Billy Clarke (footballer, Born 1987)
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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 lea ...
who is the assistant manager of Hull City 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 club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...
and was also part of the
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
team that played in the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
during the 2010–11 season. Clarke also had spells with Ipswich Town,
Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1896 as Crawley Foo ...
,
Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...
, Plymouth Argyle and
Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...
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 level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...
,
Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a 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 resident population of 32,422 at the ...
,
Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...
,
Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...
,
Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...
and
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...
. 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 ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
, Clarke is a product of the Ipswich Town Academy and signed professional for the club in May 2005. He made his professional début as a substitute against
Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...
in late November 2005. He won the
Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Republic of Ireland, Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork (city), Cork, though it is ...
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
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 level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...
to gain first team experience, playing six league games. During the January 2008 transfer window, he joined Scottish side
Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a 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 resident population of 32,422 at the ...
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, Inverness CT or just Inverness, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team competes in , the third tier of the Scottish Professional Footba ...
. After returning to Ipswich Clarke scored his first league goal in the 2–1 victory over
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
and followed it up three days later with the winning goal in the 2–1 victory over
Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...
. He also scored in a 3–1 victory over Southend United. Clarke was transfer-listed and on 8 August 2008 went to
Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...
on one month's loan, which was extended to January 2009. He scored four times against Macclesfield Town on 30 August 2008. He also scored a vital goal in the League Cup against
Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...
, knocking the League One side out of the cup. He joined
Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...
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 a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...
. It was the first hat-trick scored by a ''Cobblers'' player since 2002. Clarke joined
Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...
on loan in the run-in to their attempt to win promotion out of League Two. He was recruited mainly to cover for the absence of fellow Ipswich loanee Jordan Rhodes, who was injured. Clarke scored his first goal for ''the Bees'' in the 1–1 draw at
Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...
. 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, former coach, and former professional player. He is best known for his career in the Premier League, in particular his captaincy of Manchester United. He is the joint most ...
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 sys ...
side
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
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 is the manager of club Swindon Town. A midfielder, he notably played in the Premier League with ...
) 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 association football, 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 ...
side
Burscough Burscough () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of West Lancashire, Lancashire, England. The town is located approximately north-northeast of Liverpool and southwest of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. Its north ...
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 association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...
at
Loftus Road Loftus Road, currently known as MATRADE Loftus Road Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, West London, Greater London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers F.C., Queens Park Rangers Football Club, w ...
. He scored his first goal for ''the Seasiders'' in a 4–3 defeat to
Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...
at the
Britannia Stadium The 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 was renamed on 1 June 2016 when the cl ...
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'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...
of the 2009–10 League Cup on 22 September. His first league start came in the 2–0 win over Plymouth Argyle at
Bloomfield Road Bloomfield Road is a association football, football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C., Blackpool Football Club since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two be ...
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 ...
1–1 draw with
Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...
on 30 November. He also won the
Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...
"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 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
season, which was Blackpool's début in the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
, 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
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...
in October 2011, going on to make five appearances and score one goal for the
South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...
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
Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...
in June 2014 on a two-year deal. He made his debut on 9 August in a 3–2 win against
Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...
at
Valley Parade Valley Parade, currently known as University of Bradford Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater association football, football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The stadium was built in 1886 as the home of Manningham F.C. ...
, assisting James Hanson's opening goal of the game.


Charlton Athletic

Clarke signed for
Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...
in June 2017 on a two-year deal. He scored his first goal for Charlton in a 2-1
EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...
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 level 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 Plymouth Argyle 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 currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...
.


Grimsby Town

After being released by Plymouth,
Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...
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. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
.


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 Hull City as under-18's assistant manager.


Career statistics


Honours

Blackpool *
Football League Championship play-offs The English Football League (EFL) 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-of ...
:
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
Crawley Town *
Football League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English Football League (EFL ...
third-place promotion: 2011–12 Individual * Ipswich Town 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 men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers Republic of Ireland men's under-21 international footballers Men's 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 men's association footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Irish expatriate sportspeople in England 21st-century Irish sportsmen