What I like about all our academy players in recent years is that they're brave on the ball. They don't just offload responsibility to a teammate or recycle the ball pointlessly with simple passes - the prototype of English academy players. All are happy to take the space and look for progressive passes, and Clark is probably the pick of the latest bunch at the moment. I expect while we're all fretting over the Injury News topic, Clark is making plans to be a regular even once the bigger boys are available again.
Absolutely. That's so important.
I may be imagining this, but I think I can recall the bench having a word with McConnell soon after he got on. He was understandably nervous and his first few touches were not what was needed. They were so "safe" that they were inviting Chelsea pressure. But the lad instantly pulled his socks up, relaxed and became positive and more courageous. He performed a gorgeous turn to beat the press in the second half of extra time. And then just kept consuming space until Chelsea decided to stop their retreat.
(I'm pretty certain that Jurgen had a special word with Tsimikas too before extra time because he - unusually - was playing very conservatively in his first few minutes. There was a long conversation, put it that way. Tsimikas was a different player after the break).
