Can anyone share the Times article?
Darrell Clarke sadly has no memory of his mother, who died in a car crash when he was two, but the Port Vale manager willingly blanks out all recollection of his alcoholic father who used to wave the insurance money from his motherās death in his face.
Clarke is today named manager of the month for the second month in succession, Vale lie second in League Two, are into the second round of the FA Cup, and beat Liverpool Under-21 in the EFL Trophy this week to record their best home run ā seven wins on the spin ā since the revered John Rudge was manager at Vale Park in 1993.
A hard-working midfield player for Mansfield Town and Hartlepool United, Clarke guided Salisbury City to promotion twice and achieved the same with Bristol Rovers. Clarke, who joined Vale from Walsall in February, is charismatic, full of opinions and ambition, and very driven. āIāve got an edge about me,ā he explains, sitting in a hospitality suite at the ground this week. āI just love shutting people up and proving people wrong. Iāve managed nearly over 500 games now and Iām only 43.
āIām driven. That comes from my upbringing. Itās a rough old town, Mansfield, but you donāt forget your roots. I grew up on a council estate. Mum died in a car crash when I was two and my brother was three. Her partner was driving. She died on my granās birthday. So it was never a birthday for her after that. My gran won custody of us in court which is unheard of. Normally the dad would get you. Dad was an alcoholic.
āI had no connection with him. When I started playing, nothing. I saw him once a year and he was watered. I was always scared when there was a knock on the door and it was Dad. I know he hadnāt been nice to my mum.
āI was about 15 when he was dying in hospital and a nurse rang me saying, āYour dad would like to see you and Wayne.ā I said, āHe can * himself.ā Iām like that. Cut people off. I never regretted that. Never. He will never be a ādadā to me. Never. A real dad is somebody who supports you for your life, is always there for you. He was never there for me. He was a disgrace of a man.
āItās made me a better dad. I think my two daughters would agree with that. I give them what I didnāt have. Gran didnāt have a pot to water in. Dad came round the house, watered. He got a bit of money for Mum dying and he was flashing all the money around in the air, giving it the big āun. My gran said, āDarrell, itās the only time Iāve ever stole anything.ā She took some of that money and put it under a pot so she could buy me and Wayne some stuff.ā
Clarke found family with his grandparents and Wayne, and soon in football. āMy grandad was a Mansfield steward, used to work the turnstiles,ā he continues. āI used to go with him and sit on the old wooden seats at Field Mill, watching Stags. Footballās a family, and thatās important to me after what Iād been through.ā
He sought a family ethos in his playing career, and now in management. He did well at Salisbury, then moved to Bristol Rovers in 2013 but immediately suffered relegation against Mansfield, of all people, ending Roversā 87 seasons-long stay in the Football League. āIt was carnage,ā Clarke recalls. āIām Mansfield born and bred. Mansfield forgot their kit, so took our away kit and relegated us in our shirts! You couldnāt write the script.
Early into the next season in the Conference, as Rovers struggled, āClarke outā posters began appearing at the training ground. āTheyāre all over the gates, all over the crossbar, all over the posts,ā Clarke says. āIt was a lone fan in a dark place.ā
He immediately turned it round. After the 2015 play-off semi-final win over Forest Green set up the final with Grimsby Town, Clarke was in a cab heading for a meal with his wife when they passed the Queen Vic, a legendary Rovers pub. āI knew the Vic would be bouncing, so I just walked through the doors, put me arms up and shouted āWembley, Wembleyā. The place erupted.
āThe worst thing, right, is they made me do a speech, and silly enough, after a couple of pints, I stood on this stool singing, āWe are going up, say, we are going up.ā Weāve still got the *ing final to play! The next day the Grimsby Telegraph put it online: āLook at the Rovers manager already singing we are going up, disgrace.ā
āI was gutted, thinking, āOh my God. I donāt need that pressure.ā Then we won. We had a private party in Bristol and the lads got me to do another speech. This time Iām on another stool and said, āI done this a couple of weeks ago, a little bit premature,ā but then I went, ābut we are going up, we are going up.ā Then I went, āSo Grimsby Telegraph, print that bastard.ā And they did print it!
āRovers fans absolutely loved it. We did that tour all around the city and they had āprint that bastardā flags and āprint that bastardā T-shirts. Iāve played Grimsby since, they were singing āYouāre getting sacked in the morningā to me when they were 4-1 up at Walsall! I still have banter with Grimsby fans. Itās so stereotyped, football managers, you talk to the press, you donāt mingle with fans. I like to be a bit different. The gameās about the fans and you have to enjoy the good moments as a manager.
āI donāt want to manage a team that stands still and this was my biggest frustration at Bristol Rovers is we were standing still as a club. I sold nearly Ā£2 million worth of goals out of the team. Then you become a sitting duck. At Walsall the club sold Ā£800,000 worth of player replaced with Ā£40,000. Iām begging for free loans.
