Former Premier League footballer Clive Wilson, who once graced the pitches of Manchester City, Chelsea, Queens Park Rangers and Tottenham, has traded his boots for a chalkboard. The versatile midfielder and full-back also had spells at Chester City and Cambridge United before retiring from professional football in 2000.
After hanging up his shoes, he worked for Le Coq Sportif and Ted Baker before deciding to pursue a degree in sports science. This commitment to academics led him to a career in education, and since 2019 he has been teaching PE at Roding Valley High School in Loughton, Essex.
But it’s not just sports that he teaches. He also works as a substitute teacher for math, English, history, and geography.
Earlier this year, Ms Wilson told how she ended up becoming a teacher. “I started working in the field of education in 2008,” he explained. “Strangely enough, I ended up teaching completely by chance. One day I was at the driving range and there was a nice guy there who was a Fulham fan and he recognized me as an ex-footballer and asked me what I was doing.
“He told me about the possibility of teaching, and he suggested that I visit some local schools and look at them without any pressure, just to see what I thought.”
“I went along with it as something that I really needed to eliminate. But it completely backfired and I genuinely thought it was the type of work I would enjoy. I really appreciated his advice on the practice range. I haven’t looked back!”
Mr Wilson, whose two brothers are also teachers, thought his football dreams were gone when he left school at 16 to study electrical work at university.
But his ambitions were reignited when a City scout spotted him playing for Hough End, Manchester’s rival to London’s Hackney Marshes.
He featured for the club’s youth team in the 1980 FA Youth Cup final against Aston Villa, who were runners-up, and made his senior debut in the 1981 League Cup against Stoke City, a 2–0 win. He spent eight years at Maine Road, apart from a short loan spell at Chester, before heading to the capital to join Chelsea.
He said, “I liked the idea of playing for a club in London, but the biggest culture shock was finding somewhere affordable to live!”
“Almost 40 years ago, you could buy a three-bedroom house at a sale for £35,000, and in London you were lucky to buy a garage for it!”
Chelsea were eliminated from the top division that season after losing in the then-existing relegation play-off, and faced second-tier side Middlesbrough in a two-legged decider.
The following season, he regained his form and moved into the former Second Division Championship with 99 points, before moving to Queens Park Rangers.
Manager Jerry Francis converted him to left-back, and he began to emerge as a defender using his speed and distribution skills. Over the next four seasons he was a consistent presence at Rangers, making 172 league appearances and scoring 12 goals, all but one coming from the penalty spot.
He said: “We finished fifth in the first all-new Premier League campaign in 1992-93 and finished in the top half the following season.
“Then Gerry had a falling out with the club over the sale of Les Ferdinand and I think he moved to Tottenham as manager shortly after that.”
In 1995, Wilson was reunited with Francis at White Hart Lane for his final chance to play for one of England’s biggest clubs. After four years at Tottenham, he moved to Cambridge, but due to repeated injuries he decided it was time to retire.
“I loved my time as a player and children often ask me why I became a teacher when I was an elite footballer. There is this notion that elite footballers are always paid well.
“It was a different time in English football, but I was never going to complain about it.”
