Leeds United were unsurprisingly the butt of the jokes when Ipswich Town sealed promotion last season, including right-back Harry Clarke’s comments in the aftermath.
Promotion last season proved out of reach for Leeds as they failed to see out their solid position in the final stretch of games, and then lost in the playoff final.
Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton all secured promotion and instantly focused their energy into goading Leeds – which might be backfiring given the three clubs have two PL wins between them from a total 27 games this season.
Harry Clarke mocked Leeds as Ipswich got promoted
Ipswich’s open top bus tour got a lot of traction as they took every opportunity to point out Leeds’ failures in the promotion race.
Included in that was right-back Harry Clarke, who responded to footage of striker Kayden Jackson (released, now at Derby) chanted “Leeds are falling apart” live on Sky News:
Don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t say it https://t.co/2vj4JFxHO6
— Harry Clarke (@HarryyClarke6) May 26, 2024
The right-back joked about saying the popular line, something that became a trend alongside the Kaiser Chief’s ‘I Predict A Riot’ song being played on repeat.
Ipswich’s Harry Clarke makes history with one of worst full PL debuts ever
Clarke’s dream of a full debut in the Premier League fast became a nightmare though, with grim reality setting in for the side that pipped Leeds to the top flight.
The 23-year-old made his first league start since promotion away to Brentford, but became only the second player in Premier League history to score an own goal, give away a penalty and be sent off in the same match – Southampton’s Jan Bednarek doing so in a 9-0 loss to Manchester United back in 2021.
Kieran McKenna’s side thought they were going to cruise to a first league win this season when they raced into a 2-0 lead, but Clarke had his say at the wrong end to turn the game in the host’s favour.
Clarke tried in vain to clear Yoane Wissa’s equaliser, going down harshly as an own goal, before bundling Keane Lewis-Potter over in the box for a penalty and yellow card that was converted to make it 3-2 to the Bees, and then fouling the same Brentford man again on the edge of the box to be given his second yellow and subsequent red card.
His defensive errors contributed to a chaotic and gut-wrenching late 4-3 defeat to Thomas Frank’s Bees, seeing Ipswich two points adrift and winless in nine so far.
Football is cyclical and these things always come back to haunt, as Leeds know well
Going big in celebrations is one thing, but constantly mocking the side that you beat to the objective is a risky game.
Especially when there’s a strong chance of coming straight back down, such is the gap between the Championship and the Premier League.
Clarke got a rude awakening against Brentford and his jokes don’t land so well when he puts in a performance like that.
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