Rousing the Kop speaks exclusively to Lee Clark about his son’s journey at Liverpool so far, and Jurgen Klopp’s influence.
Three years ago, everything was going according to plan for Bobby Clark on paper. He was playing
for his father’s boyhood club, Newcastle United, and representing the Three Lions at U16 level. Like his father, Lee, he was on course to progress through the ranks at the Magpies.
For most young men this would have been satisfactory, but Bobby Clark, yearned for more.
“I was working overseas,” Lee Clark recalled, who was managing in Sudan at the time. “But I was
getting information back from Bobby’s mum that he was coming in a bit upset after training sessions and not really enjoying what he was doing.
“This was the complete opposite of what Bobby was about. Bobby was one of these boys that would turn up an hour or 45 minutes before the sessions were meant to be on and do some work on his own while the coaches were setting up the sessions.”
“We had a bit of a meeting with the people at Newcastle and it got to the stage where Bobby felt things weren’t right and that he would like to consider other options.”
Regarded as one of the most talented players in the country in his age-group, Clark received plenty of interest from other clubs, including from abroad. However, in the end, it was Liverpool’s proposal that was the most appealing one.
“Liverpool blew Bobby away with what they knew about him and what the plans they had for him,” Clark said.
The beginning
By the time Bobby Clark was born, his father Lee had come to the end of his career. Bobby was still just a baby when Lee hung up his boots at the end of the 2005/06 season, after 15 years in England’s top flight, where he represented Newcastle United over 250 times.
From a young age, Bobby, like his father took to football.
“All his life because I’ve got into coaching and then management, he’s always been in around football clubs. And like any boy when they’re young, he had a ball at his feet.”
Bobby joined Birmingham City’s academy back in 2013, while his father was the manager of the
club. Although, it was through no aid from his father that he joined the club. Bobby had earned his place by catching the eye of the club’s academy scouts while playing grassroots football.
“He was playing for the local village team and one of the academy scouts from Birmingham saw him and spoke to his his mum and said: ‘would you like to go and the academy?’ She thought it was a bit of a joke and she explained who I was, but he wasn’t aware.”
At Birmingham, Bobby learned his trade alongside the Bellingham brothers, including Jobe, who was in the same team as him at the time.
“Jobe and Bobby grew up together at Birmingham City on the same team, and then Jude was just a couple of years above.
“He’s very close with them two, lads. And since Bobby moved away from them they’ve been in the England squads together, so there’s still that connection. He’s got a good relationship with them.”
Eventually, when Lee Clark left Birmingham City, Bobby would move back up North, and joined
Newcastle United.
Why Liverpool?
For Bobby, Liverpool’s proposal to bring him in from Newcastle United was an enticing one. He held talks with the club’s academy coaches, and was given a tour around Liverpool’s training facilities and Anfield.
“Bobby knew a lot about the club. Bobby had been around people and legends of that football club. I was managed by three of the biggest names in the club in terms of Kevin Keegan, Graham Souness and Kenny Daglish. And someone we are really close to is Terry McDermott and his family.
“So, Bobby didn’t need to have any look up the history of Liverpool. He’d been around it. He’d seen what the history of the club was from, you know, ex-players and stuff like that. He knew what the expectation was for players who represented the club, about winning major trophies.”
Another appeal about Liverpool was the club’s commitment to creating a pathway for its youngsters into the first team. Prior to Clark’s arrival, the likes of Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones and Trent
Alexander-Arnold had already broken into the first team from the academy.
“You can see that with other youngsters [as well]. There’s a pathway from the terrific academy that
they’ve got the first team and that’s proved to be right and proved to be successful.”
From the beginning, Liverpool also took care to make Bobby as comfortable as possible off the pitch. When he arrived at the club he was moved into a family home where he lived alongside Conor Bradley, Stefan Bajcetic and Owen Beck.
“They made that transition, the movement from home to Liverpool so easy. They moved him into a family with four of the lads, and he settled straight away.”
The secret to Liverpool’s academy success
At Liverpool, Clark found his enjoyment for football again. At Newcastle United, he had played mostly as a number ten. However, at Liverpool, he was moved to play on the left-wing to suit the club’s system – which was exactly set-up in the same way as Jurgen Klopp’s first team.
Clark took to the position like duck to water. In his first season, he made 18 goal contributions in 23 appearances for the club’s U18 team, and by the end of the season, he had even made his debut at U21 level.
At the beginning of next season, Clark was promoted to the first team and spent pre-season with Jurgen Klopp’s squad. A month later, he would also make his Premier League debut coming on as a substitute in the 9-0 victory over Bournemouth.
“Everything that was talked about, it’s happened so far,” Clark said.
Bobby continued to deliver on the pitch. His progress was helped by the clear pathway set-out at Liverpool.
“The coaches really deliver what the first team manager expects. The academy coaches deliver the sessions, provide the tactics and you know, talk about what’s expected in the first team to make you aware when you’re playing in the youth teams, how the manager wants things to be done in the first team.
