One for The One re. Howard

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Linz

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Howard 'could come good with vital goals'

BY HIS own admission, Brian Howard is still carving a niche for himself at Bramall Lane.

But Sheffield United manager Kevin Blackwell, who has deployed the former Barnsley midfielder in a number of different roles since his transfer from Oakwell, remains confident he can make a significant contribution during the final stages of the Championship campaign.

"Everyone has had a great input," Blackwell said. "Howie has come in and played a fair amount. With our record how can I not be pleased with him?

"He has played in little different areas at times and, as far as I'm concerned, he's been terrific.

"If Brian had come in and we'd done absolutely nothing then it would've been a disaster. But we haven't."

With Howard acknowledging that he has yet to hit the heights which convinced United to spend £500,000 prising him away from Oakwell, Blackwell's decision to shower the 26-year-old with praise signals a change of approach behind the scenes.

Speaking before the draw with Blackpool, a game which Howard didn't figure in and a result which moved his side up to fourth in the Championship table, Blackwell also encouraged David Cotterill, who has enjoyed something of a renaissance of late, despite making a slow start to the season.

Unlike the Wales international, Howard's career is not at the development stage.

The range of passing Howard displayed on his United debut against Bristol City in October when he replaced Cotterill during the closing stages of a resounding 3-0 win underlined why Blackwell is right to persevere.

He believes Howard could yet exert great influence over the remaining nine matches of the campaign. "Howie is one who can go on a run and end up getting a glut of goals.

"We've got (Arturo) Lupoli, Brian, (Craig) Beattie, (Danny) Webber, Jamie Ward and Darius Henderson here too who are all capable of chipping in and that's a good position to be in.

"If I look at my options on the bench I can see there's plenty of firepower there which gives you the option to change things. "
 

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

If he can, then good for him and us! I just can't see it happening unfortunately.

Blackwell is pleased with him? The majority of the games the rest of the players end up carrying him.
 
Blackwell is pleased with him? The majority of the games the rest of the players end up carrying him.


Think its all about his frame of mind.

If he came out and said he's furious with him and he's crap, he's exactly the sort of player to sod it off, leech his wages and sit in the pub.

If he praises him and massages his confidence, whilst still privately telling him where he needs to improve, there's a small chance he might.
 
Think its all about his frame of mind.

If he came out and said he's furious with him and he's crap, he's exactly the sort of player to sod it off, leech his wages and sit in the pub.

If he praises him and massages his confidence, whilst still privately telling him where he needs to improve, there's a small chance he might.

Clearly this is the case; everyone can see that so far Howard has not been able to perform at a level that would get him into the first team on a regular basis and when you consider the players currently occupying his spot then that really says something.

This is not doubt an attempt to build up the players confidence and i have absolutely no problem with that.

Some players take a while to settle and we may not see the best from him until next year; at least we got him for a relatively cheap fee so if he never manages to perform for us then the loss is not as great as some other notabale failure in recent years.
 
He goes missing for too long in games, along with Quinn and Webber, we can't afford to carry that many players in each game, they need dropping, they're not shit just having a bad spell, KB always says if a player is not performing then another is waiting to step in, jamie ward is a perfect example, give him a start at least. The under performers should then get the kick up the arse they need
 
For me, Lupoli should be starting instead of Ward.

Ward's ok for a 20 minute stint at the end of a game, but he's not got enough in the locker to start in my opinion.

EDIT : Howard needs to do alot more than he has been to impress me, he's invisible for pretty much 80 minutes of the game.
 
By describing howards performances as terrific even though they have been nothing short of mediocre thus far may make howard believe he is performing well and does not need to improve his game. I know he is just trying to boost his confidence but Im not sure that is always the best approach, he needs telling that he is in the wrong.
Whereas he needs to significantly alter his game to be a first team regular for me, as stated by Daz he goes missing for most of the game!
 
For me, Lupoli should be starting instead of Ward.

Ward's ok for a 20 minute stint at the end of a game, but he's not got enough in the locker to start in my opinion.

I'm glad someone agrees with me. Lupoli looks a very classy player. Although that may be why we don't play him for 93 of the 94 mins of a game.
 
So blackwell is going to be playing howard hoping for goals despite him playing shite just for his confidence?

eye on the goal blackell EYE ON THE GOALL!!!
 

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