Clive Clarke
Personal information
Full name Clive Richard Luke Clarke
Date of birth (1980-01-14) 14 January 1980 (age 44)
Place of birth Dublin, Ireland
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Position(s) Left back
Youth career
1996–1998 Stoke City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2005 Stoke City 223 (9)
2005–2006 West Ham United 2 (0)
2006–2008 Sunderland 4 (0)
2006 → Coventry City (loan) 12 (0)
2007 → Leicester City (loan) 2 (0)
Total 242 (9)
International career
2004 Republic of Ireland 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Clive Richard Luke Clarke (born 14 January 1980) is an Irish former footballer. He played primarily as a left back, but also as centre back, left midfielder or centre midfielder, notably for Stoke City and twice for the Ireland international team.[2] He is now a football agent, after leaving Sunderland for health reasons.

Career

Stoke City

Clarke started playing football with local club Newtown Schoolboys in his home town of Newtownmountkennedy (County Wicklow). He joined Stoke City as a trainee in August 1996, making his debut against Oldham Athletic in May 1999. He quickly became a regular in the team, making 55 appearances in the 1999–2000 season and 33 appearances in the 2000–01 season. In both seasons Stoke reached the play-offs where they lost to Gillingham and Walsall respectively.[3] However he played as they won the 2000 Football League Trophy final.[4] Although he was dropped from the side in February 2001, which prompted him to hand in a transfer request.[5]

However, he returned to the side in 2001–02 and helped Stoke gain promotion by beating Brentford in the 2002 Football League Second Division play-off final.[6] He played 32 times in 2002–03 as Stoke narrowly avoided relegation.[citation needed] He made 44 appearances in both the 2003–04 and 2004–05 campaigns. He left for West Ham United in the summer of 2005 after making 264 appearances for Stoke City in nine years.[citation needed]

West Ham United

Clarke signed for West Ham for a fee of £275,000 at the end of July 2005, brought to the club by the then manager, Alan Pardew, who wanted another left-sided player.[7] He made only three appearances for West Ham[2] and, in August 2006, moved to Sunderland in a deal that saw George McCartney move to Upton Park.[8]

Sunderland

Clarke joined Sunderland as a replacement for the injured George McCartney.[8] However, he made only four appearances before joining Coventry City on loan in October 2006[9] until January 2007[10] after which he returned to Sunderland. He made twelve appearances for Coventry but made no further appearances for Sunderland after returning from loan.[2]

Clarke later signed a three-month loan deal with Leicester City on 16 August 2007.[11] During the League Cup tie between Nottingham Forest and Leicester on 28 August 2007, Clarke collapsed and suffered a cardiac arrest in the changing rooms at the City Ground causing the match to be abandoned at half-time, with the score at 1–0.[12][13] It was reported by the BBC that Clarke was being treated in the emergency room at the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham. He was said to be 'stable' and would be kept in overnight.[12]

In an act of sportsmanship, Leicester allowed Forest to score the opening goal on the re-match to regain the advantage they had when the first game was abandoned. Leicester players stood aside to allow Forest goalkeeper Paul Smith to take in the ball from the kick-off. Reportedly even the bookmakers decided to pay out on the scorer of the first contested goal as well as paying out on both the 3–2 official result and the 3–1 "real" scoreline.[14]

Clarke told the BBC on 2 September 2007 that he felt lucky to be alive.[15]

"I remember feeling a bit lethargic on the field in the first half, and I was involved in a collision with our goalkeeper Paul Henderson, which led to their goal. I sat quietly in a corner of the dressing room and felt a bit queasy. I can recall Patrick Kisnorbo talking to me, but it wasn't really registering. Then I just passed out. When I was told what had happened, the blood drained from my body. I just thought I could have been dead, and that I might never have seen my family again. When you think about Sevilla player Antonio Puerta (who collapsed last Saturday and died on Tuesday), it goes without saying that a day won't pass when I don't cherish every moment in my life".

