GoS-DB Players

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Greens on Screen started its life in 1999 before many of the football sites that we are familiar with today, including Plymouth Argyle's own official site. Greens on Screen is dedicated to the sights, sounds and history of Plymouth Argyle Football club. It is owned and run by the Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive, a charity dedicated to the promotion, preservation, and display of the heritage of our great football club.

The site owes its existence to Steve Dean.Without Steve's dedication and commitment for over 25 years, GoS would not exist and be the valued and loved resource for all football fans that it is today. The site is truly the envy of many clubs, and we owe a huge debt to Steve for his tireless work, and continued support behind the scenes.

Greens on Screen's first page was published in January 1999. Its early purpose was to bring Plymouth Argyle a little closer to those unable to see their team, and whilst it has changed a great deal over the years, its core themes - sights and sounds for Westcountry exiles - still stand. The site was very lucky to take on the content of Trevor Scallan's Semper Viridis in the summer of 2007, and in 2009 launched GoS-DB, a wealth of facts and figures from PAFC's history. A year later, we embarked on a complete history of Argyle, with much-valued contributions from chapter authors. Greens on Screen was taken over by its new custodians, The Argyle Archive, in 2024.

Greens on Screen is an amateur website and proud of it. It is run by a team of volunteers from the Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive (Argyle Archive). Without the hard work and much-valued contributions of these volunteers, running the site would not be possible. Greens on Screen is self-taught and as a result, a little bit quirky.

Greens on Screen remains advertisement free, which means we are grateful for the generous support of our donors and the work of our volunteers to help keep it free of promotions. If you would like to support the work of Greens on Screen, please consider donating to the Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive.

GoS's sole aim is to be a service to fellow supporters, and we look forward to continuing to celebrate Argyle's history for many years to come.

Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive.
April 2024

Thanks to Dave Rowntree for many of the player images after 1984.

Can you help? This page is the result of the best endeavours of all concerned. If you spot a mistake or know of facts to add, or have a better photo, please get in touch using 'Contact Us' (top, right).

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BILLY CLARKE

Full Name: William Charles Clarke

Born: 13 December 1987

Came from: Unattached Went to: Grimsby Town

First game: 19 October 2019 Last game: 04 January 2020

Appearances: 12 (3/9) Goals: 0

Striker Clarke joined the Pilgrims on a short-term deal in mid-October 2019. The experienced Irish forward was a free agent, having been released by Bradford City at the end of the 2018-19 season, where he had played 136 times and scored 26 goals in two spells at the club.

Born in Cork in the Republic of Ireland, Clarke was 31 when he signed on at Home Park, having played just shy of 400 games in a 13-year career that began at Ipswich Town, where he graduated from the Tractor Boys’ academy. In total he made 56 first team appearances at Portman Road, scoring four times.

A former Republic of Ireland under-17, 19 and 21 international, he had also played for Blackpool (32 games, 2 goals), Crawley Town (92 & 24) and Charlton Athletic (25 & 2), as well as spending time on loan to Colchester United (6 & 0), Falkirk (8 & 1), Darlington (25 & 9), Northampton Town (5 & 3), Brentford (8 & 5) and Sheffield United (6 & 1).

He seemed destined to join Bolton Wanderers in the summer of 2019 after reuniting with his former Bradford & Colchester manager, Phil Parkinson, but the deal was scuppered when Parkinson left the club due to the financial difficulties that almost led to Bolton's liquidation and Football League expulsion.

Clarke's short-term contract as a Pilgrim proved to be just that. In a little less than three months, his 12 appearances included nine from the bench and none of his three starts lasted the full 90 minutes. His goalless spell at Home Park ended in January 2020 when he joined his 13th club, Grimsby Town. After making 13 appearances (two goals) in all competitions, he had a final, third spell with Bradford City in the 2020-21 season making 32 appearances and scoring four goals in all competitions.

He announced his retirement from professional football in August 2021, after making over 450 appearances and scoring over 80 goals in all competitions at club level across 16 seasons. In his retirement announcement, he also announced his intention of a coaching career and in September 2021, Clarke joined Hull City as their under-18's assistant manager.

YOUR CONTRIBUTION

If you can add to this profile, perhaps with special memories, a favourite story or the results of your original research, please contribute here.

APPEARANCE DETAILS [reselect competitions]

The details below reflect appearances in all first-team competitions.

I'm very grateful to many who have helped write GoS-DB's player pen-pictures, and to Dave Rowntree, the PAFC Media Team and Colin Parsons for their help with photos. Thanks also to staff at the National Football Museum, the Scottish Football Museum and ScotlandsPeople for their valuable assistance.

The following publications have been particularly valuable in the research of pen-pictures: Plymouth Argyle, A Complete Record 1903-1989 (Brian Knight, ISBN 0-907969-40-2); Plymouth Argyle, 101 Golden Greats (Andy Riddle, ISBN 1-874287-47-3); Football League Players' Records 1888-1939 (Michael Joyce, ISBN 1-899468-67-6); Football League Players' Records 1946-1988 (Barry Hugman, ISBN 1-85443-020-3) and Plymouth Argyle Football Club Handbooks.

Greens on Screen is run as a service to fellow supporters, in all good faith, without commercial or private gain. I have no wish to abuse copyright regulations and apologise unreservedly if this occurs. If you own any of the material used on this site, and object to its inclusion, please get in touch using the 'Contact Us' button at the top of each page. Search facility powered by JRank Search Engine. UK time at page load: 26 December 2024, 14:49.