As Newcastle United fans watched Liverpool win the 2024 Carabao Cup, there was a feeling of ‘what if’.
Firstly, because it could have been Newcastle United in that final. One moment of madness cost them against Chelsea in the quarters, only for the Blues to squander an amazing opportunity to lift silverware.
Jurgen Klopp had multiple key players out due to injury, while he ended the game with a bunch of kids. But Liverpool’s youngsters helped get the job done, as captain Virgil van Dijk scored the winner in extra time.
One of the Liverpool kids was Bobby Clark, who left Newcastle United in 2021. He is the son of former Toon midfielder Lee Clark, and called time on his Magpies career shortly before the Saudi-backed takeover went through.
At 19, he has played multiple times in the Premier League and was trusted in a League Cup final too. He played an important role at Wembley, winning the corner that resulted in Van Dijk scoring the winner.
Liverpool fans will be so excited by Clark’s potential, while Toon fans are bemoaning a player so talented slipping through our net.
But why did he actually leave St James’ Park in the first place? His dad explained why late last year.
Why Bobby Clark left Newcastle and signed for Liverpool
Lee Clark spoke to the Liverpool Echo in December 2023 and explained why Bobby decided to leave the Newcastle United academy.
“A lot of people don’t believe me but I never affected the outcome of which club Bobby was going to go to,” he said.
“It was Bobby’s decision, albeit forced on him due to various different things to leave Newcastle, and then he decided that Liverpool was his club.
“At Newcastle, it just got to the stage where I was working away and getting feedback that Bobby was coming in from his training sessions at the club and didn’t have that beaming smile on his face. He didn’t seem to be enjoying his football.
“We discussed it and he decided it was his time to move on. So when he made that decision we had to support him as a family.
“Of course, I’m a Geordie. I’m black and white through and through and there aren’t many fathers and sons that have played for the club. As soon as he got into the academy at Newcastle, could that dream become a reality? But I wasn’t going to make that happen to the detriment of my son. If he was unhappy there, it’s his happiness that is most important to me. I just backed Bobby every step of the way.
“As his parent first and foremost, I backed him up 100%. Now, we speak on the phone every day about different things and I’ll advise him. I’ll tell him how I would go about things from a player’s point of view or a coaching point of view. I can give him different slants on how to approach different situations.”
Bobby Clark is one that got away for Newcastle United
Clark is certainly one that got away. He seemingly was not happy on Tyneside, and has now changed that. He has found happiness elsewhere, and should be looking forward to a very bright future as a Liverpool player.
But it is a massive shame that he is not still a Magpie. The club is suddenly so different to the one that Clark left, with the academy receiving significant investment and players being given a clear path to the first-team.
That is where Clark would be right now if he was still at St James’ Park. Newcastle have had so many injuries that he would have got a chance under Eddie Howe.
But Newcastle lost someone who would have been a star in black and white. That is hugely disappointing, and something that the club must make sure does not happen again in the future. Our academy is more important than ever.
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