Clarke Oduor Signs

We are still in league two , or have i slept through a promotion.
Amazes me , that some of our fans , write a player off without actually seeing him play.
Who do they think we are going to sign at our present level.
Welcome to City Clarke, give your all, we don't ask for anything more .

 

Gilliead gives his all but thats not good enough for some!

So as a collective we do ask for more. And if we want promotion we should expect more than covering blades of grass.

PS I dont mind Gilliead.

 

Other players at , other teams hit the ground running , it seems to be city where they take all season , or not at all .

 

So was Smallwood.

 

This is what worries me and why I said yesterday this signing doesn't fill me with confidence. What we have here is a player City see as a winger, wingback or fullback, but the player sees himself as a number 10, so for me, it feels like the sort of signing we used to make, a square peg for a round hole type of signing. I hope I'm wrong and Clarke has a blinder of a season in whatever position he's asked to play, but right now, I'm not convinced that will happen.

 

I’m too but if he has pace then that could be a bonus.

On a positive it’s our first signing and I expect better to come through the doors over the next few months.

 

Reading into past clubs should be an indicator of what to expect from a player, but at this level it just isn't. One system change or positional tweak paints a different picture statistically and that's all fans can judge on before a ball is kicked. Look at Tyreik Wright, could barely start a match at any of his loans at Walsall, Salford & Colchester. Comes here in a system that works, only took 15 appearances and he gets a great financial move for him and our fans are clamouring for his return this summer.

Or Dan Agyei, the fan base will erupt with joy if he signs, but if we were linked with him 12 months ago it would be ridiculously sour, as he had 17 goals from 126 career appearances on his record. One good season and now if he joins you'll see "piss the league" tweets for the rest of the week.

At 23, it would be daft to write this one up as a bad signing before a ball is kicked. Hopefully he is another case of that one good spell lifting his career off and it happens with Hughes this season. Finally, it's an injection of pace in the squad which we massively lacked all last season.

 

Its all about the bigger picture. With a new season approaching its about learning from last seasons shortcomings, getting rid of players not good enough to work in a system and bringing in targeted transfers to raise the standards in areas that are lacking.For instance look at our two best players last season, one who wasn't even a starter in the system and another no one had ever heard of.
The transfer market isn't an exact science, you'll more than likely get more more signings wrong than right.And thats not to mean the players are necessarily poor, they might just not fit the managers playing style. So like with any signing he cannot be judged until he's had a few months to settle in. Even then circumstances can dictate it might take even longer, a classic example Mark Marshall, hardly seen under Parky but picks up the poty awards next season under Stuart.
If our recruitment department are on top of their game, the players we bring in should in theory take us to the next level of top three promotion spots as they've had a season to see the weak points.
Looking forward to see who else comes on board.

 

That’s precisely how it works.

 

Exactly what happened when we found a certain John Hendrie. Of course they are exceptions to the rule , but it’s exactly what my local side Peterborough have done for years. Ex Prem or Academy players picked up for peanuts after being released or spotted at lower league sides. They will have watched this lad for a while?

 

One major reason we failed at the last hurdle…no outlet or threat on the left side of the grass.

 

This lad did well in the championship when he played so there is a decent player in there so let's hope we can bring the best out of him. To those that have dismissed this signing already just think back to Josh Cullen he was brilliant for us in league 1 but if you ask Bolton fans what they thought of him in the championship they would say he was the worst midfielder to grace their shirt, so think on not every club is the same and some players thrive at one club and not at another so judgement shouldn't be made without a ball been kicked.

 

Cook couldn't get a game at Mansfield for example.

 

Well said Jordan, my take too.

 

As identified by @Inspector earlier ( Tnx!)

The full piece from the T&A

“
The lowdown on new Bradford City signing Clarke Oduor
thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/23571749.lowdown-new-bradford-city-signing-clarke-oduor/

Simon Parker

CLARKE Oduor was yesterday unveiled as City’s first summer recruit on a three-year deal.



