Leon Clarke

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Deadbat said:
Was it Dronnie Blade who was so critial of Clarke last year? Constantly deriding him for his play. Kept saying 'Tell me I am wrong!' I think was his statement?

Is it time now to say, 'You're wrong!'

As for the first 50 minutes, he missed 2 headers. Both were decent efforts rather than really bad misses. First one the keeper made a superb save. Outside of that he was still good, worked the line well, held it up and a threat with his running and hold up.

Been our player of the season and outstanding since April last season.
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It’s a fair cop DB. It was moi. Busted.

9.5 and very nearly a 10 was it ??

My observations of Leon’s performance were simply that I found his play frustrating in parts yesterday. His control was poor, which resulted in possession turnover on a number of occasions, he misplaced passes times many, also resulting in possession turnover, and I’m sure Leon himself will be disappointed he didn’t score 6, maybe 7 times yesterday with the gilt edged chances he had.

Giving balance, as I believe I have done, I have stated that while I found him frustrating for 52 minutes, I described him as unplayable for the remainder of the game. A game of sort of two halves. A bit mixed.

What becomes quite obvious to me is that Leon is the “type” of CF that a large section of our fan base wish to see at the top of the pitch. The same section of fans that cheer raucously when this so called “target man” type wins a header that goes absolutely nowhere near a fellow Blades player. My reaction to this very same event is along the lines of “what the fuck was good about that, so why the applause” ? He also runs around a lot chasing down defenders and pressing from the front. Good stuff, no doubt, and a pre requisite in this Tufty team I am sure. But again, the relative response from our fans is to cheer raucously at this. It appears we love a tryer !

My final word on this subject is thus. I am absolutely delighted that Leon has come good in a Blades shirt. His OVERALL performance yesterday was outstanding. Fantastic. Joyous. Anyone thinking I crave for any Blades player to “fail” in order to satisfy a desire to be “right” is chategorically wide of the mark. Well wide in fact.

Now, if this means I am wrong / I was wrong, I guess I’ll have to learn to live with that.

Just enjoying the ride too much right now.

U T magnificent B.

Which by definition includes our magnificent #9!
 
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JohnDenver said:
Just say what this "experiment" is.
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It was something very specific that I was going to put out there to challenge perceptions. Those of others, AND ALSO MY OWN.

I won’t go there any longer. No point. I am wrong. It’s a fair cop. Every one is very clever and DB is very silly and stupid.

Hope this helps.

UTB

Oh and well done Leon (again!)
 
Christ. Got up this morning expecting this thread to be basking in the warm glow of a four goal haul for one of our players, but what have we got, a stupid spat between forum members over the sum total of fuck all.

We have just witnessed a United player achieve a feat that has not been equalled in 34 years,( yes, 34 years) to equal a performance by one of our best ever goal scorers.

For those of you who can remember, Edwards did not track back, his passing was patchy, he was off side more than onside and usually just hung about the centre circle.

All he ever did was score a goal every other time he pulled a shirt on, and for that we will be eternally grateful.

I think we are losing track of the fact that this team is essentially a league one side performing fantastically well at the top of the Championship, so yes passes are going to go astray, we will let in goals and we will be beaten more than last season

But for God's sake, get a grip. We are not Real Madrid or Barcelona, we are not even Brighton or Bournemouth (yet). So cut the players some slack and enjoy it while you can.
 
DronnieBlade said:
It’s a fair cop DB. It was moi. Busted.

9.5 and very nearly a 10 was it ??

My observations of Leon’s performance were simply that I found his play frustrating in parts yesterday. His control was poor, which resulted in possession turnover on a number of occasions, he misplaced passes times many, also resulting in possession turnover, and I’m sure Leon himself will be disappointed he didn’t score 6, maybe 7 times yesterday with the gilt edged chances he had.

Giving balance, as I believe I have done, I have stated that while I found him frustrating for 52 minutes, I described him as unplayable for the remainder of the game. A game of sort of two halves. A bit mixed.

