It pains me awfully to report that ClarkeyCat broke down, yet again, upon his return from injury tonight. The bearded but slightly built, skillful attacker banged in two beautiful goals before collapsing before half time clutching his thigh, as usual.
The frustration was apparent on his features as he returned solemnly to the bench and he now faces another concerted spell on the sidelines.
Sure the nimble frontman is a valuable player when fit, however the trouble for management is that he’s constantly injured.
It appears impossible to plan for a title charge when the fitness of the main striker is always in doubt.
With that in mind I invite the squad to decide whether we should pay off ClarkeyCat the remainder of his contract (1/12 the astro leagues fees with an adjustment to take into account the 5 games played already) and allow him to speak to other franchises? :w00t:
There is no question that the guy has talent and I hope nobody disputes that on this thread. However it’s important that a decision is made which serves the best interests of both the player and thefreekick.com astro side.
Regrettably there is little doubt that TFK have had a couple of seasons badly disrupted by injuries to a key striker. The side is built around a nucleus of 12 key players and losing one of them on a regular basis puts a huge physical (not to mention emotional) strain on the rest of the players. Clarkey offers plenty when he plays but that’s all too often and worryingly his full recovery from injury seems as far away as ever.
Against that the budget for this season has already been distributed. Paying Clarkey off and signing a replacement in the winter window looks like it might be a step too far for the masters of the purse strings this season. I’d imagine Clarkey will be retained until the end of his contract by default, though after then he’ll do well to convince anyone to sign him. Perhaps Merrill Lynch might take a gamble on him.
I can envisage him linking up well with El Zilcho. They’ve a cracking 'keeper who’s got incredible distribution and he’d be well capable of setting Clarkey free in behind any defence. I suppose it’s likely we’ll be stuck with him for the season but it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t approach other teams all the same.
I’ll see if I can put a deal together with one of the other teams. Can’t see him interesting El Zilcho to be honest. I think he needs to drop down a couple of levels to find his feet again at a slower paced game before coming back to our level. It’s like expecting a Johnny Foreigner to fit right in at a Premiership team. Ain’t gonna happen.
I’ve read a lot of cases recently where the root cause of players’ ongoing groin/hamstring/thigh injuries has been traced directly to the back and the nerves down the spine. In Clarkey’s case I think it might be beard related.
I purchased a home gym recently which has still yet to arrive but it’s the first step on the long road to my recovery. I’ll be back better than ever and will prove all the doubters wrong. Fact.
