Just how good was Jack Cork?

[dandeclaret]

2 spells with the club, from technically gifted, raw, tempo dictator - to match dominating, neat passing enforcer. Available for selection more than most, worked hard, leader, seemed well liked by all at the club (football and non football)

I can't think of a midfielder that I've seen for Burnley since 1985 that I'd rather have in a team I was selecting.

Left a huge hole to fill this season, and that hole remains for next year too.

[Rowls]

How good? Far better than most realised.

[JohnDearyMe]

Him getting an England cap (albeit for a fairly brief appearance) shows you how good he was for us.

Hard to imagine that a Burnley centre midfielder would ever be selected for England if you only started watching Burnley after the highs of the 60s/70s.

[Hibsclaret]

Very.

In the last relegation season he was underused and if he had played more we may not have been relegated tbh. A Burnley midfielder making an England squad tells you all you need to know.

[Bordeauxclaret]

Excellent player throughout his three spells with us.

Disappointed we didn’t see much of him this season.

[Murger]

Criminally underused this season. Even in his brief cameo yesterday, he intercepted a couple passes. It’s that sort of knowledge and know-how we’ve missed all season.

[Neil]

He's still alive Dan!

Probably at his peak when he came back in what turned out to be the qualify for Europe season.

Very strong pairing with Defour.

I remember when he was dropped early last season at Watford and I thought that we'll struggle in any game he doesn't play in.

[ElectroClaret]

I can't think of a midfielder that I've seen for Burnley since 1985 that I'd rather have in a team I was selecting.

Left a huge hole to fill this season, and that hole remains for next year too.

Spot on comments.
Hard to overstate his contribution and influence on various squads in the times he had with us.

Excellent player and professional.

[NickBFC]

I said on another thread he was genuine Premier League quality for us (along with Pope/Mee/Tarky etc). A big miss but IMO the right time to part ways. Had an excellent career, hope he gets a decent swansong somewhere next season.

[ClaretsPadiham]

He was bang average that’s why he played for Burnley.

[jlup1980]

Cork was a phenomenal player. A very clever footballer, much under rated in the wider footballing world, but someone who seemed to make those around him look better than they were (in a similar way to Ben Mee). The wheels started to fall off with Dyche when Sean inexplicably decided that Westwood and Brownhill would be an adequate pairing. They never worked as both of them missed having Cork alongside them. His partnership with Defour was a thing of beauty - the best CM pairing we've had in my lifetime by a country mile!

The old saying goes, "we never replaced John Deary"... will we say the same about Jack Cork?

[ClaretTony]

2 spells with the club, from technically gifted, raw, tempo dictator - to match dominating, neat passing enforcer. Available for selection more than most, worked hard, leader, seemed well liked by all at the club (football and non football)

I can't think of a midfielder that I've seen for Burnley since 1985 that I'd rather have in a team I was selecting.

Left a huge hole to fill this season, and that hole remains for next year too.

Brilliant signing for us when he came back in 2017.

[Herts Clarets]

2 spells with the club, from technically gifted, raw, tempo dictator - to match dominating, neat passing enforcer. Available for selection more than most, worked hard, leader, seemed well liked by all at the club (football and non football)

I can't think of a midfielder that I've seen for Burnley since 1985 that I'd rather have in a team I was selecting.

Left a huge hole to fill this season, and that hole remains for next year too.

I misread that and thought back in 1985 there was a midfielder you would select. Guessing 1985 was when you started watching? Though we did still have Mike Phelan in 84/85 I guess.....

[Longsidelenny1882]

Before his legs went outstanding for Burnley been a great servant to the club utc

[ecc]

Completely different player but Defour was technically superior. Unfortunately, he missed so many games through injury.

Jack was very good about that there's no doubt.

[gawthorpe_view]

2 spells with the club, from technically gifted, raw, tempo dictator - to match dominating, neat passing enforcer. Available for selection more than most, worked hard, leader, seemed well liked by all at the club (football and non football)

I can't think of a midfielder that I've seen for Burnley since 1985 that I'd rather have in a team I was selecting.

Left a huge hole to fill this season, and that hole remains for next year too.

Like most good players, you only realise how good they were when you try to replace them.

[Pearcey]

Massive player for us and got himself an England cap.

[beddie]

One of our best ever signings imo. I’ve tried to think of reasons why VK didn’t play him and I’m still struggling.

[CrosspoolClarets]

Like most good players, you only realise how good they were when you try to replace them.

Or when you leave them out and we start losing, bring him back and we start winning, then drop him again and we start losing again.

A theme from the last few years.

[agreenwood]

He was very good and a fantastic signing. The recruitment that summer he came it was arguably the most effective in all my time supporting the club - Wood, Taylor, Bardsley & Lennon joined with him. To get an England cap as a midfielder whilst at Burnley says everything about how good he was in those first few seasons in particular.

