He could just be lacking a bit of confidence over the last season or so. He had a decent record before we signed him. Get him fit, he could do a Connolly type job for us. Gallagher didn't set the PL alight last season but we are not going to write him off are we?
Gallagher didn't set the PL alight as an 18 year old. Sharp is coming off two seasons in which he failed to set the Championship alight at age 27/28. We can't click our heels together and have the magical confidence fairy turn Sharp into a decent PL squad player. He just isn't anywhere near the quality needed.
Gallagher- 18 years old Sharp- 28 years old Sharp has found his level, he should be nowhere near our first team at all. I'm sure he's a really nice bloke, and it's nothing against him personally, but he needs to be loaned out again, or sold. He hasn't been good enough in the Championship for the last two seasons.
Maybe Koeman is the magical confidence fairy. Pelle, approximately the same age as Sharp, had a pretty average goalscoring record until the last 2 seasons. Maybe Koeman can see something and get the best from Sharp, maybe not. I will leave it to the coaching staff to decide.
I'm just glad that he isn't being treated like a leper like last pre-season, was actually pretty sad watching him play against Eastleigh with the mighty Forte last year when the rest of the squad were in Spain/Austria. If nothing else at least a proper pre-season will give him a better chance of hitting the ground running if/when he goes out on loan again.
He went on loan last year to Reading, to work with the one person who could never be accused of lacking faith in Sharp. He performed poorly enough that they declined to take him back in the January window, despite Reading needing the goals in a promotion chase. Sharp's training with the club in the hopes that we might find a taker for him. Unless things go really, really horribly wrong in this transfer window, he isn't going to suit up for Saints again.
I was one who advocated Chaplow and Richardson being given a shot in the PL. Still pretty disappointed they didn't get one.
I always thought that was all he offered though, he just managed to run around for 90 minutes. Great goal against United I suppose.
He has.........2 subs appearances including our first game back.......but I agree with you that he isn't good enough.
Thing is, do we want to get better or go downhill? The "sub goal poaching" option for the team above us last season was Chicarito.......
Seriously, Sains fans prove to me so often, that several just don't understand football. We need some very good quality players in quickly. If Koeman has Sharp in mind, then I will be a very worried man next season.
Count me in on that one. I don't know why they're making a fuss of Sharp going on the tour. Koeman has taken 27 players, including all senior pros that are available (minus Osvaldo). It's not a big deal that Koeman is looking at all of his contracted senior players, it's common-place. Not his fault Cortese exiled some.
He clearly doesn't, Sharp is just making up the numbers in pre-season along with several of the U-21s who are unlikely to get a look in this year. Nothing wrong with giving him a decent pre-season so we can try and flog him for a few quid though.
