Clarke Carlisle

Clarke James Carlisle (born 14 October 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender and was chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association.

Born in Preston, he began playing football at a young age, taking inspiration from his father who played semi-professionally. Carlisle represented his home county of Lancashire at youth level. The start of his professional career was his Football League debut for Blackpool in September 1997. He moved to Queens Park Rangers in May 2000. In the same year, Carlisle won three caps for the England under-21 national team. He missed a number of matches for Queens Park Rangers due to a posterior cruciate ligament injury which at one stage led doctors to believe that his career was over. He then missed one month of the 2003–04 season because of an alcohol-related problem, and left Queens Park Rangers at the end of that season. In the summer of 2004, he joined Leeds United on a free transfer.

Carlisle spent just one season with Leeds United before signing for Championship club Watford in August 2005. In the 2005–06 season, his first with Watford, the team finished third in the division and achieved promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs. However, a thigh injury caused Carlisle to miss the majority of the team's season in the top flight. In March 2007 he had a one-month loan spell at Luton Town. In August 2007, Burnley manager Steve Cotterill bought Carlisle from Watford for a transfer fee of £200,000. In the 2008–09 season he played over 40 matches as Burnley reached the semi-finals of the League Cup and finished fifth in the league, earning a place in the play-offs. Carlisle was named man of the match for his performance in the play-off final as Burnley beat Sheffield United 1–0 to return to the top tier of English football for the first time in 33 years.

An imposing figure in the centre of defence thanks to his stature, Carlisle also provided an attacking threat from set pieces.

He is a practising Christian and regularly attends church. He attended Balshaw's Church of England High School where he attained 10 A-grades at GCSE and studied mathematics and politics at A-level, and in 2002 was awarded the title of "Britain's Brainiest Footballer" in a TV game show. He has been an ambassador for the Kick It Out campaign and is a former chairman of the management committee of the Professional Footballers' Association. Carlisle has suffered from recurring problems with alcohol and depression.

Early life and education Carlisle was born in Preston, Lancashire. He went on to study A-level mathematics and politics at Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College while he was unable to play football due to an injury. Carlisle has a degree in Professional Sports Writing and Broadcasting from Staffordshire University, and has expressed interest in taking up teaching work following his football career. Carlisle signed a professional contract with the club on 13 August 1997 and moved into the first-team squad. His single goal of the campaign came in a 3–1 victory over Stoke City at the Victoria Ground. He scored on his 93rd and final league appearance for the club in a 1–1 draw with Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park.

Queens Park Rangers Dowie recommended Carlisle to Queens Park Rangers manager Gerry Francis, who paid a transfer fee of £250,000 to sign him on 25 May 2000. While he was out of action, Queens Park Rangers suffered relegation to the Second Division after finishing 23rd in the league. Soon after the injury he attempted suicide, and years later was diagnosed with major depressive disorder. Upon his return to football, Carlisle was injured again in a reserve-team match against Bristol City, sparking fears that he had aggravated his previous injury. Upon his return to the team, Carlisle won the Second Division Player of the Month award for November 2003. He scored one goal in 39 matches in 2003–04 as Queens Park Rangers finished as runners-up in the league, achieving promotion to the Championship. Carlisle's contract with Queens Park Rangers ended at the conclusion of the 2003–04 campaign.

Leeds United In June 2004, Carlisle agreed to join recently relegated Championship club Leeds United on a free transfer. His contract with Leeds began on 1 July 2004,

When fit again, Carlisle found it difficult to break into the first team as his place in the centre of defence had been taken by Matthew Kilgallon. His return came on 28 December 2004, when he was brought on as an 80th-minute substitute for Frazer Richardson in the 2–1 win against Plymouth Argyle. At the end of the 2004–05 campaign it was revealed that two clubs, Watford and Stoke City, were both competing to sign Carlisle. Leeds United accepted bids of £100,000 from both clubs but Carlisle chose to sign for Watford, and he agreed a three-year contract with the club on 5 August 2005.

Watford and Luton Town

Watford manager Aidy Boothroyd, who had been a coach at Leeds during the previous season, was pleased with the signing, stating that Carlisle was "exactly the type of defender I wanted". Soon after, Carlisle scored two goals in a competitive match for the first time in his career, grabbing both in Watford's 2–1 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the second round of the League Cup. However, the referee did not show Carlisle a red or yellow card during the match, and no further action was taken against the player. During the 2005–06 campaign, Carlisle made 35 appearances and scored five goals, helping Watford to achieve a place in the play-offs after finishing third in the Championship. However, towards the end of the season he suffered yet another injury, being forced off the pitch in Watford's penultimate league match away at Queens Park Rangers. The thigh problem caused him to be unavailable for the play-offs as Watford defeated Leeds 3–0 at the Millennium Stadium to win promotion to the FA Premier League.

