"I thought I'd better leg it. I remember Mick taking on Bob McNab and Pat Rice, the full back, coming across to cover. As the ball's coming over I'm thinking right-foot volley and I fancy my chances. But when it was about ten yards from me it started to lose pace and I'm thinking it ain't going to get to me. Now you've only got a split second to make up your mind, so I think I better take off. So I did." And that was how Sniffer won the FA Cup for the only time in the club's history.
Simply the best finisher ever seen in a Leeds shirt, with 151 goals to prove it, Clarke was also an outsider, signed for a British transfer record £165,000 from Leicester City having turned down Matt Busby. He was a volatile figure but a defender of Leeds's reputation for dirty deeds. "I'd been on the other side of the fence. I'd been in opposition changing-rooms with the manager saying, 'Try and outfootball this side and they'll destroy you so rough them up a bit.'" The thoroughbred to Mick Jones's high-class workhorse.
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Allan John Clarke | |
| Date of birth | 31 July 1946 (1946-07-31) | |
| Place of birth | Willenhall, England | |
| Playing position | Striker | |
| Senior career1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1963-1966 1966-1968 1968-1969 1969-1978 1978-1980 | Walsall Fulham Leicester City Leeds United Barnsley | 72 (41) 86 (45) 36 (12) 273 (110) 47 (15) |
| National team | ||
| 1970-1976 | England | 19 (10) |
| Teams managed | ||
| 1978-1980 1980-1982 1983-1984 1985-1989 1990 | Barnsley Leeds United Scunthorpe United Barnsley Lincoln City | |
1 Senior club appearances and goals | ||