Phil Thompson revealed that he was excited to see what Leeds United winger Jack Clarke could do against Rotherham on Saturday but was left disappointed by his performance instead.
The Sky Sports pundit was covering the game for the broadcaster on Saturday and despite the Whites winning 2-1, and slammed Clarke’s display as he believed it was really poor.
Thompson claimed that Tyler Roberts changed the game upon Marcelo Bielsa bringing him on to replace the 18-year-old as Clarke’s teammate had more urgency about his play.
“I was hoping to see Jack Clarke, I was really looking forward to seeing what he could do, have a go at people, create things, get the ball, but he was poor, really poor,” said Thompson on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday (Saturday January 26th, 17:14).
“It was no surprise when they took him off at half-time and brought on Tyler Roberts, he got ball into Roofe upfront and that’s when it changed, he was very very good.
“There was more urgency about it.”
OPINION
Clarke was not his usual self against Rotherham on Saturday and it’s no surprise that Thompson was left unimpressed by what he saw. The teenager has no luck down the flank and it was a good move by his manager to ends his game early. However one bad day at the office can be expected given the fact Clarke is still young and learning his craft. While Thompson wasn’t impressed on this occasion it’s likely that next time he gets to witness him play, the teen sensation will be able to wow him. Even though it’s disappointing to see Clarke submit a bad display, it is nice to hear Thompson rave about Roberts taking advantage of being brought with plenty time left on the clock. Roberts isn’t first-choice at Elland Road and if he wants to change that, the 23-year-old has the make the most of his minutes when being deployed from the bench.