David Clarkson (Scottish footballer)

David Clarkson
Clarkson (left) playing for Motherwell
Personal information
Full name David Clarkson[1]
Date of birth (1985-09-10) 10 September 1985 (age 39)
Place of birth Bellshill, Scotland
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Motherwell (academy director)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2009 Motherwell 219 (49)
2009–2012 Bristol City 63 (11)
2011 → Brentford (loan) 4 (1)
2012–2014 Bristol Rovers 60 (12)
2014–2015 Dundee 23 (8)
2015–2016 Motherwell 7 (0)
2016 → St Mirren (loan) 12 (1)
2016–2017 St Mirren 16 (1)
Total 404 (83)
International career
2004–2006 Scotland U21 11 (1)
2009 Scotland B 1 (0)
2008 Scotland 2 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

David Clarkson (born 10 September 1985) is a Scottish football player and coach, who is academy director at Motherwell.

During his playing career, Clarkson played for Motherwell, Bristol City, Brentford, Bristol Rovers, Dundee and St Mirren. He appeared in two full internationals for Scotland, both in 2008.

Club career

Motherwell

Born in Bellshill, Scotland, Clarkson made his debut for local club Motherwell in December 2002, scoring his first goal nine minutes into his first starting appearance for the club, at home in an SPL match against Partick Thistle on 2 January 2003.[2] Clarkson went on to score three goals in his first season, and was a regular from the following season, playing in the majority of matches. He scored 13 goals for Motherwell in the 2007–08 season, during which his uncle, Phil O'Donnell, collapsed and later died from heart failure during a match against Dundee United. Clarkson was later voted player of the year.[3] Clarkson went on to wear O'Donnell's old squad number, 10, during the 2008–09 season.

Bristol City

On 29 June 2009, Clarkson joined Bristol City and signed a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee, reportedly £800,000.[4] Clarkson scored on his debut for Bristol City, in a 2–2 draw at Preston North End.[5] On 6 February 2010, he scored an equaliser for Bristol City against Coventry City, the match finished 1–1. He scored his third goal for City at home to Leicester City. On 21 August 2010, Clarkson scored his first goal in the 2010–11 season in a 3–3 draw with Barnsley. He netted his second of the season in a 2–0 win over Scunthorpe United at Glanford Park, the goal in the 90th minute.

On 1 May 2012, Clarkson was released by Bristol City.[6]

Brentford (loan)

Clarkson completed a one-month loan move to Brentford on 15 September 2011[7] and made his debut in the away win at Oldham Athletic on 24 September. He scored his first goal for the club away to Carlisle United on 8 October 2011, in a 2–2 draw. Clarkson gave Brentford the lead within the first 10 minutes, but on 63 minutes, he scored an own goal when he stuck a leg out from a cross and put the ball into his own net to give Carlisle a 2–1 lead. He made amends by assisting for Toumani Diagouraga to level the match two minutes from the end.[8]

Bristol Rovers

Clarkson joined Bristol Rovers on 27 July 2012 having spent pre-season on trial with the club.[9] The move reunited him with his old manager at Motherwell, Mark McGhee. He made his debut on 14 August 2012, in a 3–1 defeat against Ipswich Town in the League Cup, playing the full 90 minutes.[10] He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–2 home draw on 8 September against Aldershot.[11] Clarkson added more goals to his tally during the season, in a 2–1 win away at Exeter City, a 1–1 draw against Burton Albion at the Pirelli Stadium, a 2–1 home defeat against Sheffield United in the FA Cup, a 3–2 loss at home to Southend United, a 2–1 loss away at Rochdale, and another 2–2 draw at Aldershot Town on 26 December 2012.

