Ryan James Clarke (born 30 April 1982) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for National League South club Bath City. He previously trained with the England under-18 squad in

La Manga La Manga (), or La Manga del Mar Menor (meaning "The Sandbar of the Minor Sea") is a seaside spit of Mar Menor in the Region of Murcia, Spain. The strip is 21 km long and 100 metres wide (average), separating the Mediterranean Sea from t ...

Career

Bristol Rovers

Born in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

, Clarke started his career with Bristol Rovers; during his time on Rovers' books he had spells on loan at

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed ...

, Southend United and Forest Green Rovers, where he worked with former

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

wicketkeeper Jack Russell as his goalkeeper coach.

Salisbury City

Clarke joined

Salisbury City Salisbury City Football Club was an English football club based in Salisbury, Wiltshire. They were formed in 1947 and played at The Raymond McEnhill Stadium. Salisbury had gained back-to-back promotions in recent years, first to the Conference S ...

from Bristol Rovers in August 2006. In the summer of 2008, he broke a metatarsal while on holiday. This setback lead to James Bittner claiming the number one shirt from him, and Clarke was then loaned out to Northwich Victoria to reduce the club's wage bill.

Oxford United

Clarke joined Oxford United on 26 May 2009. He was their regular goalkeeper in the 2009–10 campaign and, despite his scoring an own goal in the

2010 Conference Premier play-off Final The 2010 Conference Premier play-off Final, known as the 2010 Blue Square Premier play-off Final for sponsorship purposes, was a football match between Oxford United and York City on 16 May 2010 at Wembley Stadium in London. It was the eighth ...

against York City on 16 May, his Oxford side still secured a return to the Football League after a four-year exile as 3–1 winners. At the end of the season, Clarke was voted Player of the Year by the Oxford supporters for his feats between the posts. On 12 January 2011, Oxford United announced that Clarke had signed a three-and-a-half-year contract, meaning he would stay at the club until 2014. On 30 January 2014, he signed another three-year deal, keeping him at the club until 2017.

Northampton Town

Clarke signed for League Two club Northampton Town on a two-year contract on 2 July 2015.

AFC Wimbledon and Eastleigh

On 21 June 2016, Clarke joined League One newcomers

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional football club, based in Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 season. The club's home stadium is Plough Lane. The cl ...

on a one-year contract. On 21 September Clarke moved to Eastleigh on a two-year deal. In April 2017 Clarke's contract with Eastleigh was terminated with mutual consent.

Torquay United

On 24 June 2017, Clarke signed for

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

club Torquay United. He was transfer-listed by Torquay at the end of the 2017–18 season.

Career statistics

Honours

Salisbury City * Conference South play-offs: 2006–07 Oxford United * Conference Premier play-offs: 2009–10

References

External links

Ryan Clarke profile
at the Eastleigh F.C. website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Ryan 1982 births Living people Footballers from Bristol English footballers Association football goalkeepers Bristol Rovers F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Salisbury City F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players AFC Wimbledon players Eastleigh F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Bath City F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players