Martin Clarke or James Allen?

[bigfootw]

this is fair dinkum.
a bloke at work (adam barrett) reckons that james allen (magory medalist and former geelong rookie) is a better footballer than martin clarke. his main points are that allens size and injuries robbed him of an AFL career and that martin clarke was moulded into an afl footballer and an aussie that took clarkes spot on the rookie list could have done just as good as clarke. i reckon that is a ridiculous comment as not many footballers (aussie or not) could of possibly had the impact that clarke did in half a year of footy ever. and this other bozo from work reckons that clarke is only good cos he had a lot of time put into him but i reckon that any player with flaws will be fixed when they get drafted regardless of if their irish or not. thoughts anyone?

 

[SirJimi05]

James who?

 

[RUNVS]

Isnt James Allen a a commentator for the formula 1?

 

[Burzum]

Tell Adam Barrett that he's a ****wit.

 

[vicpride99]

yeah seen James Allan play a bit of footy, should no doubt be on an AFL list and yes probably is a better player if he was persisted with. Footy is a cruel game.

 

[Divado]

where do you work? these people are brain dead.

 

[bigfootw]

painter, probably explains everything. the fumes really affect these boys.

 

[ClarkeM]

What the?
First here to say Clarke!

 

[Johnson#26]

Allen's only claim to fame todate (aside from the Magarey) is the fact that his presence @ Kardinia Park helped bring about James Bartel's name becoming Jimmy.

 

[raskolnikov]

lol@naming the guy on an internet forum

 

[Burzum]

painter, probably explains everything. the fumes really affect these boys.

Care to share any more personal information about him?

 

[MagpieGirl_13]

MARTIN CLARKE!!!!! Duh.
I've never even heard of James Allen???

The person who told you this must be ill informed. Take one look at Marty's 1st season of AFL & you'll know who is better!!

*** MARTY is a STAR ***

 

[Lockyer24]

Clarke is operating purely on his overall sporting talent overall at the moment, you have to remember he has much more upside than any muppet who is borderline AFL (who could be quite capable of stepping in and having the odd game or two)

If he is injury prone, cry me a river, every club has had a gooduns career wrecked by it

 

[ClarkeM]

Havnt seen you in a while Lockyer.

How old is James allen?

 

[bigfootw]

he is about 22-23.

 

[XXX KINGS]

I have never seen James Allen play but I would take him over Martin Clarke. I will not further elaborate.

 

[bradism]

I wont suggest Allen is better than Clarke. However, anyone who is saying they've never heard of Allen and therefore Clarke is superior obviously doesn't know as much about footy as they'd like to.

 

[Gozz]

James Allen is awesome for the Roosters, but a bit of a porker. If he lost weight he could not only play AFL, but carve up in it aswell.

 

[scarecrow2k1]

I wont suggest Allen is better than Clarke. However, anyone who is saying they've never heard of Allen and therefore Clarke is superior obviously doesn't know as much about footy as they'd like to.

Not necessarily, as Clarke is an amazing talent, and is going to be an awesome footballer, so going on simple logic, if someone else is not even in the AFL when they are at the prime age to be there, they are clearly not as good.

If we were to go by your logic I could say that I am better than Marty Clarke and you could not disagree

 

[Kirby]

I have never seen James Allen play but I would take him over Martin Clarke. I will not further elaborate.

You dont have to. It was tatoo'd on your forehead at birth.

 

[Modra93]

Not necessarily, as Clarke is an amazing talent, and is going to be an awesome footballer, so going on simple logic, if someone else is not even in the AFL when they are at the prime age to be there, they are clearly not as good.

If we were to go by your logic I could say that I am better than Marty Clarke and you could not disagree

Terrible Post.

Clarke may be going to be better but he is raw. Allen has played football all his life. He has been robbed of stardom by injury and worked his way back in sanfl and proven he is of star quality. Problem is he is to small hence afl recruiters just plain and simple wont take him. At this current point in time there is no doubt Allen is a better footballer, in the long run probably not.

Take another example. Hayden Burgiel. Superstar local player in Maffra who was on Hawthorns rookie list until he got dumped. There is no doubt that he would be a top 22 player at any club over the last 3 years, but who is gonna draft a 25 year old plus midfeilder. No one.

Another example of teams not going to recruit a superior player is if he is a nutcase. There would be tonnes of kids out there with immense talent but attitude problems, that clubs realise he may well be a better player than option two BUT
- not what we want our club to be promoted as
- a headcase that wont reach his potential.. and many more

With your 'logic' if you could even call it that, because someone is not in the AFL there automatically worse than someone whose in it. Nathan Ablett could retire now and be automatically worst than some collingood hack, ha not likely.

