Will Leon Clarke get 15 goals this season?

[Pinchy]

Only if Sharp gets injured can I see Clarke making enough appearance to get 15.

I really hope that Wilder has learnt his lesson and never plays them both together again.

Disagree mate. They are both good players and good players can play together. Leon is a far better bet for goals than Matt Done. I know it's a recurrent theme but Done will be replaced.

Tufty knew he had Sharp when he bought Clarke and didn't buy Clarke to sit on the bench. He clearly contemplated them playing together and an early season false start (with a half-fit Leon) will have done nothing to change that.

Gerremin. Gerrembothin.

 

[Pinchy]

I can't disagree more, one of the key reasons we have seen an improvement is due to Done being up front closing down the opposition and providing far better movement.

Not really. The excellence of Fleck, Coutts and Duffy and the arrival of Moore and Eel are far more significant.

Done is a limited trier who runs around a lot to great acclaim but little effect. In Tuftyball everyone has to work hard; that's a given. His replacement will do just that and score a few goals as well.

 

[Stretch]

Reckon he will get 8 - 10 with a few assists thrown in. Not a disaster considering he has missed almost a third of the season through injury.

 

[Kenilworth]

When Clarke and sharp played together we were limping it up to Leon and Billy was no where for his flick ons.

I'd say that was more accurate than possibly intended to be

 

[Ldn_Rd_Blades]

I'd say that was more accurate than possibly intended to be

Both work tbf

 

[1danewhitehouse]

Not really. The excellence of Fleck, Coutts and Duffy and the arrival of Moore and Eel are far more significant.

Done is a limited trier who runs around a lot to great acclaim but little effect. In Tuftyball everyone has to work hard; that's a given. His replacement will do just that and score a few goals as well.

Done definitely has shortcomings when it comes to technique but the job he’s been doing is incredibly important to the way we’re playing so I disagree with the ”little effect” part. By being willing to run off the shoulder and chase balls down in the channels, he gives us an outball when we are under pressure at the back. He stretches teams and creates space for Duffy in the hole as if forces a bigger gap between defence and midfield for the opposition. It’s crucial to a style of football that relies on balls into the feet of the attacking players. This work sees us gain a lot of territorial advantage in games which is probably why we didn’t dominate against MK Dons when he was out. The downside is that his first touch is poor, he can’t consistently take people on, he has no upper body strength to hold defenders off and his finishing is hit and miss. The only way I see him being replaced is if someone does this same job but also has the technique or physical presence that he doesn’t in addition. So for Leon to get in the side I think he will have to work extremely hard showing that he’s willing to run the channels and chase lost causes, turn defenders forcing them to concede throw ins high up the pitch etc. I’m not entirely convinced he has it in him to do that so I expect him to remain plan B for the immediate future. If he shows enough in cameos from the bench or something happens to one of the front 2, he may get his chance. For what it’s worth, I agree he’s a good player but I think the system we play needs a runner of the channels and if Clarke or Sharp are doing that as their primary job, you don’t get the best out of them.


As for whether he can get 15 goals, he’s on 2. I think he’d probably need at least 30 more games to do so which I can’t see him getting. If we were still in the nonsense trophy he might have a chance.


Of course there are so many variables we can’t say with any certainty. If Sharp ruptured his ACL (touch wood) tomorrow then Leon would probably start the majority of games and would have every chance.


When it comes to replacing Done, I think the most likely candidate seems to be Harry Chapman. Signed as a winger but has shown signs of potentially making a good striker. Has a bit of pace to stretch teams the way Done does but also looks like he can beat a man and looks a bit stronger than Done.

 

[Cerberus Blade]

[QUOTE="When it comes to replacing Done, I think the most likely candidate seems to be Harry Chapman. Signed as a winger but has shown signs of potentially making a good striker. Has a bit of pace to stretch teams the way Done does but also looks like he can beat a man and looks a bit stronger than Done.[/QUOTE]

I agree with this. I think Chapman will give us pace and goals down the left and I'd see him replacing Done eventually. Although credit to Done, he's been playing really well of late, the problem is he's just not a prolific scorer, but I think Chapman could be. And as regards Clarke, I think he's a very good player at this level and will give us something different again. I wouldn't draw too many conclusions on what we saw in the first few matches when he played alongside Sharp. He wasn't fully fit then but he looks very spritely now and I think that could be a potent combination, especially if we get Chapman (instead of Lafferty - who I just haven't seen much from so far) on the left and Duffy on the right. As for young Caolan Lavery, I think he's also going to be good for us but he'll need someone to get injured before he gets a good run in the side I think.