on a similar vein, i almost posted this on the matt king thread after the saints game, as i've mentioned before i also follow sheffield wednesday(glory hunter i am) and we've got one of the oddest excuses for a footballer called leon clarke "playing" for us. He's overweight, lazy and proper dosey looking, and he's out of contract at the end of this season.
Quote:SHEFFIELD Wednesday striker Leon Clarke wants to return the love of the club's supporters by shooting his side to victory in tonight's South Yorkshire derby against Barnsley
Clarke waged a battle against the boo-boys last season but is now a cult hero at Hillsborough and playing the best football of his career.
Even so, Clarke is still 'playing for his future' at the club and fears he may be surplus to requirements when his contract expires in the summer.
With new investment on the horizon, the Owls should be in a position to raise their sights in the transfer market after years of shopping in the bargain basement.
Clarke, who cost a nominal fee from Wolves two years ago, said: "I am happy here and I want to stay but you can never say never. I might not get an offer or the manager might have other players who he wants to bring in for the future.
"I have not spoken to the manager yet about my future – but me and my agent have spoken about a couple of things. My contract runs out in the summer and I just have to keep doing well for the team. If anything, I am playing for my future – if not here then somewhere else."
Clarke's relationship with the Owls' supporters hit rock bottom at the start of last season and the 24-year-old subsequently spent four months on loan at Southend United.
However, by the end of the season, he was back at Hillsborough and repaired the damage by coming off the bench to score in consecutive games against Leicester City and Norwich City as the Owls escaped the drop.
Refreshingly for a professional footballer, Clarke accepts that he warranted flak last season but now says he has a better understanding of his role and its requirements.
"I was not working hard enough or closing people down or challenging for balls. I just thought that if I linked play up and got into the box it would be enough," Clarke confessed. "Obviously it wasn't, but the manager and his assistant spoke to me and told me that it is often the little things that make the fans happy.
"I needed to win the fans over because there was a lot of negative criticism – but maybe that was fair because I was not playing well or working as hard as I do now.
"It took a while for me to realise what I had to do and what the fans wanted me to do. Now, even if I am not scoring, I know the fans will be happy as long as I am working hard and doing all I can."
the bit enlarged was quite refreshing to hear from a modern day footballer, and i'd like to think some of our playing could do with using this mindset, it wasn't helped with moaners coming out last year saying stuff like he doesn't play for the fans.