The injury forced Carlisle to miss the first eight months of the 2006–07 Premier League season, and he eventually returned to full training in February 2007. He played in two reserve team matches for Watford in order to regain some fitness, hoping to break into the first team and make his Premier League debut. On 2 March 2007, Carlisle joined local rivals Luton Town on a one-month emergency loan deal in an attempt to return to full match fitness. He made his debut for Luton the following day in the 3–2 away defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Championship, coming on as a substitute for Matthew Spring, who had himself joined the club from Watford earlier in the season after failing to break into the first team. Carlisle went on to play five matches for Luton. Watford were defeated 4–1 at Villa Park.

Burnley and loan spells alt=A striker in a white and navy blue soccer strip has the ball. The defender, wearing a claret strip, attempts to make the tackle.

On 14 August 2007, Steve Cotterill, manager of fellow Championship club Burnley, made an offer of £200,000 for Carlisle, who signed a three-year contract at Turf Moor two days later. Helped along by the club captain Steven Caldwell, Carlisle settled in well at Burnley. Two days after signing, he made his debut for his new club in the 2–0 defeat away to Scunthorpe United. On 28 September 2007, the day before a Championship match, he was involved in a serious car crash after spinning and crashing into a ditch causing his car to be written off. Steve Cotterill praised Carlisle's character for playing the next day in the 1–1 draw with Crystal Palace. His partnership with Caldwell was broken towards the end of the campaign as Carlisle was given suspensions after being sent off twice in his last four matches of the season, first in the 1–2 loss to Preston and then in the last match of the season, a 0–5 defeat at Crystal Palace. Carlisle ended the 2007–08 season with two goals in 35 appearances. He remained out of the team for the whole of February 2009. quote="I'm privileged to be a member of this magnificent team. What a season, words can't describe how brilliant and awesome an achievement this is. I thank God so much, I'm blessed to be a part of this team. It's just unbelievable, what an awesome day." — Clarke Carlisle on Burnley's promotion in 2009 He was selected in the team to play Burnley's first top-flight match in 33 years on 15 August 2009, when the team were defeated 2–0 by Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium. During the early part of the season, he formed a defensive pairing with new signing André Bikey. After over a month out of the Burnley team with the injury, he made his first start under new manager Brian Laws in the 1–0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers on 26 January 2010. Although the team was relegated from the Premier League at the end of the season, Carlisle was one of several players offered a new contract, and he signed a two-year extension in May 2010.

In the first away match of the 2010–11 season, he scored an injury-time equaliser against Ipswich Town; the goal was Burnley's first from a corner kick for 15 months. After serving a three-match suspension in October 2010 following a red card in the 1–1 draw away at Millwall, Carlisle returned to the team for the League Cup tie against Aston Villa and scored an 89th-minute equaliser to take the match to extra time.

Carlisle made his Preston debut in the opening match of the campaign, a 4–2 home defeat against Colchester on 6 August 2011. He was a regular starter for Preston during the opening months of the season and also played in the cup competitions as the team reached the third round of the League Cup before being eliminated by Southampton and progressed to the same stage of the Football League Trophy with penalty shoot-out victories over Morecambe and Rochdale. Preston manager Phil Brown brought in Jamie McCombe on loan as cover for Carlisle, and the Huddersfield Town loanee kept his place in the starting line-up throughout December 2011. Carlisle returned to the Preston team for the visit to Rochdale on 2 January 2012, when he was selected to play alongside Craig Morgan by caretaker managers Graham Alexander and David Unsworth.

Later the same day, Carlisle signed for League Two club Northampton Town, managed by former Watford boss Aidy Boothroyd, on loan for the remainder of the season. He made his first start for Northampton in the 1–0 win over AFC Wimbledon at the Sixfields Stadium on 14 February 2012. He scored his first goal for the team in the 3–1 home defeat to Bradford City on 14 April 2012.

York City and Northampton Town return

Carlisle signed for newly promoted League Two club York City on 30 August 2012 on a contract lasting until January 2013, having previously turned down a contract offer from Northampton. He made his debut two days later in York's 3–1 victory at home to Oxford United. He made his second debut the following day in Northampton's 3–0 home win over Morecambe. He played for Northampton in their 3–0 defeat to Bradford in the 2013 League Two play-off final at Wembley Stadium on 18 May 2013.

