Second Season Syndrome, Part 1 of 4 - Chris Conn-Clarke

The area of focus for this series of articles is the players entering their second season at the club- namely Chris Conn-Clarke, Abraham Odoh, Oscar Wallin, and Cian Hayes. I have decided not to include Gustav Lindgren or Carl Johnston - with less than a full season under their belt, their circumstances are different to the others. George Nevett will also not be included as he did not play enough minutes last year. What can they do to kick on in their second season at Peterborough United?

Photo credit: Joe Dent

First up: Chris Conn-Clarke For the National League Player of the Season 23/24 , improvement is needed from a very low baseline indeed.

Outside of a solitary league goal in the home fixture against ultimately-relegated Shrewsbury, the maverick attacking midfielder had a torrid debut campaign in the EFL, punctuated with multiple sideline spells from both self-inflicted injury and manager-determined benchings due to poor form.

"What needs to change for Chris Conn-Clarke this year for him to have the breakout season all Posh fans hope he can have?" Next off the National League conveyor belt

As one of the earliest signings of the 2024 offseason, Chris Conn-Clarke was brought to Peterborough United to offer versatility and depth to the Posh front line.

Having lost Ephron Mason-Clark to Coventry, the conveyor belt of ‘National League prospect to PE2 star to big-fee sale’ whirred again.

On paper, CCC looked an even better prospect than EMC had. Player of the Year, 22 Goals in 47 NL appearances, and a reputation for final-third pressing, Conn-Clarke was an exciting prospect indeed.

Flashes of promise

He started the first game of the season at home to Huddersfield, and showed flashes of promise from the left wing.

He linked up well with Joel Randall, and if he had buried the good chance which he steered directly at the Terriers keeper in the first half, who knows how a debut goal may have impacted his confidence as the season continued.

But the theme of ‘flashes of promise without end product’ would persist for the remainder of the campaign.

The shooting boots had not made the trip down from Altrincham with him, and Conn-Clarke, so deadly the season before, would accumulate just one League One goal to punctuate a smattering of hit-and-hopers that accumulated negligible xG.

Keep up the effort, but be more disciplined

For his part, Conn-Clarke never lacked endeavour.

Contrasted with the lightweight and quietly moody Joel Randall, whose natural eye for progression was completely betrayed by his fearful attitude towards opposition pressure, CCC was a breath of fresh air.

Dogged, willing, and stubbornly motivated, the Northern Irishman charged round the pitch like a bulldog chasing down a stick.

With 48% ground duels won, he sits among the upper echelons of League One forward players, albeit from a relatively low baseline of 59 total duels won. 

This is an area where small improvements to Conn-Clarke’s decision making and timing could pay vast dividends to his performances and by extension Posh’s pressing threat.

Not the quickest, and deeply ‘reactive’ in his pressing, Conn-Clarke may please fans with his aggression as he runs after the ball that has just been laid off to the opposite centre back, but the odds of him instigating a mistake in these moments are very low.

He lacks anticipation and angularity to his pressure, telegraphing before the ball has even been passed. “I will chase you down, and when you pass I will chase them down instead.”

With pace, this method can work, as Posh are all too familiar with, seeing the work of Ricky-Jade Jones for the past few years. For Conn-Clarke however, who has decent burst but lacks top speed, he must become more intelligent in the way he attacks passing lanes. 

Smarter Pressing

Rather than running after the defender, he needs to plan his positioning and lane interference with discipline and situational awareness.

He needs to develop a playbook in his mind of what to do when the ball has been recycled by the defence, and when possession is still contested following a break down in a Posh attack.

The knock-on effect of discipline in this area is significant: Conn-Clarke will be less fatigued in the back part of matches, and other attacking and midfield players can focus more on their own positioning and less on compensating for the space that CCC has vacated going on a solo reactive press.

This should remove the risk of a repeat of the almost-farcical injury early on in the season where he charged down Bristol Rovers’ keeper so aggressively he broke his own collarbone in the process.

Creativity- Taking it to the next level

While Randall had very refined vision and could spot passes most players cannot outside of the Premier League, Conn-Clarke deserves credit in this area too.

On a ‘per 90’ basis he is, goals excepted, not far from being a statistically top-level League One attacking midfielder. Along with pressing intelligence, the other key area for CCC to focus on is ball retention.

The tunnel vision that sets in once he approaches the opposition box, and particularly when he finds himself unchallenged in the half space on the left hand side of the field, is his greatest nemesis.

He snatches for that ‘hero ball’ moment with regularity: if it isn’t a through ball attempt with an extremely narrow success window, it’s skipping past two defenders followed by a punt at goal, where the lack of space and time to set his himself resulted in precisely zero goals outside of the box all campaign. 

"Open up his playbook"

Picking apart defences at any level of the EFL takes patience and discipline. Defenders, even in the ones who ultimately get relegated, can read body positioning cues on players who lean on a small playbook.

Conn-Clarke needs to ‘open up his playbook’ this coming season, and when he embarks on a jinking run around onrushing defenders, he must become comfortable recycling to a midfielder or spraying it wide if the opportunity for a shot or an assist-worthy pass to the striker does not materialise. Not the National League

This is once again a matter of decision making and nous. With the ball at his feet, Conn-Clarke is not quite a magician but one could imagine him getting there.

It appears however that in his mind he is still playing like he is in the National League, where opportunities come thick and fast through individual brilliance. As much time thinking about how the game is played at this level as it is actually playing it is warranted for the young man this off-season.

The verdict

In summary, I expect Conn-Clarke will have a better campaign than last season. Unlike previous attacking mavericks at Posh, a lack of determined attitude does not appear to be a problem. In fact, a contrasting one must be addressed: he tries too hard at things that are too often ineffective at this level of the game. Training his mind as hard as he trains his body will go a very long way to making sure he excels in his second year at the club.

All statistics: Fotmob