āIāve had so much adversity in football, picking myself up, taking Rovers up, thatās a helluva thing. Oxford took four years to get out [back into EFL]. Luton took five years. Wrexham are there 13 years, Stockport are there [since 2011-12]. We did it year one and on a Ā£900,000 budget. Itās crazy the money now in the Conference. Stockport had a player on Ā£3,000 a week. Solihull Moors put a player on Ā£3,000 a week.ā
In League Two, at Vale, Clarke has cut the wage bill. āThe top wage here is Ā£1,850,ā he says. āMe and āFlickersā [David Flitcroft], the director of football, weāre trying to build an even wage cap, Ā£1,000 to Ā£1,850.ā
He likes building teams. It was the main reason he turned down Leeds United in 2016. Leeds and Rovers agreed compensation. āSo I met Massimo Cellino in London!ā he laughs. āHave you met him? Bonkers. He must have smoked 50 fags. He told me he liked to have his hands on recruitment. Heās doing all the recruitment. With my upbringing, Iām not going to be anybodyās lapdog. I donāt care whether thatās managing Leeds I still couldnāt do that. Everybody goes, āYouāre crazy, you should have gone to manage Leeds United.ā But why work for someone like that? Iād have been another Dave Hockaday.
āItās always chucked in my face that I didnāt take Leeds. But Massimo! Right decision! I donāt regret it. And I get pigeonholed how we play. But I like being criticised. Everyone can go into an interview and say, āI play out from the back, press high, play fast *ing, free-flowing football and Iāll do a PowerPoint presentation that is going to woo some people in the boardroom who go wow this is brilliant.ā Numpties.
āIām about the end result. If that means me playing a mid-block to win a game and hit them on the counterattack because those are the players Iāve got . . . thatās what Iām going to do.ā
Others pursue a more possession-based philosophy. āThatās why Russell Martin gets the MK Dons job [and now Swansea City], great football to watch, brilliant, finished 13th in League One. Hallelujah! Happy *ing days! Thatās the difference. I think Iām underestimated. We scored 17 goals last month and not one of them came from a goal kick. Iāve played every formation under the sun this season.
āA lot of clubs want to hear that word āphilosophyā. Drives me nuts. I went into one interview with directors and chairman and said, āPhilosophyās the most overrated word in football. My philosophy is to win.
āPeople look at me now as a man-manager but Iāve got a green pitch lying on the floor downstairs.ā Clarke shows me the dressing room and the painted pitch to make points to players. āIām quite cute.ā
He did his pro-licence at St Georgeās Park with the FA. āI did it with Nemanja Vidic and Nicky Butt, good lads,ā Clarke recalls. Much of it was about philosophy. āBut itās still about getting a team to run through brick walls for you. I find that easy. Itās about personality, how I am, daily dialogue. I like to look people in the eyes and see if theyāre genuine. I want good characters.
āIāve spoken to Gareth Southgate a couple of times. Heās the ideal modern manager for England, a fantastic man-manager and great technician. You can see the players respect him, and the ones not in the team. Gareth said in the summer the drivers are the ones not in the team sometimes, reserves can drive the standards ā like Conor Coady. I donāt like using āreservesā, theyāre game changers. I use game changers. Itās a sense of belonging isnāt it?ā
Belonging matters to Clarke. Itās why he feels at home at Vale Park. āThey are proper fans here,ā he continues. āWe average nearly 6,000 this season [highest is 6,986 against Tranmere]. I like the club. I like the people. The owners are fantastic. Carol and Kevin [Shanahan] are great people.
Carolās invites playersā family into the boardroom. Sheās warm. She cares about people. Sheās just a family person.ā
And that matters hugely to Clarke. Shanahan gives Clarke a big hug when they cross paths in the foyer earlier. Being at the second club in the city also suits Clarkeās challenger mindset. āGood point. Same at the Gas. I didnāt win for the first seven games here. People questioned what the hell have they done?! Iām manager of the month again!
āMy whole lifeās about winning. Even now I lose a game and it feels like a death in my family. Iām a nightmare at home after a defeat. Leave me alone. My wife knows sheās got to let me reboot.
āI keep telling fans Iām not a miserable bastard. I can switch off, have a round of golf, go out for a drink, but very rarely is my mind not on football. I dream about football all the time. Selections. Game plans. What if they go 1-0 up after ten minutes, what am I changing?
āIām really hungry to do success for Port Vale. Iām like any human being, I like a nice holiday, living in a nice house, and drive a nice car but you canāt ever replicate the feelings Iāve had with my promotions. I just want to keep driving my career forward. I want to manage at the highest level possible and I wonāt stop until I get there.