International career While playing for Queens Park Rangers, Carlisle was selected to play for the England national under-21 team on three occasions. He was called up to the squad by Howard Wilkinson, and made his debut for his country on 31 August 2000, coming on as a substitute in England's 6–1 friendly victory over Georgia at the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough. His second appearance for England, also from the substitutes' bench, came in a 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying match on 6 October 2000 in the 1–1 draw with Germany at Pride Park. he was not selected for the under-21 team again.

Style of play Carlisle's predominant playing position is as a centre-back and he has been described as a "defensive lynchpin". However, he says that their style was too "ruthless" for modern football, and he now attempts to read the opponents' attacking plays. He is not known for his pace, and this has caused him some disciplinary problems as he has received eight red cards during his career. Former Leeds United teammate Michael Duberry described Carlisle as a "strong" defender. Carlisle is recognised as being a highly intelligent footballer, and is often seen as an imposing figure in the centre of the defence thanks to his 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) stature. and scored 39 goals in his career.

PFA roles Carlisle is an ambassador for the Kick It Out scheme, which campaigns for inclusion and equality in football. and it was announced on 17 November 2010 that Carlisle would succeed Chris Powell as the chairman of the PFA. Carlisle was among those who criticised FIFA president Sepp Blatter following his comments in November 2011 that racism was no longer a problem in football. In February 2012, he was part of a PFA delegation that met with British prime minister David Cameron to discuss the issues of racism and homophobia in the sport. He has since appeared as a pundit for Sky Sports and ITV Sport during numerous televised football matches. Carlisle has made two appearances on the BBC panel debate show Question Time, becoming the first footballer to appear on the programme. In July 2012, he presented a documentary on BBC Three titled Is Football Racist?, in which he interviewed former footballers Stan Collymore, Chris Hughton and John Barnes about their experiences of racism during their careers, as well as investigating the history of racism in English football on the pitch and in the stands. He also presented a second documentary for BBC Three, Football's Suicide Secret, on the issue of mental health in football on 9 July 2013. He published his autobiography, You Don't Know Me, But... A Footballer's Life in 2013. In 2025 Carlisle appeared on the 1% Club for Soccer Aid, winning the show with a pass remaining, earning UNICEF and Soccer Aid £100,000 plus a bonus £1,000 for not using his pass in the show.

Personal life From an early age, Carlisle was encouraged to follow Christianity by his parents. He adopted those beliefs, and became a regular churchgoer during his time at Watford.

On 30 January 2002, Carlisle was awarded the accolade of "Britain's Brainiest Footballer" in a television quiz. Carlisle appeared as a contestant on the Channel 4 game show Countdown on 24 February 2010, winning his first match against the defending champion to stay on the show for the following programme. Carlisle then won his second contest, achieving a larger score than the previous day to stay on for another match. In his third match on 26 February 2010, he was defeated by three points.

He was banned from driving for one year and eight months and fined £2,365 after pleading guilty of drink driving at Bury Magistrates Court on 11 October 2011.

On the morning of 22 December 2014, Carlisle was hit by a lorry on the A64 near Bishopthorpe, North Yorkshire, and was airlifted to Leeds General Infirmary having suffered cuts, bruises, internal bleeding, a broken rib and a shattered left knee. He had surgery soon after and his wife reported that he was "very poorly" but "alive and stable". Burnley and Liverpool supporters performed a minute's applause in support of Carlisle starting in the fifth minute of their match on 26 December 2014, in reference to Carlisle wearing the number five shirt for Burnley. On 30 December 2014, it was announced that Carlisle was charged with a drink-driving offence on 20 December 2014. He appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court on 20 January 2015.

Carlisle and his wife Gemma separated in early 2015 over his depression and recent suicide attempt.

On 15 September 2017, Carlisle was reported missing, having last been seen earlier that day in Manchester city centre. That evening, Preston police reported that he had been found safe in Liverpool. He later explained that he was intent on taking his own life that day and was deciding how to do so. Some nearby people intervened and kept him from hurting himself.

He and his wife Carrie (née Armstrong), a TV presenter and columnist, are mental health advocates.

Career statistics

Honours Queens Park Rangers Football League Second Division runners-up: 2003–04

Burnley Football League Championship play-offs: 2008–09