Plymouth Argyle, Wolves loan deal is forgotten stop in 90+ goal career | OneFootball

Leon Clarke failed to deliver during his short-lived time as a Pilgrim

Leon Clarke had so many clubs in his football career, even he has probably forgotten his early stint at Plymouth Argyle.

The forward featured for no fewer than 20 clubs during his playing days, with numerous loans spells sprayed across his CV as he continued to live out of a suitcase across the length and breadth of the country.

From Devon to Derbyshire and London to Lancashire, there were plenty of stops along the striker’s career path, with some proving to be more successful than others.

A five-game stretch at Home Park in 2006 is probably not one he will sit down to tell the grandkids about when the time comes, with neither club nor player getting the best out of the move.

Leon Clarke falls out of favour with Glenn Hoddle at Wolverhampton Wanderers

Months before he made the move to Home Park, Argyle had already unknowingly played a part in Clarke feeling the wrath of everyone at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

With the two sides going head-to-head in an FA Cup tie in January, the striker scored the only goal of the game to send Wolves through to the next round, but celebrated by putting a finger to his lips in front of the home fans [as seen above].

That ill-judged manoeuvre wasn’t taken too well by the Molineux massive, with the relationship between player and supporters failing to rekindle, leading to Glenn Hoddle dropping him from first-team activities.

Speaking to the Birmingham Mail at the time, Wolves skipper Paul Ince said: "I've spoken to Leon and said maybe it was a bit silly to do that and he accepts it was.

“The only way to shut people up is to put the ball in the back of the net and he's done that. That's his answer, and he doesn't need the antics afterwards.

"He's a young lad and all I would ask is for the fans to stick with him. We all make mistakes, even the 11,000 supporters at the game will have done so at some point.

"The last thing you need is some of our own fans booing our centre-forward - it's not good for him or the whole team -and hopefully we can all learn a lesson from what went on.”

But the bridge was one that continued to burn, with Clarke soon shipped off to Queens Park Rangers, before Argyle decided they were suitably impressed by his performance earlier in the season to make him theirs later in the campaign.

Leon Clarke’s short-lived Plymouth Argyle career

With Tony Pulis in the Home Park dugout at the time, Argyle were a brutish side during the 05/06 campaign, with the physical forwards expected to work their socks off up top and give opposing defenders 90 minutes of trouble.

But Clarke seemingly had other ideas, as he failed to make much of an impact during his time in green, with his efforts looking less than satisfactory as he lumbered around up top.

Havng been picked up by the team coach on the way to Preston North End as he made his debut, the forward didn't even know half of his teammates' names as he took to the pitch at Deepdale, something that was evident as he looked disjointed in his role alongside Vincent Pericard.

If his stint in Devon was meant to send a message to those back in the Black Country it most definitely wasn’t working, with the Pilgrims only scoring once while he was on the pitch during his five games with the club.

The end of the season couldn’t come quick enough so Argyle could send Clarke packing, before a career of short-term moves continued, as he got his money’s worth out of his suitcase and travel pillow throughout his playing days.