When you think about it, it kind of makes sense.
But at the same time, some of it does come on the manager for not giving him a chance to make the change happen. Former Leeds United player Noel Whelan believes that Jack Clarke’s lack of versatility is the reason he hasn’t made as much of an impact this season as he did during the last campaign.
Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan said:
“The problem with Jack Clarke is he can only play one position and one position only. He’s a natural winger and can’t really play anywhere else. It’s the only explanation for him not getting in the team.”
Some of this falls at the feet of Marcelo Bielsa for not willing to experiment. He should be the one to look at his skillset and entice him to try and play different positions. He’s given him enough opportunities in the U23 side this season, it should be on him to use those games to experiment and try and force him into those positions, to try and see if he can make a career in a new role.
We’ve seen how other players have changed their positions for the benefit of their careers, for instance Gareth Bale changing from a left-back to a left-winger, or when Thierry Henry changed from a left-winger to a striker, and whilst I’m not comparing his talent levels to that just yet, it’s certainly not impossible to think that he could shift to being a number ten for example, or a central midfielder, the former of which Leeds are lacking right now.
In Whelan’s defence though, there is some of this that falls at the feet of Clarke. There’s only so much of this that can be pinned on Bielsa. There has to be a point where Clarke takes the responsibility himself and start trying to better himself in a different position, or at the very least going to Bielsa and asking him to be tried somewhere else in a bid to get game time.
It’s certainly someone’s fault, but whoever it is, it’s significantly holding back Clarke’s career, but it could also be holding Leeds back because they might be missing something that he can offer, but he isn’t being given a chance to prove it.