Ben Sheaf

[Bailey Vickerage]

Whilst with us Sheaf was excellent off the ball and although he wasn’t great on the ball he kept things simple and gave it to the likes of Whiteman, Taylor and later Ramsey and let them express themselves. Said he would go onto play in the championship, higher if he worked on his creativity and decision making higher up the pitch which he seems to have done.

Kane for me tho was a different level, he had everything (including the shithousery which not many have on their first loan, will always remember him blowing Paul Gallagher a kiss at Preston). I said at the time he could’ve got into most championship clubs and a couple of the bottom prem sides. Shocked he hasn’t become a regular in the champ (was class against us for Oxford), a lot of barnsley fans don’t like him tho.

He’s close to my All time rovers 11, gets on the bench for me behind Wellens, Stock, Whiteman (him and Greeny would be the 2 sub midfielders).

[Padge_DRFC]

Wellens was better than them all.

[Bailey Vickerage]

Wellens was better than them all.

agreed, best player I’ve seen in a rovers shirt by some distance.

[drfcsteve]

Ben Sheaf is now fully fit and this has aided the Coventry rise. Absolute quality player, who deserves a shot in the prem.
The best midfielder I have watched live - I never got to see Jacob Ramsey, which is a shame, he is another level above.

Did you never see Herbie Kane?

He’s arguably the best player I’ve seen in a Rovers shirt, even better considering it was his first taste of men’s football. I would put Kane a few levels above Sheaf, I did think Sheaf was decent though.

Why is Kane only playing in league 1 then?

No idea, I haven’t asked him.
When he signed for Hull and Barnsley they were both Championship Clubs, so he’s played at the same level.
Sheaf has just maybe kicked on and developed into a better player, but IMO Kane was better at Donny than Sheaf.
Similar to Whiteman, many thought he was a future star and it hasn’t really materialised, yes, he’s playing Championship football, so a good level, but most thought he was better than that.

I agree, and like most thought Kane would kick on and end up a premiership player. It was a genuine question how he’s ended up finding his level at league 1.

[Metalmicky]

Luton interested in Ben Sheaf...

https://www.teamtalk.com/luton-town/luton-target-coventry-midfielder-as-edwards-aims-to-boost-premier-league-survival-bid

[jmt23]

Not sure what I would do with this option. Most likely relegated, but chance to play in the big league, and much closer to home. I’m not even sure they could offer much more than Coventry in wages either?

[karldew]

https://x.com/hcfootball01/status/1769808070572413116?s=46&t=NW2HQZbSZTCyeJVxHL-jUg

A few snippets of a thread on X/Twitter about Ben Sheaf

- He ranks in the top 2% of midfielders in the championship for recoveries
- He ranks in top 9% of midfielders in possession won in final third
- he ranks in the top 5% for accurate long balls and long ball percentage (61%) which is really impressive.
- He ranks in the top 4% of midfielders in the league for successful passes (1532)
- He ranks 3rd in the Championship for progressive passes, averaging 9.53 per game

Looks like he’s doing pretty well and wouldn’t be surprised a premier league team taking a punt on him next season.

[drfcsteve]

Was it McCann or Moore that signed Sheaf on loan?

[jmt23]

Mcann did, just before he left. He said he felt really guilty about signing a couple up, just before leaving.

[dickos1]

He officially signed for Moore but the deal could well have been set up before McCann left

[DonnyOsmond]

Personally I thought while Sheaf showed potential, he gave the ball away far too many times while with us. Gone on to do very well & good luck to him.

Yeah, this but that was just a lack of decision making which comes with experience, which he's now got.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Sheaf didn't get the credit he deserved when he was with us, being seen as a supporting act for Ben Whiteman and being a sideways passer. He was much more than that, working in tandem with Whiteman who definitely benefitted by having Sheaf alongside him. Whiteman tended to get more plaudits with the goals Inc penalties he scored, but Sheaf was also capable of scoring the odd cracker himself.

We see Bailey at the mo who plays a more disciplined role, allowing others to perform but he said himself the other day, as he gets more game time, he's beginning to be more expansive as the midfield becomes more complimentary, supporting each other when making forward runs etc. You can see Bailey developing and getting somewhere near those stats from Sheaf.