Ollie Clarke

Ollie Clarke

Clarke playing for Bristol Rovers in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Oliver Anthony Clarke [1]
Date of birth	(1992-06-29) 29 June 1992 (age 32) [2]
Place of birth	Sea Mills, Bristol, England [3]
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) [4]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Swindon Town
Number	8
Youth career
0000–2009	Bristol Rovers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009–2020	Bristol Rovers	235	(20)
2010	→ Gloucester City (loan)	3	(0)
2010–2011	→ Mangotsfield United (loan)	15	(3)
2012	→ Clevedon Town (loan)	5	(0)
2020–2024	Mansfield Town	135	(15)
2024–	Swindon Town	13	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:24, 29 December 2024 (UTC)

Oliver Anthony Clarke (born 29 June 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL League Two club Swindon Town.

Career

Bristol Rovers

After progressing through the Bristol Rovers youth system, Clarke joined the professional ranks at The Pirates in 2009, alongside fellow youth team graduates Eliot Richards, Neikell Plummer, Dan Cayford, Mark Cooper, George Booth, Steve Kingdon and Jack McKenna. ^[5] Of this group only Clarke and Richards made any senior appearances.

Clarke failed to make any first team appearances in his first year as a Bristol Rovers player, so early in his second season he was sent out on loan to injury-stricken Gloucester City. ^[6] He played four games for The Tigers, three in the Conference North and one in the second qualifying round of the FA Cup. ^[7] Shortly afterwards he was loaned to Southern League side Mangotsfield United, who he joined on Christmas Eve 2010 initially for a month. ^[8] He remained there for the maximum 3-month period permitted by Southern League rules after the spell was extended and he made a total of 15 appearances, all in the league, and scored three times. ^[9]

He eventually made his debut for Bristol Rovers in their final game of the 2010–11 season, when he came on as an 88th-minute substitute for Harry Pell against Colchester United at the Colchester Community Stadium. ^[10] His hopes of continuing to play first team football after the 2011 summer break were dashed however when he suffered a rupture to his anterior cruciate ligament on his first day back in training, leaving him unable to play for several months while he recovered from reconstructive surgery. His first goal for Rovers came against Portsmouth on 21 December 2013, it was well taken from the edge of the box to score the first in a 2–0 win ^[11]

On 18 March 2014, Clarke signed a new two-year contract extension with the Pirates. He played 1 season with Rovers in the Conference, whilst achieving promotion via the playoffs. He scored 4 goals in this successful season. ^[12]

The following season, Clarke scored two goals for Rovers including a wonder goal against Newport County ^[13] His defensive and attacking efforts helped his team achieve promotion to Football League One after finishing in 3rd place. In the following summer, he signed a new deal with the club as he stated that he is "really looking forward to the challenges ahead this season". ^[14]

The 2016–17 season proved to be successful for Clarke. He was rewarded for his fine performances when on 8 March 2017 he signed a new contract. ^[15] During the same month he hit a purple patch scoring 2 goals in 3 games in a vital 2–0 victory away to Oxford United ^[16] and a 2–1 victory at home to Chesterfield during which he scored just 30 seconds into the match. ^[17]

After captaining the club during the 2019–20 season, Clarke turned down a new contract with the club where he made over 250 appearances. ^[18]

Mansfield Town

On 1 July 2020, Clarke signed a two-year contract with League Two side Mansfield Town. ^[19] Having been given the captaincy at his previous club by manager Graham Coughlan, Coughlan again gave Clarke the captaincy for the 2020–21 season. ^[20]

Clarke was an unused substitute as Mansfield were defeated 3–0 by Port Vale in the 2022 League Two play-off final. ^[21] The club exercised the option to extend his contract at the end of the 2021–22 season. ^[22] In September 2022, Clarke's early season form was rewarded with a new contract that would keep him at the club until June 2024. ^[23]

Swindon Town

On 31 May 2024, Clarke signed for League Two club Swindon Town for an undisclosed fee. ^[24] He later revealed his desire to make the move happen having learned Mansfield were going to trigger his contract extension, instead wanting to move closer to home. ^[25] Ahead of the commencement of the 2024–25 season, Clarke was named club captain. ^[26]

Career statistics

As of match played 29 December 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bristol Rovers	2010–11 [27]	League One	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2011–12 [28]	League Two	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	0
	2012–13 [29]	League Two	5	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	6	0
	2013–14 [30]	League Two	32	2	5	0	0	0	0	0	37	2
	2014–15 [31]	Conference Premier	27	4	1	0	—		3 [a]	0	31	4
	2015–16 [32]	League Two	33	2	0	0	1	0	1 [b]	0	35	2
	2016–17 [33]	League One	30	4	2	0	2	0	2 [c]	0	36	4
	2017–18 [34]	League One	40	1	1	0	1	0	2 [c]	0	44	1
	2018–19 [35]	League One	40	6	2	0	2	1	3 [c]	1	47	8
	2019–20 [36]	League One	27	1	3	0	2	0	2 [c]	0	34	1
	Total		235	20	14	0	9	1	13	1	271	22
Gloucester City (loan)	2010–11 [7]	Conference North	3	0	1	0	—		0	0	4	0
Mangotsfield United (loan)	2010–11 [9]	SL Division One South & West	15	3	—		—		0	0	15	3
Clevedon Town (loan)	2011–12 [37]	SL Division One South & West	5	0	0	0	—		4 [d]	1	9	1
Mansfield Town	2020–21 [38]	League Two	33	3	1	0	0	0	2 [b]	0	36	3
	2021–22 [39]	League Two	26	4	3	0	1	0	1 [e]	0	31	4
	2022–23 [40]	League Two	37	5	1	0	1	0	2 [b]	0	41	5
	2023–24 [41]	League Two	39	3	1	0	4	0	0	0	44	3
	Total		135	15	6	0	6	0	5	0	152	15
Swindon Town	2024–25 [42]	League Two	13	1	1	0	1	0	1 [b]	0	16	1
Career total			406	39	22	0	16	1	23	2	467	42