Clarke told Sky Sports on 12 September 2007 that he was still hopeful of playing again,[16] but he never made another appearance for Leicester following the incident, and he returned to Sunderland in November 2007. He left Sunderland by mutual agreement in February 2008 after medical advice.[17]

Personal life

After retiring from football due to health problems, Clarke became a football agent.[18] Clarke is the uncle of Republic of Ireland youth international footballer Mason Melia.[19][20]

International career

Clarke was a Republic of Ireland Under 21 player[5] and has two caps for the Republic of Ireland senior team, against Nigeria in May 2004 and against Jamaica in June 2004.[21]

Career statistics

Club

Source:[22]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Stoke City 1998–99[23] Second Division 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
1999–2000[24] Second Division 42 1 1 0 4 0 8[a] 0 55 1
2000–01[25] Second Division 21 0 2 0 6 0 5[b] 1 34 1
2001–02[26] Second Division 43 1 3 0 1 0 4[c] 0 51 1
2002–03[27] First Division 31 3 0 0 1 0 — 32 3
2003–04[28] First Division 42 3 2 0 2 0 — 46 3
2004–05[29] Championship 42 1 1 0 1 0 — 44 1
Total 223 9 9 0 15 0 17 1 264 10
West Ham United 2005–06[30] Premier League 2 0 0 0 1 0 — 3 0
Sunderland 2006–07[30] Championship 4 0 0 0 0 0 — 4 0
Coventry City (loan) 2006–07[30] Championship 12 0 0 0 0 0 — 12 0
Leicester City (loan) 2007–08[31] Championship 2 0 0 0 0 0 — 2 0
Career total 243 9 9 0 16 0 17 1 285 10
  1. ^ 6 Appearances in Football League Trophy and 2 in Second Division play-offs
  2. ^ 3 Appearances and goal in Football League Trophy and 2 in Second Division play-offs
  3. ^ 1 Appearance in Football League Trophy and 3 in Second Division play-offs

International

Source:[32]

National team Year Apps Goals
Republic of Ireland 2004 2 0
Total 2 0

Honours

Stoke City

References

  1. ^ Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2008). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2008–09. Mainstream. ISBN 978-1-84596-324-8.
  2. ^ a b c "Clive Clarke". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 28 February 2008.
  3. ^ "Walsall too strong for Stoke City". BBC Sport. 6 May 2001. Retrieved 28 February 2008.
  4. ^ "Looking Back Down 'Wembley Way'". stokecityfc.com. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Clarke in shock transfer request". BBC Sport. 22 February 2001. Retrieved 28 February 2008.
  6. ^ "Stoke seal promotion". BBC Sport. 11 May 2001. Retrieved 28 February 2008.
  7. ^ "West Ham snap up Stoke's Clarke", BBC Sport, 1 August 2005. Retrieved 1 July 2007.
  8. ^ a b "West Ham sign defender McCartney", BBC Sport, 8 August 2006. Retrieved 1 July 2007.
  9. ^ "Clarke surprised by Coventry move", BBC Sport, 26 October 2006. Retrieved 1 July 2007.
  10. ^ "Duffy & Clarke extend loan deals", BBC Sport, 21 November 2006. Retrieved 1 July 2007.
  11. ^ "Clarke joins Foxes on loan". BBC Sport. 16 August 2007. Retrieved 16 August 2007.
  12. ^ a b "Nottm Forest A–A Leicester". BBC Sport. 28 August 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
  13. ^ "Clarke 'improving' after collapse". BBC Sport. 29 August 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2007.
  14. ^ "How Nottingham Forest and Leicester City proved that sportsmanship still rules in football". BBC Sport. 21 September 2007. Archived from the original on 5 June 2008. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
  15. ^ I'm lucky to be here, says Clarke, BBC Sport 2 September 2007; retrieved 21 September 2007.
  16. ^ Clarke aims to play again, Sky Sports 12 September 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-09.
  17. ^ "Defender Clarke leaves Sunderland". BBC Sport. 6 February 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2008.
  18. ^ "Clive Clarke". Beswick Solicitors. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  19. ^ "The uncle, the nephew and a moment of fate for promising Ireland prospect". Irish Independent. 27 May 2023.
  20. ^ Fallon, John (25 May 2023). "Jon Daly confident of success with St Patrick's Athletic". Irish Examiner.
  21. ^ Squad Profile: Clive Clarke profile, FAI.ie; retrieved 1 July 2007.
  22. ^ Clive Clarke at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  23. ^ "Games played by Clive Clarke in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  24. ^ "Games played by Clive Clarke in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  25. ^ "Games played by Clive Clarke in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  26. ^ "Games played by Clive Clarke in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  27. ^ "Games played by Clive Clarke in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  28. ^ "Games played by Clive Clarke in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  29. ^ "Games played by Clive Clarke in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  30. ^ a b c "Games played by Clive Clarke in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  31. ^ "Games played by Clive Clarke in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  32. ^ Clarke, Clive at National-Football-Teams.com

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