Philip Ian Clarkson (born 13 November 1968 in Hambleton,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

) is an English former professional

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 ...

. He is currently a coach for Fleetwood Town's Centre of Excellence.

Playing career

After a short trial with

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

in February 1990, Clarkson began his career in non-league football with Northern Premier League club Fleetwood Town, with whom he spent one year. He began his professional career with

Dario Gradi Dario Gradi, MBE (born 8 July 1941) is an Italian-English former amateur football player, coach and manager. He was associated for more than 36 years with Crewe Alexandra, where he was variously manager, director of football and director of t ...

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 ...

in the Third Division whom he signed for on 15 October 1991 for a transfer fee of £22,500. He remained at

Gresty Road Gresty Road or the Alexandra Stadium, currently known as the Mornflake Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Crewe, Cheshire, England. The home ground of Crewe Alexandra, it has an all-seated capacity of 10,153. History Cre ...

for five years, clocking up almost a century of league appearances, and helped the club win promotion in the 1993–94 season. On 13 February 1996 he joined Scunthorpe United, where he had spent a short time on loan the previous season. He was the club's top scorer in the 1996–97 season. On 4 February 1997, he was signed by

Nigel Worthington Nigel Worthington (born 4 November 1961) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who was most recently the manager of York City. He played a defender and a midfielder, playing his club football for Ballymena United, Notts County, ...

for a fee of £80,000, at Blackpool. He scored his first goal for the club in the sixteenth minute 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 ...

against Preston North End at

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 At ...

on 15 March 1997, before going on to score the winner in the 2–1 victory just after the hour mark. He was the club's top scorer the following season. He remained at Bloomfield Road for five years, winning promotion with ''the Tangerines'' under

Steve McMahon Stephen Joseph McMahon (born 20 August 1961) is an English football manager, former professional footballer and current television pundit. As a player, he was a midfielder from 1979 to 1998, most notably playing for Liverpool in the late 1980s. ...

in the 2000–01

Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the fo ...

play-offs. In 2002, he spent a short time on loan at Bury before being released by Blackpool at the end of the 2001–02 season having scored 35 goals in 171 league games for ''the Seasiders''. Clarkson joined

Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 season. ...

in August 2002. He then joined Lancaster City in the summer of 2003 while working as a

postman A mail carrier, mailman, mailwoman, postal carrier, postman, postwoman, or letter carrier (in American English), sometimes colloquially known as a postie (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom), is an employee of a post ...

Poulton-le-Fylde Poulton-le-Fylde (), commonly shortened to Poulton, is a market town in Lancashire, England, situated on the coastal plain called the Fylde. In the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 18,264. There is evidence of human habitation i ...

and finished his career with them, retiring on 10 March 2004.

Blackpool F.C. Hall of Fame

Clarkson was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Bloomfield Road, when it was officially opened by former Blackpool player

Jimmy Armfield James Christopher Armfield, (21 September 1935 – 22 January 2018) was an English professional football player and manager who latterly worked as a football pundit for BBC Radio Five Live. He played the whole of his Football League career at B ...

in April 2006. Organised by the Blackpool Supporters Association, Blackpool fans around the world voted on their all-time heroes. Five players from each decade are inducted; Clarkson is in the 1990s.

Coaching career

Clarkson studied for his UEFA B coaching licence. He is currently the coach of the Under-16 team at his hometown club Blackpool's Centre of Excellence.

Masters Football

It has been announced that Clarkson will represent Blackpool in the 2010

Masters Football Masters Football was a six-a-side indoor football competition in the United Kingdom, where players over the age of 35 were chosen by the Masters Football Selection Committee to represent a senior club for which they played. Regional heats were he ...

competition.Clarkson signs up for Masters
/ref>

Honours

Blackpool *

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following th ...

play-off winner: 2000–01

References

External links

*
Clarkson in the Blackpool Supporters Association Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarkson, Phil 1968 births Living people English men's footballers People from Hambleton, Lancashire Fleetwood Town F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Bury F.C. players Halifax Town A.F.C. players Lancaster City F.C. players Blackpool F.C. non-playing staff Men's association football midfielders Footballers from Lancashire