Shane Robin Clarke (born 7 November 1987) is an English

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 le ...

who plays for

Lincoln United Lincoln United Football Club is a football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Ashby Avenue. Nicknamed the Whites after their home kit colours, they have played at Ashby Avenue since thei ...

, where he plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Clarke notably played professionally in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

during a four-year spell with Lincoln City. He has since played the rest of his career at Non-League level for

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club is known ...

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsbo ...

, Spalding United,

Worksop Town Worksop Town Football Club is an English football club based in Worksop, Nottinghamshire. As of the 2021–22 season the team plays in the . They are nicknamed ''The Tigers'' and play their home games at Sandy Lane in Worksop. History First clu ...

and Tamworth.

Early life

Clarke was born in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

, England.

Playing career

Lincoln City

Clarke is a product of the club's centre of excellence which he joined in February 2002. In March 2004, he was one of five players who accepted a three-year scholarship with the Imps, commencing at the start of the 2004–05 season. Of the five, three would go on to forge professional careers: Clarke,

Jack Hobbs Sir John Berry Hobbs (16 December 1882– 21 December 1963), always known as Jack Hobbs, was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Known as "The Mast ...

and

Scott Loach Scott James Loach (born 27 May 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Derby County. Loach previously played for Ipswich Town, Watford and Hartlepool United. He has also spent loan spells with non-League Staff ...

. In January 2006, Clarke joined Stamford on work experience with the scholarship system reverting to two rather than three years, Clarke was offered professional terms with the club at the end of his second year and he signed his first, one-year, professional contract in July 2006. He started his Lincoln career as an unused substitute against

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

in a

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

match. He then played 11 games and was used as a substitute 5 times. His second

game, a 3–1 home defeat to

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

on 12 January 2008, saw Clarke red-carded for a last minute lunge on Mark Hudson resulting in a three-match ban. However his performances after making his debut saw him rewarded with a one-year extension to his contract. On 30 April 2009 he agreed a new two-year contract with the club signing the contract the following day. In May 2010, Clarke was placed on the Lincoln City transfer list by manager

Chris Sutton Christopher Roy Sutton (born 10 March 1973) is an English former professional football player and manager. He later became a pundit and commentator for BT Sport, regularly working on their coverage of Scottish football. He is now also a pundit ...

, and on 31 August 2010 agreed a deal with the club to have his contract cancelled.

Gateshead

On 6 October 2010, Clarke signed an initial one-month contract with

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

side

. Clarke made his debut for Gateshead as a second-half substitute against

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...

on 16 October 2010. Clarke was released by Gateshead on 8 November 2010.

Boston United

On 19 November 2010 he joined

and was judged to be man-of-the-match on his debut for the club, a 2–1 home

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

victory over

the following day. He departed the club following the 1–0 home

Conference North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...

defeat to

A.F.C. Telford United AFC Telford United is a football club based in Telford, Shropshire, England. The club was formed in 2004 after the original Telford United, founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. Currently members of the National League North, the ...

on 12 February 2011 after being offered a trial with

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

side Chicago Fire. He linked up with the club for the second phase of their pre-season training, appearing in games against

Florida Gulf Coast University Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) is a public university in Lee County, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is its second youngest member. The university was established on May 3, 1991, and is accredited by the ...

and

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

, before being released from his trial on 28 February 2011. He returned to

, appearing as an unused substitute in the club's 1–0 defeat at

Solihull Moors Solihull Moors Football Club is a professional football club based in Solihull, England. The club currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system, after achieving promotion from the National Leag ...

on 26 March 2011 and maintaining a place in the squad until the end of the season. He was offered terms by the club for the 2011–2012 season but turned these down in order to join

Gainsborough Trinity

Clarke signed for

in June 2011. During the 2011–12 season, Clarke formed a formidable midfield partnership with

Jonathan D'Laryea Jonathan Amar D'Laryea (born 3 September 1985) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Newark and Sherwood United, where he is also the clubs manager. Beginning his career with Manchester City, he went on to make over 90 appeara ...

, and the pair were influential in helping Trinity to secure a

National League North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...

play-off position, finishing in 5th place. Trinity would go on to reach the play-off final, defeating

Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 season. ...

3–2 over two legs, with Clarke scoring the only goal in the second leg to send Trinity through to the final. In the summer of 2012, Clark agreed to sign for another year with Trinity.

Worksop Town

In June 2013 he signed for

Tamworth

On 10 June 2014, Clarke, and his

teammate Leon Mettam joined

side Tamworth.

Boston United

Clarke rejoined

in May 2016, but suffered an injury-stricken season with the Pilgrims, being ruled out for the first half of the season after suffering a second Achilles injury in quick succession. He was already set to miss the opening month of the campaign, but was subsequently eliminated from action until at least January 2017. Clarke was one of eight released at the end of the season, after making only 11 appearances.

Gainsborough Trinity

Returning to

for a second spell following his release from Lincolnshire rivals

, Clarke was unveiled as one of Dave Frecklington's first summer signings in May 2017, along with Craig King. Clarke scored his first goal on his return on 19 August against Harrogate Town.

Lincoln United

In June 2022, Clarke joined

Personal life

Clarke has a son called Gabriel, who was born on 1 March 2011.

Career statistics

References

External links

*
Lincoln City F.C. Official Archive Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Shane 1987 births Living people English men's footballers Footballers from Lincoln, England Men's association football midfielders Lincoln City F.C. players Stamford A.F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Boston United F.C. players Gainsborough Trinity F.C. players Worksop Town F.C. players Tamworth F.C. players Spalding United F.C. players Grantham Town F.C. players Lincoln United F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Northern Premier League players