It was announced on 28 February 2013 that Clarkson would miss the rest of the season due to an ankle injury.[12] Clarkson was one of 12 players released by Bristol Rovers in May 2014, after the club had been relegated to the Conference National.[13] He scored 13 goals in 69 games for Bristol Rovers.[13]

After leaving Bristol Rovers, Clarkson had a trial spell with Motherwell in July 2014, but was not offered a contract.[14] He also played in pre-season as a trialist for Kilmarnock[15] and St Johnstone.[16]

Dundee

On 8 September 2014, Clarkson signed for Dundee.[15] He scored on his debut for the club, a 2–1 defeat against Ross County on 27 September 2014.[17] Clarkson went on to score eight goals in his first eight games for the club, scoring in every match and his form was rewarded when he won the SPFL Player of the Month award for November.[18] Clarkson left Dundee at the end of the season having not been offered a new contract.[19]

Motherwell

On 25 June 2015, Clarkson signed for Motherwell for a second time, signing a one-year contract with the option of a second year.[20] He made his second debut for the club on 1 August 2015, in a 1–0 win against Inverness Caledonian Thistle.[21] After making only seven appearances as a substitute during the 2015–16 season, Clarkson signed on loan with Scottish Championship side St Mirren in January 2016, with the deal lasting until the end of the season.[22]

St Mirren

After being released by Motherwell, Clarkson returned to Paisley signing a one-year deal with St Mirren in May 2016.[23]

International career

Clarkson was called up by George Burley for Scotland's friendly match against the Czech Republic on 30 May 2008. He came on as a substitute in the match, and scored Scotland's only goal in the 85th minute when he took down a cross, spun and fired past Czech keeper Petr Čech.[24] Clarkson got his second cap coming on as a substitute, in a 1–0 friendly loss to Argentina on 19 November 2008.[25]

Clarkson played for and captained the Scotland B team, in a 3–0 friendly win over the Northern Ireland B team on 6 May 2009.[26]

Post-playing career

Following his retirement, Clarkson returned to former club Motherwell as Head of Youth as well as coaching in their academy.[27][28] In January 2023, he was named academy director.[29]

Personal life

Clarkson's uncle Phil O'Donnell played alongside him at Motherwell, before his death in 2007. He has several other family members who have been professional footballers. His cousin Stephen O'Donnell last played for Clyde and another cousin Brian Dempsie previously played for Motherwell.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 4 November 2017
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Other[a] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Motherwell 2002–03[30] Scottish Premier League 19 3 4 0 — — 23 3
2003–04[31] 38 12 3 2 1 0 — 42 14
2004–05[32] 35 3 1 0 5 1 — 41 4
2005–06[33] 32 4 1 0 2 1 — 35 5
2006–07[34] 29 2 3 0 2 1 — 34 3
2007–08[35] 35 12 3 0 3 1 — 41 13
2008–09[36] 33 13 3 1 1 0 2[b] 0 39 14
Total 219 49 18 3 14 4 2 0 253 56
Bristol City 2009–10[37] Championship 26 4 1 0 — — 27 4
2010–11[38] 33 7 1 0 1 0 — 35 7
2011–12[39] 4 0 1 0 — — 5 0
Total 63 11 3 0 1 0 — 67 11
Brentford (loan) 2011–12[39] League One 4 1 — — 1[c] 0 5 1
Bristol Rovers 2012–13[40] League Two 26 6 1 1 1 0 1[c] 0 29 7
2013–14[41] 34 6 4 0 1 0 1[c] 0 40 6
Total 60 12 5 1 2 0 2 0 69 13
Dundee 2014–15[42] Scottish Premiership 23 8 2 1 — — 25 9
Motherwell 2015–16[43] Scottish Premiership 7 0 — 1 0 — 8 0
St Mirren (loan) 2015–16[43] Scottish Championship 12 1 — — — 12 1
St Mirren 2016–17[44] Scottish Championship 16 1 1 0 4 2 3[d] 1 24 4
Career total 404 83 29 5 22 6 8 1 463 95
  1. ^ Includes two matches in 2008–09 for Motherwell v Nancy that are not listed on Soccerbase.
  2. ^ Appearances in the UEFA Cup
  3. ^ a b c Appearances in the Football League Trophy
  4. ^ Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup

