Samuel Gary Clingan (born 13 January 1984) is a Northern Irish former international footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Club career Early career 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. Nottingham Forest 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. Clingan joined Forest on 23 January for an undisclosed fee. He made 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, with manager Colin Calderwood stating he hoped Clingan would re-sign. He rejected the offer from Forest amid interest from Championship rivals QPR, Ipswich Town and Norwich City. Norwich City On 17 June 2008, he agreed to join Norwich City when his Forest contract expired. He signed a two-year deal and was 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. In March, Clingan was soon appointed as Norwich City's vice captain, following Gary Doherty promotion as captain. In the January transfer window, Clingan revealed that Premier League side Fulham tried to