Talk:Paul Clarke (Scottish footballer)

BRD
It is a matter of fact that Kilmarnock were part-time professional (or "semi-professional" if preferred) during Clarke's time with the club. I am not sure how this can be credibly disputed, since Clarke himself has confirmed it in the source used in the article: [https://www.killiefc.com/former-players-c-f/paul-clarke "Do you feel that full time football would have made Killie a force?" "Who knows? The money just wasn't there."] Is there some sort of Wikipedia convention I'm not aware of where we pretend part-time Scottish footballers (historically in the majority) were full-time? Bring back Daz Sampson (talk) 17:45, 9 January 2021 (UTC)
 * I don't think you can accurately claim that the team was not professional for such a long period of time based on potentially ambiguous comments in an interview with one of their players. The source certainly does not support the claim that every player was a part timer for the full duration as you have tried to add... GiantSnowman 18:17, 9 January 2021 (UTC)
 * He literally says that they were not full-time because the money wasn't there? I don't see how it could be any clearer - what part of that do you think is ambiguous? Do you have any sources to suggest Kilmarnock were full-time during this period? Bring back Daz Sampson (talk) 18:49, 9 January 2021 (UTC)
 * A brief throwaway/passing comment - not enough to base such grandiose claims on. GiantSnowman 18:54, 9 January 2021 (UTC)
 * We know that Kilmarnock reverted to part-time status in 1968. And that in 1989 the club were relegated to the third tier, but investment from a new board of directors allowed the club to sign Tommy Burns from Celtic as the club's only full-time player that December. Again, do you have any sources to suggest the club had any players training full-time during the period Clarke was there? His interview also includes these exchanges:

"Walter McCrae signed me just as the full-time era at Kilmarnock was coming to an end".

"life couldn't be better…football and a job (the good old days)!"

"although playing for Killie for ten years was an honour it would have been nice to try full time football"

"Given the opportunity, I felt I could have been a better player if I'd been full time."

Bring back Daz Sampson (talk) 19:29, 9 January 2021 (UTC)


 * You cannot use an interview with one player for a fan website to make such a significant comment about a club. GiantSnowman 13:28, 16 January 2021 (UTC)