The ultimate question...

[topnotch_Donny]

...is Billy worth it?

At the end of the day, Billy is not proven at this level, yet.

Billy has been chomping at the bit since he failed miserably at Bramall lane.

What’s saying that when he gets a new contract that he won’t plummet and feel secure and fail again?

We all know how Billy was desperate when he came here, so would he be able to maintain that desire as he was basically scoring to prove blunts fans wrong.

I wonder what Paul Heffanan could do with such incentive  :dry:

[Uredz]

Another Billy thread .... whoopee

[topnotch_Donny]

Uredz wrote:

Another Billy thread .... whoopee

Atleast Ive posed a question and tried to come from another angle.

Why is there so many Billy threads? Take heed board.

[RoversAlias]

topnotch_Donny wrote:

At the end of the day, Billy is not proven at this level, yet.

15 goals this season beg to differ with this statement. How long do you want for somebody to prove themselves at this level? Of course he's proven that he's good enough.

[Barmby Rover]

42

[en aitch]

I suppose we may as well discuss mice as all the rest of the usual closed season shite!

[Thinwhiteduke]

RoversAlias wrote:

topnotch_Donny wrote:

At the end of the day, Billy is not proven at this level, yet.

15 goals this season beg to differ with this statement. How long do you want for somebody to prove themselves at this level? Of course he's proven that he's good enough.

You could be talking about Heffernan., though Heffernans scoring record in The Championship is better than Sharps. Yet many on here claim Heffs isnt Championship standard.

[jw2]

yes i would value billy at 1m in todays football world.  

yes he is worth it,if he gets 20 goals a season then he is worth it and i think we could make a profit.

[Jonathan]

Due to the end of season injury, it's a while since we saw Billy play for us.

I think anybody that questions his value is forgetting the allround contribution that he makes to the team, in addition to the goals. Movement, determination, character, strength in abundance, he was absolutely brilliant for us and I think those qualities are embedded in him which is why O'Driscoll is so keen to sign him. Even if you don't get a goal from him you always guarantee a performance and he never gives defenders an easy game.

[Surrey Rover]

There is always different ways at looking at players it depends how each individual sees it. The fact of the matter is though since his brace at Derby on December 19th Billy scored 3 goals from open play (excluding spot kicks). So his most current record in terms of goals scored from open play is 3 goals in 20 appearences. That said I hope we sign him, I still believe he has all the right attributes to fit in to  SOD's system.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Jonathan wrote:

Due to the end of season injury, it's a while since we saw Billy play for us.

I think anybody that questions his value is forgetting the allround contribution that he makes to the team, in addition to the goals. Movement, determination, character, strength in abundance, he was absolutely brilliant for us and I think those qualities are embedded in him which is why O'Driscoll is so keen to sign him. Even if you don't get a goal from him you always guarantee a performance and he never gives defenders an easy game.

I fully agree about his overall game, which was far better than I had appreciated.

However, if I was negotiating a fee to sign him, I'd be pointing out some numbers. Other than one purple patch of 9 goals in 10 matches for us, Sharp has scored 14 Championship goals in 60 starts. You don't pay seven figures for that scoring record.

Which is not to say that I don't believe he is capable of consistently doing better, more that the case for him as an established Championship scorer is open to debate. Especially if you're trying to negotiate a valuation.

[RoversAlias]

But that IS ignoring the 'purple patch'. His actual record therefore being 23 goals in 70 appearances, the majority of which were in a Sheffield United team that incorrectly played him, usually as a wing forward.

The ONLY statistic that matters is that he scored 15 goals for us in 34 appearances this season...when was the last time somebody did that for us at this level?

[BillyStubbsTears]

RoversAlias wrote:

But that IS ignoring the 'purple patch'. His actual record therefore being 23 goals in 70 appearances, the majority of which were in a Sheffield United team that incorrectly played him, usually as a wing forward.

The ONLY statistic that matters is that he scored 15 goals for us in 34 appearances this season...when was the last time somebody did that for us at this level?

You're kind of making my point for me. Which was how to conduct negotiations for Sharp. Not flexible. Doesn't produce unless the system is set up for him. Prone to long unproductive spells. Even at his best for us, scored at a lower rate than a striker that we've just let go for nowt. How does a couple of hundred grand sound Mr McCabe?

