Ben Clark (footballer, born 1983) explained

Ben Clark
Fullname:Benjamin Clark
Birth Date:24 January 1983
Birth Place:Consett, England[1]
Position:Centre-back
Centre midfielder
Youthyears1:1999
Youthclubs1:Manchester United
Youthyears2:1999–2000
Youthclubs2:Sunderland
Years1:2000–2004
Clubs1:Sunderland
Caps1:8
Goals1:0
Years2:2004–2010
Caps2:162
Goals2:6
Years3:2010–2016
Clubs3:Gateshead
Caps3:238
Goals3:5
Years4:2016
Caps4:4
Goals4:0
Totalcaps:412
Totalgoals:11
Manageryears1:2015
Managerclubs1:Gateshead (caretaker)
Manageryears2:2019

Benjamin Clark (born 24 January 1983) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. During his career, he played for Sunderland, Hartlepool United, Gateshead and latterly South Shields. He has also been first-team manager and community officer at Gateshead.[2]

Club career

Manchester United

Clark began his career as a trainee for Manchester United, but became homesick and signed for Sunderland in August 1999.

Sunderland

He made his Sunderland debut in a 2–1 League Cup win away to Luton Town in September 2000.[3] However, Clark saw his opportunities at Sunderland limited and he only made 11 appearances in his first three seasons and mainly found himself playing for the reserves. Despite the lack of appearances for his league side, Clark represented England as a defender up until under-20 level and he captained the under-19s.

Mick McCarthy tipped Clark to play an important role in Sunderland's promotion campaign. However, he decided to let Clark look for new clubs to pursue his career. In the 2004–05 season, Clark was signed by Neale Cooper and moved to Hartlepool United.

Hartlepool United

Clark made his Hartlepool debut against Peterborough but a series of injuries disrupted his first season at the club and Clark found it difficult to gain a regular starting place in the team. He was commonly used as a utility player to cover injuries in defence and midfield. Despite this Clark went on to make 25 league appearances and 6 in cup competitions.

In the 06–07 season played a key role as Hartlepool won promotion from League Two alongside Michael Nelson. The pair played a major part in an 18-game unbeaten run. Clark made 35 appearances in the 08/09 season but the arrival of Sam Collins meant that Clark was moved back into midfield. After losing his place in the side Clark spent much of the 09/10 as a substitute and was released at the end of the season.[4]

Gateshead

On 14 June 2010, Clark signed for Conference National side Gateshead[5] and was named captain on 10 August 2010, replacing Kris Gate.[6] Clark made his debut for Gateshead on 14 August 2010 against Kettering Town.[7] Clark scored his first goal for Gateshead on 22 February 2011 in a 4–1 win against Kettering Town at Rockingham Road.[8] He made 53 appearances during his first season at the club, missing only 3 games, and won Gateshead's Player of the Year award.[9]

He agreed a new one-year contract with the club in May 2012 to cover the 2012–13 season.[10]

On 23 November 2015, Clark was named co-caretaker manager of Gateshead alongside Micky Cummins following the departure of manager Malcolm Crosby.[11]

At the beginning of the 2016/17 season, Clark became a dual registered player for both Gateshead and Northern League South Shields. He played four times for the Mariners, and then retired after suffering a groin injury in September 2016.

Career statistics

Club

[12] [13] [14]

ClubSeasonDivisionLeagueFA CupLeague CupOtherTotal
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sunderland2000–01Premier League0000100010
2001–02Premier League0000000000
2002–03Premier League1010000020
2003–04Division One5010200080
2004–05Championship2000100030
Total80204000140
Hartlepool United2004–05League One250600010320
2005–06League One320100010340
2006–07League Two403301020463
2007–08League One191100020221
2008–09League One352500000402
2009–10League One110000000110
Total162616010601856
Gateshead2010–11Conference Premier442200070532
2011–12Conference Premier400300050480
2012–13Conference Premier331000031362
2013–14Conference Premier440300050520
2014–15Conference Premier330300050410
2015–16Conference Premier442100050502
Total2385120003012806
Career total408113005036147912

A.  The "League" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in The Football League and Football Conference.

B.  The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the FA Trophy, Football League Trophy and play-offs.

Managerial statistics

Managerial record by team and tenure
TeamFromToRecord
Gateshead (caretaker)23 November 201527 November 2015
Gateshead10 January 201930 April 2019[15]
Total

Honours

Club

Hartlepool United

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Hugman . Barry J. . The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2008–09 . Mainstream . 2008 . 978-1-84596-324-8 .
  2. News: Gateshead defender Clark retires at 33. BBC Sport.
  3. News: Luton 1–2 Sunderland (Agg: 1–5) . BBC Sport . 26 September 2000 . 7 November 2008 .
  4. News: Clark, Jones, Rowell Leave As Pools Release Seven . Vital Hartlepool . 12 May 2010 . 14 June 2010 .
  5. News: Gateshead land Hartlepool United defender . Gateshead F.C. . 14 June 2010 . 14 June 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100621033532/http://www.gateshead-fc.com/2791/gateshead-land-hartlepool-united-defender . 21 June 2010 . dead .
  6. News: Dowson released / Clark new captain . Gateshead F.C. . 10 August 2010 . 10 August 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110711081013/http://www.gateshead-fc.com/2868/dowson-released-clark-new-captain . 11 July 2011 .
  7. News: Gateshead 0–0 Kettering Town . Gateshead FC . 15 August 2010 . 17 August 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120905201617/http://www.gateshead-fc.com/2873/gateshead-0-0-kettering-town . 5 September 2012 .
  8. News: Kettering Town 1–4 Gateshead . Gateshead FC . 23 February 2011 . 23 February 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110711075713/http://www.gateshead-fc.com/3264/kettering-town-1-4-gateshead . 11 July 2011 .
  9. News: Gateshead FC 2010/11 Awards . Gateshead FC . 6 May 2011 . 6 May 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120924151950/http://www.gateshead-fc.com/3430/gateshead-fc-201011-awards . 24 September 2012 .
  10. News: Jeff . Bowron . Ten on Board at Gateshead . BlueSq Premier . 10 May 2012 . 10 May 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120512091319/http://www.bluesqfootball.com/story/0%2C20970%2C13040_7744805%2C00.html . 12 May 2012 .
  11. News: Clark and Cummins take caretaker charge . Gateshead FC . 23 November 2015 . 25 November 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20151126070348/http://www.gateshead-fc.com/5661/clark-and-cummins-take-caretaker-charge . 26 November 2015 .
  12. Web site: Ben Clark Career Stats . Soccerbase . 26 October 2010 .
  13. Web site: Walsall vs Hartlepool . Hartlepool United FC . 3 May 2008 . 6 June 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080520112500/http://www.hartlepoolunited.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0%2C%2C10326~36726%2C00.html . 20 May 2008 . dead .
  14. Web site: B. Clark . Soccerway . 29 February 2016 .
  15. Web site: Gateshead FC: Matches . Soccerway . Perform Group . 2 May 2019.