Can Sharp Play in a Wilder Team?

[sheffielder]

Sharp and Clarke need to get an understanding. Sharp is a great creator too so we know he can drop off. The ball for DCL against Grimsby is something you can see lots of now it's Clarke.

Once we get a midfielder to play alongside fleck who plays with his head forward then sharp will get more balls round the corner which he thrives on.

Like the team, just a call for a bit of patience.

 

[Bladey McBladeface]

So, I can understand why the question has been asked about Sharp. My head tells me that he's a 20 goal a season man and that he will score that many goals in this team - hard to argue against that.

But... are his other attributes (beyond the goalscoring) beneficial to the team? Sometimes he gives away silly fouls and he does lack a yard of pace that will stretch a defence.

The question then becomes, can you find me a striker with pace and will guarantee you 20+ goals at this level who will want to play at this level? It's possible, but very unlikely.

Sharp stays in the team... He's certainly not our most pressing concern despite a dip in form. He will come good and if he and others had finished better against Crewe I doubt we would be having the conversation.

 

[Chezzy Blades]

I think with the current set of players we have, and our need to compensate midfield with an extra man, our current strongest 11 wouldn't include Sharp.

That's not to say he's not good enough, just that Clarke offers more as a lone front man and Basham and Fleck need help in midfield. Fleck's a terrific passer and Basham is.. well Basham but neither can drive the team forward from their current role.

That said, if we can bring in a box to box midfielder to play alongside Fleck, 4-4-2 with Clarke and Sharp would certainly be effective.

 

[Ollessendro]

Don't understand some of the flack the OP is getting abart this. It's a pertinent question for me and whilst it not be his original idea it is worthy of a thread. This is a forum and (though sum two hat once called it the 'North Korean Sheffield United forum' insinuating debate wasn't allowed) is a place for opinions, debate and discussion.

This is an interesting one. Sharp has struggled in teams that play more direct and there are question marks as to how he will fit into Wilder's style. From what I understand though Wilder is less long ball than Warnock and Blackell and his variation on kick and rush is more about pressing higher and getting the ball forward quickly. I personally don't think passing football has to be compromised when getting the ball forward quicker and therefore I hope Sharp can fit in.

I wonder if Wilder has backed himself into a corner somewhat by making Sharp captain. He was the obvious choice after last season (showing passion and commitment and leading by example) but does it make him undroppable? The other point (as Swiss mentions) is Billy is a confidence player and needs careful handling. If Wilder brought in McNulty on Saturday for Sharp (which there is a call for him doing) it might shatter Sharp's confidence and effectively end his time for us. You could argue that professional footballers should be able to come back from that but Sharp clearly plays best (and knocks the goals in) when his confidence is up.

If Sharp continues to play poorly we may have a dilemma. It is way too early to be writing him off but if we continue to lose and Sharp doesn't score pressure will mount. His team mates could have and could have done him a favour by scoring and making this less of an issue. If Clarke and Calvert-Lewin put away easy chances then this is much less of an issue. I think Wilder will give Sharp a fair crack at it but how long will that be? All of a sudden the pressure is on (not just Sharp but Wilder and the rest of the players). I can see us struggling against Rochdale on Satdi and losing away at Milwall so all of a sudden the home games vs Southend and Oxford look very important. So many variables though it is different to say what will happen.

I've always liked McNulty (the way he plays) and was not convinced sending him out on loan and bringing in Sharp ladt season was great VFM. Sharp proved me wrong though. I think McNulty would possibly be a better partner for Clarke than Sharp due to his pace, ability to play off scraps and natural instinct. The questions over McNulty's attitude have not gone away though and we should not forget the reason why he has never held down a first team place (he appears to be a Sheffield Wednesday sized nobeard). On reflection I think I'd stick with Sharp for the moment. Wilder has a tricky job keeping all 3 strikers happy and it could be further complicated if the rumours are true and another is coming in. That's what he is getting paid for though and he needs to balance keeping people happy and confidence high with finding a winning formula and the ultimate objective of finding a settled side that can put a string of wins together and challenge for promotion. Rather him than me.

 

[blader]

Sharp is our best player and captain, we need to cater the team to him scoring goals IMO. Sharp needs supply, and interchanges around the box. We don't have the players for this. So, what are we going to do about it?

Well, the obvious is to go out and sign a creative CM, a winger with a good delivery and they can create chances for our proven goal scorer(s).

Will this happen? Can't predict the future, but I wouldn't be putting my house on it!

 

[Chezzy Blades]

Sharp is our best player and captain, we need to cater the team to him scoring goals IMO. Sharp needs supply, and interchanges around the box. We don't have the players for this. So, what are we going to do about it?

