Ben Clark (footballer)

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For other people named Ben Clark, see Ben Clark (disambiguation).
Ben Clark
Clark, Ben.jpg
Personal information
Full name Benjamin Clark
Date of birth 24 January 1983 (1983-01-24) (age 29)
Place of birth Shotley Bridge, England
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position Centre back / Central Midfielder
Club information
Current club Gateshead
Number 6
Youth career
1999 Manchester United
1999-2000 Sunderland
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2000–2004 Sunderland 8 (0)
2004–2010 Hartlepool United 162 (7)
2010– Gateshead 74 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:00, 10 March 2012 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Benjamin "Ben" Clark (born 24 January 1983 in Shotley Bridge, England) is a professional footballer who plays for Conference National side Gateshead.

Contents

[edit] Club career

[edit] Manchester United

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

[edit] Sunderland

He made his Sunderland debut in a 2–1 Worthington Cup win away to Luton Town in September 2000.[1] 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 in order to pursue his career. In the 2004–05 season, Clark was signed by Neale Cooper and moved to Hartlepool United.

[edit] 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 in to 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.[2]

[edit] Gateshead

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

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Club

As of 10 March 2012[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]
Club Season League[A] FA Cup League Cup Other[B] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Sunderland 2000–01 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
2001–02 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2002–03 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
2003–04 5 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 8 0
2004–05 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0
Total 8 0 2 0 4 0 0 0 14 0
Hartlepool United 2004–05 25 0 6 0 0 0 1 0 32 0
2005–06 32 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 34 0
2006–07 40 3 3 0 1 0 2 0 46 3
2007–08 19 2 1 0 0 0 2 0 22 2
2008–09 35 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 40 2
2009–10 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 0
Total 162 7 16 0 1 0 6 0 185 7
Gateshead 2010–11 44 2 2 0 0 0 7 0 53 2
2011–12 30 0 3 0 0 0 5 0 38 0
Total 74 2 5 0 0 0 12 0 91 2
Career totals 244 9 23 0 5 0 18 0 290 9
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.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Luton 1-2 Sunderland (Agg: 1-5)". BBC Sport. 2000-09-26. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/worthington_cup/941724.stm. Retrieved 2008-11-07. 
  2. ^ "Clark, Jones, Rowell Leave As Pools Release Seven". Vital Hartlepool. 2010-05-12. http://www.hartlepool.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=198532. Retrieved 2010-06-14. 
  3. ^ "Gateshead land Hartlepool United defender". Gateshead F.C.. 2010-06-14. http://www.gateshead-fc.com/2791/gateshead-land-hartlepool-united-defender. Retrieved 2010-06-14. 
  4. ^ "Dowson released / Clark new captain". Gateshead F.C.. 2010-08-10. http://www.gateshead-fc.com/2868/dowson-released-clark-new-captain. Retrieved 2010-08-10. 
  5. ^ "Gateshead 0-0 Kettering Town". Gateshead FC. 2010-08-15. http://www.gateshead-fc.com/2873/gateshead-0-0-kettering-town. Retrieved 2010-08-17. 
  6. ^ "Kettering Town 1-4 Gateshead". Gateshead FC. 2011-02-23. http://www.gateshead-fc.com/3264/kettering-town-1-4-gateshead. Retrieved 2011-02-23. 
  7. ^ "Gateshead FC 2010/11 Awards". Gateshead FC. 2011-05-06. http://www.gateshead-fc.com/3430/gateshead-fc-201011-awards. Retrieved 2011-05-06. 
  8. ^ "Ben Clark Career Stats". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=22630. Retrieved 2010-10-26. 
  9. ^ "FA Cup - fourth qualifying round results and scorers". BBC Sport. 2010-10-23. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/9120288.stm. Retrieved 2010-10-26. 
  10. ^ "Gateshead 2-2 Southport". Gateshead FC. 2010-12-15. http://www.gateshead-fc.com/3117/gateshead-2-2-southport. Retrieved 2010-12-15. 
  11. ^ "Southport 0-1 Gateshead". Gateshead FC. 2011-01-12. http://www.gateshead-fc.com/3166/southport-0-1-gateshead. Retrieved 2011-02-06. 
  12. ^ "Gateshead 6-0 Hampton & Richmond Borough". Gateshead FC. 2011-01-16. http://www.gateshead-fc.com/3177/gateshead-6-0-hampton-richmond-borough. Retrieved 2011-02-06. 
  13. ^ "Gateshead 3 Dartford 0". Sunday Sun. 2011-02-06. http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/sport/north-east-non-league-football/2011/02/06/gateshead-3-dartford-0-79310-28120826/. Retrieved 2011-02-06. 
  14. ^ "Blyth Spartans 0-2 Gateshead". Gateshead FC. 2011-02-27. http://www.gateshead-fc.com/3275/blyth-spartans-0-2-gateshead. Retrieved 2011-03-01. 
  15. ^ "Darlington 3-2 Gateshead". BBC Sport. 2011-03-12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_conf/9421989.stm. Retrieved 2011-03-12. 
  16. ^ "Gateshead 0-0 Darlington (agg 2-3)". BBC Sport. 2011-03-19. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_conf/9429927.stm. Retrieved 2011-03-19. 
  17. ^ "Gateshead 3-0 Hebburn Town". Gateshead FC. 2011-10-30. http://www.gateshead-fc.com/3666/gateshead-3-0-hebburn-town. Retrieved 2011-10-30. 
  18. ^ "Gateshead 3-2 Kettering Town". Gateshead FC. 2011-11-12. http://www.gateshead-fc.com/3749/gateshead-3-2-kettering-town. Retrieved 2011-11-12. 
  19. ^ "Gateshead 2-2 Braintree Town". Gateshead FC. 2012-01-15. http://www.gateshead-fc.com/3808/gateshead-2-2-braintree-town. Retrieved 2012-01-15. 
  20. ^ "Braintree Town 1-1 Gateshead (Gateshead won 4-3 on penalties aet)". Gateshead FC. 2012-01-18. http://www.gateshead-fc.com/3815/braintree-town-1-1-gateshead. Retrieved 2012-02-17. 
  21. ^ "Gateshead 2-1 Alfreton Town". Gateshead FC. 2012-02-15. http://www.gateshead-fc.com/3866/gateshead-2-1-alfreton-town. Retrieved 2012-02-17. 
  22. ^ "Luton Town 2-0 Gateshead". Gateshead FC. 2012-02-26. http://www.gateshead-fc.com/3889/luton-town-2-0-gateshead. Retrieved 2012-02-26. 

[edit] External links

Gateshead F.C. – current squad
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