Mark Clyde

Mark Clyde
Personal information
Full name Mark Graham Clyde[1]
Date of birth (1982-12-27) 27 December 1982
Place of birth Limavady, Northern Ireland
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Playing position Defender
Youth career
000?–2001 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2007 Wolverhampton Wanderers 47 (0)
2002 → Kidderminster Harriers (loan) 4 (0)
2009–2011 Worcester City 19 (1)
2011–2013 Bridgnorth Town 0 (0)
Total 70 (1)
National team
2002–2003 Northern Ireland U21 5 (0)
2004–2005 Northern Ireland 3 (0)
Teams managed
2011–2013 Bridgnorth Town
2013– AFC Bridgnorth

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Mark Graham Clyde (born 27 December 1982, Limavady) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer, who played for Wolverhampton Wanderers and represented Northern Ireland. His career was cut short by persistent injuries aged 24 but later made a successful return to football with Worcester City, earning a contract after a successful trial.

Wolves

Clyde was a product of Wolves' academy, and came into contention for a first-team spot in the 2002–03 season. He was initially loaned out to Kidderminster Harriers, then in League Two, where he made four appearances. He made his league debut there on 14 September 2002 in a 1-1 draw at Scunthorpe United.

He returned to Molineux after this brief spell and quickly found a place in the first team, ahead of team captain Paul Butler. He made 17 league appearances for the club in this debut season, which saw Wolves win promotion via the play-offs. Clyde himself missed the conclusion of the campaign though as he suffered a knee injury which was later operated on.

The defender recovered sufficiently to feature in Wolves' Premier League season of 2003–04, playing in nine top-flight games, which earned him a 4-year contract extension in July 2004. After featuring in Wolves' opening 13 games back in the Championship, he suffered another injury blow when he turned his ankle while training with Northern Ireland. He recovered but found his season later halted for good when his knee troubles flared up again in February 2005.

After missing the entire 2005–06 season, having struggled to recover from ankle surgery, he began Wolves' opening three games in 2006–07 under new manager Mick McCarthy. However, his injury problems quickly resurfaced and he was once again sidelined.

On 8 February 2007, Clyde announced his immediate retirement from football, aged just 24, owing to his persistent injury battles.[2] He is now working for Designer Drives and Landscapes ltd. along with Steve Leith and co.

Later career

Clyde made a return to football for the five-a-side team Bridgnorth 2000 in the JSR Construction Bridgnorth Five-a-Side League in 2007. Clyde signed for non-League Worcester City two years later and occupied a player-coach role under boss Carl Heeley.

When Lee Mills left Bridgnorth Town in June 2011, Clyde moved there and replaced him as manager. Aside from managing Bridgnorth Town, Mark works as a bin man around Bridgnorth.

International career

Clyde has represented Northern Ireland three times, making his debut on 8 September 2004 in a 2-2 World Cup qualifying draw in Wales. He has also been selected for their Under-18, U20 and U21 squads.

References

  1. 1 2 Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2003). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2003/2004. Queen Anne Press. p. 89. ISBN 1-85291-651-6.
  2. ↑ "Injuries force Clyde's retirement". BBC Sport. 2007-02-09.
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