+++ Harry Clarke Signs on Loan from Ipswich Town +++

PeaksAndValleys said:

wolfgang said:

LittleAddick said:

To me this is similar to people saying they'd like Gilbert on a permanent transfer last summer. 

Well, they were right. Gilbert has played regularly for the team finishing fifth and in the play-offs.
We signed instead Rankin-Costello, a similar style of player but far inferior. 

Regularly is a bit strong. 21 apps, 9 starts, 866 mins. That's not to say he wouldn't have been a better option than JRC (who has anyway not played much for us) 

He also only managed 1 goal and 1 assist in that time, for a promotion chasing side that dominates the ball. So not sure he'd have faired very well in an NJ setup with the ball flying over his head for 90 minutes. 

Scoham said:

Callumcafc said:

Scoham said:

Callumcafc said:

Callumcafc said:

He’s more than good enough to be one of two options at RWB/RB for a side chasing at the top end of this league - he’s been there and done it before. Just need a solid alternative to bring in for any stretches of bad form. It’s a squad game at this level.

Would not be at all upset if Southampton went up and we saw him and Bree competing for it.

2 LOLs on this is crazy - are we signing prime Cafu this summer?

Why prime Cafu? We don’t necessarily need a much better player, but it would be good to have wing backs who chip in with more goals and assists and make us less predictable going forward.

Thierry Small did that without being Cafu and Roberto Carlos rolled into one.

Clarke and Bree both offer assists and goals. It’s not like they contributed nothing while here. We’ve seen the player they both can be.

Both of them will play solid Championship football next season (Bree might even be in the Prem) so I don’t think we should dismiss either of them so easily.

Clarke doesn’t offer goals and isn’t much better for assists.

Bree had a better record but I’ve never been convinced he could maintain it at the same rate over a full season.

I don’t get the big desire to bring them back, with us scouting abroad now I can’t believe there won’t be better suited wing backs out there. We desperately need more pace and technical ability across the team. Clarke and Bree have some of what we need but lack in certain areas that contributes to our poor play in possession and lack of creativity going forward.

Bree would be 2nd for most G/A at his club this season playing as a RB/RWB. 

@soapboxsam, made a very good point in the post match thread: 

I loved Harry's passion early days at CAFC but he is a guy that is showing signs of missing the Ipswich party and where he has no future.

It's been interesting watching Clarke with us, I actually think the more time he's had to take on Nathan Jones' instructions the worse he's got. When he came in he played like a bloke who hadn't had time to settle in yet so could just do what he does. And that was really refreshing, he patrolled his flank well, tackled and tracked and when he went forward he did it with intelligence and purpose; he drove up the pitch, screamed for the ball (often didn't get it) and took up clever positions to cross from. He was always looking to get the ball into the box and was often seeing if he could get a one-two with a player near him to create crossing space. He fitted in really well, against Leicester we saw the best of him and he offered us width and aggression. The problem is after that Jones started pushing him really, really high from the off and he couldn't drive into space anymore, he had to receive the ball up the pitch and his close control, ability to beat a man and finishing were called into question. Jones used to do that with Thierry Small on the left in the first half of the L1 season and it had the same effect; taking a player who wants to start from deeper, pick up speed and cause damage with a deeper cross or by bulldozing through and starting them up level with the opposition wingback just robs them of the space they want to work in. That's why he initially brought Apter in as he was happier starting higher up but Clarke just wasn't suited to the part of the pitch Jones wanted him in. With that in mind if we're going to keep playing that way I don't know if Clarke is the guy for us. He's a good enough player overall but I don't think he'll get any better at being a player expected to be further up than the target man and carve out shooting opportunities.

thenewbie said:

Danny Addick said:

He’s fine, but I don’t believe he’s more than a high league one, lower championship player. So it depends if that’s what we want. 

His finishing and decision making can be very poor - and that’s literally the very thing NJ is talking about improving. But he works hard which is what NJ also values. 

If he's in the team then it would need to be a very attacking left wing back to balance it out imo. 

Agreed, but that means we'd have to choose between Edwards and Clarke if we wanted one attacking WB and one defensive as both fall more on the defending side... and injuries aside I'd pick Edwards first.

I actually feel we may move away from wingbacks and go 4-2-3-1 so both of them would be playing full back with Campbell & (Fevrier/new) playing in front of them as wide forwards similar to how we played with Small in the team.

I can't imagine we'll be re-signing Clarke after Nathan's post match interview yesterday. A lot of talk of cutting out individual mistakes by bringing in better players, and Clarke has been caught out for more than one goal in recent weeks. 

Callumcafc said:

https://x.com/harryyclarke6/status/2050964623570907373?s=46&t=ynww82GMl7VKBjthBflU0g

Won’t read too much into this but “wish the club all the best in the future” doesn’t sound like someone who wants to / expects to be back here next year

Yeah that was my immediate thought reading it too. Doesn't read like someone that knows he's going to be back here. 

Callumcafc said:

https://x.com/harryyclarke6/status/2050964623570907373?s=46&t=ynww82GMl7VKBjthBflU0g

Won’t read too much into this but “wish the club all the best in the future” doesn’t sound like someone who wants to / expects to be back here next year

What do you expect him to say whilst he’s under contract to another club?

I’d have him back I think. As a squad player at least to rotate with another. We definitely won’t be getting Bree now