Ciaran Clark

[CorkVilla]

Is he ever going to be good enough to play regularly for us? Does he have a long term future at Villa?

I thought he showed great promise initially but I'm not so sure anymore. He just looks too slight and is too prone to mistakes to make it as a defender at PL level. I hope I am wrong...

[OCD]

I prefer him over Baker. He should be 4th choice for when there's a problem with Vlaar, Senderos or Okore.

[JUAN PABLO]

Surprised Tesco bags  not in for him

Doesn't look good for him at moment , was expecting him to be a top player who ended up at manure

[LeeB]

He comes up short in every department required, a sort of defensive Karim El Ahmadi.

[richardhubbard]

I always thought he end up in barry role in midfield as he quiet a cultured player but I am probably wrong

[Pete3206]

No

[john e]

He comes up short in every department required, a sort of defensive Karim El Ahmadi.

He's gone, .....let it go

[sirlordbaltimore]

How he's below Baker in the pecking order is truly beyond me

[PaulWinch again]

Agreed he's not great but Baker is woeful.

[Legion]

He hasn't lived up to his potential. A shame, really.

[SoccerHQ]

Think it's time to look for a new club if he's below Baker in the order.

I actually don't think he was that bad at CB last year. There was improvement.

[Legion]

Alongside an accomplished CH he did not look too bad at all. Alongside Baker it was awful. I used to have high hopes for Baker, but not any more. Championship player at best. Clark would be a fairly decent squad player for us, but something seems to have happened in order to elevate Baker above him.

[Louzie0]

I am not writing off Ciaran Clark. He's a lovely player.

[old man villa fan]

Alongside an accomplished CH he did not look too bad at all. Alongside Baker it was awful. I used to have high hopes for Baker, but not any more. Championship player at best. Clark would be a fairly decent squad player for us, but something seems to have happened in order to elevate Baker above him.

I would much prefer Clark alongside an experienced player than Baker.  Baker just does not seem to be learning anything with the more experience he has been getting.  He should be going out on loan for the season in the Championship to see if he can improve.

[RussellC]

I honestly think Clark's progress was stunted by having to learn his trade in a poor team. He was made to grow-up too quickly. If you look back at our youth-team products that have really 'made it', they've all been afforded the luxury of being brought into decent teams and play alongside experienced players.

By the time Vlaar arrived to play with Clark, his confidence was gone and his nerves were shot-to-shit, which is fatal for a centre-back. It's a great shame as he looked a real prospect under Houllier. Who knows, maybe a spell as a squad-player will help him recover and find his feet again, but if Lambert and Keane currently rate Baker as a better bet, I would think he's up against it.