Deadbat
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Strikers
Billy Sharp, He had a decent season in the Championship with 12 goals and maybe bettered expectations. Certainly, many rival fans felt that he would not do anything at this level and was too old. He scored some vital goals and even though he had spells without scoring, Clarke’s form was so good, it meant that he played second fiddle on this front. He performed well though and you he adapted fine to the Championship where he had played before and done very well. A year older, you felt we would add competition and he may even be in and out. He actually began the season off the bench but after a poor start came in at QPR and scored. He then got a late winner at the Kop end v rivals Norwich and continued to score with a further 4 in 5 including a typical Sharp type brace at Blackburn. He got a hat trick in the game against Wigan with all three being poachers’ efforts and after scoring a goal at Ipswich (after a lean spell) he had equalled his figure of the previous season by Xmas.
He then scored 4 goals in the Xmas period with some vital goals, including a brace v Blackburn at the Kop End with a great strike on his second and then became the all-time leading scorer in the English League’s when he finished a lovely team move at Wigan. A lot of media attention came his way and rightly so after this.
He scored another brace at Norwich and had the celebration of the season that led to Wrestling superhero Mick Foley coming to the Lane after more positive media attention was created. He got another v Bolton after making one for McGoldrick. He then scored a superb hat trick at Villa and with us 3-0 United had put in the performance of the season. The meltdown after Sharp went off seemed to hit him hard after the game when he bravely came and did an interview. He looked shell shocked and would surely have played an important role in helping rally the troops after this catastrophic ten-minute period.
After the Villa game; I felt his form remained good even if the goals dried up with only 1 in 9 before he got injured in the game against Millwall. He actually still worked hard and ran the line superbly chasing things down, holding things and never giving defenders a moment. The Leeds game he was very good and I felt Brentford and others when we needed a real shift, he put it in. I do feel despite scoring against Bristol City that his form trailed off and he looked a bit tired and less of a threat in both scoring and just nuisance value. He got an injury in the game at Millwall and as he limped up and saw the late goal went in, he may have felt his dream ending to the season and the promotion prize had gone. The team got it together and he saw some time in the game at home to Ipswich and had a few openings but it did not matter he did not score. He was part of the game that helped us seal promotion. He played at Stoke but was denied a goal by a hand ball but made the second equaliser. As he did in League One, he led the celebrations. Like Wilder he was quite emotional. To lead his boyhood club as captain to the Premier League after leaving them twice when it did not quite work out, must have been really special. He is living the dream every one of us would love to experience. Such a great guy who loves the community work and always takes time to talk to fans, young and old – he is a great role model. The players clearly look up to him and he has developed into a fantastic leader. I will be honest I was not sure about him as a striker and not someone I saw as that type of person, being captain and leader but how wrong I was. He has taken to the role so well and now he leads the group on and off the pitch. They respect him and you can see that even in the celebrations at the end of the season. Loved seeing him jumping up and down with his shirt off to lead the jubilant scenes in the Copthorne as the players shouted, ‘You fat b*****d!’’ at him. It meant so much to him. He carried on performing his duties, going to more corporate events, doing interviews, TV shows and despite his croaky voice and suffering from the excesses continued to represent the club.
Named in both the PFA and EFL teams of the year and right up there for the player of the year award. For me this season was not just about 23 goals. He was so important in this respect but his all-around performances were massively improved. In the previous season if he did not score, he was sometimes quiet and I felt we lacked a bit up that area but what an improvement this year. He seems to be fitter than ever and some of his work rate and hold up has been superb. He has made sure defenders do not have a moment and has linked better with other players. I think McGoldrick’s play suits him better than Clarke as he will do more running and set up play where as Clarke was more direct and played further up the field sometimes compressing space. Sharp seems now to know his strengths more. His habit of sticking his erm…backside into people and holding it up or winning a free kick has become a real skill but he has seemed so much more determined this year. He has chased lost causes and been stronger and has lasted 90 minutes more than ever.
As for next season, some will say he lacks the pace and dynamism to play the higher level and that is why he did not play for Southampton or anyone else up here but I feel he will want to prove people wrong. I do not see him starting every week but he has never been that fast and goal scorers will score at any level. I would not be shocked if he still weighed in with quite a few goals and continued to lead the team as club captain on and off the field. Another player that embodies what it is to be a Blade and now will go down in folklore as a hero up there with past strikers like Deane and Edwards.
