Perhaps the biggest puzzle at St Mary's over the past year has been just why Billy Sharp has been shunted into the sidings so drastically.
A year ago as Saints prepared to start the Premier League campaign at Champions Manchester City, it seemed that Billy Sharp would play a vital part in the forthcoming campaign, in the previous season his arrival from Doncaster Rovers had seen him score some vital goals to push the faltering Saints over the finishing line and back into the top flight, on top of that he had had a good pre season scoring plenty of goals at the same time, whilst most Saints fans would have ceded that he would be an unlikely starter in a side that was going to switch to a lone striker up front, most would concur that coming off the bench late on Billy Sharp would have had the knack for a goal or two.
But then before he had had a chance to prove himself in the top flight came the arrival of Mayuka for a not insubstancial £3.5 million or so and Sharp was left in no doubt that he would not be allowed to stay at the club to fight for his place and within hours of Mayuka's arrival he was shipped off to Nottingham Forest on loan. It was almost as if whoever was responsible for signing Mayuka, and it wasn't Nigel Adkins, did not want Sharp perhaps doing well and blocking the Zambian's path to the team.
To say Mayuka has not been a success is an understatement, he started one game and his only other appearances were small cameo's off the bench usually to run the clock down, some would say he is one for the future and this might be his season, but both Nigel Adkins and Mauriccio Pochettino could see no worth in playing him, indeed between 5th November and his first appearance under Pochettino he played no football for Saints apart from that strange start against Sunderland in mid December when he was taken off shortly after the break.
So given that his replacement is clearly not up to the job and that we had no other forward able to step off the bench to come on and try and nick a goal and a point here and there, why is Billy Sharp and for that matter Tadanari Lee suddenly so surplus to requirements so much so that they are not even taken on the pre season tour.
Usually under a new manager there is an armistice of players out of favour and the new boss will give them them the chance to perhaps show that they are worth a place, this doesn't seem the case with Sharp this summer, Pochettino will know little of Sharp, surely it wouldn't have hurt to take him along pre season and give him a run out, given we are using 20 plus players in every game, it would hardly have upset the rythym of the side, why would Pochettino not want to do that ? I cant think of a reason other than Sharp is being blocked from above.
In the press this week the players agent is talking of the fact that there are Premier clubs after his client and that is why they have turned down loan moves to the Championship, I can believe this, natural goal scorers are at a premium and Sharp is a useful commodity, if Gary Hooper is worth £5 million, I don't see him being any better than Sharp, its a squad game now and last season when we had spare places in our squad, a man who could have scored the odd goal or two was out on loan whilst his replacement sat on the bench but didn't get off it for perhaps the record number of times for a Saints outfield player.
I don't know why Sharp should now be so shunned by the football club who would probably not be in the position they are now without him, of course he was well paid for what he did, but it should be a little more than that, Im sure Sharp is professional and he understands the nature of the game and that he is a commodity to be bought and sold, his big chance in the Premier League arrived, what will surely rankle with him is the fact that he wasn't given the chance to show he could play a part for Saints, what will rankle more, is that he was replaced by someone who to be frank was nowhere near Premier standard, however its dressed up and who contributed nothing to the season.
Football is a harsh game, Billy harp will know that, but the way he has been treated makes no sense, the way he was shunted out on loan last season was almost the club cutting off its nose to spite its face, they chased big name strikers and ended up only landing Mayuka, perhaps they felt that it was making a statement paying so much for the player and they didn't want Sharp getting in the way and proving them wrong, in the end it wasn't Sharp doing that it was Mayuka himself who at the moment stands like Vegard Forren as a folly.
This summer we haven't as yet landed any of the big name stikers that we have been linked with, perhaps we will perhaps we wont, but if its the latter then surely Billy Sharp could have a role to play, in the Premier the line between success and failure is very thin and in hindsight can often be attributed to a goal snatched here or there, I know who I would rather have on the bench to try and snatch it !