International

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Clarkson goal.
List of international goals scored by David Clarkson
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 30 May 2008 Prague, Czech Republic  Czech Republic 1–2 1–3 Friendly

Honours

Motherwell

Individual

References

  1. ^ "David Clarkson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  2. ^ David Clarkson at Soccerbase
  3. ^ David Clarkson named Motherwell's Player of the Year wishawpress.co.uk. 14 May 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  4. ^ "Bristol City tie up Clarkson deal". BBC Sport. 29 June 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  5. ^ "Preston 2 – 2 Bristol City". BBC Sport. 8 August 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  6. ^ Bristol City | News | Latest | Latest | EIGHT PLAYERS LEAVE ASHTON GATE
  7. ^ "Brentford sign David Clarkson on loan from Bristol City". BBC Sport. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  8. ^ "Carlisle 2–2 Brentford". BBC Sport. 8 October 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  9. ^ "Bristol Rovers to sign David Clarkson and Rogvi Baldvinsson". BBC Sport. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  10. ^ "Ipswich 3–1 Bristol Rovers" BBC Sport. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  11. ^ "Bristol Rovers 3–1 Aldershot" BBC Sport. 8 September 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  12. ^ [1] Archived 4 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 March 2013
  13. ^ a b Bristol Rovers: Relegation sees twelve players released, BBC Sport
  14. ^ Motherwell: Stuart McCall decides against David Clarkson deal, BBC Sport.
  15. ^ a b "David Clarkson joins Dundee following successful trial period". STV Sport. 8 September 2014. Archived from the original on 12 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  16. ^ "St Johnstone 0 Hearts 4: Stevie May could face Slovaks". The Courier. 4 August 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  17. ^ "ROSS COUNTY VS DUNDEE". Dundee F.C. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  18. ^ a b Forsyth, Paul (7 December 2014). "The extraordinary career revival of David Clarkson". The Scotsman. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  19. ^ "BENEDICTUS, CLARKSON AND HEFFERNAN TO LEAVE CLUB". Dundee F.C. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  20. ^ "David Clarkson returns home". Motherwell F.C. 25 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  21. ^ Dowden, Martin (1 August 2015). "Inverness CT 0-1 Motherwell". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  22. ^ "Clarkson joins St Mirren on loan". motherwellfc.co.uk. 27 January 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  23. ^ "Clarkson staying with St Mirren". Scottish Professional Football League. 19 May 2016. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  24. ^ Lindsay, Clive (30 May 2008). "Czech Republic 3–1 Scotland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  25. ^ "Scotland 0–1 Argentina, Friendly". fitbastats.com. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  26. ^ "Scotland B 3–0 Northern Ireland B, Friendly". fitbastats.com. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  27. ^ Clarkson, David (18 March 2018). "David Clarkson: Landing a job at Motherwell has been lucky, but it's still a culture shock". The Herald. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  28. ^ Graeme McGarry (20 July 2018). "Motherwell class of 2002 out to inspire new kids on Fir Park block..." Evening Times. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  29. ^ "David Clarkson named academy director". www.motherwellfc.co.uk. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  30. ^ "Games played by David Clarkson in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  31. ^ "Games played by David Clarkson in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  32. ^ "Games played by David Clarkson in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  33. ^ "Games played by David Clarkson in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  34. ^ "Games played by David Clarkson in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  35. ^ "Games played by David Clarkson in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  36. ^ "Games played by David Clarkson in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  37. ^ "Games played by David Clarkson in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  38. ^ "Games played by David Clarkson in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  39. ^ a b "Games played by David Clarkson in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  40. ^ "Games played by David Clarkson in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  41. ^ "Games played by David Clarkson in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  42. ^ "Games played by David Clarkson in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  43. ^ a b "Games played by David Clarkson in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  44. ^ "Games played by David Clarkson in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2017.