[Colin C No.3]

There are many number of things that need to 'be in place' before Billy becomes a Rover's player, not least of which is the lad actually wanting to sign for us.

On that front, I think it was encouraging to read a report in the Yorkshire Post towards the end of the season, which focused on some of SOD's training methods, motivational techniques etc., where he tries to instill the same values & good footballing habits into the players session after session, but in a way that uses fresh ideas so they're not going in one ear & out of the next. He does this by drawing on techniques used in the business world to improve communication between individuals, in order for that to impact positively on the group/team & produce the desired 'results'.

Billy's take on the training/exercises was a breath of fresh air to hear from a young footballer. He said he now goes away after training & later in the day, he'll find himself thinking about what has been done & said during training & realising, \"Crikey, now I understand how I can  put into practise what I'm learning in training, take that into a game with me to not only improve my own game, but be able to influence & bring the best out of my team mates as well.\" He went on to say how much he looks forward to the training & to playing under 'this' manager.

Fingers crossed then that's one box ticked. We may now just need to look at warding off 'bigger' clubs, stumping up for his wages, affording the fee & hey bingo, the club may just have made a signing who could have as much influence on the team & its fortunes since we signed Paul Barnes.

[VikingJames]

To be fair, Billy's worth to our team should be calculated on much more than just his goals.

His hard work, and the way he was a centre backs nightmare with his determination, strength and hold up play were all vital to us last season, as we didn't have another striker who could provide all of those attributes, along with scoring regular goals, all at the same time. Plus the fact that he set up quite a number of goals for others show that he brings much more to the table than just goals.

The fact that he scored in large bursts is pretty irrelevant. I'd say (without checking) that he won us more points through his goals than any other player, as a lot of his goals came in tight games where he ended up getting the crucial strike.  And when he wasn't scoring, he was still bringing his other strengths to the team. The fact of the matter is, 15 goals in 32 games is a very good amount regardless of which stage of the season they were scored, and without those goals, we could have been looking at a much tougher season than the one that actually transpired.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Chuffin ell lads, I hope I never have to rely on you lot to negotiate on my behalf.

I trust Ryan isn't starting his discussions with McCabe by saying, \"Best striker I've ever seen. Hard working, intelligent, physical, never gives up AND scores almost as regularly as Paul Heffernan. Name your price.\"

[i_ateallthepies]

Mentioned by many on this and other threads that Billy brings more to the team than 'just' goals.  He works tirelessly to try and winkle an opening, be it for himself or for a team mate.

You'd have to go a long way to see a better example than his contribution in the Wendies game at Hillsborough.  The sheer determination he showed to work space for Elliot Ward's goal was a joy to see.  That's why he's valued so highly by SO'D.

[topnotch_Donny]

i_ateallthepies wrote:

Mentioned by many on this and other threads that Billy brings more to the team than 'just' goals.  He works tirelessly to try and winkle an opening, be it for himself or for a team mate.

You'd have to go a long way to see a better example than his contribution in the Wendies game at Hillsborough.  The sheer determination he showed to work space for Elliot Ward's goal was a joy to see.  That's why he's valued so highly by SO'D.

But wont that part of his game subside, when he feels more relaxed because (to be honest) he had his back up against the wall before we took him on.

I think he will always put in a shift, but not to the same extent, and is a player of a fee of say, 800k and a salary of over 300k not required to do more than just, \"put in a shift\"?

[vaya]

Brilliant.

We've not even signed him and you're already not only questioning his workrate, but you've managed to put an empirical value on it as well.

Presumably a trick was missed by not peppering Lewis with critical Venn diagrams?
?

[topnotch_Donny]

vaya wrote:

Brilliant.

We've not even signed him and you're already not only questioning his workrate, but you've managed to put an empirical value on it as well.

Presumably a trick was missed by not peppering Lewis with critical Venn diagrams?
?

I am merely sat on the fence, posing a question. I'm yet to be swayed by either side of the argument, so I can imagine how it is giving our board a real headache.

[idler]

I think workrate and commitment are inbuilt in certain players. I don't think Billy will shirk, just as you never thought the likes of Paul Green,Colin Douglas, Ian snodin or Alan Little to name a few ever would.