Adkins and Billy Sharp

[SwissBlade]

Yeah Clarke probably would have been better. Sammon made a decent start but when it became clear he couldn't judge the flight of the ball to give himself a chance to win headers, people got on his back a bit and the confidence seemed to drain out of him. When he's played recently, he looks like he doesn't want to be there. The midfield being too poor to play 442 coupled with the desire to get Adams and Done into the team has made it all the harder for him.

It again comes down to supply, losing Murphy was definitely underestimated by the management and money men at the club. Without a man who will beat a full back with a cross or pace means the strikers have to go wandering to find the ball - Billy lacks discipline in this respect, but you can't blame him as he's also working hard to win the ball. Problem is that it leaves us light in the box, be it done, Adams or Sammon, it makes it easy for defenders as they have a goal scoring striker out wide... And wingers too deep to be effective

 

[FTPE]

Some good points, but let's be fair- Billy is our best player by a country mile!

 

[judge]

Cant rember another player who in 3 spells at the club has yet to set the world alight yet its always the managers fault for not playing him right

Talk about a free pass

 

[CarlMcBlade]

It's fun to imagine sometimes, isn't it...

...almost helps you forget the reality for a moment.

McEveley. . . . . . Really?

 

[spongebobblade]

This is pretty much exactly the way I see it.

He did well away at Blackpool in front of a small crowd

He was poor in an absolute sea of shite. Somethings you can't dress up

 

[1danewhitehouse]

The fact that Long, McEveley and Basham all make the "if only" team is a shocking indictment of just how bad we've been in terms of recruiting players to play those three positions whilst we've been down here.

Lowton at right back and swap Brayford over like Tuesday night?

 

[robbiez666]

Imagine how many goals Sharp would have scored if we had creative attacking midfielders and played attacking football? Makes a huge difference.

 

[Ricky]

ha ha there is a difference between overrated and not being the right man that we need. in fairness, McNulty got a dozen goals last year and he's very similar to billy. i'd have gone with McNulty this year but gone out to get O'Grady...

I would've done similar. O'Grady or someone of that ilk permanently and a young one on loan with pace and trickery like Dominic Samuel or Jordy Hiwula, along with Done and McNulty. In hindsight, Nicky Ajose on a free transfer would've been perfect.

 

[PokerBlade]

This is pretty much exactly the way I see it.

He did well away at Blackpool in front of a small crowd, if he's ever going to perform again then tomorrow would be a good chance.

I'd start him though, if I was going to play him at all. No good as a sub. You need to find out about his form and be able to remedy it if needs be.

I've only seen Sammon have one good game and that was Peterborough away (worth saying it's rare I get to an away game). I don't really understand him. His scoring record is abysmal. Hard pushed to find a striker anywhere with a worse record than his career. Because of that I was expecting to see him at least be physically dominant or good with the ball. Instead he seems worse all round than Steven Davies, Kitson, or even Porter. Comare him to someone like Kevin Davies for Preston who rarely scored (he was unebelievably poor in that regard for them) but would cause endless trouble for the centre halves. I'd take Henderson back over Sammon.

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

I've only seen Sammon have one good game and that was Peterborough away (worth saying it's rare I get to an away game). I don't really understand him. His scoring record is abysmal. Hard pushed to find a striker anywhere with a worse record than his career. Because of that I was expecting to see him at least be physically dominant or good with the ball. Instead he seems worse all round than Steven Davies, Kitson, or even Porter. Comare him to someone like Kevin Davies for Preston who rarely scored (he was unebelievably poor in that regard for them) but would cause endless trouble for the centre halves. I'd take Henderson back over Sammon.

I think this shows what he can do (resurrected from another thread):

1) Across his man at the front post - no-one ever does this Keith do they? - shoots just wide.

2) Well timed and placed lay off for a good shot on target. This is a real strength.

3a) After a good move down the right controls a difficult bouncing ball with his back to goal...

3b) ...turns and shoots low. Keeper makes a good save.

4. Covering on the edge of the box - defending as a team.

5) Chests it off to Coutts who doesn't get there. Sammon has a, er, paddy, and we end up defending. For me this illustrates a few things:

• ball easier to control off the chest in these situations - and that's what he does (but he didn't head it so he should be slagged off)
• if these two play together more, hopefully they'll work each other out
• not defending high up the pitch - even for a split second - can result in pressure, shows how switched on the front players have to be. It's a team game.

