Born in Wallsend, North Tyneside, Lee Clark was a text-book Newcastle United midfielder who worked his way through the youth system and eventually established himself as a first-team player for the club he had supported all his life. Yet shockingly in 1997, Clark moved to Newcastle's local rivals, First Division club Sunderland, where he would make 74 appearances and play a big part in their 1999 promotion to the Premier League. However, during the 1999 FA Cup Final the midfielder was spotted with the Newcastle fans wearing a t-shirt with the slogan "Sad Mackem B*stards". He was immediately dropped from the team, and never played for Sunderland again.