Adam Clayton

He was great in the championship, as was Leadbitter, but neither of them were PL midfielders. We signed De Roon and we had Forshaw, they probably should have been the upgrade to Clayton and Leadbitter but losing Leadbitter was more than just his ability, it was his organisation and leadership which was more difficult to replace and everyone else suffered. We probably should have prioritised a Leadbitter upgrade to play alongside De Roon who we have seen has gone on to have a top level career. Instead we were forced into 3 CMs and even though De Roon played as the front of those 3 he would have been more suited to playing his own game and having Ramirez ahead of the 2 instead of out wide.

Clayton lacked the pace for the PL and he slowed things down too much and his weekly booking for pulling a player back was happening earlier in games meaning he had to sit extra deep to not be forced to do it again. Harsh realities of stepping up to the PL is that some of the best players that got you there will never be good enough for that step up.
I think a midfield two of Clayton and De Roon could have actually worked for us in the Premier League, with both of them playing as sitters in a 4231 formation. They started together vs Stoke on the opening day but De Roon went off injured, and by the time he'd returned to fitness we'd switched to a midfield three.

I think we'd have gotten more out of Negredo had we been able to persevere with Ramirez playing in the no 10 role but having the extra midfielder meant he had to play out wide, and Negredo was often left isolated.
 
I loved Clayts, but for a midfielder, even a defensively minded one, his utter lack of goals was a little frustrating. He only ever scored once for Boro, with the aid of a huge deflection, and if I remember correctly he also missed a penalty.
 
I absolutely loved Clayton while he was at Boro and for a couple of seasons in the championship his partnership with Grant was outstanding. He never gave anything other than 100%, which as we know isn't what you always get from others. I really think that season in the Premier League ruined him through no fault of his own. He tried to give so much while others around him took the proverbial. This lead to him being exposed so many times while trying to protect our back line that season and his slight lack of pace in that central area was cruelly exploited. I still love the lad to be fair.
Hate to break it to you but....
 
He was great for us and more than a decent footballer, albeit not the quickest. A perfect player in the AL system.

After a slow start in the PL he was o e of our better players, but we moved him on at the right time for sure.
 
Met the players in a bar in darlington a few years ago and was talking to gorgeous george and ryan shotton. both were very engaging and the conversation was free flowing and very pleasant. (it was international break but Woodgate had the lads training rather than going on holiday for a few days).
I was stood next to Clayton during this conversation and he came across as arrogant. Looked at me like I was something he'd scraped off his shoe. Was a bit gutted really because I really liked him until that point.
Never meet your heros.
 
Met the players in a bar in darlington a few years ago and was talking to gorgeous george and ryan shotton. both were very engaging and the conversation was free flowing and very pleasant. (it was international break but Woodgate had the lads training rather than going on holiday for a few days).
I was stood next to Clayton during this conversation and he came across as arrogant. Looked at me like I was something he'd scraped off his shoe. Was a bit gutted really because I really liked him until that point.
Never meet your heros.
You maybe didn't realise that Adam Clayton had mental health problems during his time at Boro and was brave enough to come forward and even use his own experiences to look to help local teenagers with their own mental health challenges. It could possibly be you met him on a bad day for himself personally.
Top pro who gave everything for the club.
 
You maybe didn't realise that Adam Clayton had mental health problems during his time at Boro and was brave enough to come forward and even use his own experiences to look to help local teenagers with their own mental health challenges. It could possibly be you met him on a bad day for himself personally.
Top pro who gave everything for the club.
Yeah I met him on 2 separate occasions and he was spot on to be fair to him.
 
You maybe didn't realise that Adam Clayton had mental health problems during his time at Boro and was brave enough to come forward and even use his own experiences to look to help local teenagers with their own mental health challenges. It could possibly be you met him on a bad day for himself personally.
Top pro who gave everything for the club.
I do have a lot of sympathy for "celebs" out in public who are expected to be "on" all the time.

Certainly wouldn't judge anyone for being quiet or not wanting to talk to strangers. As long as they're not overtly being a pratt then I'd always give the benefit of the doubt. He was more than happy to mix with fans in town after promotion.
 
Exactly, spent more time on social media. He was committed yes, tried hard yes, loved the fans yes, but very limited as a footballer at this level. God rest Clayton the crab, very welcomed back to do media work and all that crap
Watch some highlights from 2014/15 - the play offs vs Brentford being a good example, and you'll see he sprayerd the ball around well and was very comfortable in possession. Read the game and shut down the opposition. Him and Grant totally demoralised teams.
 
Was talking to someone a few years back who knew his family well. Said he loved his time at Boro and towards the end when he wasn't getting a game found it really, really hard. Was he frozen out by one of the managers? Can't remember.

Very down to earth lad by all accounts.
 
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