david in sweden

I would hope he wouldn't see Lambert as a threat. Most teams operate better with two strikers, and the Lambert /Barnard /Connolly combination has worked well in the past..with Barnard out indefinitely and Connolly on a short contract to the end of the season, we'll need at least TWO new strikers to cover for ALL eventualities...and If we are a Prem.side then we'll need at least FOUR. Harry is sitting in third place with Spu*s, he has five strikers and he still can't find a good combination that works. Bale is his best player and he's not even a striker !

Jordan Rhodes seems to score more goals than the other two ...is that a difference?

My original thought was players who score "regularly " rather than in fits-and-starts. Someone who scores say 20 goals in 10/12 games may seem to be a hot shot, but a player who scores 20 in 20 games is probably going to earn the side more points for his side. Your point about the 8-0 is highly relevant. you only have to score ONE goal more than the opposition to get the 3 points .

I remember him signing for them... BIG NAME ..BIG MONEY ...BIG FLOP !!

...and then what I wonder? ¨ what will be his future after that ?.....he may well stay ..(if Donnie offer him a good deal). He's not a teenager any longer .....

with Barnard out for an indefinite period (injury + eventual court judgement) and Connolly's (uncertain fitness + a contract that goes out in June), that may not be an issue. Taking that into account, we should be looking for TWO new strikers. I wouldn't pay £3 million for someone - and not play him (unless it was Delgado)..and if he (Sharp) didn't deliver the goals, he'd expect to be "rested" now and again.

I think the word should be " rested ", I made the point further on. .it's the one chance for "fringe squad players " to impress, and also put themselves on show (in case they don't make the cut)... in the summer.

Absolutely John Cool! ..and if the "second string / bench players" want to impress and make a claim for a place in our Prem. squad..it's one of the few chances they'll have to do so....

The TV payments to Prem. clubs were proportional to the number of screened games. i.e. not everyone got the same payments - (although it was a lot anyway). The latest figs. quoted (£90 million !! ???)..are almost double what they were when we were last in the Premiership, and I was shocked to see the amount that Saints (under RL) actually paid out in fees and salaries - and you're correct there wasn't much left to show for it..I'm sure Cortese will handle the finances better. HOWEVER - Isn't THIS thread suposed to be about the FA Cup?

I think it must mean he can leave - as long as the fee is at least £3 million .... - but if a number of clubs are interested to buy him, there will be an auction situation and the final price will surely be higher.

No I recall that one, also..but the Denis Law goal for Scotland was memorable, too.

yes I agree. It must be, really. Some strikers are on the pitch for 90 mins. and never get in a good chance, whereas SDR came on in the last 10 mins. at Reading ..and scored, as did Lee Holmes who was on for the last 5 mins. v. Watford. This season SEVEN league goals have been scored by subs. (THREE by SDR incidentally)... and another THREE by others in the League Cup games, too

you're quite right - it would, but those sort of stats. have only been available in recent years, and in the end it's those that go in that are most important.

....if thats the stat. I think it is..a "regular / ordinary" striker gets around 1 in 3, the best I've seen quoted got 1 every 2 games (average)..or better. (but to be fair scoring goals is never easy at the best of times. I've seen "so-called star players" put the ball over the bar from 2 yards out.) just watched Liverpool v Wigan on TV - Andy Carroll was **** ing awful ...for £35 million

depends who it is though. Lawrie Mac always used to say; a good team needs 8 road sweepers.. and two prima-donnas. (we understood what that meant)

