man who has forgotten more about football than you'll ever hope to know, and you talk about respect!
You, my man,(or woman), are a fuckin joke poster who can spoil a debate in an instant, and you know it and do it deliberately for some insane reason.
People like you are beyond explanation and anyone labelling you 'cunt' 'twat' or any other disparaging label, have my utmost 'respect'!

 

[spongebobblade]

He really said that ?? idiot

Coutts did ok but played out wide you don't get the best out of him. In fairness he was a little more adventurous going forward than we have seen him but if we are to play a more expansive game then Baxter is your man. Know your not a fan Sitters but it's all about opinions. He has so many positives...... But at the same time is his own worst enemy

 

[spongebobblade]

But it's solidity that Woolford brings. In a way he encapsulates the new approach: he defends responsibly and well, but attacks like his boot laces are tied together.

View attachment 14907

We will win nothing with him in the side. Quite simply he, Sammon, Collins should be ditched as soon as........ And that's just for starters. Woolford makes Flynny look like Ronaldo

 

[spongebobblade]

At one point I swear Coutts showed some pace bursting past a couple of midfielders. And he pushed on to get that shot on target - should have done better but decent pace (twice - in one post - about Coutts) to get there and stay clear.

Worked well with the Beard at times. (I think they used to work together at Derby?)

For me the Beard works better with Flynny down the right. They can both defend and attack which allows either to get more advanced knowing the other covers well defensively. They were fantastic when first paired together but due to Brayford playing centre half and then injuries we have seen them again since

 

[sitwell]

Coutts did ok but played out wide you don't get the best out of him. In fairness he was a little more adventurous going forward than we have seen him but if we are to play a more expansive game then Baxter is your man. Know your not a fan Sitters but it's all about opinions. He has so many positives...... But at the same time is his own worst enemy

Baxter can only be played in one position ,that's between the midfield and forwards ,there is a place there at the moment but the guy isn't a team player and a luxury we cant afford in this league. He cant play in the Coutts position as shown against Shrewsbury when we got absolutely destroyed down the right. Coutts and Brayford did very well yesterday ,Scunthorpe never threatened down that side and all our attacks came down there through Coutts and Brayford. They compliment each other and compared to the other wing the difference was massive. The spare position would go to JCR ,Flynn or Adams occasionally for me.

 

[spongebobblade]

Baxter can only be played in one position ,that's between the midfield and forwards ,there is a place there at the moment but the guy isn't a team player and a luxury we cant afford in this league. He cant play in the Coutts position as shown against Shrewsbury when we got absolutely destroyed down the right. Coutts and Brayford did very well yesterday ,Scunthorpe never threatened down that side and all our attacks came down there through Coutts and Brayford. They compliment each other and compared to the other wing the difference was massive. The spare position would go to JCR ,Flynn or Adams occasionally for me.

As I've said I would prefer Flynn and Brayford down the right. They looked great when the Beard first came. Coutts looks more comfortable in the middle but needs to get forward more if we are to be a little more threatening. Credit where it's due he did more of that yesterday but being an attacking midfielder/ wideman doesn't really come natural to him. Personally I'd give Jose a go in the hole behind either Sharp or Done. As a front two they are too far apart to form a partnership and when we are defending Baxter would be ideal to pick up any loose balls as our current midfield set up is so deep they are literally 5 yards infront of the defence

 

[jt64]

Pleased for Bill. Some of the stick dished out on here during the recent dry spell was well over the top.

Was it really? If you're primary job is to score goals, and you're missing a bunch of sitters and not contributing enough in other areas to compensate, then I think criticising him is perfectly fair.

Glad he's broken the drought. Still don't think he's offering any more than the players we had already would have done. If he is, it's certainly not worth added the expense.

 

[sitwell]

Was it really? If you're primary job is to score goals, and you're missing a bunch of sitters and not contributing enough in other areas to compensate, then I think criticising him is perfectly fair.

Glad he's broken the drought. Still don't think he's offering any more than the players we had already would have done. If he is, it's certainly not worth added the expense.

Sharp does a lot more than score goals ,his work rate and team ethic is huge ,to say what youre saying is ridiculous. Do you go ?

 

[jt64]

Sharp does a lot more than score goals ,his work rate and team ethic is huge ,to say what youre saying is ridiculous. Do you go ?

Didn't go yesterday to be fair. Will say his workrate has improved of recent, but it's been shocking in quite a few games, Millwall probably being the worst

 

[CarlMcBlade]

Not naysayers but people who believe in using other members of squad system, when a player is obviously out of form.

 

[sheffielder]

That alone is no basis to decide anything with Baxter. There's nothing to say we wouldn't have done the same with him in the side.

No one has contributed more for us this season than him in terms of goals and assists, correct me if I'm wrong. We don't have another player like him and with him approaching the end of his contract he'll be giving everything until the end of the season and we should make the most of that. He's already shown an improvement in application and consistency.

If he wants back in, the benchmark has been set.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

Well done sir, your patience has finally paid off. Nearly five months you've been waiting to post that. Good on ya, now go and have a lie down, you deserve it.

I haven't been waiting for anything.

Don't know if you've noticed but he's been scoring goals all season.

 

[Revolution]

I haven't been waiting for anything.

Don't know if you've noticed but he's been scoring goals all season.

Before the last 2 games he had one in 13 games - that was a very poor spell after s good start.

I'm pleased he's scoring again. With this midfield, he needs to keep doing it.

 

[wizadry]

Not naysayers but people who believe in using other members of squad system, when a player is obviously out of form.

Great post and probably the most sense spoken on the thread. He gets dropped, like some of us have been asking for, he then bags a winner coming off the bench, then bags another winner yesterday. He got the kick up the arse he needed and credit must go to Adkins for doing this, shortly followed by Sharp for reacting to his benching.

 

[wizadry]

Don't know if you've noticed but he's been scoring goals all season.

You're normally good with stats Nuddy but this is absolute bullshit mate.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

You're normally good with stats Nuddy but this is absolute bullshit mate.

What I meant was he hasn't only just started scoring goals. Granted, November was a barren spell but he scored 2 in August, 4 in September and 1 in October.

 

[wizadry]

What I meant was he hasn't only just started scoring goals. Granted, November was a barren spell but he scored 2 in August, 4 in September and 1 in October.

So we'll just ignore November then

 

[1danewhitehouse]

Coutts had a great game today ,he links well with brayford. The difference between our left hand side and right is massive. Terrible subs by Adkins again, we lost all impetus when done went off.

I think it makes sense for Done not to play 90 minutes most of the time simply because of the way he runs himself into the ground. I’ve seen games this season at the lane where we’ve had to use subs elsewhere and leave him on for the full 90 and he has been virtually crawling by the end. Almost impossible to work the way he does for 90 minutes.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

JCR and Flynn aren't great but they're both better than Woolford. Who knows why he starts ahead of these two

Cos he’s 6 foot, has positional discipline and will do exactly what the manager asks of him. i.e. he’s very willing to be a cog in the machine. If he was any good at football we’d have a right asset on our hands. To be fair, he also delivers a decent dead ball.