KennyPowers Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 I can't speak highly enough of the lad. Great to watch a defender who enjoys defending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir_gary_cahill Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 He was excellent today, he's maturing into a fine defender Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 Has anyone ever seen Clark playing in the first team look anywhere near as good as Baker playing in the first team? For whatever reason, Clark was rated higher in the youth team and that just put him ahead of Baker in the pecking order, but my word Baker is so far ahead of him now it's unreal. Don't want to see Clark near the pitch while Baker is fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Con Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 Clark is two years older, so would always have been more advanced than Baker as they developed through the academy. Clark is a great defender and I would put him back in CB ahead of Baker if Baker makes another defensive error. Baker has made 5 defensive errors this season, Clark 4, for some reason Baker gets all the praise and Clark gets all the criticism. We are very lucky to have two great young defenders now with Baker. Vlaar is the one looking over his shoulder! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StefanAVFC Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 Stats Clark rarely wins headers, is too weak and always looks like cocking up and has done (again my own eyes, not bloody stats) Baker is by far the better player. Could be the next Terry if he continues like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Con Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 *Yawn* Baker should stay at CB where he is superb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 Clark is two years older, so would always have been more advanced than Baker as they developed through the academy. Clark is a great defender and I would put him back in CB ahead of Baker if Baker makes another defensive error. Baker has made 5 defensive errors this season, Clark 4, for some reason Baker gets all the praise and Clark gets all the criticism. We are very lucky to have two great young defenders now with Baker. Vlaar is the one looking over his shoulder! Define a defensive error please. Clark, I promise you, has made more than 4. You are wrong. I know this because I watch and understand football, and I've seen the majority of our games this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginko Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 As long as he stops doing stupid things to try and give penalties away then he'll be a great CB. Despite it being ball to hand against Stoke, it was still a stupid risk to leave his arm out like that, it was obvious what he intended. Still, Clark hasn't stepped up and at the moment I'm glad to see Baker playing alongside Vlaar instead of him. I still would like to buy a really good CB in the summer though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StefanAVFC Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 *Yawn* Baker should stay at CB where he is superb. Yes but you're defining your arguments with stats. You're saying that if Baker makes ONE MORE ERROR, you'll drop him. How bloody fickle is that. He's been immense lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Con Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 Clark is two years older, so would always have been more advanced than Baker as they developed through the academy. Clark is a great defender and I would put him back in CB ahead of Baker if Baker makes another defensive error. Baker has made 5 defensive errors this season, Clark 4, for some reason Baker gets all the praise and Clark gets all the criticism. We are very lucky to have two great young defenders now with Baker. Vlaar is the one looking over his shoulder! Define a defensive error please. Clark, I promise you, has made more than 4. You are wrong. I know this because I watch and understand football, and I've seen the majority of our games this season. The defensive error stats are from Squawka. I don't know how they define them. If you think about it, every defender makes multiple errors in a single game. I suspect they only count the really major errors, like tripping Suarez for a penalty. Clark has been more rigorously tested than Baker so it is natural for him to reassume his place if Baker goes through a dodgy spell. He's an international, has handled Ibrahimovic and most of the top strikers in this league now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StefanAVFC Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 Clark is two years older, so would always have been more advanced than Baker as they developed through the academy. Clark is a great defender and I would put him back in CB ahead of Baker if Baker makes another defensive error. Baker has made 5 defensive errors this season, Clark 4, for some reason Baker gets all the praise and Clark gets all the criticism. We are very lucky to have two great young defenders now with Baker. Vlaar is the one looking over his shoulder! Define a defensive error please. Clark, I promise you, has made more than 4. You are wrong. I know this because I watch and understand football, and I've seen the majority of our games this season. The defensive error stats are from Squawka. I don't know how they define them. If you think about it, every defender makes multiple errors in a single game. I suspect they only count the really major errors, like tripping Suarez for a penalty. Clark has been more rigorously tested than Baker so it is natural for him to reassume his place if Baker goes through a dodgy spell. He's an international, has handled Ibrahimovic and most of the top strikers in this league now. He didn't handle Dzeko very well did he. Or Anichebe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Con Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 No, but we can't say Baker will do better until he does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knvilla772 Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 I think both have potential to be great players, baker looking more solid right now, would still like to see Clark back as DM, he looked very promising there a couple of seasons ago! Might give Westwood a bit more freedom too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StefanAVFC Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 No, but we can't say Baker will do better until he does. Baker has performed better against similar types of players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Con Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 Except Suarez. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StefanAVFC Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 Except Suarez. Who isn't a striker in the same ilk as Dzeko and Anichebe :< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KennyPowers Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 My endearing image of Ciaran Clark from this season is West Brom away when he got matched up with Lukaku and looked absolutely terrified. I mean scared shitless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packoman Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 Clark and Baker are very different types of defenders, Baker is the more physical and better in the air, while Clark is better on the ball (except when he tries to take it a bit far). Both seem to be pretty good and intercepting passes too. And both have made mistakes, which is common for young defenders. I could see them playing along side each other in a few seasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingfisher Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 Clark isn't good on the ball, and his defensive skills are poor. He's not improving. Baker's defensive skills are stronger and more assured. He is improving, and at a good rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob182 Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 For a defender, Clark IS good on the ball. If you can't see that then I can only assume you have not watched him for the past 4 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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