Littlesh*t Posted May 17, 2006 Report Share Posted May 17, 2006 Preston could win a Fortune in the summer transfer market as Billy Davies looks to bolster the tightest defence in the Championship. The North End manager has confirmed to the Evening Post he is interested in Bristol City centre-half Clayton Fortune as the wheeling and dealing starts all over again in the wake of the club's latest play-off near-miss. Davies, who made an unsuccessful attempt to attract the player to Deepdale last year, may have to fight off competition from several other suitors for the promising 23-year-old. But Preston's status next season as one of the top clubs outside the Premiership could swing the contest their way. "Clayton Fortune is a name we are looking at," said Davies. "But he is only one of a number of young players we have our eye on." Amongst the clubs known to be chasing Fortune's signature are Port Vale, where the former Tottenham junior spent the bulk of last season on loan. Manager Martin Foyle has been impressed with the defender and is reported to have made an offer to keep him at Vale Park on a full-time basis. But the youngster has asked for time to consider all his options before making what he sees as the biggest decision of his career so far. Fortune is said to have rejected a move to North End last season because he wanted to stay in Bristol and fight for a regular place in the City team. Yet by November he had only started six games for the Robins and agreed to go on a two-month "emergency loan" to Vale to get some first team football. In the January transfer window he accepted a loan extension until the end of the season, even though Foyle had hoped to make the move permanent. And now the season is over Fortune admits he is taking his time over deciding his next move because he feels his career is now at a crossroads. "I said I wanted to see things out until the end of the season and then see what was out there," he told reporters in the Potteries recently. London-born Fortune is out of contract at Ashton Gate after six years with the League One club. He joined City on a free after being released as a 17-year-old by Spurs. When he turned down the chance of coming to North End last year, it was thought the distance from family and friends in the South of England was a key factor. But now, after six months in Staffordshire, the location may no longer be a problem. Davies said: "The lad didn't want to move last year, but now things might be different. "He is a player we have looked at. Again he is a young player, but there are lots of young players around at the moment. "We are not just looking at Clayton Fortune, there are many other players we are looking at too." Fortune started 24 games for Vale last season and played another five as substitute, scoring two goals. He sees his future away from Bristol City after realising he is not in the club's plans, despite a good season the previous year when he made 35 appearances Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cider Red Sam Posted May 17, 2006 Report Share Posted May 17, 2006 I know not many other people do but I really like Clayton Fortune. OK, he's not very good in the air for his height, but he has pace, can tackle, and is calm, composed, and a good footballer, which is rare in a defender.When he turned down Preston last year, I was pleased. However, now with hindsight it looks like the 400k we would have reportedly recieved for him last year would be good business, as now he's likely to leave on the cheap, with his contract being up. I think Fortune could go on to do a Zamora, where we let him go on the cheap (as Rovers did with Zamora), then within a few years he could be playing in the prem, or involved in a big money move to a premiership club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan C Posted May 17, 2006 Report Share Posted May 17, 2006 I know not many other people do but I really like Clayton Fortune. OK, he's not very good in the air for his height, but he has pace, can tackle, and is calm, composed, and a good footballer, which is rare in a defender.When he turned down Preston last year, I was pleased. However, now with hindsight it looks like the 400k we would have reportedly recieved for him last year would be good business, as now he's likely to leave on the cheap, with his contract being up. I think Fortune could go on to do a Zamora, where we let him go on the cheap (as Rovers did with Zamora), then within a few years he could be playing in the prem, or involved in a big money move to a premiership club.Unless he sorts his attitude out then he will never play in the prem imho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlesh*t Posted May 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2006 i agree fortune is a good player but just doesnt seem as though he can handle the pressure at city with all the fans on his back. a fresh start could be good for both him and the club! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grifty Posted May 17, 2006 Report Share Posted May 17, 2006 have we missed something with claytonwe all think he;s pants yet a team challenging for the premiership want him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolmod Posted May 17, 2006 Report Share Posted May 17, 2006 no he's really ###t.he's never played like a championship player and has had more than enough games to show he can.waste of space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Reynolds Posted May 17, 2006 Report Share Posted May 17, 2006 no he's really ###t.he's never played like a championship player and has had more than enough games to show he can.waste of space.I think this kind of attitude is why we have never seen the best of him. He's a confidence player, and we get on our players backs at the first sign of a mistake. Port Vale's expectations aren't so high, so he's free to get on with playing football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CiderHider Posted May 17, 2006 Report Share Posted May 17, 2006 i agree fortune is a good player but just doesnt seem as though he can handle the pressure at city with all the fans on his back. a fresh start could be good for both him and the club!Agreed, i've seen him freeze like a rabbit caught between the headlights on several occasions.He consistantly made really bad decisions in defence, costly ones too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan C Posted May 17, 2006 Report Share Posted May 17, 2006 I think this kind of attitude is why we have never seen the best of him. He's a confidence player, and we get on our players backs at the first sign of a mistake. Port Vale's expectations aren't so high, so he's free to get on with playing football.Maybe if he improved his attitude he could have had a future here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre_The_Giant Posted May 17, 2006 Report Share Posted May 17, 2006 One of the worst players I have ever seen in a City shirt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chappers Posted May 17, 2006 Report Share Posted May 17, 2006 Personally, I saw enough in him to realise that he could be a quality player. On the couple of occasions he had a run in the team, he looked good. Unfortunately, in many ways like Phillips, some fans never accepted him ,over-hyped any supposed mistakes, and if all else failed, just claim that he had an attitude. Good luck to him, and I think that if he is handled right, somebody will be very lucky to pick up a decent player for nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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