Ciaran Clarke- just how good is he?

The lad is ****ing mint.
Goes about his business quietly and likes to carry the ball from the back.

 

Reads the game pretty well. Solid. Can bring the ball out of defence pretty well too. Didn't look that great at LB to be honest but at CB has a good partnership with Lascelles. We may need better in the Prem should we be promoted but he'd be a good squad player.

Did he play mostly at LB at Villa because I got the impression he wasn't that well thought of there?

 

Ive been really impressed. He can play with the ball as well. we have had to put up with some prettu poor options at CB for a good few years so to see the players we have available in that position at the moment is quite refreshing.

 

I feel like our four centre backs are too good for the championship, or the best in that league, but not quite premier league class, however Mbemba and Lascelles have time to learn/grow and become good PL defenders.

One contributing factor is Benitez though, a former CB in his playing days at Real M, he is a real expert at the defensive side of coaching, I really do think the four guys we have couldn't be anywhere better for development

 

He is quite good but he owes someone some money and gives away a lot of fouls so I am sure Fredor thinks he is ****e.

 

Clark 27, Hanley 24, Mbemba 22, Lascelles 22 - all young and with time to grow, a year in the Championship with us will do them no harm whatsoever.

Clark I'm not convinced by yet, looks solid at this level but has never looked better than a lower half E.P.L. defender to me and the Villa fan's I know don't think to highly of him although that may just be sour grapes as a local lad who came through their academy and left for a promotion rival.

He's done O.K. so far and he's a good option but like I say still not convinced he will cut it in the E.P.L. and would rather see Mbemba get a run of games at CB with Lascelles as they looked solid towards the end of last season.

 

As good as Steven Taylor was in the championship

 

That's pretty much want I wanted to say but it felt a bit harsh...

Thank you Cap

 

No problem I'm always here to help dampen the spirits mate

 

I'd say he's definitely better than that; Steven Taylor in the championship was just the same as Steven Taylor in the Premiership - constantly injured, error prone and overrated.

Clark is definitely better than Mbemba and Hanley, and looks like he's got a really good partnership going with Laecelles atm, certainly our defence looks far better than last time we were in the championship.

Clark is clearly one of the best defenders in this league, but probably only a lower-mid table premiership player, if he was top class he wouldn't have been at Villa so long.

 

Hang on let's be honest there was a time people were saying Taylor for England the season after we got promoted, so I've no reason whatsoever to think Clark is any better just yet mate

Look at gouffran in this league he wasn't even a bottom three player in the premiership

 

The season after we got promoted? Maybe in 2006 he might have been tipped from England, but in 2010 he hardly played - Williamson and Coloccini was our regular defence pairing then, Taylor played in less than a third of the games that season, either due to being injured or the other 2 being preferred to him. Why would people be saying Taylor for England when he couldn't get past Mike Williamson in the pecking order?

Taylor was all potential, but never lived up to anything near what we hoped of him. Clark is more of a "finished article", 27 now and had a decent career largely free of injury. Not saying Clark's a world beater, just a solid and dependable defender, Taylor could never have been called dependable, was always error prone and always an injury waiting to happen.

 

Yes mate he and colo were gaining all the plaudits as a central partnership

I'm not lieing

I'm just trying to point out I don't rate a player until they've played well for at least 2 seasons

Then if they have a bad game or two I allow a couple of months to turn things around

Sorry but that's the way it should be I'm tired of people changing opinions left right and centre because they've jumped on the wrong bus too often

 

In 2012 he played more and had more of a partnering with Colo, so I could understand some rumours then, but 2010 his appearances were just too few....however even after his good form in 2012, surprise surprise he got crocked just when you thought he might finally establish himself, leaving Mike to pick up the pieces (and do a good job). Taylor was just a Kieron Dyer in defence - all potential and massive expectations, but constantly injured and either missing or underwhelming when he did play.

As for Clark, it's not an opinion just made from his games with us, he's been solid and dependable for Villa for the last six seasons. Yes, they were atrocious last year, but that was more to do with Lescott and Richards being lazy and uninterested than in Clark.

 

He got injured about this time of he year but trust me he was getting praise

I'm not sure what the argument is with the injury aspect ?

I'm simply saying I think Taylor was a good championship player and at times looked good in the premiership

I knew he was ****e and I'm not going to say Clarke isn't unless he plays well for at least 2 seasons

It's always been my way

I'm doing the save with rashford st man united who everyone is talking up far too much

He's done **** all yet

 

I agree players need to prove themselves and Rashford still has a long way to go; people said Macheda was going to be the next big thing in 2008, now he's 25 and without a club after being on loan at Nottingham Forest.

However Clark is a totally different case, cos he's been a dependable premiership player for Villa for the past 6 seasons, not just some youth team player who's exploded onto the scene. Clark has been very decent with us so far, thus maintaining the solid career he's had so far.

The injury argument is that Taylor was constantly injured, therefore we could never depend on him on him to do a good job for us for a consistent period of time; same with Woodgate, great when he played, but you could guarantee he'd get crocked as soon as he was having a decent run in the team. Clark on the other hand has a decent fitness record, and thus seems less of a liability to pin our defensive hopes on.

 

Let's guys agree to disagree mate

I never said Taylor was dependable nor was I comparing injury records in my initial comment.

Clark was not particularly good for villa

If you ask me from what i saw he was crap

 

You're having a good time down there but the chances are that you've got a few players there who'll never play for you again once you get promoted.

Who are they?

 

All of them

 

I can see most of them coming with us but some who are first teamers now will become back up to new signings. Is Ciaran Clarke quick enough to stop the likes of Vardy, Rashford, Aguero, etc? Probably not. Atsu/Gouffran will probably struggle to make any impact. Question marks about Gayle and Mitro. The list goes on. I think we'll try and bring in half a dozen quality players but I don't think we'll see as much squad rotation as there won't be the same quality throughout the squad.