Colin Clarke (born 4 April 1946) is a Scottish former professional
football player and manager. Clarke, who played as a
central defender
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
, spent the majority of his career in England – minus a one-season stint in the
North American Soccer League – and made nearly 500 career league appearances.
Career
Born in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, Clarke began his career in his native Scotland with
Arthurlie, before moving to English giants
Arsenal in 1963. Clarke never made a league appearance for Arsenal, and later played for
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...
, the
Los Angeles Aztecs
The Los Angeles Aztecs was an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 to 1981 as well as the 1975 NASL Indoor tourn ...
, and
Plymouth Argyle before becoming player-manager of
Kettering Town.
Coaching career
Clarke spent three years in charge of
Kettering Town. In July 1991, Clarke became assistant manager at
Lincoln City. After six months in the role, the club activated a contractual clause to cancel his two-year contract following his failure to relocate his home to Lincoln as agreed. In July 1992 he became youth development officer at
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
but lasted just four months before departing with the Royals youth team bottom of the South East Counties League Division Two. He was then appointed youth team coach at
Aston Villa in February 1993.
In 2003 he was appointed assistant head men's soccer coach at the
University of Tulsa. He was named both the 2009 NSCAA Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year, and the 2009 National Soccer Coaches Association of America Assistant Coach of the Year. After nine seasons at Tulsa, the conclusion of the 2011 season saw Clarke announce his retirement from coaching.
Honours
Oxford United
*
Third Division – Winner
1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* Janu ...
References
External links
*
NASL career stats
1946 births
Living people
Scottish footballers
Arthurlie F.C. players
Arsenal F.C. players
Oxford United F.C. players
Los Angeles Aztecs players
Plymouth Argyle F.C. players
Kettering Town F.C. players
English Football League players
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players
Scottish football managers
Kettering Town F.C. managers
Corby Town F.C. managers
Stafford Rangers F.C. managers
Lincoln City F.C. non-playing staff
Association football central defenders
Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Expatriate soccer players in the United States
Scottish expatriate footballers
Reading F.C. non-playing staff
Aston Villa F.C. non-playing staff
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