Billy Sharp Comes Out of Retirement to Rejoin Rushden & Diamonds
Billy Sharp is back playing football, and he is back in Rushden & Diamonds colours. The 40-year-old striker has come out of retirement to rejoin AFC Rushden & Diamonds, just weeks after announcing that he had stopped playing, according to The Sun.
The move has a practical reason. Diamonds midfielder James Clifton is suspended, and Sharp has returned to fill the gap. Boss Elliot Sandy confirmed that the club had spoken to Sharp about coming back for the FA Cup tie, as the Northants Telegraph reported.
That tie is a big one for the club. Diamonds travel to Burton Albion on Saturday 7 November in the first round proper, the stage of the FA Cup where Football League clubs enter. It will be the first time Rushden & Diamonds have played at that stage. The club has organised supporters' coaches for the trip.
For Diamonds, the club is a long way from the top of the game. Reuters places them in the eighth tier of English football, which is the bottom of the professional pyramid's amateur end. A cup run is the chance to test themselves against clubs with much bigger budgets, and Sharp's return adds a famous name to the team sheet.
The history between Sharp and the club goes back a long way. He first played for Rushden & Diamonds in 2005, on loan from Sheffield United. A loan is a temporary move from one club to another. That season he scored nine goals in 16 appearances. The club's own announcement notes that his first goal of that spell was the first of a career tally that now stands at 299, built over more than 22 years.
He has played for Rushden & Diamonds, Sheffield United, Doncaster Rovers and Southampton. He captained Sheffield United to promotion to the Premier League, and he has won six promotions in total. Promotion means moving up a division. Last season at Doncaster Rovers, he played 45 matches across all competitions and scored 14 goals, according to BBC Sport.
If he plays at Burton, the match will be his 814th professional appearance. A professional appearance is a match played for a club that pays its players. It is a number that tells you how long he has been doing this, and how many Saturdays he has spent in a shirt.
Sharp's name is known across English football. Sheffield United fans will remember the captain who lifted them up. Rushden & Diamonds supporters will remember the teenager-turned-loanee who scored the goal that started it all. Now they have a 40-year-old who has decided one more cup tie is worth the drive to Burton.