I don’t buy that he was massively underused this season though. Dyche had stopped picking him in his final season. There were times last season when he struggled with the pace of the Championship and picked up a lot of bookings (think I’m right in saying the most in a single season playing for us).

He possibly might have been the right man to help us shore up a win going into the last 10-15 mins this season, but we were rarely in that position.

[CoolClaret]

I have always said to my mates if Jack Cork had more pace he'd have spent his career playing for a top 8 PL side.

Incredible positional awareness, ability in the air and tackling ability.

Only thing he didn't have in his locker was long range shooting/passing.

One of my favourite ever Clarets. Was brilliant for us.

[Fretters]

Whilst he no longer seems capable of playing in a midfield two without picking up a booking, I think he could play until he's 40 in the 'Graham Alexander' role, in front of the back four with two central midfielders ahead of him.

He'll be a great signing for somebody.

[Anonymous Claret]

2 spells with the club, from technically gifted, raw, tempo dictator - to match dominating, neat passing enforcer. Available for selection more than most, worked hard, leader, seemed well liked by all at the club (football and non football)

I can't think of a midfielder that I've seen for Burnley since 1985 that I'd rather have in a team I was selecting.

Left a huge hole to fill this season, and that hole remains for next year too.

I have been a big fan of Cork since his first loan spell.

Would you rather have him in a team before a fully fit Defour? It's only been this season but I would also have Berge ahead of him.

[dandeclaret]

The point is - it's the whole package - as they were. So Defour, playing as intermittently as he did with his technical ability, vs Cork playing regularly with his abilities. Same with Berge and any others.

Herts - 85/86 was the first season I started going on.

[123EasyasBFC]

How fitting that Martin Dobson was the half time guest as Jack cork is the closest thing we have had to Dobson in my opinion

[Kitch1966]

Consummate professional on and off the field and always gave it 100%. That should be a given but many professional footballers cannot/do not give their all.
Unfortunately Jack's legs had gone and he seemed to pick up bookings for fun in the fantastic Championship season even though he still never let anyone down. Possibly under used in the championship season but would probably have received red cards in the Premier ' cheats ' League.
Good luck Corky and thanks for the memories!

[dandeclaret]

How much was it Jack's legs going, and how much was it the change of style? The types of fouls he was committing are very prevalent in the Man City system, whereby they play a high line, and when it's sprung, the instruction appears to be stop the attack immediately with a tactical foul.

[LincsWoldsClaret]

In his prime he was running further than any other player in the PL.

Terrific for us and hopefully he’ll find a new home

[IanMcL]

He was bang average that’s why he played for Burnley.

...and England

[IanMcL]

Cork was called up to England and played, so on the fringe of that.

Father was a womble. He was well schooled and read the game brilliantly.
Made other players better. Not least, Cullen.
Also Brownhill, Westwood.

Nothing fancy, just straightforward football to keep the team ticking.

Kompany clueles by not using him, when we really needed him!

[Murger]

His contribution couldn’t have been any less than what was being served up by the current lot.

[Vegas Claret]

brilliant player, brilliant leader.

[Anonymous Claret]

It was probably a combination of the 2 reasons mentioned why he picked up plenty of bookings in the Championship.His legs were going a little and it was the system we played to break up opposition attacks higher up the pitch.

I think there have been times this season where his experience could have helped.

I am still perplexed as to why Dyche dropped him in the relegation season after a few games back in the side. We looked a better team, Cork was outstanding and the results improved. Was it just to get Ashley ' down the channels' Westwood back into the side?

[Goliath]

Fantastic footballer. His reading of the game is absolutely top drawer. Really he should have played a lot higher than us for most of his career, he's been very good wherever he's been. I think he's just been a bit unlucky with managers tbh. Wasnt it Paul Clement who stopped playing him at Swansea. He turned out to be a clueless manager.

Possibly Koeman at Southampton aswell who was also pretty crap. I thought he was excellent in that good Southampton side under Pochettino. He was in competition with Schneiderlin and Wanyama if I remember rightly at the time and still got a lot of game time.

[Jakubclaret]

Cork was called up to England and played, so on the fringe of that.

Father was a womble. He was well schooled and read the game brilliantly.
Made other players better. Not least, Cullen.
Also Brownhill, Westwood.

Nothing fancy, just straightforward football to keep the team ticking.

Kompany clueles by not using him, when we really needed him!

Alan was a excellent footballer faded towards the end after he joined the blades think it was 92ish. Jack definitely had a good start & mentor in Alan.

[agreenwood]

How much was it Jack's legs going, and how much was it the change of style? The types of fouls he was committing are very prevalent in the Man City system, whereby they play a high line, and when it's sprung, the instruction appears to be stop the attack immediately with a tactical foul.

Possibly, but he was also on the bench for 18 of Dyche’s 30 games in the last relegation season and kept out of the side by Brownhill and Westwood. That was two years ago.