What becomes quite obvious to me is that Leon is the “type” of CF that a large section of our fan base wish to see at the top of the pitch. The same section of fans that cheer raucously when this so called “target man” type wins a header that goes absolutely nowhere near a fellow Blades player. My reaction to this very same event is along the lines of “what the fuck was good about that, so why the applause” ? He also runs around a lot chasing down defenders and pressing from the front. Good stuff, no doubt, and a pre requisite in this Tufty team I am sure. But again, the relative response from our fans is to cheer raucously at this. It appears we love a tryer !

My final word on this subject is thus. I am absolutely delighted that Leon has come good in a Blades shirt. His OVERALL performance yesterday was outstanding. Fantastic. Joyous. Anyone thinking I crave for any Blades player to “fail” in order to satisfy a desire to be “right” is chategorically wide of the mark. Well wide in fact.

Now, if this means I am wrong / I was wrong, I guess I’ll have to learn to live with that.

Just enjoying the ride too much right now.

U T magnificent B.

Which by definition includes our magnificent #9!
Click to expand...

Everyone is allowed an opinion but what I would say is the effort that Clarke and sharp Put in is key to the way we play. It’s not trying for the sake of trying, it’s hasseling the defenders so that they don’t get a second on the ball and rush a clearance so we regain possession and attack again.

Imo Leon has been exceptional since April when fully fit - he’s scored 15 goals in his last 20 league starts for us now as well as leaving everything on the pitch. Not to mention the quality of some of these finishes - he’s finished chances I don’t think anyone’s else in our side could do (first yesterday was outstanding, not to mention he likes of port vale and Mk dons last year.)
 
DronnieBlade said:
It’s a fair cop DB. It was moi. Busted.

9.5 and very nearly a 10 was it ??

My observations of Leon’s performance were simply that I found his play frustrating in parts yesterday. His control was poor, which resulted in possession turnover on a number of occasions, he misplaced passes times many, also resulting in possession turnover, and I’m sure Leon himself will be disappointed he didn’t score 6, maybe 7 times yesterday with the gilt edged chances he had.

Giving balance, as I believe I have done, I have stated that while I found him frustrating for 52 minutes, I described him as unplayable for the remainder of the game. A game of sort of two halves. A bit mixed.

What becomes quite obvious to me is that Leon is the “type” of CF that a large section of our fan base wish to see at the top of the pitch. The same section of fans that cheer raucously when this so called “target man” type wins a header that goes absolutely nowhere near a fellow Blades player. My reaction to this very same event is along the lines of “what the fuck was good about that, so why the applause” ? He also runs around a lot chasing down defenders and pressing from the front. Good stuff, no doubt, and a pre requisite in this Tufty team I am sure. But again, the relative response from our fans is to cheer raucously at this. It appears we love a tryer !

My final word on this subject is thus. I am absolutely delighted that Leon has come good in a Blades shirt. His OVERALL performance yesterday was outstanding. Fantastic. Joyous. Anyone thinking I crave for any Blades player to “fail” in order to satisfy a desire to be “right” is chategorically wide of the mark. Well wide in fact.

Now, if this means I am wrong / I was wrong, I guess I’ll have to learn to live with that.

Just enjoying the ride too much right now.

U T magnificent B.

Which by definition includes our magnificent #9!
Click to expand...

To paraphrase though you are saying that the only reason fans like him is because he tries hard and that he’s a target man. His ’type’ is a big player who works hard, brings others into the game and has a good first touch (not even a good touch for a big lad, just a good touch). He’s clever, he knows how to put defenders under pressure and gives them the jitters. He’s done all of this since he first joined us. What he has now added is goals.

I’ve not seen all the games this year and most I’ve only seen on ifollow, however to call him a ‘target man’ does him a huge disservice.

I don’t for one minute think you want Blades players to fail, however giving ‘grudging’ praise to one of the seasons success stories is a little bit daft don’t you think?
 
derekacorah said:
To paraphrase though you are saying that the only reason fans like him is because he tries hard and that he’s a target man. His ’type’ is a big player who works hard, brings others into the game and has a good first touch (not even a good touch for a big lad, just a good touch). He’s clever, he knows how to put defenders under pressure and gives them the jitters. He’s done all of this since he first joined us. What he has now added is goals.

I’ve not seen all the games this year and most I’ve only seen on ifollow, however to call him a ‘target man’ does him a huge disservice.

