Firstly a good three points today. Does anyone wonder why he brings Connolly on instead of Sharp? We spent 1.8m on this guy and he gets 10mins. HE will need time to blend in so surely a 2-0 lead at home to barnsley when we are dominating is the perfect opportunity? Also i am amazed at why Guly is still playing and neither Chaplow of Puncheon are on the bench? IMO Connolly should be a play that we use when we need him to fill in a spot on the bench. Puncheon and Chaplow can play in many positions so are ideal for the bench in these circumstances.
I think Sharp still has a few niggles right now so I think he is being cautious with him Guly I agree about at some points, others he is class - I think it depends who we play but 1st half esp he was poor
Price tags for players are irrelevant in terms of team selection, imo. As for why he went for Connolly first, I think Adkins got it totally right. Connolly is class and fits straight in with our usual style of play, as I've said on the match thread. And I'm a massive Sharp fan!
Well I thought sharpy looked a lot better today. Looked a little lighter and quicker since last home game and he still has an important part to play in the run in. I think nige is readying him, getting him fitter and leaner so that when he is called upon he'll be firing on all cylinders.
I'm a big fan of Connolly. He's different to any of our other strikers and we were crying out for his link up play in the first half. Sharp will be good, he's already trimmed down a bit.
Yeah i can see what your saying about connolly being able to go straight in, but surely that is the stage that we want sharp at. so the more match time he gets the better he will become. PLEASE CAN WE NOT MAKE THIS INTO A SLAGGING OFF GULY THREAD. I KNOW I DO THAT ALOT BUT LETS SAVE IT FOR ANOTHER DAY.
As others have alluded to, Connolly and Sharp are very different players and Connolly suits the circumstances better when you are winning and want to control possession. If we were losing and needed a goal, we might have seen more of Sharp.
Lambert is irreplaceable and is our number 1 striker and if Chung carries on the way he is playing then Sharp is going to have to accept the fact that he is our 3rd choice striker and is back-up. I think Sharp is class but Chung has shown immense quality too, his awareness and work rate are becoming such important factors for us. I´m starting to see Chung in the same light as Lambert. Irreplaceable.
Guly had a decent game. Not convinced Chaplow is fit and not sure where Puncheon is, hopefully not going back to old habits. As others have said, at 2-0 we wanted to control the game and not let Barnsley into it. Connolly can help us do that and NA was absolutely right to put him on. Shame he didn't score that late chance as I had a couple of quid on 3-0
The thing is,Guly is a great player on his day,great vision and passing ability.I've read a lot on this forum that people think Guly isn't up to it or he doesn't work hard enough,well they are wrong he works his socks off for the team,the problem is he can't tackle. Give the guy some credit,he is a talented player,he just isn't a a big bruser like some people want him to be,it's the problem with some english fans they prefer someone who runs around for 90mins non stop and does f all than someone who runs around at appropriate times and knows where and when to run. Give Sharp some time,he needs to get used to his surroundings and his new team mates,different style of play. One thing that I'm very disappointed is his poor fitness,for a professional footballer it's shocking he needs to stop eating all the pies.Hopefully Nigel will give him the 'Adkins Diet'. People,it's a squad game don't forget that.He will get his time to shine.
Bit dissapointed in the gaffer that he isnt playing sharp cant shine if he comes on in the last ten mins when we switch to a defensive style. And i thought gulys was pretty good in the second half and give him credit for being so versatile cannot be easy playing CF RM and CAM all in one game
Spot on Brendy, people should forget about how much we paid for Sharp and focus on the team as a whole. To me, it made perfect sense to buy an out and out goalscoring striker as a back up for Rickie and I'm sure that if he had to miss a run of games, then Billy would be selected. It could just be that Chung and Conners fit the gameplan playing up top with Rickie and it is great that we have so many options with Guly and Barnard too. I, too think that Adkins made the right call starting with Lee, his energy up front always gives an out ball and turns defences. Bringing on Conners was correct too as we maintain possesion better with him up front.
First half, Guly was supposed be playing as a right winger, something he definitley is not equipped for, but 2nd half in "the hole" he was spraying first time passes and getting in position to receive and play, far more suited to his style of play. That suits our passing game, we were only using a form of hoofball in the first half, and Lee was caught off side more often than Papa Waigo!
Connolly looked sharp when he came on today. I think Sharp still looks a little portly and maybe needs to go on the Lambert diet and fitness regime. People say Guly's passing was poor in the first half, however I thought most of our players were sloppy and lethargic in the first half an hour. Guly only plays well when he plays centrally or in a free role, therefore he looked far more comfortable when he was given that role.
Richardson gets isolated on the right, but I am not sure if Guly is told to come inside so that the fullback can push on or whether it is just he is not used to playing as a winger.
Sharp is a work in progress...he will contribute before the end of the season. Did you see on OS how Lallana ran to him after his first goal when he was warming up at the side of the pitch. Obviously popular within the team. Interesting that Lambert was taken off because Adkins considered it was too hot for a big man. Said he was pleased to be able to rest him. Glad about that as I was afraid he was injured.
Yeah im not saying that sharp should be starting instead of Chung as i am a massive fan of tadanari. I am just wondering even though we are two nil up controlling the game he brings on our ageing Connolly instead of bringing on our younger Sharp. He will need to have match time to get used to the way we play. The thing was when torres went to chelsea they game him 10 mins here 20mins there. Players need longer to get used to it and get into their stride. but we won so thats good. Still top of the league.
