Clarke

It's the system, not Clarke as others have said. In a 4, he's a good champo defender, and no doubt will play better when he's comfortable with what he needs to do.

In a 3, he is hopelessly exposed by his lack of pace and technical ability. This is basic stuff that recruitment have got badly wrong. And Wilder should have stopped the signing, not egged them on to sign a left footer at all costs.

We should have thrown all the cash we had at a competent Tavernier impersonator, not faffed about with a role Paddy can do perfectly well enough for this level.
 
Pinkers said:
It's the system, not Clarke as others have said. In a 4, he's a good champo defender, and no doubt will play better when he's comfortable with what he needs to do.

In a 3, he is hopelessly exposed by his lack of pace and technical ability. This is basic stuff that recruitment have got badly wrong. And Wilder should have stopped the signing, not egged them on to sign a left footer at all costs.

We should have thrown all the cash we had at a competent Tavernier impersonator, not faffed about with a role Paddy can do perfectly well enough for this level.
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Oh, and we absolutely should have signed a destroyer. That Onyeka deal falling through doubly screwed us.
 
Pinkers said:
It's the system, not Clarke as others have said. In a 4, he's a good champo defender, and no doubt will play better when he's comfortable with what he needs to do.

In a 3, he is hopelessly exposed by his lack of pace and technical ability. This is basic stuff that recruitment have got badly wrong. And Wilder should have stopped the signing, not egged them on to sign a left footer at all costs.

We should have thrown all the cash we had at a competent Tavernier impersonator, not faffed about with a role Paddy can do perfectly well enough for this level.
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We put all our eggs into one basket trying to sign Greaves, when realistically it was never likely to happen. I got the feeling Clarke was a panic buy, after we finally realised that we weren't going to be signing Greaves.
 
viv_andersons_nana said:
Why would he be good for three or four years and then sign for Boro and be sh*t?

It’s like Wilder. How can a bloke have 20 years of managerial success and then be sh*t at Boro?

To my mind it doesn’t compute.
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The obvious answer to me is dopplegangers. Have we checked that there isn't a Matt Clarke still playing for Brighton? Perhaps wilder died of covid in 2020 and sheff utd brought in a fake. Try to see if he's wearing shoes in the next presser.
 
People saying it's the system, his player of seasons elsewhere etc which are all fair enough
But we were intending to play that system - so why did we sign someone not suited to the way we were going to (try and)play?
 
He must have something about him to be player of the season at two previous clubs. Everyone was raving about him on his debut here remember - maybe he isn’t suited to being one of three centre backs as some suggest. I certainly wouldn’t write him off yet that’s for sure.
 
Thought we had played a blinder when we signed him but he is terrible. Four year contract too
 
BoroMad87 said:
He clearly isnt suited to the 3 at the back not a bad player but he is not mobile enough to play in a 3.

Defenders available at the club only suit 4 at the back.

RB - Smith Dijkstell
Jones in front

Paddy, fry, lenihan, clarke - CB pairing options
Jones and giles should play higher up the pitch for me!

LB - Bola, Bilongo or * Giles *

*Giles should play in front
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Spot on
 
Glover_elbow said:
He's got no pace what so ever can you compute that
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You don’t need pace. Ayala wasn’t quick, neither was Gibson. You need a shape and a structure that suits the players you have at your disposal.

I’m a Wilder ‘fan’ if there is such a thing, but signing an orthodox central defender who loves to nut it out of his box and step in and make blocks and asking him to to carry it into midfield, to maraud, to dictate the tempo, well I understand that might not be the wisest move. It doesn’t make Clarke a bad player. Put him alongside Fry or Lenihan and he’d be fine IMO.

Pace is not the be all and end all. The only time a defender really needs or relies on pace is for when he’s caught on the wrong side, a la Dijksteel multiple times per week.
 
viv_andersons_nana said:
You don’t need pace. Ayala wasn’t quick, neither was Gibson. You need a shape and a structure that suits the players you have at your disposal.

I’m a Wilder ‘fan’ if there is such a thing, but signing an orthodox central defender who loves to nut it out of his box and step in and make blocks and asking him to to carry it into midfield, to maraud, to dictate the tempo, well I understand that might not be the wisest move. It doesn’t make Clarke a bad player. Put him alongside Fry or Lenihan and he’d be fine IMO.

Pace is not the be all and end all. The only time a defender really needs or relies on pace is for when he’s caught on the wrong side, a la Dijksteel multiple times per week.
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Pace is a massive attribute for any footballer, how many premier league defenders are slow these days. in the championship there are some slower defenders like Ayala and gibson as you point out who are still decent however Clarke is a far far slower than either of them. Maybe he is playing with an injury but hes much slower than the base level of pace needed at this level. Same for mowatt zero pace and mobility. In fact lack of pace all over the team is one of if not the biggest reason we are such a poor team
 
Ayala was a technically good player, that's the difference, you pass clarke the ball and he needs 5 seconds to control it, by then he's been closed down and has to awkwardly pass it back to the keeper, i would put technical abilty marginally above pace

The guy just looks to ungainly and needs an eternity to control the ball - like i said, backs to the wall penalty box defender, just constantly playing him as a wide centre back who has to provide support
to the wing backs will never work, he does not have the attibutes for it , plain and simple, and all because he happens to be left footed

Just play a right footer there, it can open up additional angles, and i don't buy this crap you have to be left footed to play left centre, as if you can't make threaded passes to a wingback ahead of you unless your left footed, nonsense, Wilder has made the same mistake signing Mowatt and playing him purely because he's left footed
 
Funky_Chicken said:
He must have something about him to be player of the season at two previous clubs. Everyone was raving about him on his debut here remember - maybe he isn’t suited to being one of three centre backs as some suggest. I certainly wouldn’t write him off yet that’s for sure.
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Not everyone. It was plain enough to anyone who'd seen him play (obviously not our scouts) that he was poor and not suited to our way of playing.

One decent game (untested by the opposition) does not make a good player.
 
Glover_elbow said:
Pace is a massive attribute for any footballer, how many premier league defenders are slow these days. in the championship there are some slower defenders like Ayala and gibson as you point out who are still decent however Clarke is a far far slower than either of them. Maybe he is playing with an injury but hes much slower than the base level of pace needed at this level. Same for mowatt zero pace and mobility. In fact lack of pace all over the team is one of if not the biggest reason we are such a poor team
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Spot on. Pace is everything, at this level
 
Way_Out_West said:
Not everyone. It was plain enough to anyone who'd seen him play (obviously not our scouts) that he was poor and not suited to our way of playing.

One decent game (untested by the opposition) does not make a good player.
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Come on, he had clearly performed way better over a consistent period of time at his previous two clubs than what we've seen so far.

There's a good player there, we just haven't seen it yet.
 
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