Chaplow was by far our best player in the first half of our first season back in the Championship, until he got the knee injury which he could never fully recover from. Struggled to break back into the team from then on.
Might as well post his goal v United. [video=youtube;clMpHCudiA4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clMpHCudiA4[/video] Up there with my most loudly-celebrated goals that surely disturbed the neighbours. In the same company as Lambert v England, Lambert v Man City and all our goals v Coventry.
I remember being up at a pub in Birmingham during my uni days. I don't think my friends, and especially not the others in the pub, were quite ready for the explosive excitement that emerged from me at that moment. Brilliant finish!
I was the only Saints fan in a pub full of Manure fans and made more noise celebrating that goal than they all did collectively for either of Man U's. As I said at the time, I knew we would lose, but it was worth it to see that goal go in. I had great pleasure watching Barcelona destroy Man U in the CL final in front of the same people a year or so later.
I made up a joke once about the crowd singing... we've got Brett Ormerod, with Philips and Beattie chatting to each other while playing as to why he was so popular when he was so mediocre. I know everyone likes a hard working plucky trier, but what..?
The bit that made me laugh in that video was Guly heading over the bar and all the trainers jump off the bench in excitement... ...except Adkins who appears to be saying "what are you all doing - it's Guly" anyway, back to Sharp...
Saints fan alert! "By far our best player in the first half the championship.." Seriously? Take a long cold drink mate. Chappers had a run of about 6-8 really good performances until he got injured. Prior to that he'd been a hard working clogger and after that he just didn't do it. Loved the guy for all his efforts and his 50k fee, but what a crazy statement. Take a pick from anyone if about half a dozen players in that first half a season, who were better than him. He had a purple patch of a few games, including the run from the edge of our box into the opponents box (Boro?), but he was not the best player in that half a season, let alone "by far".
Agree with you there. Lallana was outstanding, Lambert tremendous (from Ipswich away onwards) and players like Hammond, Schneiderlin and Richardson were pretty damn good too
I imagine all of this has been said before, but here I go saying it anyway. The club rose damn quickly through the leagues - too quick for some, who had to be cast off, Harding, Hammond etc, too slow for one, AOC, and at a good pace for the others. I guess people feel Sharp was hard done by because he was bought in near the end of the climb back to the PL to get us over the line. Well he did, and like others was rewarded with a nice bonus and wage increase I'm sure. He can't play for a prem club. We finished above 12 of them last year, none of whom wanted him - either because they simply didn't want him or because his wage demands were too high. He has two choices, sit out and take the wage, or lower his demands and find a new club. He won't do the 2nd, so has to do the 1st. As fans, we can be sentimental about it (if we wish to), but the club can't. He, and some of the youngsters are only in the 1st team squad because of our lower numbers and players still on leave.
I think redandwhite has a point. He wasn't "by far our best player" but he was very good and it was only after his injury at Bristol that he reverted to type if you like. There is no doubt that we weren't as good when he wasn't playing at his best.
If Sharp finds himself getting a fair amount of pitch time this coming season, then I would presume that we'd be in trouble. I do not want to see that, just like I didn't want to see much/any of Guly in the PL last season. Yes Sharp hasn't been given the chance yet, but there is nothing to suggest that he could cut it in the PL. However.... Last season we were giving some game time to Gallagher and Guly. Last season we went into some games with an awful bench. So unless we sign another, say, four forward players (be they strikers, wingers, whatever), I would not have any problem with keeping Sharp and seeing him make, say, five or six PL appearances. PS. I get what some people are trying to say, but comparing Sharp to Forte or Barnard is both wrong and harsh in my book. OK, you might not want Sharp in the team, but be serious. Forte's not even good enough for L1.
