What do you mean "Has Clapham ever delivered when it really mattered"? Has he really been given a genuine chance on a stage greater than the ASB Premiership to show what he can offer? Most of his appearances for the All Whites have been when Herbert has thrown him on with something like 10 minutes left in a game. I wouldn't consider Tuesday's game a real opportunity either. How do you expect a player who hasn't played for his team since March to come back from holiday and perform to the best of his ability?
Would he be better than Manny or Lia? Well, no, but he's not a defensive midfielder is he? Personally, I think he is better than Sanchez, but not as good as Hernandez (though he differentiates himself from Hernandez by being able to play a deeper role). There's very little difference in terms of technical ability between Sanchez and Clapham. If anything, Clapham has superior vision, is better from set pieces and is more capable of playing himself out of tight situations. Clapham also imposes himself on the game and provides control in midfield. I've always felt Sanchez was never able to accomplish this (though not entirely his fault). The stats back this up. In 41 appearances (33 starts) for the Phoenix, Sanchez recorded 1 assist and 7 goals. 1 assist?!?! From an attacking midfielder?!?! Sure Clapham's only played ASB Premiership, but I'd confident that even at his very worst he offers more than Sanchez has done in his 2 seasons with the Phoenix.
I'm off now to start a 'Downey was never given a fair go' page. It's just not fair I tell you...