James Clarke

James Clarke defender from Bristol Rovers. where else? Has signed for Walsall.
Good signing in my book

Interesting he turned down a deal with Rovers to drop down to us. Even Clarke (the manager) seems surprised.

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Looks like a good signing.

According to this Bristol Rovers had offered him a new deal aswellā€¦

Good signing, nice to see a well established centre half back in the team

2 good, early signings so far, lets hope it continues

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Again doesnā€™t say how long the contract is though on the article

ā€œThe club have got lovely training facilitiesā€ this is what swung the dealā€¦

Looking promising so far. Also like what Iā€™m hearing of Clarke more and more. Players are signing for us due to wanting to play for him.

Clarke also mentioned in his comments that weā€™ll have a smaller squad this year - nice to see us go for quality rather than quantity. Canā€™t be carrying 2 players per position like last season, total waste of resources.

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Thatā€™s it, we wonā€™t be getting anymore GASHEAD IN PEACE messages :joy:
Welcome James :grin:

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Very pleased with this. It would appear Clarke is too:

Boss Darrell Clarke commented: ā€œIā€™m pleasantly surprised, to be honest with you. I didnā€™t think we would have a chance of getting him.

ā€œHeā€™s a lad I know very well and he can play anywhere across the back four. Heā€™s more of a centre-half but heā€™s played a lot of times at right-back.

ā€œWeā€™re not going to be working with as big a squad this year so itā€™s important weā€™ve got players who can fill in a few positions.

Was ever present in the Rovers defence last season, 5th best defensive record - good acquisition.

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Rovers fans seem gutted heā€™s gone and thought very highly of him so seems a real coup of a signing

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ā€œ Heā€™s quick, strong and uses the ball well. Heā€™s one of the best man-to-man markers from set-pieces Iā€™ve ever worked with; I canā€™t ever remember his attacker scoring a goal. Heā€™s got all the attributes.ā€

Looks a useful signing to me ā€¦welcome James UTS

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Seen a few say on Twitter that we are signing Rovers rejectsā€¦wrong.

Rovers boss said he would be disappointed if Clarke didnt sign a new deal. He played nearly 50 games for them last season, was their fans POTY and they had one of the best defences in League 1.

Not often a player from a higher division rejects a deal to come here, even more so when he was their most consistent performer.

He can play in so many positions too so will help with having a smaller budget.

I am actually buzzing about this signing. Sign of the times though as a Bristol Rovers player wouldnt normally get me excited!

As long as Clarke cherry picks the best from Rovers and adds some newer faces I will be happy.

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Looking good for the defensive side of the team,we know,potentially, we have good attacking options.

Sounds like a great signing. Funny thing is if we had got these two new players on board in January we would still be in League 1. I know its a bit of a mute point as they are only here because of the Clarke but just shows what an experienced manager can do with a limited budget.

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Seems to have a good pedigree and be well thought of with Cider land Rovers, This looks a promising move.
Welcome James!

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My immediate thought was: not another Bristol Roversā€™ rejectā€¦but reading his and our new managerā€™s comments, I am impressed with this signing. He has to be an improvement on Guthrie. I especially liked the bit about his marking from set pieces: how many silly goals did we give away from corners and free-kicks last season? Letā€™s build a firm defensive base and then look to get the attack firing. Itā€™s looking positive at last.

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Indeed, welcome James, seems DC is concentrating in sorting out our defensive disabilities from the start!
Has to be our extensive training facilities that are attracting his old players (certainly wonā€™t be financial rewards!)
Looks as if his squad liked the guy if some of them are prepared to uproot themselves away from Brizzle to come to little old Worsul in the 4th Division!
At least a couple of signings takes our minds of this grindingly diabolical and irritating Politics crud that is overtaking UTS at the moment.

Both Clarke and Sinclair stood out to me when we played Bristol Rovers under Whitney. I think that we won 2:1 and I believe that a goal from Sub Jackson and a dive (marked by Clarke) from Simeon was duly dispatched by Oztumer. Both players are absolute warriors and something of a departure from Leahy and ā€˜Iā€™m not heading itā€™ Russell Martin. A major upgrade on Guthrie and along with Scarr, I feel like we are getting a good defence. I still think that a goalkeeper with experience would be money well spent though. Frank Fielding has been released from Bristol City and is still only 31ā€¦