William Charles Clarke (born 13 December 1987) is an Irish football coach and former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who is the assistant manager of

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

under 18's team. As a player Clarke was predominantly a striker as well as playing in midfield in a career that lasted from 2003 until 2021. He most notably had three spells with

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

and was also part of the

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

team that played in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

during the 2010–11 season. Clarke also had spells with

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team co ...

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

and

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

as well as spending time on loan with

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

and

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

. He played for Ireland at various levels up to under-21.

Club career

Ipswich Town

Born in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, Clarke is a product of the

Academy and signed professional for the club in May 2005. He made his professional début as a substitute against Cardiff City in late November 2005. He won the

Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. ...

Junior Sports Star of the year award for Soccer in 2005 and was nominated for the Irish Under-19 Player of the Year award in 2006. He also made a big contribution to Ipswich's youth team in winning the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

in 2005. At the end of the 2005–06 season he was sent on loan to

to gain first team experience, playing six league games. During the January 2008 transfer window, he joined Scottish side

on loan. He scored his first goal, a late winner, in a crucial match against

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional F ...

. After returning to Ipswich Clarke scored his first league goal in the 2–1 victory over

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and followed it up three days later with the winning goal in the 2–1 victory over

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

. He also scored in a 3–1 victory over

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

. Clarke was transfer-listed and on 8 August 2008 went to

on one month's loan, which was extended to January 2009. He scored four times against

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional association football, football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was liquidation, wound-up after a High Court of Justice, High Court ruling on 16 September 2020. Initially kno ...

on 30 August 2008. He also scored a vital goal in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

against

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

, knocking the

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

side out of the cup. He joined

on a month's loan in January 2009. He scored a hat-trick on his debut in a 5–1 victory over

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

. It was the first hat-trick scored by a ''Cobblers'' player since 2002. Clarke joined

on loan in the run-in to their attempt to win promotion out of

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

. He was recruited mainly to cover for the absence of fellow Ipswich loanee

Jordan Rhodes Jordan Luke Rhodes (born 5 February 1990) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Championship club Huddersfield Town and the Scottish national team. He started his career at Ipswich Town and after loan spells at Oxf ...

, who was injured. Clarke scored his first goal for ''the Bees'' in the 1–1 draw at

. He ended his loan spell scoring six goals in eight games. While at Brentford, he scored twice against former club Darlington in the game that Brentford clinched the league two title. He had scored 18 goals overall during his three loan spells that season with Darlington, Northampton and Brentford. He was nominated twice during the season for the League Two Player of the Month. Clarke was released by new Ipswich manager

Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, coach and former professional player. He is the joint most successful Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies in his club career, 17 of which came during ...

on 8 May 2009.

Blackpool

On 26 June 2009, Clarke signed for fellow

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

side

on a two-year contract with an option for a further year; his contract starting on 1 July, once his Ipswich contract expired. Clarke said of the move, "It happened very quickly. I met the manager (

Ian Holloway Ian Scott Holloway (born 12 March 1963) is an English professional football manager, former player, media personality and television pundit who was most recently the manager of Grimsby Town. A midfielder, he notably played in the Premier League ...

) on Tuesday and I had my medical this morning. I am delighted to be here and I can't wait for the season to start," adding "It is brilliant for me to be still playing in the Championship. His first game for ''the Seasiders'' was a pre-season friendly against

non-league Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

side

Burscough Burscough () is a town and civil parish in West Lancashire in the ceremonial county of Lancashire, England. It is located to the north of Ormskirk and northwest of Skelmersdale. The parish also includes the hamlet of Tarlscough and the Martin M ...

on 11 July. Two days later he scored the second goal as Blackpool beat Barnstaple Town 5–0 in a 2009 South West Challenge Cup group stage match. On 8 August Clarke made his league début as a 73rd-minute substitute as Blackpool started the 2009–10 season with a 1–1 draw with

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

Loftus Road Loftus Road is a football stadium in White City, London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers. In 1981, it became the first stadium in British professional football to have an artificial pitch of Omniturf installed. This remained in ...

. He scored his first goal for ''the Seasiders'' in a 4–3 defeat to

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

at the

Britannia Stadium The Bet365 Stadium (stylised as ''bet365 Stadium'') is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England and the home of EFL Championship club Stoke City. The stadium was previously called the Britannia Stadium but ...

in the

third round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

of the 2009–10

on 22 September. His first league start came in the 2–0 win over

Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a single-tier football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two being Raikes Hall Gardens and the ...

on 17 October. His first league goal came after just 23 seconds of the

West Lancashire derby The West Lancashire derby (sometimes also known as the '' M55 derby'') is a local rivalry in English football between Lancashire clubs Blackpool and Preston North End. The derby has taken place across all four tiers of English football, but not t ...

