Clarke

[robbiez666]

He needs a rest. I can't fault his general workrate but he's gone off the boil. I don;t think he's adding much at the moment. The problem is that neither Donaldson or Sharp are on form, but I think the former is probably a better starting bet right now. We need something different.

 

[Barnette]

pace?

 

[zablade]

We probably need to bring Sharp back in, we need a bit of luck, one to go in off someone’s arse or drop in the box to someone.

 

[super_pig]

He needs a rest. I can't fault his general workrate but he's gone off the boil. I don;t think he's adding much at the moment. The problem is that neither Donaldson or Sharp are on form, but I think the former is probably a better starting bet right now. We need something different.

armband weighing him down

 

[Bladesman]

Some better service wouldn't go a miss for any of our strikers.

 

[bromtom]

We drag him out on the wing because we never put any first time balls in. He won't score with his back to goal after accepting a short pass from Baldock.

Too much hesitation, it's why we struggled to score at the beginning of the season too, we were getting stuck in the corners.

Need to run at people, pass on the floor, make passes in front of people for them to run on to instead of to them for them to trap, and when in a position to do so, cross.

It's obvious to see that chances come from early crosses yet we do so few.

 

[Iceybabey]

First half Clarke was unplayable

 

[DronnieBlade]

How ironic. I thought he did OK first half !

He’s no target man so got lost a bit in the huff and puff of the 2nd half.

UTB

 

[Houso]

First half he was absolutely immense and his link up play was as good as I've seen from him.

Second half he was marked out of the game and had to feed off scraps.

 

[robbiez666]

Some better service wouldn't go a miss for any of our strikers.

Fair point and a huge issue at the moment. The chances we are creating at the moment rarely seem to fall to strikers.

 

[Houso]

On a side note, the best duo I've seen this season up front for us was Leon and Brooks at the sty. Would happily have that pairing again at first opportunity.

 

[dc_blade]

First half was his best performance in weeks.

Second half we did him no favours by hitting it long. He’s not a target man, he’s a skillful forward who plays best with the ball at his feet and people making clever runs around him. We did that first half but not after we got desperate and threw Don on.

 

[5tannington Blade]

Is he just me that disagrees entirely with this?

Sticks a lot better to Clarke then it does with Wilson although Wilson does look the more likely to get a better shot off at goal. I think it sticks better with Clarke than Donaldson. Donaldson didn't have the space to run in behind tonight, don't think him or Billy could change that.

 

[Roygbiv]

I'd like to see Duffy and Holmes behind Clarke. We never fucking cross the ball so it's not like we will lose having two strikers in the box.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Reverted back to the old Leon since the new deal, work rate has dropped significantly and a few times 2nd half he was shrugging shoulders and puffing out cheeks. Maybe fatigue or maybe he's just had a purple patch and reverted to type, who knows. Can't see why Sharp can't get a run of games.

 

[robbiez666]

Is he just me that disagrees entirely with this?

Sticks a lot better to Clarke then it does with Wilson although Wilson does look the more likely to get a better shot off at goal. I think it sticks better with Clarke than Donaldson. Donaldson didn't have the space to run in behind tonight, don't think him or Billy could change that.

Clarke is still playing well, but is he really looking like scoring at the moment? We're in a slight hole as we're not creating chances for the strikers, but over the past few games both Donaldson and Wilson have looked more likely infront of goal at times. I just think he'd possibly benefit from a rest.

 

[INTAKE BLADE]

Leon worked his nuts off, it’s just not sticking up top at min, and the service has been dodgy to our strikers, saying that, a little luck tonight and it would have been a different story.

 

[United Aren't Back.]

We drag him out on the wing because we never put any first time balls in. He won't score with his back to goal after accepting a short pass from Baldock.

Too much hesitation, it's why we struggled to score at the beginning of the season too, we were getting stuck in the corners.

Need to run at people, pass on the floor, make passes in front of people for them to run on to instead of to them for them to trap, and when in a position to do so, cross.

It's obvious to see that chances come from early crosses yet we do so few.

Spot on.

 

[Dronfield Blade]

I'd like to see Duffy and Holmes behind Clarke. We never fucking cross the ball so it's not like we will lose having two strikers in the box.

This. Just mentioned in another thread that when Brooks is back, play him next to Leon or Wilson.

like you say even try Duffy or Holmes. Need to try something new.

Regarding the OP: Not even going to argue with anybody slating Leon. You don't know what you are talking about.