Well, the obvious is to go out and sign a creative CM, a winger with a good delivery and they can create chances for our proven goal scorer(s).

Will this happen? Can't predict the future, but I wouldn't be putting my house on it!

We catered the team around him last season and finished 11th.

The line about him getting poor service last year is a myth in my opinion. Although many (I'm not aiming this at you at all btw) don't like to admit it, Sharp missed just as many good chances as he scored last season.

I think we need to cater our team to play it it's strengths as a whole, not just one players. Can Bill fit in? Well I suppose that's what Wilder's paid to make a judgement on.

 

[blader]

We catered the team around him last season and finished 11th.

The line about him getting poor service last year is a myth in my opinion. Although many (I'm not aiming this at you at all btw) don't like to admit it, Sharp missed just as many good chances as he scored last season.

I think we need to cater our team to play it it's strengths as a whole, not just one players. Can Bill fit in? Well I suppose that's what Wilder's paid to make a judgement on.

True, but if not Sharp, what are our strengths???

We have no pace, no height, no great passers of the ball (at least not enough to make a free flowing side). At the moment we have guaranteed goals with Sharp, but I'm struggling to see what the alternatives are. If we nullify what i see as our only true threat, we will be an even worse side than we currently are!

 

[Chezzy Blades]

True, but if not Sharp, what are our strengths???

We have no pace, no height, no great passers of the ball (at least not enough to make a free flowing side). At the moment we have guaranteed goals with Sharp, but I'm struggling to see what the alternatives are. If we nullify what i see as our only true threat, we will be an even worse side than we currently are!

A fair point, and hopefully one Wilder will address in the coming weeks.

I think if we get the midfield right then a front two of Sharp and Clarke will be effective as the season goes on, but if we continue with the 4-4-2 we've played so far to accommodate Sharp without bringing in the correct personnel I'm not sure he will get anywhere near the numbers he got last season.

 

[LurkerBlade]

I wasn't at Bolton so won't comment but from the Crewe game I saw Billy drop deep & link well with midfield, I saw him create chances & SPACE for Clarke & I saw him have a couple of chances where their defenders threw their bodies at him to stop chances.

I wouldn't say he was much over a 6\10 but for someone who is playing with a new strike partner & 2 new midfielders I would say YES, he can play in a CW side.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

I like Billy,but for me he isn't big enough or mobile enough to lead the line and hold the ball..often gets outmuscled ..he also hasn't got the pace to beat his man or get behind.He has to rely on getting goals by working space by his link up play or getting across a stationery defender,or maybe a shot on the turn in front of the defender...credit to him for getting 20 goals last season with shocking service,especially from wide areas.
I tend to think we would be better with someone with a bit more pace alongside Clarke like he had with Callum Wilson at Coventry.

Agreed. I see great potential in a partnership between Clarke and Che…….. erm…. Nah forget it.


People can say what they like about Adkins but he knew how to get the best out of Sharp.


I saw posts during the summer how Sharp “can only get better” with better service under the new manager and flagged the issue at the time. I hope he will do well but it’s far less certain under Wilder than it was under Adkins.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

This is a mistake (in my opinion) which we made with Sharp previously and also with Ched when we were in the Championship. If players like Sharp aren't scoring, then the first reaction is to drop him and bring in another player, like McNulty. An under performing striker shouldn't necessarily be dropped, but if the striker is being played in the wrong position or asked to do a job which he isn't up to (like Ched was when he played almost as a lone striker) then its a different scenario and i agree, others should get a chance.

Out of form or confidence strikers (which i think Billy is, he certainly was when he was younger) need careful handling, taking them off after 70-80 mins never helps, they have to start and finish games and hope that they get that one chance to change fortunes. Not that Sharp is in that situation at the moment btw

Think there’s definitely some credence to this. Adkins said it last season when Sharp went about 6 games without a goal that he will be persevering with him as when he get’s one, he will probably go on aa 5 or 6 game scoring run and as sure as night follows day, that’s exactly what happened. But as I say, NA knew Billy well, knew what made him tick and how to get the best out of him. That’s not an easy thing to do with small strikers who lack pace but in the right set-up, he’s proven he can be very effective.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

So, I can understand why the question has been asked about Sharp. My head tells me that he's a 20 goal a season man and that he will score that many goals in this team - hard to argue against that.

But... are his other attributes (beyond the goalscoring) beneficial to the team? Sometimes he gives away silly fouls and he does lack a yard of pace that will stretch a defence.

The question then becomes, can you find me a striker with pace and will guarantee you 20+ goals at this level who will want to play at this level? It's possible, but very unlikely.

Sharp stays in the team... He's certainly not our most pressing concern despite a dip in form. He will come good and if he and others had finished better against Crewe I doubt we would be having the conversation.