1–1 draw with

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

on 30 November. He also won the

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

"Man of the Match" award for his performance. After three months out through injury, Clarke made his return to action as a 78th-minute substitute in the 1–0 home win over his former club Ipswich Town on 6 March 2010. During pre-season for the 2010–11 season, which was Blackpool's début in the

, Clarke suffered a knee injury that would, it was initially thought, keep him out of action for three months; however, on 26 July it was revealed that Clarke had ruptured his right anterior cruciate ligament and could miss the whole campaign. This was confirmed when, on 2 February 2011, he was left out of Blackpool's 25-man squad for the remainder of the campaign. The club exercised a third year option on Clarke's contract, keeping him in the squad for the 2011–12 season. With first team opportunities proving limited Clarke agreed a month's loan to

in October 2011, going on to make five appearances and score one goal for the

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...

club.

Crawley Town

On 31 January 2012, Clarke joined League Two club Crawley Town for an undisclosed fee. The signing of Clarke was seen as a signal of intent from Crawley, who beat off the interest of several other clubs. Crawley boss Steve Evans called Clarke a wonderful signing. Clarke featured as a regular first team player in both 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 seasons and missed a number of games due to injury. He won Player of the Year award in the 2012/2013 season, scoring 14 goals in League 1 for Crawley. He scored 7 goals for Crawley in the 2013/2014 season.

Bradford City

Clarke signed for

in June 2014 on a two-year deal. He made his debut on 9 August in a 3–2 win against

Valley Parade Valley Parade, known as the University of Bradford Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Built in 1886, it was the home of Manningham Rugby Football Club until 1903, when they c ...

, assisting James Hanson's opening goal of the game.

Charlton Athletic

Clarke signed for

in June 2017 on a two-year deal. He scored his first goal for Charlton in a 2-1

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

win against

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

on 8 August 2017. In December 2017 Clarke suffered another serious knee injury, rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee.

Return to Bradford

Clarke returned to Bradford City on 31 January 2019. In May 2019, following Bradford City's relegation to League Two, it was announced that he would leave the club upon the expiry of his contract on 30 June 2019, one of 11 players to be released. He did not find a new club for the start of the 2019–20 season, but trained with Bolton Wanderers. In September 2019 he said that he was still looking for a new club, after the move to Bolton fell through following the departure of manager Phil Parkinson, and also said that he was missing playing. He still worked at Bradford City as a part-time under-15s coach, two nights a week.

Plymouth Argyle

On 19 October 2019, Clarke signed with League Two side

on a short-term deal. He made his debut that day, as an 80th minute substitute for George Cooper in a 2–0 win over

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

Grimsby Town

After being released by Plymouth,

signed Clarke on a six-month contract on 9 January 2020. On the 11 January 2020 Clarke, makes his debut for Grimsby Town FC against Leyton Orient, after coming on for Ahkeem Rose in 63rd minute, He subsequently scored minutes later to make the score 1–0.

Third spell at Bradford City

Clarke re-signed for Bradford City on a one-year deal on 16 July 2020. On 12 May 2021 he was one of nine players that Bradford City announced would leave the club on 30 June 2021 when their contracts expire.

International career

Clarke played at various levels for the Republic of Ireland. He has made 45 appearances at under-16, under-17, under-18, under-19 and under-21 scoring 14 goals. In May 2008 he played in the inaugural Intercontinental Cup in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Coaching career

Clarke announced his retirement from professional football on 30 August 2021, after making 390 appearances and scoring 89 goals at club level across 16 seasons. In his retirement announcement, Clarke also announced his intention of a coaching career. On 20 September 2021, Clarke joined

as under-18's assistant manager.

Career statistics

Honours

Blackpool *

Football League Championship play-offs The English Football League Championship play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL Championship table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Crawley Town *

Football League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

third-place promotion: 2011–12 Individual *

Young Player of the Year: 2004–05

References

External links

*
Republic of Ireland U17 profile
at Soccer Scene
Republic of Ireland U19 profile
at Soccer Scene
Republic of Ireland U21 profile
at Soccer Scene {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Billy 1987 births Living people Association footballers from Cork (city) Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland youth international footballers Republic of Ireland under-21 international footballers Association football forwards Ipswich Town F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Falkirk F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Crawley Town F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. non-playing staff Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. non-playing staff English Football League players Scottish Premier League players Republic of Ireland expatriate association footballers Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Scotland Irish expatriate sportspeople in England