94: Clarke Carlisle, Burnley, Topps Match Attax Trading Card Game, 2009/10

It’s Strictly season again if you haven’t noticed and former Arsenal and England captain Tony Adams is the latest former footballer to take his chances on the dancefloor. Adams hasn’t quite forged the same formidable partnership with Katya Jones as he did alongside Steve Bould in the Gunners’ back four but to give him his dues he has noticeably improved as the weeks have gone by. Fellow Gooner Alex Scott impressed in the flagship BBC entertainment show finishing in fifth while, somewhat unsurprisingly, Robbie Savage had a lot of fun donning the sequins and fake tan. Goalkeeping legends Peter Schmeichel and David James weren’t quite so natural under the glitter ball while Peter Shilton was spectacularly dreadful showcasing the sort of agility that saw him out jumped by an Argentinian midget back in 1986.

It’s not just in the country’s premier TV dance competition where former footballers have turned up to have a go at something new. David Seaman, Lee Sharpe and Graeme Le Saux have all had a go at figure skating for Dancing On Ice, John Fashanu gave military manoeuvres a go on SAS: Who Dares Wins while Jimmy Bullard has followed Danny Mills, Dion Dublin and Neil Ruddock into the kitchen on Celebrity Masterchef. All of these particular examples saw these greats of the beautiful game qualify by virtue of their talents on the pitch but that has not always been the case for some of the country’s most popular game shows. Back in 2010 Burnley centre-half Clarke Carlisle appeared on Channel 4’s Countdown and won two contests in a row with impressive scores showcasing his literacy and numeracy skills.

Before starting his professional career with Blackpool Carlisle gained ten Grade A GCSEs and A Levels in Maths and Politics. After making a century of appearances for the Tangerines he moved on to Queen’s Park Rangers of the First Division but had his debut season curtailed with a horrific cruciate ligament injury. Rangers suffered relegation and Carlisle missed the entirety of their 2001/02 campaign as he recovered from the potentially career ending setback. During this time he took part in Britain’s Brainiest Footballer and emerged victorious ahead of the likes of Alan Brazil and Malcolm McDonald. After returning to the first team Carlisle brought this success to Loftus Road and helped return QPR to the second tier in 2004 before moving on to newly relegated Leeds United. Despite further injury he made nearly forty appearances during his one season at Elland Road and performed well enough to impress Watford’s Aidy Boothroyd who brought him to Vicarage Road for £100,000. Buoyed by Carlisle’s performances, on loan Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster and the goals of Marlon King the Hornets gained promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs although a thigh injury prevented the centre-half from participating in the post-season drama.

Carlisle’s struggle to regain fitness saw him briefly loaned to Luton Town but he finally made his Premier League debut for Watford against Portsmouth in April 2007 and backed this up with a man of the match performance against Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-finals, an impressive feat considering the Hornets lost 4-1. Watford were relegated and Carlisle was once again on the move to Burnley. Just a couple of months into his first season at Turf Moor he was involved in a serious car crash but impressed manager Steve Cotterill by turning out for the Clarets the very next day against Crystal Palace. Owen Coyle took the helm at Burnley in the following campaign and Carlisle’s defensive partnership with Steven Caldwell helped to push the Clarets into the play-offs where future team mate Andre Bikey’s moment of madness in the semi-finals and Carlisle’s man of the match performance in the main event took the Turf Moor side back into the top flight after an absence of 33 years.

After impressive wins over Manchester United and Everton the Clarets made a good start to life in the Premier League but after Owen Coyle abandoned his charges for Bolton Wanderers, to be replaced by chicken throwing enthusiast Brian Laws, in January 2010 Burnley only managed three more wins and were relegated back to the Championship. It was during a short injury spell that Carlisle impressed on Channel 4’s flagship afternoon staple Countdown although how much influence this had on the Clarets’ decision to offer him a contract extension is unknown. He played one more season at Turf Moor before heading out on loan to Preston North End and Northampton Town before a permanent move to League Two’s York City in 2012. This short stay was followed by a return to the Cobblers where his career came to an end in 2013. 

In the autumn years of his football career Clarke Carlisle had made his first foray into punditry at the same time as serving as PFA Chairman. In the latter role he became a vocal critic of FIFA’s laissez-faire approach to racism in football as well as an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. With these impressive credentials he became the first footballer to appear on BBC’s Question Time and certainly made a better impression than Joey Barton did a few years later. He has also presented two BBC documentaries: the first addressing racism in football alongside John Barnes and Stan Collymore while the second delved into mental health in the beautiful game. Carlisle has not shied away from the latter issue and has survived suicide attempts and battles with alcohol both during and after his footballing career brought on by the physical injuries and the “feeling of worthlessness” that came with them. Thankfully he appears to be in a better place and has campaigned for football to take the lead “to create a template of support that can be then translated into any other industry in the world.” With a man of his intellect on board there’s a chance some great work could be done. In his own words “how powerful could that be?”