Is it time up for Billy?

[derfblade.3]

Love Bill to bits but his contribution to the team lately has been poor. Leon put himself about for almost the whole game but in the time time Bill was on, i kept watching his movement off the ball and he looked to be miles away from the play. Maybe he's lost confidence and is avoiding getting involved and just hoping for a bit of a break in the penalty area.

I am not knocking him, just saying it as i see him in his present form. Maybe his career in the higher leagues is coming to an end. I hope i'm wrong but i feel old father time is catching him up.

 

[adebo]

No. It's all about service to Billy How many other championship teams have a second striker who has scored 8 this season?

 

[Bladebri]

No I don't think it is, he has proven his worth countless times, keep the faith he will deliver

 

[Lmaobob]

EVERYONE ON THIS FORUM WILL ALWAYS SAY NO. PEOPLE NEED TO STOP POSTING NEGATIVE THINGS ABOUT HIM BECAUSE IT MAKES EVERYONE ON THIS FORUM CRY AND BUTTHURT

 

[sufcboy95]

Wouldn’t say he’s finished just yet. But certainly shouldn’t be starting, Donaldson is a lot more threatening

 

[fintious maximus]

He needs service and he will deliver. Utb

 

[bladesmanluke]

He’s not finished, but he’s not what we need at the moment. Nothing is dropping in the box for him. We’re struggling to create chances. We missed a few today, but weeks ago we were making chance after chance and that’s when Sharp will score goals

 

[hazzasufc_]

The amount of times he's fell down for a soft free kick and simply failing to hold a ball is getting rather unsettling. Him and Leon are just complete polar opposites in terms of work rate and performance. Clarke's constantly getting the ball in our own half, chasing down the keeper, pressuring defenders, attacking the box. Sharp just is just simply "there". Mind the service to him has been poor but even then after Donaldson came it felt like a piece of heavy baggage has been lifted. It's really strange because if you told me this last year I would've laughed in your face. Sharp has never struck me as a lazy "can't be arsed" character.

 

[zablade]

No not yet, we are not currently playing to his strengths at the moment, the early low balls across behind the defenders, look at most of his early goals from this season.

We seem to have gone into a style of walking it into box or floating high crosses in.

 

[robbiez666]

The problem has been since Coutt's injury. Because we've had to be more direct at times, he's spent more time not involved with the game.

How many chances have been created for him in the last few games? The chances we're creating are more suited to Leon's and Clayton's style of football.

Having said that, his form and workrate have dropped. He seems to get frustrated by the lack of service and therefore not got the motivation he had earlier in the season.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I disagree, he should be starting every game. Before his injury he was lethal, came back and hit 2 at Burton but for reasons like the emergence of Brooks and Wilder flirting with squad rotation he's all of a sudden washed up? Nonsense, Billy needs service, just like Edwards did, he's that type of player. If you want him to piss about in the corner with the other half of the team trying to work out how to get a ball in the box then forget it. Let the lad bog line and get the ball in the box, he'll do the rest, no better finisher in the division.

 

[Plan B]

Yes he’s had it. Thanks for all the goals, particularly last season, but his recent performances have been terrible. We look so much more threatening with Donaldson or Brooks up with Leon and I’m sure Lavery could cause defences more problems too. It was almost painful to watch him today given his past service but it’s now time to move on. Nostalgia and loyalty due to past glories will get us nowhere.

 

[N20 Blade]

Is it just me or was there a touch of ‘thanks for your efforts but it’s time’ in Wilder’s programme notes? Similarly, the sentiment in billy’s column was different to normal. Would it really be the biggest surprise if he was moved on next month? Remember Stan the man leaving under DB. Not saying he should go but think the scene is being set.

 

[bertieblade]

If billy is not scoring he contributes nothing to the team.
He no longer seems to have the strength to hold the ball up.
He has never had the pace to get beyond people
He appears to,have lost the “knack” to get across and in front of his marker.
He does not have quick enough feet to be involved in quick movement from player to player.
If we are to improve as a team he has to be replaced

 

[Blade in Cordoba]

Love Bill to bits but his contribution to the team lately has been poor. Leon put himself about for almost the whole game but in the time time Bill was on, i kept watching his movement off the ball and he looked to be miles away from the play. Maybe he's lost confidence and is avoiding getting involved and just hoping for a bit of a break in the penalty area.