 

[DronnieBlade]

This. Just mentioned in another thread that when Brooks is back, play him next to Leon or Wilson.

like you say even try Duffy or Holmes. Need to try something new.

Regarding the OP: Not even going to argue with anybody slating Leon. You don't know what you are talking about.

Hang on fella. I’m not sure anyone’s slating him.

But I think it’s also reasonable to state his recent performances have dropped off. And 1 goal in 720 minutes of football isn’t good for any striker.

No one is beyond constructive criticism. Even Leon.

UTB

 

[PokerBlade]

First half Clarke was unplayable

Yep, and then second half I don't think we put a decent pass near him. I'm not really sure what our strikers were supposed to do since we never played through the middle and hesitated for far too long over every crossing opportunity.

 

[robbiez666]

This. Just mentioned in another thread that when Brooks is back, play him next to Leon or Wilson.

like you say even try Duffy or Holmes. Need to try something new.

Regarding the OP: Not even going to argue with anybody slating Leon. You don't know what you are talking about.

You actually don't know what you're talking about as you clearly can't read!

To paraphrase, it's just not happening for him at the moment. Whether that's him or the rest od]f the team. Maybe try something different. Give him a break.

 

[Houso]

Except Robbie, the majority believe that Clarke was great in the first half, and then second he didn' get much of a chance.

He also had a break at the weekend.

 

[sufcboy95]

It’s time he is given a rest, he just hasn’t been the same player since he signed the new contract. Would probably go with Donaldson up with Wilson, as I think sharp and Wilson would just get bullied out of games

 

[robbiez666]

Except Robbie, the majority believe that Clarke was great in the first half, and then second he didn' get much of a chance.

He also had a break at the weekend.

The problem isn't Clark, it's how we're currently playing and how he is fitting into that. He may have been 'unplayable', but did he have a shot on target? It's like when Billy used to spend half his time on the wing. Either we start playing with no fear again, take chances and move the ball with pace, and then he'll get chances, or we need to look at the way we're playing and who is more likely to score. At the moment for me that player is Donaldson.Clarke is a better player though, but we need to get goals.

 

[United Aren't Back.]

How ironic. I thought he did OK first half !

He’s no target man so got lost a bit in the huff and puff of the 2nd half.

UTB

The service was non existent to be frank.

 

[DronnieBlade]

On a side note, the best duo I've seen this season up front for us was Leon and Brooks at the sty. Would happily have that pairing again at first opportunity.

Maybe that’s right.

But if my memory serves, the pigs CB pairing was Loovens and Van Aken !

UTB

 

[Dronfield Blade]

You actually don't know what you're talking about as you clearly can't read!

To paraphrase, it's just not happening for him at the moment. Whether that's him or the rest od]f the team. Maybe try something different. Give him a break.

What I was referring to:

“I don;t think he's adding much at the moment The problem is that neither Donaldson or Sharp are on form, but I think the former is probably a better starting bet right now. We need something different”

If you genuinely think Donaldson or Sharp have more to offer, then yes I dont think you know what you are talking about.

Leons workrate alone is more than all the others strikers combined at the moment! So to say he isn't adding much seems harsh.

As other have mentioned service to Leon is abysmal and considering Donaldson seems to be generally poor at home, I honestly cant understand your reasoning for wanting to “rest” Leon.

Tonight is frustrating but Leon isnt the problem.

 

[Nicolaus_Copernicus]

The only thing that I would criticise Clarke for tonight was in the 2nd half when he was running into the 18yrd box and tried to find Donaldson with a pass instead of shooting. Very strange thing for a relatively inform striker to do. It might have been on his weaker side but it was still worth even a toe punted effort.

 

[robbiez666]

What I was referring to:

“I don;t think he's adding much at the moment The problem is that neither Donaldson or Sharp are on form, but I think the former is probably a better starting bet right now. We need something different”

If you genuinely think Donaldson or Sharp have more to offer, then yes I dont think you know what you are talking about.

Leons workrate alone is more than all the others strikers combined at the moment! So to say he isn't adding much seems harsh.

As other have mentioned service to Leon is abysmal and considering Donaldson seems to be generally poor at home, I honestly cant understand your reasoning for wanting to “rest” Leon.

Tonight is frustrating but Leon isnt the problem.

At the moment, I think Donaldson is a bigger goal threat given the way we're playing, yes.

Clarke is simply not getting chances.