 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Benjamin Clark | ||
| Date of birth | (1983-01-24)24 January 1983 (age 42) | ||
| Place of birth | Consett, England[1] | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back Centre midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Gateshead (first team 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 | 412 | (11) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2019 | Gateshead | ||
| 2024 | Gateshead (caretaker) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Benjamin Clark (born 24 January 1983) is an English former professionalfootballer who played as acentre-back. During his career, he played forSunderland,Hartlepool United,Gateshead and latterlySouth Shields. He has also been first-team manager and community officer at Gateshead.[2]
Clark began his career as a trainee forManchester United, but became homesick and signed forSunderland in August 1999.
He made his Sunderland debut in a 2–1 League Cup away win atLuton Town in September 2000.[3] 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 representedEngland as a defender up until under-20 level and hecaptained 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 byNeale Cooper and moved toHartlepool United.
Clark made his Hartlepool debut againstPeterborough 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 the2006–07 season, he played a key role in central defence alongsideMichael Nelson as Hartlepool won promotion fromLeague Two as runners-up. The pair played a major part in the club's 18-game unbeaten run. Clark made 35 appearances in the2008–09 season but the arrival ofSam Collins meant that Clark was moved back into midfield. After losing his place in the side, Clark spent much of the2009–10 season as a substitute and was released at the end of the season.[4]
On 14 June 2010, Clark signed forConference National sideGateshead[5] and was namedcaptain on 10 August 2010, replacing Kris Gate.[6] Clark made his debut for Gateshead on 14 August 2010 againstKettering Town.[7] Clark scored his first goal for Gateshead on 22 February 2011 in a 4–1 win againstKettering Town atRockingham Road.[8] He made 53 appearances during his first season at the club, missing only 3 games, and won Gateshead's Player of the Year award.[9]
He agreed a new one-year contract with the club in May 2012 to cover the 2012–13 season.[10]
On 23 November 2015, Clark was named co-caretaker manager of Gateshead alongsideMicky Cummins following the departure of managerMalcolm Crosby.[11]
At the beginning of the 2016–17 season, Clark became a dual registered player for both Gateshead and Northern League South Shields. He played four times for the Mariners, before retiring after suffering a groin injury in September 2016.
On 1 October 2024, following the departure ofRob Elliot as first-team coach, it was announced that Clark would take charge of first team matters at Gateshead on an interim basis.[12]
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other[B] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Sunderland | 2000–01 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2001–02 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2002–03 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2003–04 | Division One | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2004–05 | Championship | 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 | League One | 25 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 0 |
| 2005–06 | League One | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 0 | |
| 2006–07 | League Two | 40 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 3 | |
| 2007–08 | League One | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 1 | |
| 2008–09 | League One | 35 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 2 | |
| 2009–10 | League One | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| Total | 162 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 185 | 6 | ||
| Gateshead | 2010–11 | Conference Premier | 44 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 53 | 2 |
| 2011–12 | Conference Premier | 40 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 48 | 0 | |
| 2012–13 | Conference Premier | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 36 | 2 | |
| 2013–14 | Conference Premier | 44 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 52 | 0 | |
| 2014–15 | Conference Premier | 33 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 41 | 0 | |
| 2015–16 | Conference Premier | 44 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 50 | 2 | |
| Total | 238 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 1 | 280 | 6 | ||
| South Shields | 2016–17 | Northern League Division One | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Career total | 412 | 11 | 30 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 36 | 1 | 483 | 12 | ||
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Gateshead | 10 January 2019 | 30 April 2019 | 17 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 029.41 | [16] |
| Gateshead (caretaker) | 1 October 2024 | 15 October 2024 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 050.00 | |
| Total | 19 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 031.58 | — | ||
Hartlepool United
Individual
