How is Stevens doing?Quote:
Originally Posted by elroy
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How is Stevens doing?Quote:
Originally Posted by elroy
Ok so far, nothing special but nothing wrong either. Every now and then he seems to push too far forward and leaves a gap down the left hand side but is usually quick to get back and cover. It is a problem with the likes of Oxlade Chamberlain running into the gap.
Clark had a great game. Stevens was decent if unspectacular.
Why cant Clark play like that when he has green on.
:confused: He's only played one game for us in his natural position. Out of three caps. And he did little wrong against Greece.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crosby87
Yah odd thing to say considering he's barely played in the green.Quote:
Originally Posted by Supreme feet
Thought he played very well too. There was one block in particular in the last few mins that typified his game. Played well to the end. Good to see...
Was that when he cut out Arshavin's cross with, I think, Gervinho waiting to turn it in? Outstanding bit of defending.Quote:
Originally Posted by SkStu
The very one.Quote:
Originally Posted by SwanVsDalton
that CLEArance from the left was superb. the way he directed it out to the right as well was fantastic.
coming into his own after a shaky few games. wonder what CD now makes of him
hopefully Dunnes absence might not be noticed as much in march*
if he is absent. which is looking likely
I think when Dunne comes back next month - you see Vlaar and Dunne as the 2 central defender, where will Clark play then?
I imagine he'll play centre half when Dunne gets injured again, if he even wins his place back to begin with. I suspect the honey monster will be moved on as soon as possible anyway.
Agree. I'd say Dunne's Villa career will be over at the end of this season. Certainly can't see him coming straight back into the defence if he gets back to fitness. Fortunately Villa's centre halves have been injured a lot, so would be surprised to not see him play a bit. But I'd have serious concerns about what kind of match practice he'll have for qualifiers in the first half of next year.
Clark missed a super chance while ago. Met a corner almost perfectly at the near post but just glanced it wide at the far post. Booked for a cynical foul on Roberts.
In fairest to him tonight - he kept the defence together for most part tonight - Baker was dodgy and Clark was barking out the orders so fair play - i didn't think he was good enough earlier in the season but he is changing my tune .... but bigger tests to come.....
Interesting piece I read this morning, it mentioned that the first half was full of chances for either side, not because of creative football, but because of the defending on show from both sides....
'Ciaran Clark determined to make mark with Republic of Ireland': http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/inter...-ireland-mark/
Quote:
Aston Villa central defender Ciaran Clark has reiterated his commitment and desire to play for the Republic of Ireland.
Clark, who has skippered Villa in recent matches, started Ireland's friendly international with Greece last month.
He is still eligible to play for England whom he represented at under-17 and under-18 level, as he has not played in a competitive match for Giovanni Trappatoni's team.
But Clark is still determined to play for the country of the birth of his parents.
He said: "It was nice to get the game last time, a friendly. All I can do is keep trying to play well here at Villa and hopefully I'll be in the back of their minds with Ireland.
"Wes Hoolahan was in as well against Greece and a couple of other lads were picked as well. It does give the other players hope now they might get a chance in the up and coming fixtures.
"I was regular for England Under-17, Under-18s, at the start of my career, but it's moved on now.
"I know there are a couple of friendly internationals leading up to the World Cup qualifiers and I've got to see what happens with that.
"Would I go back to England? No chance of that, not at all."
Clark, 23, has relished being Villa captain in the absence of the injured Ron Vlaar and admits skippering several of the players at youth level has made the role easier.
He said: "At the start of the season I never imagined I would be captain now. When a new manager comes in, you just want to try to get a place in the team first and foremost.
"That was my only goal and I've managed to play a number of games which has been a massive bonus for me.
"I captained at reserve and youth-team levels. I am vocal on the pitch. I do like to bark the orders out. It is just passing on info really, getting everyone communicating.
"It is maybe easier to communicate with lads you've played with for a while. The older lads are a lot more experienced and know what they should be doing anyway."
Current first-team players such as Clark, Nathan Baker and Chris Herd all graduated through the academy ranks at Villa.
Clark said: "It is good because we've come through the youth team, even younger than that, right through since the under-18s and reserves.
"We've won youth team and reserve leagues so we are all good mates and all know each other's games really well so that can only be good."
The Sunday Times feature picked him out as "one who got away from England" in their feature last week. Just gifted Spurs a second goal with a horrible misplaced pass in midfield.
Clark is a poor player, I've see him play lots of times live and he's too rash in the tackle, likely to give a pen away or get himself sent off.Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin
He put SSL out for 2 months with a brutal mistimed tackle in an Ireland training session plus nearly cut Whelan in half with a terrible diving in tackle.
He lacks composure too.
If this joker gets to play in any of the big qualifiers then we could have problems.
Completely over rated!
Duffys a better prospect.
wasn't it McShane that put St Ledger out?
I think it was misreported - was Clark to the best of my knowledge. Not that Sean has any reason to be so bitter months later, and it certainly doesn't make Clark a bad player, just impulsive. I'm also a bit perturbed by Sean's newfound love of Shane Duffy.
A week is a long time in....football.Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin
One thing we can agree on is that he's very green in more than one sense (though mercifully not Green...)
This guy will one day make a historic last ditch, draw-preserving tackle that will alter not only the alignment of some eastern European striker's spine, but the course of Irish football itself for the duration of ten glorious summer days. Paul McGrath and Richard Dunne will tweet their own unworthiness in response.
