Trevor Clarke (footballer)

Trevor Clarke

Clarke at Bristol Rovers in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Trevor Thomas Clarke [1]
Date of birth	(1998-03-26) 26 March 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth	Dublin, Ireland
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) [2]
Position(s)	Left-back, midfielder
Team information
Current team	Shamrock Rovers
Number	18
Youth career
	Crumlin United
	St Kevin's Boys
	Middlesbrough
2015	Shamrock Rovers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2019	Shamrock Rovers	80	(5)
2019–2021	Rotherham United	17	(0)
2021–2024	Bristol Rovers	14	(0)
2023	→ Shamrock Rovers (loan)	20	(15)
2024–	Shamrock Rovers	18	(0)
International career
	Republic of Ireland U15
2014–2015	Republic of Ireland U17	12	(11)
2015–2017	Republic of Ireland U19	7	(0)
2019	Republic of Ireland U21	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12:35, 22 August 2024 (UTC)

Trevor Thomas Clarke (born 26 March 1998) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Shamrock Rovers.

Club career

Early career

Clarke started his football career with Crumlin United, before moving to St. Kevin's Boys in the North Dublin suburb of Whitehall, the same club that produced a number of Republic of Ireland internationals, including Liam Brady, Damien Duff, Jeff Hendrick and Robbie Brady. His performances earned him a move to England with Middlesbrough, where he played for their Under-18's. He was released in July 2015 and returned home. ^[3]

Shamrock Rovers

Clarke joined Shamrock Rovers in September 2015 from Middlesbrough. He played for the Rovers Under-19's for a short time before stepping up to the first team at the start of 2016. He made 80 league appearances for the club during the four seasons from 2016 to 2019, and also featured in the UEFA Europa League. In 2017 he was a transfer target for Southampton, Sheffield United and Barnsley. ^[4]

Rotherham United

Clarke signed for Rotherham United on 29 July 2019, for an undisclosed fee, on a three-year contract. ^[5] He was expected to be in contention for an immediate first-team place, but suffered a knee injury during a behind-closed-doors match on the same day his signing was announced. ^[6] He finally made his debut in the 2019–20 EFL Trophy game against Doncaster Rovers on 8 October 2019, creating a goal and then scoring the winner. ^[7]

Bristol Rovers

On 9 July 2021, Clarke joined League Two side Bristol Rovers on a one-year deal, signing for an undisclosed fee. ^[8] Clarke made his debut for the club on the opening day of the season however was forced off with a groin injury after only 32 minutes. ^[9] Clarke made his return from injury on 13 October when he played the first hour of an EFL Trophy defeat to Chelsea U21s. ^[10] On 19 October he made his return to league action, coming off of the bench in the 82 minute before being shown a red card in the 91st minute for an off the ball incident with Junior Tchamadeu where Clarke was seen to throw a punch at his Colchester United counterpart, who was also sent off. ^[11] Clarke's groin injury problems continued into the new year and in January he was again ruled out for over a month after undergoing surgery. ^[12] Having achieved promotion on the final day of the 2021–22 season, ^[13] Clarke signed a new two-year contract with the club with the option for a further year on 3 June 2022. ^[14]

Clarke started the opening match of the season as Rovers were defeated 2–1 by Forest Green Rovers. ^[15] Following the match Clarke's manager Joey Barton said that if he had been told at the end of the previous season that Clarke would have been included in the starting eleven, then his response would have been that the club "must have had a bad summer". ^[16] On 4 August 2022, Barton revealed that Clarke was one of three players to be training away from the first-team that had been told that they can leave the club. ^[17] With the transfer window drawing to a close however, Clarke was reintegrated back into the squad with a transfer away not having been found. ^[18] On 4 October 2022, Clarke scored his first goal for the club when he fired home from the edge of the box on his weaker right foot in a 2–0 EFL Trophy victory over Crystal Palace U21. ^[19] Having forced his way back into the team, a freak training injury for Clarke in December 2022 left him with a torn groin muscle, keeping him out of action until February 2023. ^[20]

Shamrock Rovers return

On 6 January 2023, Clarke returned to former club Shamrock Rovers on loan for the 2023 season. ^[21] In June 2023, Hoops head coach Stephen Bradley confirmed that Clarke had suffered an injury that would see him out of action until at least September. ^[22] Having made his return in late August, the club went on to win their fourth consecutive league title. ^[23]

Following his return to Bristol Rovers, new manager Matt Taylor confirmed that Clarke was likely to leave the club in the January transfer window. ^[24] His contract was terminated by mutual consent on 13 January 2024. ^[25] That same day, his permanent return to Shamrock Rovers was announced on a long-term contract. ^[26]

International career

Clarke has played for Ireland from Under 15's level right up to the Republic of Ireland U21's, earning 12 caps & 5 goals for the Under 17's, 7 caps for Under 19's and 1 cap for the Under 21's. ^[27]

Personal life

In June 2023, he was fined €250 following a court appearance over Clarke fleeing the scene of a collision between his vehicle and a Dublin Bus at Fonthill Road in Clondalkin on 15 May 2020, with the judge stating that he could not apply the Probation Act as it cannot be applied to penalty point offences. ^{[28] [29]}