I don’t for one minute think you want Blades players to fail, however giving ‘grudging’ praise to one of the seasons success stories is a little bit daft don’t you think?
Click to expand...

He's not a target man, unless a forward who is the recipient of well-crafted passes counts?

I guess when we resort to a bit of hoofball and pump the ball to the big lad up front to do something with then he might be.. despite it being very far from his style of play.

Some people find it very difficult to accept they were wrong.
 
Target man is as target man does ?

Did we go long an unusually high amount of the time yesterday in the first half !

Did we tone this aspect down significantly in the 2nd half ?

Anybody notice a difference ????????

UTB

Oh and if I forget to mention it, well done Leon !
 

Th!stledo said:
Absolutely Brilliant Leon !!!
Where are the people now who were shaking their heads in dismay that Clarke was given a 3yrs contract when he signed???
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I was one, I remember that without even having to look back. On top of this I used to have a theory that once players have peaked but step down a league they can never be good enough higher up and for years this was true but at United we must have about half a dozen players who are defying this.

Grappler said:
Went straight out on the pop after the match, didn't get home until late and so this is my first chance to get online.

Has anyone said anything good about Leon Clarke?
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Yes (and I've just checked this to be accurate) he's a Charlton, QPR, Wednesday and Wolves (twice) reject!
 
To be fair to Dronnie, I thought 1st half he wasn't quite at his best, misplaced a few passes and should probably have scored with the header. 2nd half was the best display I have seen from a striker at the lane. 1st touch was superb as was his finishing. As his confidence grew his all round play became even better, even managed a couple of quality nutmegs.
 
I was unsure when we first signed Leon!. I knew that he'd develop under the management of wilder!!. Leon's all round game is just getting better and better and I think that after his booking in the first half yesterday. It seemed to galvanise him and his 2nd half performance was the best I've seen from a blades striker in my 40 years of watching the blades. The whole team performance was outstanding yesterday especially in the 2nd half. I M O.
 
I can still remember when he was available on a free a couple of years ago, and we needed a big lad, and at 29, Clarke seemed a perfect fit, having done well in League One before. Instead Adkins signed Conor Sammon! Thankfully now we've got our man and Leon has always been a good finisher, arguably one of the best we've seen along with the likes of Jan Aage, Beattie, Deano etc But credit to the whole team too for the supply that all the forwards are getting. The work-rate he's doing now, is fantastic and causes no end of problems for opposing defenders. Credit to Wilder too for signing Donaldson; its no coincidence that his signing has made Leon go up a gear!

What's next for Leon? A call up for Wales surely? Is he Welsh?! No, but that doesn't seem to matter, I'm sure he's drunk a pint of Brains best bitter at some point and that counts?! Sorry Brooksy!
 
since1889 said:
He's now the second highest goalscorer in the Championship. And people thought he'd be perpetual L1 material.
Click to expand...

I wish I had said online what I said to my brother after we got promoted.

I said Leon is a classy finisher and with less scrappy defences relying on numbers, nicer pitches and a bit of room to work in, he'd be fantastic in the Championship.

I only said it at the top of my stairs though with no cameras on me and my brother will claim he said it not me so I have no way of proving it haha
 
Th!stledo said:
Absolutely Brilliant Leon !!!
Where are the people now who were shaking their heads in dismay that Clarke was given a 3yrs contract when he signed???
Click to expand...

Here! I'm definitely one of them, and there are a large number of liars if most people wouldn't put themselves in the bracket.

It seemed a typical Blades signing of the past, on the face of it. Wrong side of 30, never been at a club more than a year etc. I absolutely was not happy with his signing. Wow, am I willing to hold my hand up and say I have been utterly proven wrong on this one. He's probably my POTY so far. Yesterday's performance was simply the best 90 minutes I've seen from a Blades striker in my life.
 
One thing I noticed was the way Leon Clarke celebrated each goal. He's not usually known for making much of a fuss when he scores but he looked visibly overjoyed yesterday and ran towards the fans.
That to me is the sign of somebody who responds positively to support and encouragement. Something which you don't usually get when you're a journeyman and nobody expects you to stick around for long.
I believe that he's finally found a home here in the twilight of his career.
 
bromtom said:
I wish I had said online what I said to my brother after we got promoted.