6) The best move on the highlights till the non-finish: played into Sammon, cushioned lay off to Che, Che passes out to JCR, JCR passes to their keeper.

All this in two minutes of highlights and apparently he should have had a penalty.

What a player

To me anyone who watches the highlights of the Blackpool game would see a good player contributing, but he's Scapegoat of the Month.

McEveley (and Long eventually) responded to the abuse they got - it's affecting Sammon and we're an important and expensive player short because of it. Maybe he'll come good, but I think Adkins has settled on Sharp and Adams.

 

[United Aren't Back.]

Cant rember another player who in 3 spells at the club has yet to set the world alight yet its always the managers fault for not playing him right

Talk about a free pass

Mind you, as the demolition of the raw talent displayed by Adams shows, anyone coming to the w in the past 20 years would just have the talent screwed out of them like it was an orange in a big hand. No one is developed or used properly, just destroyed.
Yet Sharp gets a free pass. Billy Blade, so being a very average l1 journeyman is great as,we lose to Rochdale, Shrewsbury and Bury most weeks.

 

[Bladesince59]

Cant rember another player who in 3 spells at the club has yet to set the world alight yet its always the managers fault for not playing him right

Talk about a free pass

Yep I don't rate him either. He's just the best of a crock of shit
IMHO

utb

 

[PokerBlade]

I think this shows what he can do (resurrected from another thread):


1) Across his man at the front post - no-one ever does this Keith do they? - .

2) Well timed and placed lay off for a good shot on target. This is a real strength.

3a) After a good move down the right controls a difficult bouncing ball with his back to goal...


3b) ...turns and shoots low. Keeper makes a good save.

4. Covering on the edge of the box - defending as a team.


5) Chests it off to Coutts who doesn't get there. Sammon has a, er, paddy, and we end up defending. For me this illustrates a few things:

• ball easier to control off the chest in these situations - and that's what he does (but he didn't head it so he should be slagged off)
• if these two play together more, hopefully they'll work each other out
• not defending high up the pitch - even for a split second - can result in pressure, shows how switched on the front players have to be. It's a team game.

6) The best move on the highlights till the non-finish: played into Sammon, cushioned lay off to Che, Che passes out to JCR, JCR passes to their keeper.

All this in two minutes of highlights and apparently he should have had a penalty.

What a player

To me anyone who watches the highlights of the Blackpool game would see a good player contributing, but he's Scapegoat of the Month.

McEveley (and Long eventually) responded to the abuse they got - it's affecting Sammon and we're an important and expensive player short because of it. Maybe he'll come good, but I think Adkins has settled on Sharp and Adams.

I appreciate the detailed response but I'm going to be more than a little dismissive. There's a saying about players not becoming bad over night. Sammon's problem is that he wasn't a goalscorer yesterday either. His career goals record is appalling for a striker. "Shoots just wide" will be his epitaph.

And the poor strike rate I can tolerate. We went up to the Prem with HMS Shipperley on 11 (more than Sammon's thus far managed in a season in English football). Even if HMS had scored half that, his contribution to the team would've been noticeable in a way that Sammon's rarely is.

The frustration the crowd have with Sammon stems from him being a target man who doesn't win aerial battles and gets out-muscled by every defender he meets. And he's not a scapegoat either. You only have scapegoats where people are looking for an individual to take the blame. There's no one in our side not taking stick at the moment. Even Sharp and Brayford, the ones you'd expect to be immune, are getting their fair share of grumbles and jeers.

It's not like Sammon is completely useless. He is, however, yet another on the not-good-enough list and part of our underwhelming season and oversized squad. He's one of those players who isn't a clear improvement on the eleven that were on the pitch the other day and can't force his way to a start in a mid-table league one club.

 

[United Aren't Back.]

Sadly pokerblade, Sammon is completely useless.
One in a long line of crap Blades strikers..Flo, Ward, Lester, Asaba, Ten Heuvel, Henderson, Evans,in championship.. But Sammon is worse than Henderson.