Saints are proud of Lambert and Guly (look at the scorers charts), but how good does someone have to be to be regarded as a CONSISTANT striker. Naturally, no-one scores every game, or anything like it and with the highest goal tally in this division, and two of the highest scorers we look good but a closer look shows that they don't score as often as it appears. This season (so far) has given us 23 League games and Lambert's fanatastic tally of 15 has come in only 8 of those 23 games, (and he missed one of those). Guly's 9 have come in 7 games. Lallana has scored his 6 in 5 games and Connolly's early season burst was in 5 games. NOTE not successive games but games where they "got lucky"... Namely how often they score - and not how many.Taking absolutely nothing away fron their great efforts, it has to be said that playing some of the lower sides with leaky defences has helped. Ricky has scored 2 hat-tricks and Guly was desperately unlucky not to get one on Boxing Day, ..but I also recall great (Saints) goalscorers in the past who seemed to score in almost every other games, sometimes more often than that. Having a copy of " In That Number " allows one to reminisce over times past. Some of our former greats seemed to score quite regularly. Some players were VERY regular scorers - even when we weren't going for promotion - often quite the opposite. Longer memories than mine tell of post war legend Charlie Wayman's goal feasts (77 goals in 107 games) when he often scored 3, 4 and even 5 games on the trot. Likwise 1950's hitmen Eric Day and Derek Reeves frequently scored in 3 or 4 successive games. My 1960's hero George O'Brien once scored in NINE successive games (though we only finished 6th that season), a feat equalled by legendary Ron Davies 5 years later, when he scored 50% of our goals that season. "On-form " meant scoring in 4 or 5 successive games and despite changing tactics and faster play that was still maintained by players like Ted Mac Dougall and Phil Boyer in the late 70's. Mick Channon (record goalscorer) scored only a few career hat-tricks but was one of the "most regular" scorers over the years. To his credit, even Kevin Keegan's short stay showed what a great scorer can achieve with regularity when he scored 26 goals in 21 diff. games. MLT is a modern legend, but also illustrates the "inconsistancy" of even brilliant strikers - as his fantastic season 1993/4 - saw his 25 goals come from only 15 games although he made 40 starts. We can be eternally grateful for the timely goalscoring efforts of players like Marian Pahars who started the 1999/2000 when he scored 7 times in the first 12 games and got some wicked treatment in between from Prem. defenders throughout the season, but still managed to pop-up with a few more and save us from relegation in that season's last month. I can't finish this epistle without James Beattie - a player somewhere between "apparent laziness" (according to some) - and pure genius. He went the first TEN games of 2002/03 without scoring, before hitting a purple patch of 23 goals in the next 26 games - scoring in 18 of those. With Ricky Lambert we have almost come full circle. His first season monumental goal tally saw his 32 league goals coming in 27 diff.games, last seasons 21 goals came in 17 diff. matches. We can hope - that even against tougher opposition - new strikers to emerge who can be consistant and not just a flash in the pan.

Unlike MANY seasons past, we actually have something else to think about, namely promotion..so the real question is can our squad handle 6 or more EXTRA games - without harming promotion chances? well IF ..(as in the past) NA uses FA Cup games to blood youngsters and use "second string" players it won't really affect the first team squad too much. Obviously depends on the opposition, but the 3rd round draw was very interesting; one of the Manchester sides will go out and there are a number of derby games that will take care of some likely challengers...so perhaps it doesn't have to be such a rough ride. I know it was only L1 level, but the JPT sides we put out often had reserve players in them and this is a higher level, BUT if the bench players are up to it, and fancy themselves as potential Prem. players - now is their chance... Of course the chances of getting to Wembley are only a punter's dream, but if we have to go out - I do hope it has to be to stronger opposition than Coventry !

....but it was a very valuable 3 minutes, as I recall. It's not his fault really. NA brought him in an emergency, and he did a job for us on the day. He deserves regular football and perhaps somewhere like Walsall is about his level...

you wouldn't know it ..but this is the Billy Sharp thread ...someone ought to start a Maynard thread, and a Beckford thread , and etc, etc,

........mind you , they're not top of the table either, that might play a role in his final decision.

sadly the comparison has to be between a fit Sharp and a fit Barnard. We all remember how hot Barnard was last season and a couple of really good spells, but not only does he have to recover his fitness ? (dubious),but he has to regain the sharpness in front of goal he had previously! and draw the lucky card in MONOPOLY ! Either way don't expect to see him back regularly this season. As for being an-out and out scorer who is in the right place at the right time..personally, I think that is the single, most important quality for any striker. I've watched decades of " pretty passing", and " skilful" football - hard working players who run their guts out (and even throw up on the pitch)..and nothing to show for it. (Once in a generation, you may get a MLT or similar type - but otherwise most strikers are like the weather.). No !...give me a striker who can get the ball in the back of the net regularly... and get the points every week.

more importantly ..why wasn't he out shopping for players...good enought to secure the squad for promotion?

fun to watch .... (wondered why we didn't try to Joe Murphy though?) ....but what state their pitch was in.....surely Millbrook Rec. was better than that ?