Ben Clark (footballer born 1983)
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Benjamin Clark | ||
| Date of birth | 24 January 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Consett, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
| Playing position |
Centre-back Centre midfielder |
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| Club information | |||
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Current team
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Gateshead (coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999 | Manchester United | ||
| 1999–2000 | Sunderland | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2004 | Sunderland | 8 | (0) |
| 2004–2010 | Hartlepool United | 162 | (6) |
| 2010–2016 | Gateshead | 238 | (5) |
| 2016 | South Shields | 4 | (0) |
| Total | 409 | (11) | |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2015 | Gateshead (caretaker) | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Benjamin "Ben" Clark (born 24 January 1983 in Consett, England) is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. During his career, he played for Sunderland, Hartlepool United, Gateshead and latterly South Shields. He is currently employed as a coach and community officer at Gateshead.
Clark began his career as a trainee for Manchester United, but became homesick and signed for Sunderland in August 1999.
He made his Sunderland debut in a 2–1 Worthington Cup win away to Luton Town in September 2000. 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.
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.
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