Darrell Clarke

Darrell James Clarke (born 16 December 1977) is an English former professional footballer who is first team manager at League Two club Bristol Rovers.

A midfielder, his career began with Mansfield Town in 1995, where he spent the first six years of his career, making 160 league appearances. In 2001 he transferred to Hartlepool United, where he spent another six years, racking up 127 appearances in the league. He was sent out on loan to Stockport County, Port Vale, and Rochdale in the final years of his spell. In 2007 he left the professional game to sign for Salisbury City, before taking up the management position at the club in 2010. He led the club to promotion into the Conference Premier from the Southern League with two play-off final victories in three seasons.

He was appointed manager of Bristol Rovers in March 2014, but could not prevent the club from dropping out of the Football League. However, one year later, Clarke successfully guided Bristol Rovers back into the Football League after winning the 2015 Conference Premier play-off Final.

Bristol Rovers F.C.

Bristol Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club, based in Bristol, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The team plays its home matches at Memorial Stadium, in Horfield, a suburb of Bristol, and is affiliated to the Gloucestershire County FA.

The club was founded in 1883 as Black Arabs F.C., and were also known as Eastville Rovers and Bristol Eastville Rovers before finally changing its name to Bristol Rovers in 1899. The club's official nickname is The Pirates, reflecting the maritime history of Bristol. The local nickname of the club is The Gas, from the gasworks next to their former home Eastville Stadium, which started as a derogatory term used by fans of their main rival Bristol City but was affectionately adopted by the team. According to a survey conducted in December 2003, Cardiff City and Swindon Town are considered their second and third biggest rivals.

Rovers were admitted to the Football League in 1920 and have played there ever since, apart from spending the 2014–15 season in the Conference Premier. They previously came close to losing their league status in 1939, when they were re-elected after finishing bottom of Division Three (South), and in 2002 when the team finished one league position away from relegation to the Football Conference. Their highest finishing positions were in 1956 and 1959, on both occasions ending the season in 6th place in Division Two, then the second tier of English football. Rovers were Football League Trophy finalists in 1990 and 2007.

Clarke

Clarke is an Anglo-Irish surname which means "clerk". The surname is of English and Irish origin but the original word comes from Latin for clericus. There are some surname variants, including Clark and Clerk.Clarke is also uncommonly chosen as a given name.

Irish surname origin

Clarke is a popular surname in Ireland. The Irish version of the surname is believed to have come from County Galway and County Antrim and spread to County Donegal and County Dublin. The name is derived from the Irish Gaelic sept O'Cleirigh, meaning "clerk".

English surname origin

Clarke as well as Clark is also a widespread surname in England. The English version comes from Anglo-Saxon origin and was used in the Middle Ages for the name of a scribe or secretary. The word "clerc" came from the pre 7th Century Olde English "Cler(e)c" (meaning priest) originally denoted to a member of a religious order only, but later grew rapidly outside the religious order. In the Middle Ages virtually the only people who could read and write were members of the religious order, making the word heavily associated with literacy. Thus the surname became a popular term for a literate man, particularly for the professional secretary and the scholar. The English surnames "Clarke" and "Clark" are both spelling variations of the surname "Clerk".

Matthew Taylor (footballer)

Matthew Simon Taylor (born 27 November 1981) is an English footballer who plays for Burnley. He has previously played for Luton Town, Portsmouth, Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United.

Club career

Luton Town

He began his career at Luton Town, making his debut as a 17-year-old at the beginning of the 1999–2000 season. He soon made the left wing-back slot his own and won the Young Player of the Year award in his first ever season as a professional. His success at Luton came after an initial trial at his local side, Oxford United.

Portsmouth

His displays led to interest from Premier League clubs, but he instead decided, in July 2002, to sign for First Division side Portsmouth for £750,000. The fee was set averting the need for a tribunal, causing Luton manager Joe Kinnear to lament: "at least Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask".

Usually playing as a left wing-back in a 3–5–2 formation, his speedy breaks down the left flank in support of the attack were a feature of Portsmouth's play as they won the First Division title in May 2003. As well as being a regular in the team during the season, he also scored seven goals in the League.