Career statistics

As of match played 15 August 2024 ^[30]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		League cup [b]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Shamrock Rovers	2016	LOI Premier Division	26	1	2	0	3	1	1 [c]	0	1 [d]	0	33	2
	2017		27	3	5	0	3	0	4 [c]	0	0 [d]	0	39	3
	2018		6	0	0	0	0	0	0 [c]	0	0 [d]	0	6	0
	2019		21	1	0	0	1	0	1 [c]	0	0 [d]	0	23	1
	Total		80	5	7	0	7	1	6	0	1	0	101	6
Rotherham United	2019–20 [31]	League One	8	0	1	0	0	0	—		1 [e]	1	10	1
	2020–21 [32]	Championship	9	0	1	0	0	0	—		—		10	0
	Total		17	0	2	0	0	0	—		1	1	20	1
Bristol Rovers	2021–22 [33]	League Two	7	0	1	0	0	0	—		1 [e]	0	9	0
	2022–23 [34]	League One	9	0	2	0	0	0	—		4 [e]	1	15	1
	2023–24 [35]		0	0	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
	Total		16	0	3	0	0	0	—		5	1	24	1
Shamrock Rovers (loan)	2023	LOI Premier Division	20	5	0	0	—		0	0	1 [f]	0	21	5
Shamrock Rovers	2024	LOI Premier Division	18	0	1	0	—		6 [g]	0	1 [f]	2	26	2
Career total			151	10	13	0	7	1	12	0	9	4	192	15

1. Includes FAI Cup & FA Cup
2. Includes League of Ireland Cup & EFL Cup
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearances in Leinster Senior Cup
5. Appearances in EFL Trophy
6. Appearances in President of Ireland's Cup
7. 4 appearances in the UEFA Champions League & 2 appearances in the UEFA Europa League

Honours

Bristol Rovers

• EFL League Two third-place promotion: 2021–22 ^[13]

Shamrock Rovers

• League of Ireland Premier Division: 2023 ^[23]

Individual

• PFAI Young Player of the Year: 2017 ^[36]
• PFAI Premier Division Team of the Year: 2017 ^[37]

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Rotherham United" (PDF). English Football League. p. 60. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
2. "Trevor Clarke". Bristol Rovers F.C. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
3. "Extratime.com - Extratime.ie - Trevor Clarke".
4. "Barnsley face Premier League competition in chase for Shamrock Rovers ace Trevor Clarke". The Irish Mirror. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
5. "Trevor Clarke: Rotherham United sign Shamrock Rovers defender". BBC Sport. 29 July 2019.
6. "Rotherham United sweat on injury verdict as Trevor Clarke is stretchered off in first Millers outing". Rotherham Advertiser. 29 July 2019.
7. "Rotherham United 3 Doncaster Rovers 2: Trevor Clarke is quickly off the mark for Millers". The Yorkshire Post. 8 October 2019.
8. "Trevor Clarke Signs with the Gas!". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 9 July 2021.
9. "Mansfield Town 2–1 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
10. "Match Report - Rovers 1–2 Chelsea U21s". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 13 October 2021.
11. "Colchester United 1–1 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 19 October 2021.
12. Frost, Sam (28 January 2022). "Bristol Rovers defender suffers yet more injury frustration after undergoing surgery". Bristol Post. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
13. "Bristol Rovers go up after extraordinary 7–0 win". BBC Sport. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
14. "Trevor Clarke Extends Rovers Stay!". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 3 June 2022.
15. "Bristol Rovers 1–2 Forest Green Rovers". BBC Sport. 30 July 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
16. Frost, Sam (30 July 2022). "Joey Barton's vows to complete transfer jigsaw after Bristol Rovers' defeat to Forest Green". Bristol Post. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
17. Frost, Sam (4 August 2022). "Joey Barton tells three Bristol Rovers players to find new clubs as he draws 'line in the sand'". Bristol Post. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
18. Frost, Sam (1 September 2022). "Joey Barton clarifies Trevor Clarke's Bristol Rovers situation as transfer deadline draws near". Bristol Post. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
19. "Match Report : Rovers 2–0 Crystal Palace U21s". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
20. "Joey Barton reveals extent of Sam Finley absence after 'bizarre' Bristol Rovers training injury". Bristol Post. 11 December 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
21. "Shamrock Rovers announce the return of Trevor Clarke to the Hoops for 2023". www.shamrockrovers.ie. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
22. Ferris, Macdara (25 June 2023). "Hoops hit with injury blow as Trevor Clarke ruled out till September". Extra Time. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
23. Geraghty, Darryl (27 October 2023). "Shamrock Rovers crowned league champions for fourth season in a row after St Pat's win". Irish Times. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
24. Jones, Jordan (5 January 2024). "Bristol Rovers transfer latest as 'offer in waiting' for star - won't play against Norwich City". Bristol World. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
25. "Trevor Clarke Departs Rovers". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 13 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
26. "Transfer News - Trevor Clarke". www.shamrockrovers.ie. 13 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
27. "Trevor Clarke | Football Association of Ireland". www.fai.ie.
28. "Shamrock Rovers footballer left scene of accident after collision with Dublin Bus". www.independent.ie. 9 June 2023.
29. "Shamrock Rovers defender left scene of accident after collision with Dublin Bus, court told". SundayWorld.com. 14 June 2023.
30. Trevor Clarke at Soccerway
31. "Games played by Trevor Clarke in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
32. "Games played by Trevor Clarke in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
33. "Games played by Trevor Clarke in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
34. "Games played by Trevor Clarke in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
35. "Games played by Trevor Clarke in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
36. "Stunning season sees Sean Maguire named PFAI Player of the Year for 2017". The 42. the42.ie.ie. 19 November 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
37. "Just three Cork players make PFAI Team of the Year". RTÉ Sport. rte.ie. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2017.