I am not knocking him, just saying it as i see him in his present form. Maybe his career in the higher leagues is coming to an end. I hope i'm wrong but i feel old father time is catching him up.

Billy is the youngest of the three (Donaldson and Leon being the other two) by comparison. I don't think age has anything to do with it. He's in rank bad form at the moment but he certainly doesn't help himself when he spends half the game playing at wrestle the centre half.

 

[Carlton Blade]

He's going to score the winner against Wednesday in front of the Kop.

Absolutely nothing to do with whether he's good enough to start for us - I think he's part of a rotation and it's all about who we are playing. We can't afford a complete forward to play with Leon so we have to mix and match

 

[Muttley]

He seems to have lost a yard of pace lately, just a dodgy patch that all players go through. He is far from finished.

 

[Harry's Game]

Not only is he suffering on the field for the loss Coutts, they are big mates off the field as well.

Been as big a blow to Billy losing Coutts as it has to United.

 

[Sheffsteel]

He needs service and he will deliver. Utb

I’ve said all along Sharp is just a finisher/ goal poacher.
He has little to his game apart from putting away chances
BUT he needs his colleagues to set him up, he doesn’t have any tricks or pace and can’t create his own chances.
The problem is he’s finding it harder to find space so hardly touches the ball.

However he has a touch of the Keith Edwards about him.
I.e.Can be playing poorly, hardly touching the ball or contributing
Then he’ll get 1 chance and score 1 goal, so Sharp is still worth persevering with.

Clarke is showing us that even if he doesn’t score he’s always causing trouble getting involved making a contribution.

 

[Tommoblade66]

It's all about giving him the service. Would benefit by someone near as possible to him

 

[blade67]

He's a confidence player as well. Not happening for him or the team at the moment. He'll finish in double figures which will be a good return in this league

 

[YES Blade]

Billy is just the current scapegoat at the moment and Leon is the blue eyed boy.

Had Billy missed the chances Leon missed today he would be getting hammered for it, but Clarke isn’t getting mentioned.

One is in form and the other isn’t, although Clarke’s form has also dipped the last few matches.

if we sign a striker in January who is a big hit then it’s likely a striker will end up moving on. I’d say at the moment Hanson and Lavery will leave before Billy.

 

[Blade56]

Thi k his form has dipped since Freeman was injured. Freeman got up there and scored or provided the service.

 

[bertieblade]

Billy is not missing chances as he is rarely in position to score

 

[South Bucks]

Billy's not the problem its the way we play these days. Billy thrives on early balls down the inside forward channel or early crosses for tap ins but we don't do that these days just this ineffective obsession of always and only go to the flanks and work the ball up and down for ages before any chance of the ball coming in and by which time Billy or the others are closely marked and they've parked the bus. When they scored today did their winger get to the by line and think should I knock the ball in or go back to the half way line and start again.

 

[Iceybabey]

Thought he wasn't at his best today but I thought he did put a shift in tbh

 

[ChipButtyBlade]

Sharp needs to slow down a little bit,everything he did today was very rushed.

 

[Hillsboro Blade]

I am a Billy Sharp fan but his body language recently is starting to get on my tits. Paul Coutts is injured, get over it and get on with it. Grow a pair and prove people wrong. He is now bordering on being idle and my patience is wearing thin. Face on because Leon is now number 1 striker?

 

[Stretch]

Almost 60 goals in 2.5 seasons and we are debating whether or not his time is up. Wow.

I could NOT believe some of the stick he was getting today from folk near me in the BLUT. Yes he had a poor game but so did most of the team. He has been in and out this season for various reasons but to write off a genuine goal scorer like Billy is just ridiculous. He dragged us out of a relegation scrap [let's be honest] under Adkins; fired us to promotion last season and announced our arrival back in this league as our goalscoring talisman just a few months ago.

Whatever problems we may have at the moment, and let's be honest we haven't got many, Billy isn't one of them.

 

[bertieblade]

Billy is one of the problems at the moment as he is not playing well enough, listen to Wilders interview.
Leon playing well and leading the line but not scoring, Billy not playing well and Wilder thinks that billy as an honest lad will agree.