Wayne Clarke (footballer)

Wayne Clarke (born 28 February 1961) is an English former professional footballer. Playing as a striker, he scored nearly 150 goals over the course of his career and was a member of the Everton team which finished as English league champions in 1987. He made almost 450 appearances in the Football League, playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Birmingham City, Everton, Leicester City, Manchester City, Shrewsbury Town, Stoke City and Walsall. He is the youngest of five brothers. His brothers Frank, Allan, Derek and Kelvin all played league football.

Wayne Clarke
Personal information
Full name Wayne Clarke[1]
Date of birth (1961-02-28) 28 February 1961[1]
Place of birth Wolverhampton,[1] England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Playing position(s) Striker
Youth career
1976–1978 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1978–1984 Wolverhampton Wanderers 148 (30)
1984–1987 Birmingham City 92 (38)
1987–1989 Everton 57 (18)
1989–1990 Leicester City 11 (1)
1990–1992 Manchester City 21 (2)
1990 → Shrewsbury Town (loan) 7 (6)
1991 → Stoke City (loan) 9 (3)
1991 → Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) 1 (0)
1992–1993 Walsall 39 (21)
1993–1995 Shrewsbury Town 59 (22)
1995–1996 Telford United
Total 444 (141)
Teams managed
1995–1996 Telford United (player-manager)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Clarke was born in short heath]. He joined home-town club Wolverhampton Wanderers as an associate schoolboy on his 15th birthday in 1976, despite competition from leading clubs,[3] and became an apprentice when he left school the following year. He also represented England at schoolboy and youth level.[4]

Clarke signed his first professional contract in March 1978,[4] and made his first team debut as a substitute on 9 May 1978 in a 2–1 win away to Ipswich Town.[5] He was a member of the 16-man travelling squad when Wolves won the League Cup in 1980,[6] but did not play. Competing for places with Andy Gray and John Richards, he was a member of the team that suffered relegation from the First Division in 1982 but reclaimed their top flight status the following season. He scored 33 goals in 170 appearances in all competitions[7] before Ron Saunders took him to Second Division Birmingham City in 1984. The fee of £80,000 was set by tribunal and included a clause entitling Wolves to half of any profit made from a future sale of the player.[8]

Birmingham City

Clarke scored 19 goals in his first season at Birmingham, which made him their leading scorer. His 17 league goals made a major contribution to the club winning the 1984–85 Second Division title. His season in the top flight with Birmingham was interrupted by suspension and minor injuries, and he only managed five goals as the side were relegated, which included scoring twice in Birmingham's 3–0 win in the local derby away to Aston Villa. In 1986–87, Clarke again scored 19 goals, which again made him leading scorer.[9] With Birmingham struggling to avoid further relegation to the Third Division and in financial difficulties,[10] the club accepted an offer from Everton who were in need of an emergency replacement for the injured Graeme Sharp.[11] Clarke joined Everton in March 1987 together with inexperienced reserve striker Stuart Storer, the pair jointly valued at £300,000. Former club Wolves complained to the Football League because they believed Birmingham were deliberately inflating the valuation placed on Storer to reduce the amount they would owe Wolves under the sell-on clause for Clarke.[8] Birmingham's actions may have been an attempt to recoup money lost on the 1981 sale of Joe Gallagher to Wolves, when the club was declared bankrupt the following year[12] still owing most of the £350,000 fee.[13]

Everton

Joining Everton in the closing months of the 1986–87 season, Clarke quickly established himself as a key member of Everton's championship-winning side scoring five goals in ten games, notably the winning goal away at Arsenal not long after he joined,[14] and earning himself a championship medal.[11] He then began the following season with the only goal in a 1–0 Charity Shield win over FA Cup winners Coventry City at Wembley, and later scored the only goal in the Merseyside derby that not only beat arch-rivals Liverpool, but also prevented them setting a new record of 30 games unbeaten from the start of a season.[15] However, with Graeme Sharp and Adrian Heath being Everton's main striking partnership, Clarke's appearances for Everton in the 1987–88 and 1988–89 seasons were largely limited to coming on from the substitute's bench or covering for Sharp or Heath when they were injured. He helped Everton reach the FA Cup final but did not play in the final (which Everton lost to Liverpool), following which Everton brought in Mike Newell from Leicester City in part exchange for Clarke and £500,000.[16]

Leicester City

Clarke's return to the Second Division was brief. After just 11 league games and one goal, Clarke returned to the top flight with Manchester City, managed by Howard Kendall who had bought him for Everton three years earlier. He moved in a part-exchange deal valued at £650,000 which saw David Oldfield join Leicester.[17]

Manchester City

Clarke was unable to claim a regular place in the Manchester City side. While at Maine Road he was loaned to Shrewsbury Town, where he scored six goals in seven games, then to Stoke City (three goals in nine matches), and then back to Wolves, where he was viewed as a potential partner for Steve Bull. However his first appearance for the club lasted just 20 minutes before he punctured a lung, returned to Manchester City, and on his return to fitness was not allowed out on loan again.[15]

