Should Saints Use Billy Sharp Against Manchester United on Sunday Tuesday, 6th May 2014 17:07 Saints are in the middle of a striking crisis, with Billy Sharp returned from Doncaster should they consider using him on Sunday against Manchester United. Its been almost two complete seasons since Billy Sharp last played for Saints, at the start of last season he made two appearances off the bench in the Premier League plus a goalscoring League cup match against Stevenage, before being shipped off on loan to Nottingham Forest. This season has seen spells at first Reading followed by Doncaster Rovers and now with the Championship season over he has returned to St Mary's for yet another uncertain summer. It was always strange how Sharp was suddenly persona non grata at St Mary's, he was a key signing in our promotion season from the Championship and it was his goals that fired us over the finishing line as we stuttered near the end of the season. His reward was to be shoved out of the door on loan without much of a chance to show what he could do in the Premier, it was more than just ability there was something else and it was clear that with the arrival of Mayuka someone wanted Sharp out of the way. Now he returns to a Saints side short on goals after the injury to Jay Rodrigues, so could Billy Sharp offer us an option even if only from the bench. In the last five games Saints have scored four times, on paper that doesnt sound like a complete crisis, but if you consider that one was from the penalty spot, two were own goals to beat Everton and the winner at Swansea would have also have been an OG if Rickie Lambert had been a yard slower. Quite simply in the past five matches we have barely troubled the keeper ourselves and apart from the odd chance have not looked like we could score by our own means, Sam Gallagher has run around with plenty of enthusiasm but rarely got in a goalscoring position and with a midfield that is not exactly prolific it leaves the only players with an eye for goal as Rickie Lambert or Adam Lallana who has scored only two goals in the past 13 matches. Put bluntly we need to have an option who can score goals and Billy Sharp could offer us that. There are several reasons why bringing him ack into the squad even on the bench make sense, first there is the aforementioned goal scoring option we lack, second there is the doing something different to break the drought scenario, but thirdly and perhaps morally most important there is the chance for Billy Sharp to if not just show us what we might have missed over the past two years, but to get a proper farewell and thank you from Saints supporters. Being ostracised from the club so abruptly last season meant that we never got the chance to thank him properly and perhaps it would give the club the chance to right a wrong on Sunday, help our own plight but let Billy say his goodbyes properly as Im sure that next season he will again spend it away on loan. Saying that Im being unfair on the striker, OK he isnt in the class of Suarez but he does have a knack for scoring goals, personally I think he might just have offered us a better option off the bench than we have had most of the season and along the way he might have popped up with a late goal or two that could just have changed the course of the season and meant that Sunday's game could have been for more than just pride. So thanks to Billy Sharp, I remember and appreciate what you did for this club and without you we might not be in the position that we are now, to put you in the squad on Sunday would not be charity it would make perfect sense given our lack of goals of late. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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