| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Samuel Clingan | ||
| Date of birth | 13 January 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Belfast, Northern Ireland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Coventry City | ||
| Number | 4 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2001–2003 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2003–2006 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | → Chesterfield (loan) | 15 | (2) |
| 2005–2006 | → Chesterfield (loan) | 21 | (1) |
| 2006–2008 | Nottingham Forest | 85 | (1) |
| 2008–2009 | Norwich City | 40 | (6) |
| 2009– | Coventry City | 76 | (6) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2006– | Northern Ireland | 25 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:54, 29 October 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Samuel "Sammy" Clingan (born 13 January 1984 in Belfast) is a Northern Irish international footballer who is currently the club captain of Coventry City.
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Clingan began his career in August 2001 as a youth trainee at Wolverhampton Wanderers. He was captain of the Wolves reserves in 2003–04, but never broke into the first team – although twice being an unused substitute during their Premier League campaign of that year – and was loaned out to Chesterfield on two occasions to gain experience. Between October 2004 and January 2006, he played 29 times for the Spireites and scored three goals – quickly becoming a fans' favourite.
In early 2006, Nottingham Forest confirmed their interest in him. The original deal fell through because of the existing loan deal with Chesterfield, but when his loan period ended on 15 January, Forest made a second bid. Despite the player's wish to remain at Chesterfield, the club were unable to match the offer, and Clingan joined Forest on the 23rd for an undisclosed fee, making his debut in a 2–0 defeat to Barnsley.
Clingan had been a regular in the Forest side in 2006–07 but sustained a broken ankle during a 5–1 victory over Huddersfield Town in early March 2007, sidelining him for the rest of the season. He returned fit for the next campaign and got his first goal for the Reds after 22 months and 59 games, with a 22-yard free-kick in a 2–0 win over Crewe on 24 November 2007. The season ended with Forest gaining automatic promotion to the Championship.
Clingan was offered a new deal by the club at the end of the season, which he rejected. He was attracting interest from Championship rivals QPR, Ipswich and Norwich.
On 17 June 2008 he agreed to join Norwich City when his Forest contract expired, consequently signing a two-year deal, becoming Glenn Roeder's first summer signing. During the 2008–09 season, Clingan became the club's established penalty taker, scoring all four spot-kicks he took. His other goals were an impressive free-kick in a 1–1 draw away to Birmingham City and a similar effort in the final day 4–2 defeat to Charlton Athletic which sealed the club's relegation to League One. Since Norwich were relegated, Clingan had been linked with a move to Championship side Coventry City.
After a protracted transfer saga in the summer transfer window, Clingan signed for Coventry City on 24 July 2009, signing a 3 year deal for an undisclosed fee. He was happy to move to a Championship club.[1] In the summer between the 2010/11 season and 2011/12 due to the departures of Keiren Westwood, Marlon King and Lee Carsley, Sammy Clingan was announced as club captain.
Clingan has represented Northern Ireland at Under 17, Under 19 and Under 21 levels. He gained six Under 21 caps and captained the side. He made his senior debut at the Giants Stadium in New York against Uruguay during Northern Ireland's two-game tour of the USA in May 2006.
His first competitive senior cap came in the 3–0 home defeat by Iceland on 2 September 2006, in the first match of the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, and he has remained a fixture in the side since then, missing only two matches in the campaign through injury. His free kick set up David Healy's second goal in the 3–2 home victory over Spain on 6 September 2006, and he was named man of the match by the BBC commentary team in the 2–1 home victory over Denmark on 17 November 2007.
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