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| Sam Clucas After Scoring At Cambridge In May 2013 |
Former Hereford United midfielder Sam Clucas played an important part in Hull City's win over Premiership title holders Leicester City on Saturday.
His success has been noticed by Glenn Hoddle.
Congrats to Sam Clucas great game on his @premierleague debut ! Come along way from GHA ! Well done Sam
This morning the Hull Daily Mail Has an article about Clucas
It was four years ago last week that Sam Clucas was beginning a new season in the Blue Square Conference with Hereford United.
Just 2,139 supporters were at Edgar Street to witness a 2-1 win over Macclesfield yet it proved to be the start of an unlikely road that has led him to the big time. Clucas' journey, against all the odds, was completed with a Premier League debut on Saturday and a day he will never forget ended with a result befitting his uplifting ascent up the ladder of English football.
As the midfield anchorman in a Hull City side ravaged by injuries, Clucas did more than most to deliver a result few outside of the home dressing room imagined possible. The Premier League champions had been conquered and with a helping hand from the youngster they once rejected. Leicester City were the first club to cast doubt over Clucas' ability at the highest level back in 2007.
At the age of 16 he was deemed too slight by the Foxes' academy and forced to start over with his hometown club Lincoln City. Even then it needed another step backwards before Clucas began to make belated progress. After the Conference with Hereford came League Two and League One with Mansfield and Chesterfield, before the Championship was taken in his stride with City last term.
There are no guarantees the Premier League will allow Clucas' rise to continue but his performance on the opening weekend suggested this level is not beyond him. Far from it. Use of the ball was routinely calm, intelligent and sharp.
Shifted inside from his traditional left wing role, the 25-year-old excelled alongside an effective midfield trio that also found room for David Meyler and Tom Huddlestone. Leicester often found themselves crowded out by the industry of City's engineroom, struggling to ever get a telling grip on the game. Clucas' mobility is among his greatest assets. Despite coming on the back of a pre-season that saw him amass 625 minutes, his energy and stamina helped set the tempo for the Tigers.
Leicester's advances from deep and inside were also snuffed out by Clucas tracking runners. It remains to be seen if this will become his new role in the team, especially given that Jake Livermore will eventually step forward out of defence, but Clucas has added another string to his bow.
In 12 months as a Tiger, he has played as a left winger, a left-back, an attacking midfielder and now a holding midfielder. Each role has been undertaken with his trademark enthusiasm. And it is that quality that has led Clucas here. Not so long ago he was fighting for a career in football as part of Glenn Hoddle's academy for misfits and rejects.