Me and a friend of mine had a lot of fun adding words to Tom Cleverley's surname during Leicester City's 2009-10 League One campaign. 'Cleverley done', 'Cleverley thought out pass', 'clever little run'.. you get the picture. On-loan from Manchester United at the time, Tom was just another third tier player with name you could poke fun at. The one game I did see him play- against Bristol Rovers in early 2009- ended in injury. As I recall, he didn't come up with anything special, but I was told he had more in his locker than just an adaptable name. Two years later, those days on the terraces at the Memorial Stadium seem a million miles away as the name in question looks set to play a key role in Manchester United's title defence.
Its fair to say Cleverley's career up to 2011 has resembled more of a game of hopscotch than a hop, skip and a giant leap. Born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, a young Cleverley moved to Bradford, West Yorkshire, where he was quickly snapped up by the Bantams in 2004 to play in their youth side. Only a year later, he joined United as a 15-year-old trainee and, despite being a couple of years younger than his teammates, featured in a number of under-18s matches. A slight blow was dealt at the end of this season however, as while most of his colleagues were given scholarships, the slightly under-built youngster was only offered a part-time deal that would see him balance school work with his football; something clubs tend to offer only players they're not confident will make the grade. Tom appeared to ignore this slight setback and continued his natural progression, the next year seeing him cement his place in the under-18s side and his first appearance for the reserves against Bolton. So far, so good, until a first injury came in 2007 which kept him sidelined for just over seven months. Failing to read the script that so many United trainees have followed, Cleverley returned to pick up where he left off by continuing to shine for the reserves. By now, it seemed like a bit of a joke that this young man was still on their books after all that had happened, and the coaching staff were starting see their player, still not on a full-contract, in a different light.
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| The Championship- Watford toughened him up |
His 2007-08 season that saw 21 appearances- with numerous as captain- and a nomination for Reserve Player of the Year award, put the youngster in contention for first-team football. The following years reserve campaign ended prematurely when -needing a bit of bite- Nigel Pearson's promotion chasing Leicester side signed the midfielder on for what was to be the remainder of their League One spell, where Cleverley contributed two goals and three assists in 15 games before a shoulder injury brought an end to his stay. Word of the teenagers talents traveled fast around the Football League, and it wasn't long until then Watford boss, Malky Mackay came calling; the Scot promising to play Cleverley at every opportunity to win the battle to secure the youngsters services until December. The season in the second tier that followed, Cleverley said in an interview last year, saw him come to terms with the physical demands of the game (and possibly provided inspiration for his new mohican):
"The hostility of places like Millwall and Leeds toughens you up.. I went from a boy to a man in the Championship." Mackay saw this early on, and his initial loan was extended; subsequently allowing Cleverley to notch 11 goals in 33 appearances on his way to winning Player of the Year award at Vicarage Road. But although every move for Cleverley has been instrumental to the youngsters progression, last years spell at Wigan, where he played 25 Premier League games of free-flowing football under Roberto Martinez, will stand out as the biggest learning curve to date. Many players came in and out of the Lactics starting line-up in their 2010-11 fight for survival, but Cleverley and midfield partner James McCarthy both held their places longer than most. As we all know, Wigan beat the drop, and Cleverley returned to United.
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| Passing stats-14 August v West Brom |
Here we are then, back to me reminiscing about childish puns in August 2011. Rewind again to August 7th and United's Community Shield victory over Manchester City. Pre-season had been very kind to Cleverley in the run-up to the match at Wembley, and plaudits for his role in a 2-1 friendly win against Barcelona had put him in good stead for a run out against the inner city rivals. This was granted, and the belief repaid after Cleverley's introduction at half-time saw him and his teammates go on to comeback from 2-0 down to win 3-2, with the youngster even playing a part in his sides wonderfully orchestrated equaliser. Then came his league debut with a performance in United's narrow-margin win against West Brom; one which without doubt caught the eye on what was otherwise a fairly dull opening to the new season. The midfielders first full 90 minutes saw tackles, passes and even orders barked to his experienced colleges executed to precision. Stats after the game also made for good viewing, with chalkboards (provided by Opta) revealing that out of his 61 attempted passes, 56 were successful; earning him the inevitable 'Paul Scholes mk.2' billing. Of course, Cleverley is his own player, and many thought to be replacements have fallen after being branded with certain tags. But looking at the bigger picture, this story may not turn out like the rest.
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| Carrick- Now under pressure |
Cleverley's maturity even such in such a vital position was picked up upon by many journalists after the game at the Hawthorns, but many forget what stage he is at. Now 22-years-old, certain attributes, like maturity and experience, start to come in as standard depending on the player. Cleverley doesn't just boast a a full season in the Championship to his name, but also a campaign in the league where he's supposed to make a step-up to compete, so in a way, he made it last season. Its taken him just weeks to overtake Darren Gibson in the pecking order for a place in midfield, with Micheal Carrick thought to be next on the hit-list. After spending the last seven years at Old Trafford, he's also knowledgeable of the set-up at United. There's no sense of being star struck or overwhelmed with the history of his club when he walks into training as he's probably experienced all of this at a much younger age. Jonny Evans and Danny Welbeck are others, bred from the same academy, that are aware of their surroundings, but neither are thought to have as much impact in the first team as Cleverley this season. United play Tottenham on Monday. I'd expect more articles and chalkboards the day after.
