Sharp, William Louis (Billy)

2014-Current (Player Leeds Details)(Player Details)

Striker/Winger

Born: Sheffield, Yorkshire: 05-02-1986

Debut: v Middlesbrough (h): 16-08-2014

Height & Weight: 5ft 8ins 11st

Born in Sheffield, he played for Middlewood Rovers Junior Football Club when young, before having a short spell with Rotherham United youth team and then going on to begin his career with the youth team of Sheffield United. He signed professional forms with the Bramall Lane club in July 2004. He was an unused substitute three times in the early part of the 2004-05 season in the season, before making his first team debut as an eighty-ninth minute substitute for Paul Thirlwell at Bramall Lane in a 1-1 draw on 13th November 2004, when only eighteen. He was loaned out to League 2 side Rushden & Diamonds on 21st January 2005 for the rest of the season. He made his debut for them the following day, starting in the 2-0 home win over Leyton Orient and soon established himself as the regular striker in the side. He scored his first goal for the club in his third game at Chester City on 5th February 2005, when he scored with four minutes left on the clock as they went down 3-1. He started scoring on a regular basis and bagged his first hat-trick in a 4-2 home win over Boston United on 16th April 2005, as he scored in the fifty-fourth, sixty-fifth and eighty-fourth minutes as he transformed the game from being 1-2 losers to 4-2 winners. He had started sixteen League 2 games which had produced nine goals before he returned to Bramall Lane to come from the bench and play the final eight minutes of the 2-4 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as a replacement for And2-0 home win over Norwich City, four days latery Gray on 8th May 2005. It came as quite a surprise when on 16th August 2005 he joined League One side Scunthorpe United for £100,000. He was off to a flying start with the Irons scoring on debut at Nottingham Forest on 20th August 2005 when his goal in the seventy-first minute gave his new side the three points and just like in his time at Nene Park he was a regular on the score sheet, forming excellent scoring combinations with two ex-Leeds players in firstly Andy Keogh and then Jermaine Beckford as the two burst on to the scene with the Irons. In his firat season he scored Twenty-three goals in League One and another in the Football League Trophy in thirty-five starts and two games from the bench in the League and four starts in the F.A. Cup and two in the League Cup and one start and one game as a substitute in the Football League trophy. He was picked in the League One Team of the year. The following season he did even better scoring thirty-two goals as Scunthorpe took out the League One Championship and not only was Sharp again picked in the League One Team of the year, but was also elected the League One Player of the Year. He finished the season with Thirty League goals, the highest in the Football League to which he added one goal in each of the F.A. Cup and League Cup competitions, all scored in Forty-five starts in League One and three F.A. Cup and two League Cup starts. But before he could kick a ball for the Irons in the Championship he had been transferred back to Sheffield United on 4th July 2007, on a three year contract for £2million. Unfortunately for Sharp and the Blades he was unable to maintain his scoring form in the higher Division, and after making his debut in the opening day home 2-2 draw with Colchester United on 11th August 2007, he failed to find the net, apart from getting two goals in the League Cup Third Round 5-0 home win over League Two side Morecambe, when he got the first two goals in the eighteenth and thirty-third minutes with left foot shots, on 25th September 2005, until well into the New Year. Because of his lack of fire-power he found himself on the bench with depressing regularity and it was not until he started on 11th March 2008 in a 2-1 home win over Coventry City that he scored the opening goal with a header in the sixty-ninth minute. Surprisingly he scored in each of the next two games, with the opener in the fifty-second minute with a right foot shot in a 2-0 home win over Norwich City, four days later and then the only goal of the game with a right foot shot in the seventy-seventh minute of an away win at Barnsley on 22nd March 2008. He scored his fourth goal of the season when he got the Blades' second goal in the fifty-third minute to put them 2-0 up in a game they went on to win 2-1. In the League he was in the squad in forty-one games but only started in twenty-one and came off the bench eight times, remaining unused in twelve games. He also started two and came off the bench twice in the F.A. Cup, while in the League Cup he started three times. The 2008-09 season followed a similar pattern when after getting a hat-trick in the second League game in a 3-0 home win over Queens Park Rangers, with a header in the third minute, a right foot shot in the thirteenth and a left foot shot in the fifty -first, he managed only one more League goal for the rest of the season, as he started seventeen, came off the bench five times and remained unused on ten occasions and telling was not even in the squad for the final thirteen League games and when the Blades made the play -offs he only made the bench once in their three games and even then was unused. In the F.A. Cup he did start all fout games and was rewarded by scoring twice when he played full games in each. However in the League Cup it was a place on the bench three times and only once did he receive the call, and the for only ten minutes. He was clearly out of favour at Bramall Lane as he was on the bench in four of the first five League games and was never called into action, but in his only start in the League Cup, he got the Blades' only goal in the twelfth minute of a 1-2 home defeat by Port Vale on 11th August, which proved to be his final game for United. He was sent out on loan to fellow Championship side,Doncaster Rovers, on 1st September 2009 for the rest of the season. He made his debut in a 0-0 away draw with Reading on 12th September 2009 and it wasn't long before he was playing regularly and hitting the net just as regularly, with his first goal coming against one of his former teams in Scunthorpe United in a 2-2 away draw on 26th September 2009 when he gave them a 2-0 lead in the sixty -first minute. Between October and December Sharp scored nine goals in ten games and helped Doncaster to a respectable twelfth place in the Championship for the season, as he scored fifteen goals in thirty-two starts.He also started twice in the F.A. Cup but did not score. After turning down offers from Burnley, who Sheffield had agreed a fee of £1million, Sharp signed a permanent deal to keep him at the Keepmoat Stadium for three years as £1.15 million changed hands on 7th July 2010. Even though Doncaster struggled in a relegation battle for the whole season, it had little effect on Sharp as he was regularly scoring and always first choice in the striking role. He made his debut as a permanent Doncaster player in a 2-0 away win at Preston North End on 7th August 2010 and had a hand in both goals and got his first goal of the season when he equalised from the penalty spot in the final minute in a 1-1 home draw with Bristol City. He did miss a few games due to injuries but by the end of the season had scored fifteen League goals as well as one in the F.A. Cup from twenty-seven starts in the League together with two from the bench and was an unused substitute once. He also started two F.A. Cup ties as Doncaster finished twenty-first to avoid relegation. In the off-season Doncaster rejected an offer from Ipswich, while Sharp also turned down a move to Southampton after terms had been agreed by the two clubs. He opened the scoring in the Thirty-ninth minute in first match of the season in a 1-2 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion, but was forced from the field in the fifty-fifth minute and subsequently missed the ensuing six League fixtures, making a return from the bench as a fifty-seventh minute substitute for Jon Parkin in a 1-0 home win over Crystal Palace on 24th September 2011. He continued to score regularly as Doncaster fought another relegation battle. He had a personal tragedy with the death of his new-born son, which caused him to miss the home game with Coventry City on 29th October 2011. He had scored ten goals in eighteen League starts and two more from the bench when he had played his final game for Doncaster on 21st January 2012 in a 1-2 defeat at Bristol City. He rejected an offer from Leicester City, believed to be at a more lucrative wage, and signed for fellow Championship side Southampton on 30th January for £1.85million on a three-and-a-half year contract and made his Southampton debut as a fifty-first minute substitute for David Connolly in a 0-0 draw at Birmingham City in the snow on 4th February 2012. He made his starting debut in the next game as he celebrated with the Saints' second goal with a flukey right foot shot in the thirty-third minute in their 2-0 home win over Burnley on 11th February 2012. He seemed off the pace in his new surroundings, where expectations were much higher as the top team pushed for promotion, and struggled for form and in his uncertainty missed a few chances that would have been bread and butter to him when in form. Consequently he spent half -a-dozen games on the bench with minimal action. He was restored to the starting eleven for the visit of his former club, Doncaster Rovers, on 24th March 2012 and scored both goals in a 2-0 win with goals from a header in the fifty-eighth minute and a right foot shot in the seventy-fifth. In the next game he missed a penalty as the Saints went down 0-3 at Blackpool, but it was just a blip as he had regained his confidence and he finished the season with eight goals in eight games to leave his Saints tally for the season at nine goals in eleven starts and four games from the bench and three times he was left unused on the bench as the Saints gain promotion to the Premier League as runners-up. He started the 2012-13 season on the bench and in the first two games he was brought on as a substitute, with four minutes left when he replaced Jason Puncheon in the 3-2 defeat at Manchester City on 19th August 2012, and with fourteen minutes left when he came on for Jay Rodriguez in a 0-2 home defeat by Wigan Athletic on 25th August. He did make one start and got his name on the score sheet in a 4-1 win at Stevenage in the League Cup on 28th August 