Nathaniel Clyne: Leading by example

Except, these days… they kind of do. Not Neville specifically – and after laughing off Carragher’s insult, he was the first to admit that he had grown up as a centre-back before moving out wide to compensate for his lack of height, and capitalise on his borderline obsession with physical fitness.

But the jibe wasn’t about Neville specifically either. It was about the position he occupied at Manchester United for 17 years, seen – in that exchange – as the least sexy on the pitch. How times change.

How many young boys in Liverpool grow up wanting to be Trent Alexander-Arnold? Countless. How many Manchester City fans awed – at least, until, recently – at João Cancelo’s reinvention of the position itself? How many Chelsea devotees would name Reece James as their club’s best player?

Football is a fashion business, and, right now, full-backs are in.

For Nathaniel Clyne - who today (5th April, 2023) celebrates his 32nd birthday, and who has watched this transformation as one of the country’s best for more than a decade - it’s not before time. He has always considered full-backs to be deserving of their ‘main character energy’.

“You get to defend and attack at the same time,” he says. “That is one quality I like about playing full-back.

“You have the opportunity to do both. Now, in the modern game, they want full-backs to get forward and help out in attack. It’s a high-energy, high-demand position, which I like.”

High-energy, high-demand. Which budding footballer wouldn’t want that?

For Clyne, he has both the benefit of years of Premier League experience and also the opportunity to play game after game; he can occupy a senior role in the dressing room but also out on the pitch. On the opposite flank is a player learning from that experience: Tyrick Mitchell.

“I first came in and saw him play, and I saw how hard he works and how he developed from playing week in, week out,” Clyne remembers. “He has come on leaps and bounds, pushed through to getting England call-ups, and I can see him going all the way.

“It’s a credit to Crystal Palace because you have got one of your Academy products that you have trained to get a call-up for the national team. That is a massive achievement, so Palace can be proud of that.” Clyne is talking about Mitchell, but he may just as easily be being self-referential.

Signing for Palace as a 14-year-old, he made his club debut just three years later and went on to nail down the right-back berth, winning the club’s Player of the Season award for 2010/11. He looks back on his development at Palace with fondness – but can’t help but point out that it was likely a world away from that of his new teammate.

“I wish it was as good when I was growing up as it is now,” he laughs. “I would have enjoyed it even more. You can see the emphasis on getting Academy players through and developing them. That’s the structure they are going through and the facilities are very good.

“Gary Issott [Academy Director] is the one that gave me my first professional contract and kept on telling the manager at the time, Neil Warnock, that I was ready for the step up to the first-team, so I owe a lot to him.

“It means a lot. It’s the club that gave me the opportunity to become a professional footballer. I have to thank the coaches for getting me to the ability to play first-team football; making my debut at the age of 17.

“Palace has always been a family club. There is a togetherness here. It’s a club that gives a lot of youngsters an opportunity. Obviously you can see that now with the Academy. The club has spent a lot on the facilities and we have excellent facilities there now. Hopefully there will be a lot more youngsters coming through.”

If it hadn’t been so meticulously planned, you would say that there is a certain serendipity around a state-of-the-art Premier League Academy popping up in south London, arguably the biggest hotbed of talent in the country.

Jadon Sancho, Emile Smith Rowe, Joe Gomez. All stellar names who, in an alternative world, could have been tempted towards Palace.

“There are loads of pitches in south London where kids go to play football,” Clyne says, pondering the reason it produces such a conveyor belt of top talent. “Obviously it’s the main sport, everyone wants to play football.

“You know there is that cool kid in the park? If you’re the best at football, that’s what everyone aspires to be. Maybe that’s why a lot of kids in south London want to make it.”

Clyne spent three years at Southampton before a move to Merseyside to join Liverpool, but at heart he has always been a Londoner. He is adorned with tattoos celebrating the city of his birth. “I grew up in London, so coming back here and living here is easy,” he says.

“Most of my family and friends are here so it is easy for me to settle down. I’m happy where I am living – you can’t get bored living in London. I’m close to the training ground and the stadium… the traffic is still the same, which is a bit of a shame!

“I’m enjoying coming in, working hard in training, playing well and representing Crystal Palace. I see myself staying here. When I first came back on trial to see how my body was recovering from the ACL injury, I was thankful to Palace for giving me the opportunity to come back. I took it with both hands and I’m looking forward to keeping on improving, keeping on challenging and staying here as long as possible.”

Clyne is not just an extra pair body in the squad, he is an influential member; vastly experienced at club and international level, he is someone for the younger players to look up to. It’s a role that he is relishing.

“I’m the type of player that leads by example,” he says. “Follow how I prepare for games, how I am in training. I still work hard in training, I don’t take my foot off the gas. I pre-activate well, I don’t miss gym sessions. All that stuff is what youngsters can take in for the good of the team.

“It does feel a bit strange when you are looking around and you are the oldest one there. I’m still young at heart, so that’s good! Obviously it’s been a massive change. When I left we were still in the Championship, and we weren’t playing as well as we are now.

“Now we have a different structure where we try to play attacking football and you can see we are an established Premier League club. Last season we had a good cup run. We were disappointed to be out of the cup this season but we can still push on.”

That ambition can be felt right from the top. “We’ve got a young squad now, a lot of young talented players, and they can only improve and get better. It’s exciting to see, and we look forward to it.” So what would Clyne’s advice be to those young players?

“You’ve got to be tough and mentally strong when you are playing in front of huge crowds,” he says. “Don’t let the atmosphere get to you. Play your normal game.

“Keep on going, don’t take your foot off the gas. Even when you’re getting in with the first-team and training with the first-team, you have to make every opportunity count. When you do get the opportunity to play, make it count. Just keep going.”

At Selhurst Park, Clyne took every opportunity given to him. Full-backs may not have been capturing the imagination when he was a child, but they certainly are now. He has ridden the wave right to the top, and he has done it while returning to his roots.

“I love Palace for giving me the opportunity to become the player I am,” he says. Now he is helping others fulfil that same potential. No one wants to be a full-back? Not anymore.

This interview originally appeared in the Crystal Palace v Newcastle United programme - you can get programmes delivered to your door by clicking HERE.