Grade A (Last season B-)
David McGoldrick Clarke and Sharp had been the most prolific front pairing in the league the previous season but with Brooks moving on and Donaldson being released; added to loanee Wilson not working out; you knew we needed to reinforce in this area. There was a lot of talk over the summer but the ownership situation not resolved we did not have the fund to properly compete with other clubs in this area. Hogan was linked but this never happened as he was not fully fit and then we heard McGoldrick was coming on trial. I was extremely underwhelmed. A decent but journeyman Championship centre forward who was the wrong side for 30, was not prolific and also very injury prone. I had seen him play before but thought he was more of a target man type and never have I got a player so wrong in terms of his style. He came in and got a contract and very quickly showed United fans what a talent he was and why other teams surely missed a trick by not going in for him. Lovely feet, Didzy as he became know came off the front and held it up, linked play and showed some sublime touches. His body swerves away from players and his upper body strength helped us retain possession but he could pass, link and run with it over a short distance. Quicker than you thought over a few years. Ironic that his heading although decent was actually one of his poorer parts of his play!
Wilder actually started with Clarke and McGoldrick but the former never got going at all and eventually after McGoldrick scored the winner at QPR after winning a penalty; he ended up alongside Sharp and really rubber stamped his place at home to Villa. A superb performance from him and the team and he never looked back. Clarke did come back for the odd game but McGoldrick would then often play off the front and it was rare he was not involved in some capacity. He scored the winner v Preston and then two crucial goals at Millwall. Another penalty against Hull this time, sent us top of the league and his partnership with not just Sharp but also with Duffy and other players around him started to really flourish. He had a few off games for a spell and then missed a penalty in the Sheffield Derby and the goals dried up a bit until he scored 3 in 4 with some close-range efforts but well executed (the chest pass goal v Blackburn) and then a sublime goal at home to Derby where he deftly lobbed the keeper. He suddenly went from a player that may compete at the top to someone who was now a key man. Clarke was allowed to move on and even though added competition came in from Hogan and Madine, he was the main man up top even more than Sharp in some ways who was rested and rotated more than him. The goals kept coming and then as the final part of the season commenced, he really upped his game when others faltered for a period (before they regained form) and he along with Stevens was the stand out. Some vital goals at Preston and Hull where he was simply outstanding.
To see him celebrate with the players it meant a lot to a player that has played almost exclusively in the Championship and never at the top level. He seemed to gell with the players who loved him and the ‘Oh David McGoldrick!’ song became a feature of the season and particularly the run in. A cool customer he seemed so chuffed, in his own understated way when we got it over the line. Watching him dance with Wilder in the car part was great to see. He finished with 15 goals and 7 assists but was involved in so much of our good play and when we were on song it was when him and Duffy were pulling the strings. The ability to sit in and play the 10; but even when up front he would still come back and often be our deepest player dictating the play. A player that has so many more skills and qualities than I ever thought and someone who should and now will play higher. Be interesting to see how he fares in the top flight. He clearly had the ball control, touch and vision to play higher I feel but whether his lack of top-drawer pace and athleticism may see some question marks. We will bring other strikers in and he may not play every game but his ability to play two positions helps us massively. A superb signing and a cult hero for Dem Blades as he loved to keep calling us at the end of season celebrations.
Grade A- (Last season NA)
Leon Clarke It was always a big stretch for Clarke to even come close to replicating what he did the previous season and you know what, he got nowhere near. He stated the season poorly missing chances in the opening games and then lost his place to McGoldrick. He was in and out of the team but the preferred front two seemed to be Sharp and McGoldrick who had taken his chance well and started to score but also link play and be better for the team. Clarke was not really making an impact even as a sub although finally scored in the game against Stoke and then played well up top with Sharp, with McGoldrick behind in the win against Wigan and made a goal for Sharp with a lovely ball. He went back to the bench but scored a lovely goal at Griffin Park to win it, after missing an easier chance and then a month later scored the clincher at home to Derby. This was his last goal for United (at least this season). He played against Barnet and came on against QPR and at Swansea but then as Hogan and Madine came in, was allowed to leave. A few Championship clubs were linked but he went to Wigan, where he once was on loan before.