I know nobody trusts Kompany’s judgement of late, but Dyche was hardly averse to playing experienced footballers and he chose not to play Cork more often that not towards the end.

I think the evidence suggests that two separate managers not fancying him in the Premier League, would suggest a decline. No shame in it. He’ll be 35 next month. There aren’t many central midfielders holding down starting berths in the PL past 32/33 these days.

[KlyBfc]

We were discussing this yesterday and for me Defour aside the next best midfielder we’ve had in my time watching Burnley. In fact if I was a manger I’d have even had him before Defour due to his longevity / durability.

Massively under appreciated I think.

[123EasyasBFC]

Cork made every partner he had in the middle look better, Defour had his best spell next to cork, Westwood benefited from cork and then last season cork allowed Cullen to be the ball player

[Elizabeth]

He was good and a victim of Kompany's thoughts on how to play the game. Give me Cork over Kompany any day

[quoonbeatz]

Class player. Like David Jones before him, we played better football with Cork in the team.

[KRBFC]

Absolutely gutted we didnt sign him after his first spell, glad we got him in the end albeit years later, really classy player and an immense servant to BFC.

We won 1 game from August to February under Dyche, Cork came in and we instantly won back to back games, then he was dropped again. Criminally underused that season.

[helmclaret]

Not a patch on John Deary.

[beeholeclaret]

He was very good and a fantastic signing. The recruitment that summer he came it was arguably the most effective in all my time supporting the club - Wood, Taylor, Bardsley & Lennon joined with him. To get an England cap as a midfielder whilst at Burnley says everything about how good he was in those first few seasons in particular.

I don’t buy that he was massively underused this season though. Dyche had stopped picking him in his final season. There were times last season when he struggled with the pace of the Championship and picked up a lot of bookings (think I’m right in saying the most in a single season playing for us).

He possibly might have been the right man to help us shore up a win going into the last 10-15 mins this season, but we were rarely in that position.

Ive got to agree with all of the above as it fits in with my view of Jack Cork.

Two seasons ago he should’ve played a lot more games and I believe that contributed to our inept performances and subsequent relegation. Did he come back in after Dyche was sacked? I remember that headed goal in the game at Watford when we won 2-1.

In a league where pace, youth and physical exertion with the ‘press’ on opponents playing out from the back Jack’s legs were probably not up to it although his experience at the club will have helped some of the young lads settle in.

Happy memories and all the best to Havk for his future. We should be very pleased that he chose to come and join us on 3 occasions.

[equinox]

Berge is better.

[jdrobbo]

2 spells with the club, from technically gifted, raw, tempo dictator - to match dominating, neat passing enforcer. Available for selection more than most, worked hard, leader, seemed well liked by all at the club (football and non football)

I can't think of a midfielder that I've seen for Burnley since 1985 that I'd rather have in a team I was selecting.

Left a huge hole to fill this season, and that hole remains for next year too.

Agree with every word of this. A brilliant player, a brilliant professional and someone that we simply have not replaced.

[dougcollins]

Criminally underused this season. Even in his brief cameo yesterday, he intercepted a couple passes. It’s that sort of knowledge and know-how we’ve missed all season.

'The first yard is in your head'- Jack had that in abundance.

[Down_Rover]

Not disputing any of the praise for Cork but therewas a better Burnley midfielder on the pitch on Sunday, Martin Dobson

[Goliath]

Agree with every word of this. A brilliant player, a brilliant professional and someone that we simply have not replaced.

It's nearly impossible for us to replace him, especially now we've been relegated. It really is ludicrous to let him go, the more I think about it the more annoying it is.
Premier league experience, England International and technically one of the best midfielders we've had at the club and we are just letting him walk out the door. I think he's younger than Alexander was when we signed him and we know how good he was just sat infront of the back 4.

If anything age can be an advantage in that role, players tend to have accepted that they can't get up and down as much anymore, so they become more specialised in that holding role and start to read the game better. There isn't a single better midfielder technically in the Championship imo.

[jdrobbo]

It's nearly impossible for us to replace him, especially now we've been relegated. It really is ludicrous to let him go, the more I think about it the more annoying it is.
Premier league experience, England International and technically one of the best midfielders we've had at the club and we are just letting him walk out the door. I think he's younger than Alexander was when we signed him and we know how good he was just sat infront of the back 4.

If anything age can be an advantage in that role, players tend to have accepted that they can't get up and down as much anymore, so they become more specialised in that holding role and start to read the game better. There isn't a single better midfielder technically in the Championship imo.

I must've been told by at least ten people in the last 24 hours that he's past it! I still think he'd do a decent job next season, even from the bench, but perhaps it's wages and game time making him want to move on. I remain convinced, at least half of our fanbase never really acknowledged what a bloody brilliant player he was for us.

[Targetman]

He was bang average that’s why he played for Burnley.

I think this message board can take any further comments from you with a pinch of salt!