I think City played very well but the scoreline flattered them.
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I think City played very well but the scoreline flattered them.
Clark and Ireland both start for Villa today alongside Dunne. It's probably just rotation on McLeish's part (though Ireland is just back from an injury) but a chance for Ciaran to impress in midfield, an area they've been struggling to compete in.
Derrick Williams is on the bench too.
Clark just gave away a bad penalty
Thanks, missed him for the live blog, added in now - http://irish-abroad.appspot.com/LiveQuote:
Originally Posted by SwanVsDalton
Settled into the game and done reasonable ok in central midfield
Is it true our Stevie was taken off with 15 seconds left in the first half? McLeish making a point?
He was injuredQuote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin
McLeish doesn't f*ck around!Quote:
Originally Posted by TrapAPony
Clark is playing in centre midfield this evening in the match against Stoke.
He played OK. Looks hesitant in possession and failed to track a few runs but he was generally OK.
Clarke had great game against Chelsea and set up Petrov goal. Would be nice to see him and Wilson in Ireland squad as they both can play defence and midfield. Would give us options.
I don't think Clark could play in midfield for us. He can do a job there at Premier League level but I think in international games it'd show how unsuited he is to the position. I think he'll be an excellent centre half for us for the next decade though.
Agree especially when ST Ledger is getting no game time at the moment and surely unless he gets regular football we cant take the risk with him in the Euro's.
With his versatility, he's probably one of the better placed players to take a place in the squad
yes.. though one might make the same observation on marc wilson. i reckon one or the other will go.
Based on gut feeling only, I think McLeish will go after someone like Samba, if Collins leaves, rather than just rely on a young defender like Clark, particularly as Villa have been pretty inconsistent all season. To be honest it is very hard to understand why McLeish would be happy to let Collins go as Dunne and himself have been a tower of strength to Villa over the past few years.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Fly
Collins has been awful for a year and a half. He's really poor. Dunne hasn't been great either but has picked it up this season. Don't think Collins would match that. If McLeish can get rid of Collins, he can stick with Cuellar/Clark partnering Dunne, Hutton at RB and Stevens/Chris Herd backing up the full-backs. Given Villa's financial cost cutting, makes sense.
Read a few Villa fans forums and they would agree with Swans statement. According to them Dunne improved form was when Collins was out of the team and that Collins is definitely the weak link in their defence.
On last weekend's performance , Warnock would seem to be the weak link!Quote:
Originally Posted by drummerboy
Hutton isn't much better, the left side of Villa's defence (left full + left sided centre half) seems to be a problem for them.
With any luck Stevens will get a run there and establish himself as the first choice.
Warnock's error the other day was out of character - he's generally a solid but unspectacular defender. Neither he nor Hutton can cross the ball, which is why I think Enda has a real chance of getting in if he can sort out his positioning.
I've seen Stevens twice. Away to PAOK (or Pow-ok as Trevor Welch calls them) and at home to Copenhagen. He was very impressive, both going forward and in defence, against Copenhagen. But I thought he looked slightly off the pace against PAOK. I presume the Stevens of the Copenhagen game is the typical Stevens? He used to ball very intelligently, both crossing and passing. And he never looked like being caught out.Quote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
The Premier League is obviously quite a step up from the Eircom League. It will be interesting to see whether McLeish involves him in the first team squad straight away or does what Moyes did with Coleman and blood him with a high-flying championship side.
But, in fairness, Warnock has been pretty poor this season. Liverpool's supposed interest in him last January when he couldn't get a run under Houllier looks like a close escape, especially given the impact of Enrique.
Clark has gained one of his two Irish caps at left full against Wales. Am I correct in saying the other one was at left full also?
Enda's defensive positioning is a bit suspect, which he would usually get away with in Ireland but Partizan, PAOK and Rubin clearly targeted the full backs with cross-field passes and caused him all sorts of problems. Against Spurs and Copenhagen he coped very easily, I thought.
Dunne aside, the Villa defence is one large weak link.Quote:
Originally Posted by gastric
Very good match from midfield against Bristol Rovers. Great goal too.
Lovely goal there for Clark, goes alone, takes on a few Bristol Rovers defenders, cuts it back on to his left foot and a lovely in to the bottom corner. Almost made this **** poor match worth watching...almost.
Clark never though about going out on loan to boost Euro 2012 chances: http://www.birminghammail.net/birmin...7319-30092313/
I really like this kid. Reckon he is going to have a great career at club level and with Ireland. I hope Trap brings him to Poland.
Ciaran Clark will be out for a few weeks with damage to knee ligaments: http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetai...608682,00.html
Quote:
Ciaran Clark, meanwhile, damaged his knee ligaments in training on Saturday and looks set to miss several weeks.
...
"In training yesterday Ciaran caught his studs in the turf and he's tweaked a ligament.
"It's a real shame because we had definite plans for him tonight as well as Gary Gardner in the team.
"We will lose him for a few weeks. It's not an overnight return either. It's knee ligament issues.
Back starting in midfield for Villa v Man Utd
Penalty awarded against Clark for placing his foot within 100 cm of Ashley Young.
Shay goes for the wrong side again.
If a goalie just ignored what the kick taker was shaping up to do, would they have a 50/50 chance of diving in the right direction, not counting down the middle shots?
Took a blow to the head, had to be taken off. Don't think it would be too bad but no head injury is good.
Just scored against Spurs.
Might be one of the stanby options announced on Monday, maybe even a wild card for the 23?
Thought he should've been in the replacements, certainly will be one to look to in WC campaign
Not had a huge amount of gametime and when he has its been a mixture of centre back, left back and centre midfield. Difficult to know what position he's most suited for other than utility bencher.
James Collins sold back to West Ham.... Does it open a door for Clark as CH???
I'm guessing it'll be Vlaar and Dunne at the heart of defence. Clark and Dunne both prefer to play on the left side, so I think they'll be competing for the same spot.