I broadly agree but think if we can get the left wing position sorted, we can use Done as an impact sub to offer a bit more pace and stretch teams a bit more. It allows us to vary our play which we will certainly need to do at times.

 

[SwissBlade]

Think there’s definitely some credence to this. Adkins said it last season when Sharp went about 6 games without a goal that he will be persevering with him as when he get’s one, he will probably go on aa 5 or 6 game scoring run and as sure as night follows day, that’s exactly what happened. But as I say, NA knew Billy well, knew what made him tick and how to get the best out of him. That’s not an easy thing to do with small strikers who lack pace but in the right set-up, he’s proven he can be very effective.

Yeah and Wilson saw a similar thing with Ched, played him off a target man (cresswell) and got major results.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

Yeah and Wilson saw a similar thing with Ched, played him off a target man (cresswell) and got major results.

Although Ched had (has?) more pace than Sharp and is bigger.

 

[SwissBlade]

Although Ched had (has?) more pace than Sharp and is bigger.

Yeah, the principle was the same with him though:
- play him for 90 mins regardless
- play him in a position that suits him

It was clear that Ched had a lot of goals in him, but he just needed to play in the right way

 

[Bladesman]

On Saturday I barely noticed Sharp was on the pitch. So he probably won't be able to play in Wilders system but time will tell.

We can always sell Sharp for next to nothing on deadline day.

 

[DronnieBlade]

I have said this b4 about Sharp, who, as a L1 striker I rate highly.

In order to get the best out of Sharp you need to build a team around Sharp. A risky strategy in some regards as if it doesn't work, your fucked !!

This is what O'Driscoll and Adkins have done in the past, which proves it can work.

Can / will Wilder do the same, especially with the centric role he has given to Clarke ?

Will a Clarke / Sharp partnership work ?

Major conundrum for me. Signing Clarke just might be Sharps undoing, which, for what it's worth, is a humungous mistake imho.

UTB

 

[robbiez666]

Just bumping this.

I don't believe Clarke and Sharp are a strike partnership. Since Wilder's resorting to hoofball Clarke needs a pacy player next to him.

 

[SwissBlade]

Just bumping this.

I don't believe Clarke and Sharp are a strike partnership. Since Wilder's resorting to hoofball Clarke needs a pacy player next to him.

will you bump it every game?

 

[SwissBlade]

To follow on from DronnieBlade and HillmortonBlade discussion on another thread

Dropped a major.

Its a simplistic view to suggest that Clarke and Sharp can't play together, especially based on the evidence of a couple of games. But its also a simplistic view to suggest dropping one of them is the answer.

Adaption to a new system, coaching and player management is crucial.

Clarke

Traditional Target man, but has more movement than recent players we’ve had for this role. Probably needs to be playing high up the field on the opposition Centre Half to stretch the Defence and midfield. In many ways his role should look more like that of a lone striker.

At home – this role is critical, forcing defenders deeper will create more space. Then intention would be that we play on the deck more at home and he would be required to get into the box more to be a threat on crosses. Playing with his back to goal, but mainly on the front foot. If we use the wings more he should be seen as the target man, especially for the speculative ball into the box or to the edge of the box.

The two wingers should play higher upfield to support Clarke and with Width.

Away – His role will be that of a hold up man, still stretching the back line deeper, but because we should play tighter and narrower, he’ll be utilised by playing with his back to goal more, bringing in Sharp and the two wingers when we are on the counter. Expect more direct football away.


Sharp

More a predatory striker. Good movement and last season was relied upon to often play that lone striker role. As a result, he would often be roaming along the back line searching for the ball or supplying crosses when others (Che mainly) were in the box. I didn’t like him in this role and he wasn’t managed in it. His goal return was exceptional because of the amount of time he spent outside the box. Terrific work ethic and work rate, needs reigning in to do a job now that we have Clarke

At home – I’d play him in front of the central midfield, but not as a midfielder. A ball player and a grafter behind him (think this is currently Fleck and Basham, but I’d prefer Reed for Basham, if Reed was taller).

The role here would be to almost play alongside Clarke, but drop out deeper winning scraps and making late runs into the box. Diagonal runs are the key. Expect Clarke to make more direct runs towards the pen spot and 6 yard, Billy alternating between front and back posts, with the far post winger almost playing as a 3rd striker when we attack.

Away – Tighter in behind Clarke for the knockdowns, playing off Clarke. Where Clarke goes, Billy goes. Wingers would be playing much narrower and deeper. This provides extra midfield cover, but also allows for fullbacks to overlap especially on the counter. I’d expect fullbacks to provide more crosses than wingers in this set up.

 

[Kozzy_is_my_Dad]

Yes he can.