Most liked posts in thread: Billy Clarke confirmed

I will probably get pelters for this, but my recollection of the play off final was that Clarke wasn't presented with an open goal. I seem to recall a defender chasing him down and a goalkeeper on the scene, who made a save. It wasn't a howler where he missed a gaping goal from two yards.

 

What a negative transfer

 

An improvement on what we currently have, and he likes it here so a welcome return in my eyes.

 

i think i'm the only one who is delighted.

i'm well happy with it, welcome home billy!

 

He's not all that bad of a signing really, I think at the very least you can say he's a player that really wants to be here.
Considering our position I wouldn't be turning up my nose at a player like him.

 

Billy is a good insurance policy should anything happen to Payne, He is a talented player who will fit in well to the system we play, Suits both parties

 

Welcome home Billy l, far better than anything we currently have on the bench.

 

Billy didn't want to leave and was one of the 8 that was forced out by Rahic. He loved it at City , and his family were settled in the Harrogate area so much so that he had just bought a house before he was pushed out. He will be an asset during our battle against relegation and will thrive playing in a team that keep the ball on the floor. Welcome back Billy I hope all goes well for you and you earn yourself a new deal for next season.

 

when someone as talented as Billy Clarke comes available, and he's genuinely desperate to sign and play for us you take the opportunity and sign him.

and Billy Clarke is a terrific player. personally, I think him, Payne and Ball behind a central striker is a pretty exciting prospect.

 

To look at the positives, his goal scoring efforts were hampered in the latter stages of his City career by Parkinson playing him as an advanced midfield marker behind Hanson, so maybe, just maybe with some freedom he can up his returns there.
A second point is that this signing, combined with the technically gifted Butterfield in midfield surely means that Hopkins is now subscribing to football not hoofball as his focus - which of late is most definitely our most productive style.
We shall see, but welcome back Billy, looking forward to watching your undoubted talents hopefully put to good use in keeping us up!

 

Billy Clarke is not what we need. They've had all month to find a striker that will help with the problems we've had. Who's going to win a long ball in our team because sure as hell Doyle isn't. We have Payne, Clarke is a a pointless signing

 

That sounds like an improvement on the constant surrendering of possession that we have seen so much this season And I'm sure Hopkin will be much happier turning and seeing someone like Billy Clarke on the bench than young lads like Goldthorp & Maltby.

I can understand the caution with Clarke especially given his recent injury and he isn't the kind of striker we seemed to require. But anyone who has the desire to play for Bradford City and is brave enough with the ball like Clarke is welcome in this team.

I think he's a great option to have and someone who understands what it means which will help when we have low points in the run-in. Yes he's very similar to some other players in the squad but we saw against Southend that if Payne is heavily marked then we struggle. Clarke is another option for Hopkin that could ease the weight on Payne's shoulders.

 

Can I just add I managed a quick word with Billy at half time when the subs had finished their drills and you could tell how pleased he is to be back - need to take this into account when we also have players who's attitude has been bloody lousy

 

Clarke and Butterfield were standouts in training yesterday.

Hopkin was full of praise for them.

Butterfield took two practice shots from 25 yards, left foot and right. Both beat the keeper into the top corner and the players were amazed watching them go in.

Another titbit. Parkinson loved Clarke because he kept the play flowing and was good in possession. In the playoff final, we took him off after 75 minutes. Parkinson and Karl Robinson who were commentating both said that they were surprised the move. Until that point, we were the better team. After that Millwall took control.

His position is a link player - not an out an out striker.

 

Poor signing

 

I know it’s a bit of a pointless signing and he’s far from the best but I’m quite happy on reflection with signing Clarke. After years of bringing in unlikable players that fans struggle to relate to, more bothered about Instagram than anything else, it’s nice to bring in a grafter with genuine passion for the club. He’s not going to start often but he can’t not help rub off on others what this club can mean to players.

 

Really?
He's a player who sees an onward pass before the ball has even reached him. He has great vision and links play really well. He was the attacking fulcrum of SM's team.

What you can't rely on is his finishing. He scores the occasional worldy but misses sitters for fun.

I think he's here as a bench option and as cover if Payne or Ball were to get injured. Not the obvious signing we wanted up top but we're in beggars can't be choosers territory. But to suggest that he's not creative is IMHO ridiculous.

 

You'd certainly expect Doyle to have scored more than Clarke, seeing as he's played most of his career as an out & out fox in the box striker, whereas Billy has played most of his as a 10 or attacking midfielder.
I don't think Clarke has been brought here as a prolific goalscorer. We all saw what happened when SM played him up front on his own - he was hopeless. I still have nightmares about those open goal misses away at Oldham and Bury.
He's here as cover for Payne and Ball and a bench option. He's completely changed games for us before from the bench. Remember how he came on and rescued us against Halifax in the FA Cup in the season we went on to beat Chelsea?

 

Do we really need something different? We have been scoring goals and to resort to more lumping because we got Sammon would set us back in my opinion.

I think the signing of butterfield we will cut the hoof and go through him and O’Brien and Akpan at times to build our play. Butterfield will be key. We have some real quality and guile in the final third for the first time in a long time. No height but that doesn’t bother me too much.