He was an instant hit and scored in his first game and got another a few games after but then he ended up out of the team and the Wigan fans were not that impressed on the whole after a good start but then he got back in the team and scored a few more vital goals and assisted in the win at Leeds which helped United. It seemed that player that ran around like crazy, pressing, harrying, but also holding it up and looking like a top, top striker, was back to the hit and miss (lazy at times) player he had been much of his career though much of this season.
Last season he was fantastic. He led the line, was a menace and times was unplayable. He was fast, strong, a willing runner and a goal threat. Villa supposedly wanted to pay quite a bit for him and on reflection we maybe should have took it but at the time we were in the top 6 and he was in the form of his life so if we had sold him everyone would have moaned so we were right to keep him. However, we kind of knew it might not last and so it proved. He started the season in languid form and could not find the net and eventually he was taken out of the team and then moved on. Even the motivator that Wilder is, probably realised he was never going to get that out of him again.
He has played for 21 different clubs (well a bit less as he has been at Wigan and Wolves twice) but that still tells a story. He showed some promise in his early days at Wolves and then scored goals at the lower level with Coventry, Bury and then with us, but that one season he has in the Championship was his pinnacle for me. We should be thankful Wilder got him playing out his skin and he gave us that one season to remember. He has never really replicated this season any time before and he has only scored 9 goals (including 5 this season) in 13 different Championship seasons before this. Yes, I could not believe it. Most of his goals have come at the lower level but even then, he has only managed 3 double figure scoring seasons with 15 at Bury/Coventry each and 11 at Scunthorpe. That one season was definitely an outlier.
He still has another season and doubt Wigan will sign him based on the fact he has not even started every game. He was made available for transfer but we may have to loan him out again to another Championship team. I would be surprised if he is part of things at the start of the season as expect us to make signings to compliment what we have and not sure he will ever replicate what he did in 17/18. Still, whatever happens he has been a big part of the turnaround and his form (like many others who were middle of the road players, Coutts, Duffy, Fleck etc) summed up how good Wilder is and what he has done to such nomadic players. To see McGoldrick face timing him and the players chanting his name was superb at the end celebrations at the end of the season! They clearly realised what a part of things he had been.
Grade C- (Last season B+)
Billy Sharp, He had a decent season in the Championship with 12 goals and maybe bettered expectations. Certainly, many rival fans felt that he would not do anything at this level and was too old. He scored some vital goals and even though he had spells without scoring, Clarke’s form was so good, it meant that he played second fiddle on this front. He performed well though and you he adapted fine to the Championship where he had played before and done very well. A year older, you felt we would add competition and he may even be in and out. He actually began the season off the bench but after a poor start came in at QPR and scored. He then got a late winner at the Kop end v rivals Norwich and continued to score with a further 4 in 5 including a typical Sharp type brace at Blackburn. He got a hat trick in the game against Wigan with all three being poachers’ efforts and after scoring a goal at Ipswich (after a lean spell) he had equalled his figure of the previous season by Xmas.
He then scored 4 goals in the Xmas period with some vital goals, including a brace v Blackburn at the Kop End with a great strike on his second and then became the all-time leading scorer in the English League’s when he finished a lovely team move at Wigan. A lot of media attention came his way and rightly so after this.
He scored another brace at Norwich and had the celebration of the season that led to Wrestling superhero Mick Foley coming to the Lane after more positive media attention was created. He got another v Bolton after making one for McGoldrick. He then scored a superb hat trick at Villa and with us 3-0 United had put in the performance of the season. The meltdown after Sharp went off seemed to hit him hard after the game when he bravely came and did an interview. He looked shell shocked and would surely have played an important role in helping rally the troops after this catastrophic ten-minute period.