1. One appearance in FA Trophy, two appearances in Conference Premier play-offs
2. Appearances in Football League Trophy
3. Appearances in EFL Trophy
4. Two appearances in Southern Football League Cup, two appearances and one goal in Somerset Premier Cup
5. Appearance(s) in EFL League Two play-offs

Honours

Bristol Rovers

• Football Conference play-offs: 2015 ^[43]
• Football League Two third-place promotion: 2015–16 ^[44]

Mansfield Town

• EFL League Two third-place promotion: 2023–24 ^[45]

Individual

• Bristol Rovers Player of the Year: 2016–17, 2018–19

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Bristol Rovers" (PDF). English Football League. p. 11. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
2. Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2011). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2011–2012. London: Headline. p. 444. ISBN   978-0-7553-6231-8.
3. "Bristol Rovers player contracts – who is likely to stay?". Bristol Post. 8 June 2016.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
4. Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2012). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2012–2013 (43rd ed.). London: Headline. p. 442. ISBN   978-0-7553-6356-8.
5. "Squad numbers announced". Bristol Rovers F.C. 10 July 2009. Archived from the original on 12 January 2010. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
6. "Clarke is sett to face the Badgers". This is Gloucestershire. 10 September 2010. Archived from the original on 18 September 2010. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
7. "Ollie Clarke". Tiger Roar. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
8. Lenny 1883 (24 December 2010). "Clarke Moves To Mangotsfield". Vital Football. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
9. "First Team – Players & Coaches – Ollie Clarke". MUFC Online. Pitch Hero Ltd. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
10. "Colchester 2–1 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
11. "Bad news for Ollie Clarke". Bristol Rovers F.C. 4 August 2011. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
12. "OLLIE CLARKE SIGNS CONTRACT EXTENSION". Bristol Rovers F.C. 18 March 2014.
13. "League Two: Newport County 1-4 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport.
14. ^[ dead link ‍]
15. "Ollie Clarke: Bristol Rovers midfielder extends deal at League One club". BBC Sport. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
16. "Oxford United 0 Bristol Rovers 2: Pirates go eight unbeaten and move to eighth in League One table". Bristol Post. 11 March 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
17. "Bristol Rovers 2 Chesterfield 1: Rovers bounce back from Bury defeat to keep play-off hopes alive". Bristol Post. 18 March 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
18. "Ollie Clarke Departs". Bristol Rovers F.C. 30 June 2020.
19. "Ollie Clarke: Mansfield Town sign former Bristol Rovers captain". BBC. 1 July 2020.
20. "Lineup confirmed for first league game". Mansfield Town F.C. 12 September 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
21. "League Two play-off final: Mansfield Town 0–3 Port Vale". BBC Sport. 28 May 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
22. "Mansfield Town confirm retained list". Mansfield Town F.C. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
23. "Ollie Clarke: Manfield Town captain extends contract with League Two club". BBC Sport. 15 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
24. "Swindon Town: Ollie Clarke signs for the Robins from Mansfield". BBC Sport. 31 May 2024. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
25. Acklam, Jon (3 June 2024). "Ollie Clarke 'desperate' to get Swindon Town transfer done". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
26. Acklam, Jon (7 August 2024). "Swindon Town name midfielder Ollie Clarke as club captain". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
27. "Games played by Ollie Clarke in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
28. "Games played by Ollie Clarke in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
29. "Games played by Ollie Clarke in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
30. "Games played by Ollie Clarke in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
31. "Games played by Ollie Clarke in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
32. "Games played by Ollie Clarke in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
33. "Games played by Ollie Clarke in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
34. "Games played by Ollie Clarke in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
35. "Games played by Ollie Clarke in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
36. "Games played by Ollie Clarke in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
37. "Ollie Clarke Profile". Aylesbury United F.C. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
38. "Games played by Ollie Clarke in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
39. "Games played by Ollie Clarke in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
40. "Games played by Ollie Clarke in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
41. "Games played by Ollie Clarke in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
42. "Games played by Ollie Clarke in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
43. "Bristol Rovers 1–1 Grimsby Town". BBC Sport. 17 May 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
44. "Bristol Rovers 2–1 Dagenham & Redbridge". BBC Sport. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
45. https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2024/april/boss-character-was-central-to-promotion/ ^{[ bare URL ]}

External links

• Ollie Clarke at Soccerbase