Billy Clarke confirmed

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.

 

Paying money for players doesnt mean anything we paid for Poleon and Bruenker

 

Not for me this signing, hope to be proven wrong.
You'll get a good second debut out of him, you'll get a couple of good end of season games out of him when he wants a new contract in the summer.
Other than that pretty much little else.

 

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.

 

I dont know, as I said wiki says Charlton signed him on a 2 year contract, which finishes in June 2019, Id think Charlton have come to some kind of deal with Billy

 

That might just be what we need from him!

 

They could have signed me, I’d do all the above (well perhaps not the good debut )

 

I just don’t see what he brings to the party. In his last spell he took 6 games to get going, had a couple of decent games then got injured again. We can’t afford that.

Add to that he’s not that creative and his finishing is questionable I’m struggling to find any positives.

 

Not for me either Johnny
Am prepared to give him a chance but not too hopeful
The Milwall keeper made a good save to keep him out
But it's written in the stars he will score the goal that keeps us up !!!!

 

Hope you're all looking forward to the frustration of watching Payne, Clarke and Ball run around 40 metres from goal with little tippy tappy passes, tripping over each other and going nowhere.

Anyway, Clarke will be happy, coming closer to home and having us pay his mortgage to sit on the bench.

Can't see anything in this signing at all unless Payne or Ball get injured. Hope I'm proved wrong though.

 

Given there's only 4 months of the season left that might be just enough to help us stay up so that'll do for me.

 

I see your point but we were happy to watch Law, Cullen and Meredith playing pretty triangles and going absolutely nowhere. I think this current 3 carry far more attacking threat

 

I agree with most of the comments here. Only thing I can think is I’m sure he played some games out left in his previous spell with us. Perhaps that was an appealing factor to DH? When Scannell finally come back (IF he comes back) then at least we have some width options.

Having taken time to reflect on our current position, both on and off the pitch, I guess if the primary targets simply weren’t there, then Butterfield and Clarke are on paper decent signings. Butterfield is 100% a good addition IMO.

 

Yes, Doyle has scored more goals in his career than Clarke.If Doyle needs better service to score more,maybe Clarke can help?

 

Last game against Wimbledon edgy? Nah,we've done it before......

 

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.

 

He's an option till the summer where the club will take stock of the situation. Even if we stay up we won't be in a situation where we can afford the likes of Jack Payne and David Ball as well as funding the likes of Josh Wright and Joe Riley. If Clarke does well he might end up with a longer contract due to our financial constraints elsewhere. I can see a big clear out again in the summer just like last summer with the club taking a hit on certain contracts. Damage limitation for the next 18 months.

 

Clarke is being seen as old at 31, and people are expecting less of him for some reason. Nonsense, I'm sure you'll agree. Doyle himself turns 31 in March, so that variable is out when comparing the two.

I'm sure Billy can potentially outscore Doyle in terms of goals from open play.

Hes got 4, and looked anything but clinical.

I'm not sure who I think the better finisher is at this point. I would have assumed Doyle, but then we've a boatload of evidence to say otherwise.

We'll see who scores more.