After the Villa game; I felt his form remained good even if the goals dried up with only 1 in 9 before he got injured in the game against Millwall. He actually still worked hard and ran the line superbly chasing things down, holding things and never giving defenders a moment. The Leeds game he was very good and I felt Brentford and others when we needed a real shift, he put it in. I do feel despite scoring against Bristol City that his form trailed off and he looked a bit tired and less of a threat in both scoring and just nuisance value. He got an injury in the game at Millwall and as he limped up and saw the late goal went in, he may have felt his dream ending to the season and the promotion prize had gone. The team got it together and he saw some time in the game at home to Ipswich and had a few openings but it did not matter he did not score. He was part of the game that helped us seal promotion. He played at Stoke but was denied a goal by a hand ball but made the second equaliser. As he did in League One, he led the celebrations. Like Wilder he was quite emotional. To lead his boyhood club as captain to the Premier League after leaving them twice when it did not quite work out, must have been really special. He is living the dream every one of us would love to experience. Such a great guy who loves the community work and always takes time to talk to fans, young and old – he is a great role model. The players clearly look up to him and he has developed into a fantastic leader. I will be honest I was not sure about him as a striker and not someone I saw as that type of person, being captain and leader but how wrong I was. He has taken to the role so well and now he leads the group on and off the pitch. They respect him and you can see that even in the celebrations at the end of the season. Loved seeing him jumping up and down with his shirt off to lead the jubilant scenes in the Copthorne as the players shouted, ‘You fat b*****d!’’ at him. It meant so much to him. He carried on performing his duties, going to more corporate events, doing interviews, TV shows and despite his croaky voice and suffering from the excesses continued to represent the club.
Named in both the PFA and EFL teams of the year and right up there for the player of the year award. For me this season was not just about 23 goals. He was so important in this respect but his all-around performances were massively improved. In the previous season if he did not score, he was sometimes quiet and I felt we lacked a bit up that area but what an improvement this year. He seems to be fitter than ever and some of his work rate and hold up has been superb. He has made sure defenders do not have a moment and has linked better with other players. I think McGoldrick’s play suits him better than Clarke as he will do more running and set up play where as Clarke was more direct and played further up the field sometimes compressing space. Sharp seems now to know his strengths more. His habit of sticking his erm…backside into people and holding it up or winning a free kick has become a real skill but he has seemed so much more determined this year. He has chased lost causes and been stronger and has lasted 90 minutes more than ever.
As for next season, some will say he lacks the pace and dynamism to play the higher level and that is why he did not play for Southampton or anyone else up here but I feel he will want to prove people wrong. I do not see him starting every week but he has never been that fast and goal scorers will score at any level. I would not be shocked if he still weighed in with quite a few goals and continued to lead the team as club captain on and off the field. Another player that embodies what it is to be a Blade and now will go down in folklore as a hero up there with past strikers like Deane and Edwards.
Grade A (Last season B-)
David McGoldrick Clarke and Sharp had been the most prolific front pairing in the league the previous season but with Brooks moving on and Donaldson being released; added to loanee Wilson not working out; you knew we needed to reinforce in this area. There was a lot of talk over the summer but the ownership situation not resolved we did not have the fund to properly compete with other clubs in this area. Hogan was linked but this never happened as he was not fully fit and then we heard McGoldrick was coming on trial. I was extremely underwhelmed. A decent but journeyman Championship centre forward who was the wrong side for 30, was not prolific and also very injury prone. I had seen him play before but thought he was more of a target man type and never have I got a player so wrong in terms of his style. He came in and got a contract and very quickly showed United fans what a talent he was and why other teams surely missed a trick by not going in for him. Lovely feet, Didzy as he became know came off the front and held it up, linked play and showed some sublime touches. His body swerves away from players and his upper body strength helped us retain possession but he could pass, link and run with it over a short distance. Quicker than you thought over a few years. Ironic that his heading although decent was actually one of his poorer parts of his play!
Wilder actually started with Clarke and McGoldrick but the former never got going at all and eventually after McGoldrick scored the winner at QPR after winning a penalty; he ended up alongside Sharp and really rubber stamped his place at home to Villa. A superb performance from him and the team and he never looked back. Clarke did come back for the odd game but McGoldrick would then often play off the front and it was rare he was not involved in some capacity. He scored the winner v Preston and then two crucial goals at Millwall. Another penalty against Hull this time, sent us top of the league and his partnership with not just Sharp but also with Duffy and other players around him started to really flourish. He had a few off games for a spell and then missed a penalty in the Sheffield Derby and the goals dried up a bit until he scored 3 in 4 with some close-range efforts but well executed (the chest pass goal v Blackburn) and then a sublime goal at home to Derby where he deftly lobbed the keeper. He suddenly went from a player that may compete at the top to someone who was now a key man. Clarke was allowed to move on and even though added competition came in from Hogan and Madine, he was the main man up top even more than Sharp in some ways who was rested and rotated more than him. The goals kept coming and then as the final part of the season commenced, he really upped his game when others faltered for a period (before they regained form) and he along with Stevens was the stand out. Some vital goals at Preston and Hull where he was simply outstanding.