2012, with a left foot shot in the seventy-fourth minute to give the Saints a 2-0 lead. Just three days later he made the surprise move of joining Championship side Nottingham Forest for the rest of the season. He made his debut as an eightieth minute substitute for Simon Cox in a 2-1 home win over Charlton Athletic. He made his starting debut the following game in a 2-2 draw at hime to Birmingham City on 15th September 2012. It was not until his eighth game on 20th October in a 3-1 home win over top side Cardiff City that he notched his first goal when he gave Forest a 3-0 lead two minutes into the second half with a right foot shot. After that he started to score regularly and he amassed ten goals before the goals dried up totally at the beginning of February 2013 but he went on to make thirty starts and nine games from the bench with three more squad appearances when he remained unuded, before his loan ran out. He also scored Forests second goal in added time as they were beaten 2-3 at home by Oldham Athletic in the F.A. Cup on 5th January 2013, after he had come on as a sixty-sixth minute replacement for Radoslaw Majewski. He joined Reading on 26th September 2013, on an emergency loan and, after being unused on the bench on 28th September 2013 in a 2-0 home win over Birmingham City, came on, with three minutes to go, as a replacement for Adam Le Fondre in Reading's 1-1 draw at Barnsley on 1st October 2013. It was not until 3rd December 2013 that he made his starting debut in a 1-0 home win over Charlton Athletic and it was in the thirteenth minute of that match he scored the winner with a right foot shot for his first goal for Reading. He also got the only goal of the game on 14th December 2013 when he scored with a header in the thirty-second minute at Huddersfield Town, and by the time he returned to Southampton on 2nd January 2014 he had started six and come off the bench in four others and had twice been an unused substitute. On 22nd January 2014 he was loaned to his former club Doncaster Rovers for the rest of the season. He played a full game on his debut and scored the equaliser with a right foot shot with five minutes to go in the 1-1 draw at Blackpool on 25th January 2014. He failed to find the net in the next three matches and then after being sent off with four minutes to go for a foul on Gordon Greer in a 0-1 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion on 8th February, he was suspended for three games. He returned on 8th March and scored with his right foot to open the scoring in the twenty -eighth minute against Huddersfield Town in a 2-0 home win. Despite scoring four goals in fifteen starts and one game as a substitute and being unused once on the bench, he was unable to stop Doncaster from being relegated. On 13th August 2014 Sharp became the eighth summer signing of Leeds United. He joined on a two year contract and it seemed as though Southampton waived any fee and Sharp agreed to take a pay cut while Leeds agreed to pay him the final year of his Southampton contract which cost the club £600,000. He made his debut for Leeds with a full game in the 1-0 home win over Middlesbrough on 16th August 2014 and it was he that scored the only goal of the game with a right foot shot with two minutes left on the clock. He appeared to have staked his claim for the leading striker position as he was chosen in all of the first seven matches after his debut, bu could not find the net and was relegated to the bench for the visit to Huddersfield Town on 20th September 2014. The arrival of Darko Milanic saw him remain on the bench spasmodically, and after his departure the situation remained the same as his limited game time produced no goals. Neil Redfearn restored him to the striker's role for the start of the visit to Nottingham Forest on 20th December and he scored his second goal, allbeit from the penalty spot. However, he soon found himself warming the bench once more, although after managing his third goal at Huddersfield Town on 31st January 2015, when he headed the winner in the final minute after coming on in place of Lewis Cook with just four minutes on the clock. He did get a start in the home game with Brentford, before going back to the bench, where he sat unused for four games. An injury to Steve Morison saw him restored for the game at home to Watford on 28th February and once more he scored as he gave Leeds a ninth minute lead. He was retained for the home fixture with Ipswich Town four days later and he found the net in the seventy-seventh minute to give United a 2-1 win for his fifth and final Leeds goal. However, althogh he featured in all United's final thirteen fixturs, iincluding five from the bench, he failed to score in the final eleven of them. United strengthened their attacking options in the close season, with the addition of Lee Erwin and Chris Wood, and it seemed that Sharp may slip further down the pecking order after not being included in the side for the pre-season friendly with Eintracht Frankfurt on 23rd July 2015. He returned to Leeds from the Austrian tour and a transfer seemed imminent, even though Sharp still had one year left on his contract. He joined Sheffield United on 25th July for a fee in the region of £500,00, on a two year contract with a further option of one year.