 

[Bergen Blade]

Billy's not fast or great in the air, which means those qualities must come from elsewhere. Pace is needed, preferably from a couple of players and Adkins has said he wants six big lads in the team.

Adkins wants two strikers, but has conceded that 4-4-2 with out and out wide men leaves us too open. In central midfield Basham and Hammond with a big back four would fix the height issue, but would leave us short in terms of distribution and creativity.

Is it possible for Adkins to get the balance right and all mentioned criterias fulfilled in a 4-4-2 with the current squad?

 

[I should coco]

Did his interview say anything about the collective spirit and the classic phrase, "there is no 'I' in TEAM"?

Well, I've got news for you:

 

[boo radley]

Billy's not fast or great in the air, which means those qualities must come from elsewhere. Pace is needed, preferably from a couple of players and Adkins has said he wants six big lads in the team.

Adkins wants two strikers, but has conceded that 4-4-2 with out and out wide men leaves us too open. In central midfield Basham and Hammond with a big back four would fix the height issue, but would leave us short in terms of distribution and creativity.

Is it possible for Adkins to get the balance right and all mentioned criterias fulfilled in a 4-4-2 with the current squad?

That explains that when Mr Fedorenko keeps coming back to him and reccomending players, he just gets told they are not big enough.

 

[Bladesway]

I don't really post much however I do follow the discussions that take place on here and one of the topics that comes up regularly is the positives that Adkins has brought to the club. The one positive that is brought up again and again is the signing of Billy Sharp and this is often used as a reason to justify Adkins position. Firstly I have no issues with Billy Sharp and believe that his effort cannot be questioned however he probably is one of the biggest earners and he, if the media is to be believed cost us around £500,000 which is sizeable in this league. Therefore with 11 goals in open play and 4 penalties in 33 games of which he has played every minute in his preferred position could the money have been better spent? We are unlikely to ever see a return on the transfer fee as he is now 30 yrs old and we did have one of the leagues top scorers from last year already in place in Done (a man that has been sidelined all season by Adkins). With this in mind is the signing of Billy Sharp enough to argue that not all of Adkins signings have been poor and as such he should be trusted with next seasons budget?

Penalties count less do they? Remember hearing comment like this when Beattie scored shed loads. A goal is a goal. 1 in 2 is a good ratio. It's not Billy fault that he cost what he cost. Shouldn't be an issue to the fans either. I wish we had another 10 who put the effort in for the shirt that he does.

Yes Adkins should be trusted with next seasons budget or we just do what we usually do and tear the project down half way through and start again. Wilson shouldn't have been sacked, Clough shouldn't have been sacked and now Adkins shouldn't be sacked. Let's stop making the same mistakes just because sacking managers is fashionable.

 

[Dec]

You set your sights rather low, what would the standing of that team be? Nick Blackman, world beater. Perhaps in his own eyes.

13 goals in the league above suggests he'd at least be a bit more of a threat than Paul Coutts.

 

[Dec]

McEveley. . . . . . Really?

Sadly, yes. Of all the left backs we have had since we have been in League 1, on how they currently are, McEveley would get the spot in my 'Current best XI of players we have had in this stint in League 1'...

 

[Nick Jansky]

It's fun to imagine sometimes, isn't it...

...almost helps you forget the reality for a moment.

That's a mid table Championship side.

 

[Barney]

I don't really post much however I do follow the discussions that take place on here and one of the topics that comes up regularly is the positives that Adkins has brought to the club. The one positive that is brought up again and again is the signing of Billy Sharp and this is often used as a reason to justify Adkins position. Firstly I have no issues with Billy Sharp and believe that his effort cannot be questioned however he probably is one of the biggest earners and he, if the media is to be believed cost us around £500,000 which is sizeable in this league. Therefore with 11 goals in open play and 4 penalties in 33 games of which he has played every minute in his preferred position could the money have been better spent? We are unlikely to ever see a return on the transfer fee as he is now 30 yrs old and we did have one of the leagues top scorers from last year already in place in Done (a man that has been sidelined all season by Adkins). With this in mind is the signing of Billy Sharp enough to argue that not all of Adkins signings have been poor and as such he should be trusted with next seasons budget?