To see him celebrate with the players it meant a lot to a player that has played almost exclusively in the Championship and never at the top level. He seemed to gell with the players who loved him and the ‘Oh David McGoldrick!’ song became a feature of the season and particularly the run in. A cool customer he seemed so chuffed, in his own understated way when we got it over the line. Watching him dance with Wilder in the car part was great to see. He finished with 15 goals and 7 assists but was involved in so much of our good play and when we were on song it was when him and Duffy were pulling the strings. The ability to sit in and play the 10; but even when up front he would still come back and often be our deepest player dictating the play. A player that has so many more skills and qualities than I ever thought and someone who should and now will play higher. Be interesting to see how he fares in the top flight. He clearly had the ball control, touch and vision to play higher I feel but whether his lack of top-drawer pace and athleticism may see some question marks. We will bring other strikers in and he may not play every game but his ability to play two positions helps us massively. A superb signing and a cult hero for Dem Blades as he loved to keep calling us at the end of season celebrations.
Grade A- (Last season NA)
Leon Clarke It was always a big stretch for Clarke to even come close to replicating what he did the previous season and you know what, he got nowhere near. He stated the season poorly missing chances in the opening games and then lost his place to McGoldrick. He was in and out of the team but the preferred front two seemed to be Sharp and McGoldrick who had taken his chance well and started to score but also link play and be better for the team. Clarke was not really making an impact even as a sub although finally scored in the game against Stoke and then played well up top with Sharp, with McGoldrick behind in the win against Wigan and made a goal for Sharp with a lovely ball. He went back to the bench but scored a lovely goal at Griffin Park to win it, after missing an easier chance and then a month later scored the clincher at home to Derby. This was his last goal for United (at least this season). He played against Barnet and came on against QPR and at Swansea but then as Hogan and Madine came in, was allowed to leave. A few Championship clubs were linked but he went to Wigan, where he once was on loan before.
He was an instant hit and scored in his first game and got another a few games after but then he ended up out of the team and the Wigan fans were not that impressed on the whole after a good start but then he got back in the team and scored a few more vital goals and assisted in the win at Leeds which helped United. It seemed that player that ran around like crazy, pressing, harrying, but also holding it up and looking like a top, top striker, was back to the hit and miss (lazy at times) player he had been much of his career though much of this season.
Last season he was fantastic. He led the line, was a menace and times was unplayable. He was fast, strong, a willing runner and a goal threat. Villa supposedly wanted to pay quite a bit for him and on reflection we maybe should have took it but at the time we were in the top 6 and he was in the form of his life so if we had sold him everyone would have moaned so we were right to keep him. However, we kind of knew it might not last and so it proved. He started the season in languid form and could not find the net and eventually he was taken out of the team and then moved on. Even the motivator that Wilder is, probably realised he was never going to get that out of him again.
He has played for 21 different clubs (well a bit less as he has been at Wigan and Wolves twice) but that still tells a story. He showed some promise in his early days at Wolves and then scored goals at the lower level with Coventry, Bury and then with us, but that one season he has in the Championship was his pinnacle for me. We should be thankful Wilder got him playing out his skin and he gave us that one season to remember. He has never really replicated this season any time before and he has only scored 9 goals (including 5 this season) in 13 different Championship seasons before this. Yes, I could not believe it. Most of his goals have come at the lower level but even then, he has only managed 3 double figure scoring seasons with 15 at Bury/Coventry each and 11 at Scunthorpe. That one season was definitely an outlier.
He still has another season and doubt Wigan will sign him based on the fact he has not even started every game. He was made available for transfer but we may have to loan him out again to another Championship team. I would be surprised if he is part of things at the start of the season as expect us to make signings to compliment what we have and not sure he will ever replicate what he did in 17/18. Still, whatever happens he has been a big part of the turnaround and his form (like many others who were middle of the road players, Coutts, Duffy, Fleck etc) summed up how good Wilder is and what he has done to such nomadic players. To see McGoldrick face timing him and the players chanting his name was superb at the end celebrations at the end of the season! They clearly realised what a part of things he had been.
Grade C- (Last season B+)
