The number 9 shirt - who gets it?

[seanbeenstattoo]

I'm happy with my purchase today.
6 Jagielka. Fuckin bargain.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I'm happy with my purchase today.
6 Jagielka. Fuckin bargain.

I just bought Deane 10.

 

[seanbeenstattoo]

I just bought Deane 10.

Well you must be a Firemans helmet coz your one already came back and was ploppy but my one is coming back and will be mega coz twatter says so.

 

[DronnieBlade]

No they won't.

Evans will have to earn his opportunity. And that puts him behind Sharp, Clarke, Lavery and Hanson.

He will be cautious with Evans to begin with. He won't want to thrust him straight into the spotlight and I think that's right given all that's gone on.

It would be such an opportunity for the media to criticise Evans and the club if he doesn't deliver straight away. So why risk that?

Evans, if fit, will emerge later in the season and could be a revelation for us. But leave the lad out of the spotlight to begin with. Get folks used to the idea he's back first. Then the stage will be his.

Will Zizu be leaving out Ronaldo cos of the spotlight of his tax fraud cause ?

Your theory does have credence, but assuming Evans is doing it in training and in pre season, he starts. No doubt. The fall guy is more likely to be Sharp.

I see Clarke as cover for Sharp and Lavery as cover for Ched. I don't see Lavery and Ched as a pairing, nor Clarke and Sharp. Of course this can change if Wilder, as has been suggested, is looking to add a further striker. Quite where this leaves Co-Op boy ................

Time will tell.

UTB

 

[Cerberus Blade]

Saw a guy in Costco last week, about 30 y.o. wearing his shirt with No. 3 Hussey on the back. Fucking weird or what?

Very strange. Why would he be in Costco?

 

[Cerberus Blade]

Will Zizu be leaving out Ronaldo cos of the spotlight of his tax fraud cause ?

Your theory does have credence, but assuming Evans is doing it in training and in pre season, he starts. No doubt. The fall guy is more likely to be Sharp.

I see Clarke as cover for Sharp and Lavery as cover for Ched. I don't see Lavery and Ched as a pairing, nor Clarke and Sharp. Of course this can change if Wilder, as has been suggested, is looking to add a further striker. Quite where this leaves Co-Op boy ................

Time will tell.

UTB

Well, let's face it, neither of us knows. But honestly I'm saying what I would do if I was Wilder. I'd introduce him gently back into the squad over a number of games. It's not just because of the publicity thing either - I think we need to be very mindful of the fact that he's been out of the game for a long, long time. I believe that Chesterfield tried to get too much from him too soon, last season. He started out well but they were playing him week in, week out to begin with and he had a setback with the ankle injury - which proved to be a long term recurring thing and ended up buggering up his season. So, even if he's fit and looking good in training, I'd still be reluctant to start him for the first few weeks. I'd certainly have him on the bench and plan to give him half an hour here and there - but I'd want to see how his fitness went in the first few weeks (maybe 6 weeks) and then if he's looking sharp and holding out well in terms of no injuries, I'd start to give him more game time. Maybe starting with him and giving him a good hour or so. They can do all the pre-season training they like, but you can't recreate the demands of a competitive match in training - that's why I think he needs this staggered start.

I doubt that the fall guy is likely to be Sharp. Not initially. I actually think that Sharp will fall down the pecking order over the course of next season. I like Billy a lot, what Blade fan doesn't? But after his goal tally and leadership last season it would be unthinkable for him not to be the first choice striker. It couldn't be justified. What I do think is that the Championship will just be a bit too much for Billy at this stage of his career. His instinctive finishing won't let him down - that's an asset at any level - but the opportunities he gets to use it will be far less because he just won't have sufficient pace to trouble defenders at this level. I thought that he was poor in a lot of games last season - and there were many times when I've been wondering how he's managed to stay on the field because he'd been contributing very little to the game. But then, he pops up and scores a goal and everything is good again. I just don't see him doing that so often at Championship level - I hope I'm wrong - but I'm glad we've got some alternatives.

I think Clarke is a different type of player to Sharp altogether. I see Clarke as a centre-forward in the traditional mould. I see Sharp more as what we used to call, an inside forward. Someone that feeds off the scraps in the box. Lavery is a promising player, but...he really needs to start asserting himself on the game a bit more. He looks very lightweight at times - gets knocked off the ball a bit too easily. I can't see him holding down a regular starting place based on what we've seen so far.

If we are to be brutally honest about it then we've got...

Sharp - who is coming to the end of his playing career and may not be able to cut it at Championship level
Evans - who has been out of the game for such a long time and may never be able to re-capture his past form
Clarke - who struggles to play more than half the games in a season due to injuries
Lavery - who is an enterprising young striker but far from the finished article
Hanson - who is also coming to the end of his career and has a limited contribution to make at Championship level

I still think we need other striker options to be on the safe side. There are too many "ifs and buts" with the group above.