Its a difficult one Doc, as I don't think anyone on here doesn't think Clarke is probably one of our most talented players at the club, and I've seen Wakey's response and wouldn't disagree with his assessment either and thus it would seem ridiculous to be in a position where we are willing to sell him. The questions that go through my mind are : Is there a non financial reason why the club would want to sell ? - Whilst I can't answer that, the only thought that goes through my head would be is there a concern that he is not someone who is able to perform for 90 minutes and thus selling now whilst he is in the limelight. is considered good business. That to me would be a very short term view, as stamina, fitness whatever you want to call it, is something that is easier to work on than any specific technical talent, as Wakey already highlighted. Is there both a financial reason and non financial reason - Can the player coming in offer more right now than Clarke, would it give us a better chance of promotion ? - I can't comment on the Swansea guys ability so who knows if we would be better off or not, other than we just have an extra member to the squad. Is it purely financial , are the coffers bare - Do we actually need to raise the finances that the surplus in the sale of Clark and the purchase of the Swansea guy would bring, for other reasons, in which case I would be asking the question why. Does the board not have the confidence that the club will be promoted and thus don't want to make a relatively small investment in football terms to acquire a new signing, or do they not just have the money, either answer is a scary thought. The final question would be would I be happy for us to sell Clarke and get promotion or keep Clarke and play championship football next season. I admit that its not a gamble I would like to take, and even if promotion could be magically guaranteed i'd still find myself being hesitant.
Thats good enough for me and hopefully will put an end to the Spurs ****e. I explained yesterday Spurs havent two brass farthings to run together let alone blow 12m on a player and loan him back. They cant even get their stadium open ffs
Actually I was going to make the statement that teams without the ball work harder... then stopped to think if they just park the bus, do they really Must be some opta stats about how far players run relative to whether they hey have possession or not. I’m sure bielsa knows the stats, and I’m sure the draining effect of chasing shadows is mentally fatiguing. But we could just score late because both teams are knackered but we’re the ones with ball!
Nah, Ian Harte doesn't do clever wording. My wife was a teacher in Wetherby, & one of the governors was Leeds' Finance Director at the time. They needed a player to open a fete or something like that & were offered a few names. The school consulted the Finance Director who asked only one question - "Is there talking involved?", to which the answer was in the affirmative. "Well don't touch Harte then", ws the reply, "he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer!" The advice was taken, and a good day was had by all.
What have I started?! my comment was a bit tongue in cheek. Although technically it doesn’t rule out a loan back I don’t think Ian, a Leeds fan himself, would dick fans around like that. The fact he says ‘keep you updated’ could be implied that discussions were had. Or it could be that someone just knocks out a tweet in 20 seconds without worrying about how fans across the country will dissect it for hidden meaning!