Walsall

Clarke's next move came in the summer of 1992 when he joined Walsall in Division Three. He was the fourth of the brothers to play for Walsall, and the move meant he had played in all four divisions of the Football League. He was the club's top scorer in the 1992–93 season with 21 goals in 39 games, helping them to a playoff position, but they were heavily defeated in the playoff semi-final by Crewe Alexandra and Clarke was sold to local rivals Shrewsbury Town, managed by former Wolves goalkeeper Fred Davies.[18]

Shrewsbury Town

Clarke spent two seasons at Gay Meadow having previously had a successful loan period at the club several years earlier. Clarke joined Shrewsbury from Walsall on the eve of The 1993–94 season. Clarke had a successful season finishing second top scorer with 18 goals, helping to bring the Division Three title and promotion to Division Two. Clarke was the youngest brother of Frank Clarke whom had also played for Shrewsbury Town as a striker. The club released him at the end of the 1994–95 season, he had scored 22 goals in 59 games.

Managerial career

Clarke was appointed player-manager of Telford United in the Conference in July 1995,[19] and resigned 18 months later after a spell of poor results, though with the club in mid-table.[20] In June 1997 he applied for the vacant manager's post at former club Walsall,[21] but was unsuccessful.

Career statistics

Source:[22]

Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other[A] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1977–78 First Division 1000000010
1978–79 First Division 8110000090
1979–80 First Division 162103000202
1980–81 First Division 243502010323
1981–82 First Division 296001000276
1982–83 Second Division 39121020004212
1983–84 First Division 316312200369
Total 148301111021017033
Birmingham City 1984–85 Second Division 40174032004719
1985–86 First Division 285000000285
1986–87 Second Division 24161032213019
Total 923850642110543
Everton 1986–87 First Division 105000000105
1987–88 First Division 27107051114012
1988–89 First Division 203301022265
Total 571810061337622
Leicester City 1989–90 Second Division 111001100111
Manchester City 1989–90 First Division 9000000090
1990–91 First Division 7110001091
1991–92 First Division 5100000051
Total 212100010232
Shrewsbury Town (loan) 1990–91 Third Division 7600001086
Stoke City (loan) 1990–91 Third Division 9300000093
Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) 1991–92 Second Division 1000000010
Walsall 1992–93 Third Division 39211041424824
Shrewsbury Town 1993–94 Third Division 28112030103411
1994–95 Third Division 31110021103412
Total 59222051206823
Career Total 4441413013210146520158
A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the FA Charity Shield, Football League Trophy, Football League play-offs, Full Members Cup and UEFA Cup.

Honours
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References
  1. "Wayne Clarke". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  2. Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
  3. "Wolves sign up Clarke No 5". The Times. 1 March 1976. p. 8. His signature has been one of the most sought-after in English football, and Wolves have faced competition from nearly all the leading clubs in the country.
  4. Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  5. "Wayne Clarke Wolverhampton Wanderers FC". sporting-heroes.net. Retrieved 25 January 2008.
  6. "Lloyd must lose his place at Wembley". The Times. 14 March 1980. p. 14.
  7. "Shrewsbury & Wolves: A History". Shrewsbury Wolves Supporters Club. Retrieved 25 January 2008.
  8. Jones, Stuart (10 March 1987). "League to rule on Clarke move" (reprint). The Times. NewsBank. Retrieved 25 January 2008.
  9. Matthews. Birmingham City: A Complete Record. pp. 220–22, 244.
  10. Matthews. Birmingham City: A Complete Record. p. 44.
  11. "VII: Howard's first time (1981–87): A championship for the entire team in 1986–87". Toffeeweb (an Everton fansite). Retrieved 26 January 2008. Still, perhaps the most important buy was Wayne Clark, bought from Birmingham to replace the injured Graeme Sharp.
  12. "A History of Wolves". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 16 July 2007. Retrieved 27 January 2008.
  13. Matthews. Birmingham City: A Complete Record. pp. 89, 127.
  14. Moore, Glenn (4 May 1998). "The new Arsenal take the title in stirring style". The Independent. Retrieved 18 September 2009. Eleven years ago on this ground a Wayne Clarke goal proved the decisive moment as Everton overhauled Liverpool to win their ninth league title.
  15. Shaw, Phil (2 December 1995). "Wayne enjoying his brave new world". The Independent. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
  16. "VIII: Top to bottom (1987–94): Big investments for a new team". Toffeeweb. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
  17. Ross, Ian; Taylor, Louise (9 January 1990). "Kendall admits that City's search for talent is incomplete" (reprint). The Times. NewsBank. Retrieved 27 January 2008.
  18. Edwards, Leigh. "Ultimate Saddlers A-Z 4". Walsall F.C. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
  19. "Sporting Digest: Football". The Independent. 4 July 1995. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
  20. Metcalf, Rupert (22 November 1996). "King marks Telford's change". The Independent. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
  21. "Former striker wants Walsall manager's job". 4thegame.co.uk. 11 June 1997. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
  22. Wayne Clarke at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
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