What Jamie did next?
If it was anyone else, you’d say at 33, and two years out of it, the inter-county door is firmly shut.
But Kieran McGeeney has always understood the mercurial Jamie Clarke and on a pragmatic level, natural finishers don’t grow on trees.
Read next: This weekend’s GAA club Championship fixtures as Antrim hurling doyens clash
Time may not be on his side, but Clarke hasn’t ruled out a return to the orange jersey.
More immediately, would it be a massive shock if he made his Newry City debut against Linfield at the Showgrounds on Sunday and knocked in a couple of goals.
Not really? More a mild surprise.
You know something is afoot with the locals when there’s a bit of hype about the Irish League in Crossmaglen.
Another local lad, James Teelan has been making waves at Newry City for a while now.
But when the Armagh Championship kicks in, in early September there will only be one show in town.
And what then of Clarke’s old playing partner, turned manager Stephen Kernan and his Rangers team.
Clarke is back with Crossmaglen almost five months now.
No Armagh title in three years is a drought in Cross, but then Clarke and the prodigiously talented Rian O’Neill have never paired up at senior level in the famous black and amber jersey.
“We enjoyed his first couple of years with Armagh together,” says Clarke. “We haven’t got playing with Cross seniors yet.
“We always had a good rapport, a good understanding. It’s nearly like that telepathy when you are on the pitch. We just click straight away. I look forward to having him back.
“Oisin O’Neill will miss the whole campaign. He had surgery.
“Armagh is tight. You can nearly be naive. Cross have always had this, ‘We are the footballers.’
“If you play with that attitude and I suppose if your scoring percentages aren’t up you can easily be caught by a defensive-minded team who just counterattack you. That’s just across the board.”
Anyway, the good news for all interested parties is that goal-getter Clarke is fit and raring to go.
He’d want to be. He trained six times this week, but he doesn’t mind.
“Training is intense but Stephen (Kernan) has it very well organised and professional,” says Clarke.
“He would manage me with the workload and stuff. Everything is at that elite level now.
“I’m enjoying that, kind of embracing being back home.
“Soccer was something that I’d done before and wanted to give another crack. When Newry came calling, they were in the Premiership, so why not?
“We have the stats sports and statistics. I am as fit and fast as ever. No real drop at all. No injuries. Touch wood. It’s just managing the workload.
“The soccer can be more tactical and light, where the Gaelic can be a bit more intense at times.
“It varies. It’s just eating well and recovering well. Plenty of rest and hydration. I’d go to the recovery rooms.
“I feel well fit for it. My body is not telling me, no. I am making the most of it.
“It’s nice to be part of those team environments and playing, even for my mental health more than anything as well.”
The perception out there is that Clarke is a wandering soul, but wherever he’s gone - New York, Paris, Toronto, Australia and more - that team environment has always drawn him in.
“I’ve always been involved in a sporting team,” he says. “When I’m in, I’d always give it all.
“Through my 20s it was more of a discovery period.
“I have learned about different places, different cultures and had my eyes opened to that, and just wanting to explore more things. .
“I suppose it’s understanding the value of time and making the most of that.
“I just wanted to try as much as possible. When you are involved in inter-county, there is very little time. You don’t have a chance to really indulge in other cultures.
“I went to Paris for a year. I just got out of town.
“I always loved Paris, the culture and style aspect, and the way of life there.
“It’s a lot faster and grittier than some people might assume, particularly on the outskirts. It was kind of cool seeing that part of it as well.
“I got a bit tired the last time I was away. I wanted to get out of the city life for a while. The sport definitely helps me a lot, being part of that elite environment.
“I was playing a lot of recreational soccer in Paris and while it’s good and fun, if it’s not at a serious level I tend to get pissed off with it.
“You want the other boys to put in the same effort.”
The demands of inter-county football doesn’t sit with the type of life Clarke is describing, but he isn’t closing any doors just yet.
“It’s something I didn’t rule out,” he says. “I went to the Armagh games during the summer and it was great.
“I wanted to make sure I still had an appetite and stuff for it. I obviously do.
“It was exciting. There was a huge fan base. Armagh always did. Even Derry coming through as well. I could feel it against Tyrone, a situation and Donegal a bit of a change.
“They (Tyrone) didn’t really come back from their trip away with the right mindset.
“Armagh exploited that. They were brilliant in them two games and potentially a monkey off the back with the two wins.
“Winning an Ulster is the priority for Armagh.”
But will he be involved?
“Me and Kieran always had a good relationship. If I am in, I am in and when I’m not, I’m not.
“Obviously, I want what’s best for Armagh as does he.
“I’ll just focus on Cross for now in terms of the Gaelic. Put in a good year with Cross and see what happens. One step at a time.
“You never know what’s around the corner. The timing and commitment and what it’s going to take. I have the soccer as well. Would there be a balance there? I’m not sure.
“For now, let’s see if I can help Cross win the county and take if from there.”
The GAA system never appealed to him, but he’s not a systems man really.
“I guess it just goes back to my gripe with the game and it’s just the training versus games,” he says. “The return on investment isn’t there.
“You are talking training from October to January without a game of football.
“Scientifically I don’t think that’s even right on the body. In winter it’s a completely different game to summer. It’s just the lack of games to be honest.
“You just want to play at the top level.”
Clarke is currently acclimatising to life at the Newry Showgrounds. You can almost visualise a natural predator sniffing the air in his new surroundings.
“I had a really good week, started to feel confident and comfortable tactically, figuring a few things out in training,” he says.
“I stayed back a few times just knocking a ball around and becoming more spatially aware with the dimensions of the pitch.
“It’s Linfield Sunday so it would be nice to get into the squad.
“There is a big buzz around Newry and even in Cross there is a bit of a buzz, which is interesting.”
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