But what can we expect of the 23-year-old who was capped once by his native Kenya?

Oduor was released by League One play-off finalists Barnsley after four years at Oakwell.

He also had a 14-game loan spell with Hartlepool in the first half of last season.

Oduor made 57 appearances for the Tykes, scoring one memorable goal to keep them up in the Championship.

We asked Doug O’Kane, sports editor of the Barnsley Chronicle, for his insight on the player coming to Valley Parade.

Bradford will be a decent club for him to go to.”

Clarke Oduor has signed a three-year deal at City (Image: Thomas Gadd)

The left-footed Oduor has played as a full back, wing-back and winger - but also harbours aspirations of operating centrally as well, according to O’Kane.

“He’s an attacking midfielder who has said in various interviews that he wants to play as a number 10 behind the strikers.

“But because he’s left-footed, he’s mainly been used at left back or left wing-back at Barnsley.

“Barnsley have played wing-backs most of the time he has been there so he’s been shoved into that position.

“Maybe it will suit him more as a winger with less defending to do.”



Despite never being a regular in the side, Oduor ensured he will never be forgotten by Barnsley fans for his only goal for the club at the end of the 2020 season.

The Tykes had looked doomed for the drop from the Championship when football was suspended because of the pandemic.

They were seven points adrift of safety when the second tier restarted to its conclusion behind closed doors that summer.

Fast forward to the final day and Barnsley had to win to stay up. Hosts Brentford needed the three points to clinch promotion to the Premier League.

With the game locked at 1-1 going into stoppage time, Patrick Schmidt drilled a cross to the far post where Oduor slid it home.

Cue mayhem among the Barnsley players and coaching staff by the corner flag at an otherwise-deserted Griffin Park.

O’Kane added: “Even though it was behind closed doors and no fans were there, that was a big moment in Barnsley’s recent history.

“It was a ridiculous escape from nowhere really. Nobody had given them a chance and they beat Brentford, who would have gone into the Premier League by winning that match.

“It was a memorable moment for him but he hasn’t quite kicked on.

“He burst on the scene and did pretty well in that first season in 2019/20. But after that, he’s never really been first choice.

“He’s been in and out, used in different positions and had the odd good game and some disappointing ones as well. He hasn’t quite kicked on.



“End product is something he needs to work on, like a lot of young, attacking players.

“But I’d say he’s never really been given a proper chance at Barnsley or Hartlepool.

“Obviously he’s got to earn that, it’s a two-way street. But I’d like to see him getting 30-plus starts in a season and see what his goals and assists are at the end of that.”

Keith Curle, Hartlepool’s manager at the time when Oduor returned to Barnsley, told him he needs to “impact the game” more.


“Technically he’s got good ball mastery,” he told the Hartlepool Mail. “He can service the ball very, very well, but it’s having an impact on the game as well.

“I go and watch a lot of under-23’s and under-21’s football and I see lots of people who have got good ball mastery and have good ball technique but they don’t impact the game.”

O’Kane can see Curle’s point but feels Oduor is still waiting for that decent spell in a team.

“I think what Keith Curle said was a fair criticism but equally he hasn’t really been given that chance.

“He’s been in and out with lots of different managers.

“If he gets a long run in a team in a position he’s comfortable with, then it will be interesting to see how many goals and assists he can come up with.”

 

Has Ridehalgh even signed a new contract yet?

 

No, ie not known, he could have done and they are storing the info, or it’s just plain no.?

 

Challenge is we also need to fill the big void left by Banks as well now @Kevin1954

As @ahar964 mentioned though, there is at least Chapman to come back.

 

Its a position where we have lacked pace and was possibly our undoing at the end of the season as after chapman got injured we literally offered nothing there, he is a rookie but on L2 budgets you are going to have to put a few rookies in the squad and polish a few rough diamonds, some do better than others, its a decent signing with ‘potential’ in my opinion, we were too old and slow when it mattered most last season.

He could really excel in the right environment and with the right management and support.

 

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