This is a similar point to what I've been making all season. Although he himself is a good enough player, 500k was always too much and almost certainly could have been better spent.

 

[Deleted member 1486]

This is a similar point to what I've been making all season. Although he himself is a good enough player, 500k was always too much and almost certainly could have been better spent.

Seems a shame to constantly post the same thing, here buddy, you can use this in future (always happy to help!):

 

[Barney]

Seems a shame to constantly post the same thing, here buddy, you can use this in future (always happy to help!):

Most people repeat points they've made in the past. I don't know whether you're still hot and bothered about a discussion we had a while ago but you're coming over like a bit of a sore apple.

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

There's a saying about players not becoming bad over night

Trapattoni suggested that Sammon and his Derby team-mate Jeff Hendrick should be playing in the Premier League: "they play Championship, and I have to ask why when I see the games in the Premier League and the way they play with us. Quality is quality."

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

Most people repeat points they've made in the past. I don't know whether you're still hot and bothered about a discussion we had a while ago but you're coming over like a bit of a sore apple.

A sore apple ?

 

[Kenilworth]

Yeah maybe although I'm leaning more to just playing those that will be here next season

---------------------Long

Brayford-----Edgar--Baptiste---Wallace
---------------------Reed
---------------Whiteman-Basham
Done-----------------------------------Adams
----------------------Sarp

I know the CBs are loanees but might earn permanent deals. If we're changing the system I'd consider DCL or DdG up top with Sharp in place of a midfielder. Probably have Hammond and Woolford as part of the squad too as they'll probably be here next season. That might allow Basham to drop in to replace one of the loanees.

Shitty death
That's bloody scary is that

Mid table mediocrity is the full aspiration of that motley crew - that midfield would get pummelled in this division
Basham is part of the problem IMO - he's not strong enough, can't finish, cant assist, he is not a midfielder. His best contribution is at centre back - and that's as a defender, only - no threat at set pieces at all.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

Shitty death
That's bloody scary is that

Mid table mediocrity is the full aspiration of that motley crew - that midfield would get pummelled in this division
Basham is part of the problem IMO - he's not strong enough, can't finish, cant assist, he is not a midfielder. His best contribution is at centre back - and that's as a defender, only - no threat at set pieces at all.

Well an alternative could be

------------------------Long

Brayford-------Basham--Baptiste-----Wallace

Done-----------Reed------Hammond---Adams

-------------------Sharp----DCL


Or Whiteman instead of DCL to make a 5 in midifeld. Or De Girolamo playing just off Sharp

 

[itsinyerblood]

Sharp's limitations are often evident. His hold up play can go from alright to plain awful during games. He's not the quickest. He is, however, what every set of fans is constantly screaming out for: a proven goalscorer. Players of his type are invaluable because they simply aren't that common.

Listen to football phone-ins over a season and keep a tally of the times you hear the phrases "what we need is a goalscorer" or "someone who puts the ball in the back of the net" or similar (don't actually do this, you'll run out of paper).

The fact that Sharp's scored the goals he has in a side this poor is a credit to him. He's exactly the calibre of player we should be looking at. We've got the best poacher in the division. Shame we sold Murphy and decided to spend the season playing without wingers or even a decent attacking midfielder.

Good post Poker, agree about Billy, and I say that as someone who wasn't entirely convinced when it was first suggested we'd buy him. He's proved me wrong, done a really good job for the Blades, and as you've mentioned, players like him - Kevin Phillips was similar - tend to do well at this level. The sale of Murphy was an affront to the fans who want the club to do well, but not entirely surprising that the club didn't have the backbone or vision to resist the offers that came their way. I hope Adkins, given the time he now has to decide who to keep and who to get rid of, will be the man to give us a team worthy of such fantastic support.....I sit here, finger's crossed, hope upon hope, wondering if this monkey on our back will ever be shifted, me and about 20 thousand other Blades I guess.

 

[Kenilworth]

Well an alternative could be

------------------------Long

Brayford-------Basham--Baptiste-----Wallace

Done-----------Reed------Hammond---Adams

-------------------Sharp----DCL


Or Whiteman instead of DCL to make a 5 in midifeld. Or De Girolamo playing just off Sharp

Good grief - where the fuck is that number for Dignitas?