“It makes that transition easier when they eventually get up to that level of football.”
As well as having a cohesive system, one of the academy’s major principles is also that of discipline. Players are not allowed to have their phones while at the club’s facilities and they are also banned from having a car with an engine that is more than 1.3 litres.
“There’s still room for old school discipline and old school rules and Liverpool do that,” Clark said.
“There’s no need for phones to be in the training ground. They want their lads to communicate with each other. They want them to talk not just when they are on the pitch to build those relationships with each other.
“It’s also about not being flashy. It’s not what you’ve got materialistically. It’s what you do on the grass that’s more important. So that’s what the discipline is there for.
“Then once you get to a certain level and you’ve played hundreds and hundreds of games in the first team, you can make your own decisions. But they’re giving you the tools during the early part of your career to tell you what’s important in life, what’s important in football, and what’s not really that necessary.
“All that stuff for me is terrific, and it helps the boys mature and understand that what happens on the grass is the most important.”
Jurgen Klopp’s influence
Last summer Liverpool underwent a major reshuffling in midfield. This gave Clark, who spent the
previous campaign moving back into midfield for the club’s U21 side from left-wing, the opportunity
to showcase his talent in pre-season.
Clark was used regularly in the club’s pre-season fixtures and even netted his first goal in the firstteam in a friendly against Leicester City. However, despite the impressive performances, few would
have envisaged Clark play the role he has played since in the club’s first team.
Especially, when the club brought in four new signings in the form of Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis
Mac Allister, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch in Clark’s position. But their arrivals have only
helped Clark grow as a player according to his father.
“The quality players that have been brought in changed the dynamic of the team. They are all
internationally experienced players and I think that’s probably helped Bobby. When you’re a young
player and you’re training with this type of quality and you see what makes these guys the top players
that they are, you learn from it if you’re the right type of personality.
“But it’s not just the new players, I think Harvey [Elliott] and Curtis [Jones] being already there,
they’ve all helped Bobby as well.”
As well as the players Clark has trained with regularly, the influence of the manager cannot be
understated either. Klopp has developed a huge reputation for trusting in his youth players and not
being afraid to throw them in at the deep end. He demonstrated that when he introduced Clark andsome of his fellow academy teammates in the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley.
“He has been unbelievable. We couldn’t ask for a better manager, he’s world-class. Bobby loves
playing for him, he loves being around him.”
Part of Klopp’s appeal is his man management. He instils belief in his players and gives them the
confidence to thrive when they are called into first team action.
“The manager shows so much trust in them so the players can go out there and express themselves
and do what they’ve done in the U21s and in the U18s. They don’t feel like they have to do something
different because the manager gives them that confidence and belief.
“He doesn’t just talk about it, he does it. He put Bobby on in a massive game at Craven Cottage in the
second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final at an important stage. He did it in the Carabao Cup final, he
did it against Arsenal. It shows. He doesn’t just talk about it. He shows that belief in them.”
“Bobby says that he just tells the boys; ‘make sure you do the defensive side, the pressing side’ which
is a huge principle of Liverpool’s game under Jurgen, and then ‘go play with freedom’ and he just
gives them that encouragement and confidence.”
Klopp’s influence cannot be understated. According to Clark’s father, the Liverpool manager has
played a pivotal role in his son’s development.
“I was gutted when I found out [that Klopp would leave the club] because he has played such a big
part in Bobby’s young career. He’s not just a world-class manager, from the stories that Bobby speaks
about, he’s also a world-class man, and he’s been brilliant.
“All the staff, Pep [Lijnders], Vitor [Matos] and Peter [Krawietz] have also played a huge part in Bobby’s development in different ways. We as a family couldn’t thank them enough for what they’ve done with Bobby and how he’s been treated.”
The future
There is no denying Bobby is very much following in his father’s footsteps. But Lee hopes, the young
man will be able to surpass his career in the future as well.
“He’s got all of the assets that I had, but I think he’s a taller player than me. He’s got more speed than I
had. So, he’s got the assets that I had, but he’s got more as well.
“I think there’s more opportunities for him. You know, my career was successful up to a certain level.
I never won any major trophies, but Bobby’s already got one in the bag and I think if he stays true to
himself and focuses on his game, there is potential to win more both domestically and.in Europe, and
hopefully on the international stage as well.”
Having played professionally for well over a decade and managed across the world, Lee Clark knows
there will be bumps along the way. However, he has faith that his son will be able to overcome them.
“I think because he’s got the mentality that he wants to be the hardest worker even when the bad times
arrive, if you’re the hardest worker, you’ve got a chance.”
The goal now is for Bobby to continue in the same way he has started. Challenging for trophies at one
of the best clubs in European football at the moment in Liverpool.
“I’d love him to have a career where he’s up there challenging for the big prizes all the time. He’s
starting off in a great way with a great group of players and I would love that to continue but let’s see
what the future holds.”