I said Leon is a classy finisher and with less scrappy defences relying on numbers, nicer pitches and a bit of room to work in, he'd be fantastic in the Championship.

I only said it at the top of my stairs though with no cameras on me and my brother will claim he said it not me so I have no way of proving it haha
Click to expand...
He’s always been a classy finisher, he’s also closing in on 50 Championship goals, he’s on 43 now.

His interview yesterday said it all, with fitness and a consistent game selection week in week out he will score lots of goals. His stats prove that, a league goal every 0.3 games including over 100 sub appearances is good.

We have Alan Knill to thank but not surprising after he got 11 in 14 for him at Scunthorpe.
 
blader said:
Here! I'm definitely one of them, and there are a large number of liars if most people wouldn't put themselves in the bracket.

It seemed a typical Blades signing of the past, on the face of it. Wrong side of 30, never been at a club more than a year etc. I absolutely was not happy with his signing. Wow, am I willing to hold my hand up and say I have been utterly proven wrong on this one. He's probably my POTY so far. Yesterday's performance was simply the best 90 minutes I've seen from a Blades striker in my life.
Click to expand...

I'm another that thought a 3yr contract was too long, and as you saya typical Blades signing. Personally thought 2yr would've been about right. However my view of the length of contract wasn't a reflection on his ability, just his age.

Keep up the hard work Leon, you're reaping what you sow and long may it continue.
 
DronnieBlade said:
It’s a fair cop DB. It was moi. Busted.

9.5 and very nearly a 10 was it ??

My observations of Leon’s performance were simply that I found his play frustrating in parts yesterday. His control was poor, which resulted in possession turnover on a number of occasions, he misplaced passes times many, also resulting in possession turnover, and I’m sure Leon himself will be disappointed he didn’t score 6, maybe 7 times yesterday with the gilt edged chances he had.

Giving balance, as I believe I have done, I have stated that while I found him frustrating for 52 minutes, I described him as unplayable for the remainder of the game. A game of sort of two halves. A bit mixed.

What becomes quite obvious to me is that Leon is the “type” of CF that a large section of our fan base wish to see at the top of the pitch. The same section of fans that cheer raucously when this so called “target man” type wins a header that goes absolutely nowhere near a fellow Blades player. My reaction to this very same event is along the lines of “what the fuck was good about that, so why the applause” ? He also runs around a lot chasing down defenders and pressing from the front. Good stuff, no doubt, and a pre requisite in this Tufty team I am sure. But again, the relative response from our fans is to cheer raucously at this. It appears we love a tryer !

My final word on this subject is thus. I am absolutely delighted that Leon has come good in a Blades shirt. His OVERALL performance yesterday was outstanding. Fantastic. Joyous. Anyone thinking I crave for any Blades player to “fail” in order to satisfy a desire to be “right” is chategorically wide of the mark. Well wide in fact.

Now, if this means I am wrong / I was wrong, I guess I’ll have to learn to live with that.

Just enjoying the ride too much right now.

U T magnificent B.

Which by definition includes our magnificent #9!
Click to expand...
Runs around a lot, underwhelmed with faint praise :) :) :)
 
the key with him seems to be fitness,he's all over the place at the moment dominating the opposition.

probably the fittest he's been for a long time and he's certainly enjoying himself ,all credit to chris and the staff for giving him his spark back.
 
To me it seems he needs more of an arm round the shoulder, than a kick up the arse. Might be wrong here, but in Wilder and Knill, I reckon we have the masters of man-management.
 

I'm not sure why some people on this thread are attempting to classify Leon this way or that way, as a particular type of striker rather than another. His biggest strength is that he has a bit of everything (including strength).

Pace, strong in the air, can hold the ball up, good awareness & movement, and a good finisher. He still misses a few he could put in, but he's improving in that regard.

Unlike some classic CF's at this level, his general play is also good too. He is just as effective in the build up or providing a cross as he is on the end of them. Add to this his new found incredible work rate and you have almost the finished article.

He's just a superb all-round footballer for us.
 
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