Mark my entirely sober words.
Sober at 15:05... I doubt the veracity of this statement.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sullivinho
Are you sure that wasn't St Ledgers last ditch tackle at home against Slovakia to keep our Euro 2012 dreams alive?Quote:
Originally Posted by Sullivinho
Ciaran Cak will spend most of his time getting sent off and caught hopelessly out of position judging by what ive seen of him over the past few seasons.
Most Villa fans are now seeing beyond the hype and realising how poor this England reject is.
Same as we Irish are with James McClean.
I'd have Macca ahead of Clark any day.
In Trap we must trust!
We've come to expect magnificence from Sledge. He is afterall, a man who made an entire European Championship Ireland GF column his bi**h.Quote:
Originally Posted by the doc
Currently, there are murmurs (not to mention the cruel, name-based satire) emanating from the jury room regarding Ciaran. Who, it should be said, could only be described as an 'England reject' in disingenuous terms.
At least Clark is in a good position to improve, playing against international-class strikers every week, when every error will be punished. He's been hot and cold, but so was Richard Dunne at 23. Recent impressive games against Arsenal and Liverpool, and being given the captaincy for a few games, suggest that he's got the tools, and he could thrive in a better team than Villa.Quote:
Originally Posted by the doc
Until St. Ledger shows good club form at a higher level than the Championship, there will always be a question mark over his ability to perform consistently. He's played well for Ireland, but one would fear that he's being carried by those around him (esp. Dunne), and is, in fact, a disaster waiting to happen. Is he a Kenny Cunningham or a Darren O'Dea? We just don't know.
It could be argued that SSL carried Dunny in the Euros.Quote:
Originally Posted by Supreme feet
As for higher level, SSL has never let us down at International level even scoring goals too.
SSL is very underrated and would of gone to Roma or Atalanta only for Leic to get cold feet.
Go and watch Cak at Villa, he's quickly becoming the Douglas Bader of football.
In Trap we must trust!
I think it's a bit unfair to describe St Ledger as a disaster waiting to happen. If that's true, he has been avoiding said disaster for an awful long time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Supreme feet
Roma were after St. Ledger?Quote:
Originally Posted by the doc
Just a gut feeling really. I don't think we can rely long-term on a player who isn't playing a high level of football at club level. History shows we don't fare well when we have second-tier league players* in vital positions. Fair play to Sean; like David Kelly and Alan McLoughlin, he's defied the odds for a long time by being a good international despite being marooned in a second-rate league. When the likes of Duffy, Hoban and Egan are coming through, I'd prefer them to be led by a player who actually has week-in, week-out experience of marking international strikers, not just a journeyman who lifts himself to step up to that level 4 or 5 times a year.Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin
*By 'second-tier league players', I mean players who have never played in a top league. I'm aware that the likes of Keane, Duff, and Dunne played second-tier football for a season or two, while playing well for Ireland.
Had a compo so went to Villa Park today.
Poorest Villa team in years, certs to go down.
Ciaran Cack was poor yet again, all at sea for the goals. Funniest moment was when he got turned then tried to kick and pull the player down but kept missing him.
Sides are now targeting him as a weak link in a very weak team.
Christ knows what international sides will do to him.
Any chance we can send him back to England?
Would imagine that Lambert is on borrowed time after today. The morale of the team must be in tatters. Clark has potential but is certainly error prone. He plays in a very difficult position for a relative novice - if he had Richie beside him for the remainder of the season I am sure you would see a marked improvement.
The first goal today was caused when Beneker failed to pick up his man for the corner. The 2nd was when Lowton was brushed aside by Kone. Boyce's goal was the only goal he was involved in. A one=two was played around Clarke and he tried to recover by hauling Boyce back.Quote:
Originally Posted by the doc
You have huge issues with Clark. You fail to realise he is just a kid playing in the Premier League in a very inexperienced team. Where was SSL, a player I like, playing when he was 21, Peterboro in Division 2 I think. Give the kid a chance, in time he will develop to a decent international defender.
I was at London Rd, around 2006, Vs Northampton maybe, but I went along to watch S.S.L., and saw you get an absolute chasing from a League 2 side containing Jason Pineapple Lee. You kept giving it back to them until they eventually scored and I remember one moment with you just stood there hands on hips looking at your boots for a very long time after yet another howler, team mates scowling at you. I doubt you have forgotten it, as it was tough to even watch.Quote:
Originally Posted by the doc
I repeat, it was League 2 and yet, you turned out ok, not as good as you like to think you are, but decent. Give Clark a bit more of a chance.
For some reason Ciaran Clark is quickly becoming a favourite player of mine. :-)
If this Villa side can't turn their current form around I think you'll be shown to be incorrect on a couple of points there. I strongly suspect this Villa side, even with the exodus that would follow relegation, would walk the championship. I also suspect Clarke would do very well in the championship never mind merely cope there. He has enough skill and lord knows enough physicallity to his game to do just fine.Quote:
Originally Posted by the doc
As for the division itself -I'll agree it's a tough league -but that's as much to do with fixture congestion and finite resources as anything to do with quality. I can't agree about any number of teams currently in there being able to compete with any consistency in the Premier League. I suspect upwards of 90% would be dicked raw week in week out.
what the hell were you guys talking about before? And who is Jason Pineapple Lee?
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/...00_224x384.jpgQuote:
Originally Posted by Crosby87