 

[rizzo]

Allen is a decent footballer (and a really good bloke), however his knee and height have robbed him of a shot at AFL Football. Was also pretty one dimensional at the cats (Only played as a small forward)

 

[Teh_Nub]

clarke is only good cos he had a lot of time put into him but i reckon that any player with flaws will be fixed when they get drafted regardless of if their irish or not. thoughts anyone?

Hes had the least time, Aussies have been playing since they were lil kids, most people that get drafted have been playing more then 10 years. Marty Clarke had like a year to catch up, why would Collingwood excellent recruiting staff get a guy from overseas to make excellent just for the sake of it? If they could do it that easily dont you think they'd do it with other players aswell? They'd get Cloke to kick straight, rocca to run and licca to keep up with todays footy. It simply isnt as easy as having time put into them, they need god given talent

 

[JDC!]

You can't compare the two.

Martin Clarke is an athlete whom with limited time in the AFL has shown that he certainly has the ability to be a successful player for the Magpies in the future.

James Allan could/should be on an AFL list. He averaged around 40 possessions a game in the TAC Cup playing for the Geelong Falcons as a bottom-aged player but done his knee in at the start of the next year. He got his chance at Geelong being on their rookie-list but when it came to him or Andrew Carrazzo on who to keep they chose Carrazzo - even though they delisted him the following year. Allan is a ball-magnet but is one of those players that might find it hard to adapt to AFL level and would be better suited to dominating at SANFL/VFL level.

 

[scarecrow2k1]

Terrible Post.

Hardly

Clarke may be going to be better but he is raw. Allen has played football all his life.

So have I, probably you to and everyone I know. means nothing

He has been robbed of stardom by injury and worked his way back in sanfl and proven he is of star quality

.
Star quality? Some words are overused these days, Ive seen him only a couple times and I wouldnt go as far as saying star quality. Stars are players like Judd, Harvey, Kerr and the like. Players showing star quality are players like Marc Murphy, Pendelbury, Pearce, etc. How is he proven to be star quality, if he is then he'd be in the AFL. Simple as that

Problem is he is to small hence afl recruiters just plain and simple wont take him.

David Rodan is about 2 foot 5 and he made it to a Grand Final as an important part of Port's team. Liberatore is a club legend and brownlow medalist. If he's good enough teams will fit him in.

At this current point in time there is no doubt Allen is a better footballer,

Im going to have to disagree, Clarke is playing fairly well, and in a less successful team like perhaps mine he would see more game time in more important places and have advanced far further, but it is obviously debateable

in the long run probably not.

Ill agree that he wont be, but the thread is not who is better now, it is simply Allen or Clarke. Basically who is a better candidate for an AFL list. You yourself have said that Allen is injured, Clarke is super fit and playing in Ireland in the off season. Clarke has a massive upside and you have admitted he will probably be better in the long run, therfore surely you'd answer Clarke? Lets ignore romance, Australians bias and a love of the underdog and appreciate someone who shows every sign of being a gun player

Take another example. Hayden Burgiel. Superstar local player in Maffra who was on Hawthorns rookie list until he got dumped. There is no doubt that he would be a top 22 player at any club over the last 3 years, but who is gonna draft a 25 year old plus midfeilder. No one.

There is mature age rookies now is there not? WCE took a punt on Troy Wilson, and who was that guy the Dogs tried out, Morgan? Sometimes they have a go. If a player is good enough and want it enough they tend to make it. If you are suggesting that this guy was good enough to start in ANY teams midfield, including a team with the midfield like WCE, Three years ago, when he was only 22, Im pretty sure a team with a poor midfield would have given him a go

Another example of teams not going to recruit a superior player is if he is a nutcase. There would be tonnes of kids out there with immense talent but attitude problems, that clubs realise he may well be a better player than option two BUT
- not what we want our club to be promoted as
- a headcase that wont reach his potential.. and many more

So obviously they are a worse canditate for AFL selection because of this instability. Martin McGrath kicked 5 goals on debut and for whatever reason was given the boot soon after. He was not right for the AFL, therefore others such as Clarke are better canditates whether or not they are superior footballers

With your 'logic' if you could even call it that, because someone is not in the AFL there automatically worse than someone whose in it. Nathan Ablett could retire now and be automatically worst than some collingood hack, ha not likely.

Not necessarily, I mean that if someone is not in the AFL then they are most likely not as good an option as someone in the AFL, else they would be there, perhaps they like a drink too much, are too old, too slow, not comitted, have off field discretions or something. Ben Cousins is an amazing player, and Im suprised you didnt use him in your argument, but at the moment is one of the worst to have on a list for a combination of his own health, the heat the AFL would bring and publicity off the field.

Footy is about more than kicking the ball, its about speed, height, age, behaviur and plenty of other factors. These point to Clarke being more valuable than Allen