Thoughts of another piece reflecting on our transfer activity vanished into nothing as I read the latest news on Clive Clarke, who collapsed on suffering a heart attack in the dressing room at Notts Forest on Tuesday night. The Irish defender, 27 years old, is at present out on loan from SAFC to Leicester City.
Of course Roy Keane is right to suggest that our bitter disappointment the same evening at Luton pales into insignificance when you hear that one of your players – any player, to be honest – “is lucky to be alive”.
Only at the weekend, the Seville defender Antonio Puerta collapsed during a game against Getafe. A series of heart attacks led within three days to his death at just 22 from mulitple organ failure.
And let us not forget Marc-Vivien Foe, 28, who played on loan for Man City in the season before he died four years ago after collapsing during a Confederations Cup semi-final for his country, Cameroon, against Colombia in Lyon.
Clive, I am relieved to say, is sitting up and chatting in his Nottingham hosptial bed pending the results of tests. An imminent visit from Niall Quinn, and a telephone pep talk from the manager, may cheer him up a little.
“We’re just counting our blessings,” said Keano. “We are grateful to the medical staff down there (Nottingham). They have done a fantastic job and he’s a very lucky lad. Thank God he is OK.”
I had no hesitation in sending a get well e-mail, on my own behalf and my site’s, and urge my readers to do likewise. Do it by visiting this news item at the club site.