Jeffrey Derek Clarke (born 18 January 1954 in

Hemsworth Hemsworth is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire and had a population of 13,311 at the 2001 census, ...

, England) is an English 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 currently head academy physiotherapist at

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...

club

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

. He played as a defender, primarily for

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

and

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

. He has been at Dundee United since November 2003, mainly as physiotherapist for the first team.

Playing career

Clarke began his professional career in 1974 with

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

, featuring in thirteen league appearances before leaving a year later to join

in a swap deal with

Dave Watson David Watson (born 20 November 1961) is an English football manager and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a defender from 1980 to 2001. He played his entire career for Norwich City and Everton. With the Toffees he played in ...

. In seven years at

Roker Park Roker Park was a football ground in Roker, Sunderland, England, which was the home of Sunderland A.F.C. from 1898 to 1997, before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Its final capacity was around 22,500, with only a small part being seated; ...

, Clarke played in over 200 matches and experienced promotion to the top flight before moving to rivals

on a free transfer in 1982. Another five years in the North East – including another top-flight promotion – preceded short-lived spells at

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

side Ankaragücü and

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 ...

Physiotherapy career

Following his retirement from playing, Clarke coached at former club Newcastle, studying a physiotherapy degree at the

University of Salford , caption = Coat of ArmsUniversity of Salford , mottoeng = "Let us seek higher things" , established = 1850 - Pendleton Mechanics Institute 1896 – Royal Technical Institute, Salford 1967 – gained ...

at the same time. He graduated in 1996. Clarke became a physio at another former club, Sunderland, before taking on the same role at

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

in 2001. Following his redundancy in 2003, he joined

in November of that year, taking on additional coaching duties at one point in March 2005. By 2020 he was no longer involved with the first team, having been appointed as full-time head physiotherapist within the club's youth academy.

Honours

As a player

* Second Division Title winner: 1975–76

References

External links

* 1954 births Living people People from Hemsworth English footballers English expatriate footballers English Football League players Manchester City F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players MKE Ankaragücü footballers Darlington F.C. players Dundee United F.C. non-playing staff Alumni of the University of Salford Association football physiotherapists Footballers from Yorkshire British physiotherapists Association football defenders Expatriate footballers in Turkey {{England-footy-defender-1950s-stub