Ray Clemence
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Raymond Neal Clemence[1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | 5 August 1948||
Place of birth | Skegness, Lincolnshire, England[2] | ||
Date of death | 15 November 2020 | (aged 72)||
Place of death | Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England | ||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[3] | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
Youth career | |||
Notts County | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1965–1967 | Scunthorpe United | 48 | (0) |
1967–1981 | Liverpool | 470 | (0) |
1981–1988 | Tottenham Hotspur | 240 | (0) |
Total | 758 | (0) | |
International career | |||
1967–1971 |
England U23 | 4 | (0) |
1972–1983 | England | 61 | (0) |
Managerial career | |||
1992–1993 | Tottenham Hotspur (joint with Doug Livermore) | ||
1994–1996 | Barnet | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Raymond Neal Clemence,
After brief spells as joint-manager at Tottenham (alongside Doug Livermore) and sole manager at Barnet in the first half of the 90s, he acted as head of the FA Development Team, overseeing the development made by players in the England youth teams from under-16 to 21 level, having previously been part of the England senior team's backroom staff.[2]
Club career
Scunthorpe United
Born in
Despite initially playing in the club's 'third team',[14] Clemence's big break arrived later in his debut season - making his professional debut in a 1-1 draw at home to Swansea Town on 2 April 1966. Prior to this debut, Clemence remembers a key behind-the-scenes intervention from two Scunthorpe coaches: "Jack Brownsword and Alan Bushby pulled me aside, gave me a pep talk and told me they thought I could play for England one day but 'you've got to work at it'".[14]
Clemence went on to make four appearances in total throughout his debut season,
During his time at the club, Clemence lived with Mrs Ruby Duce of King Edward Street in Scunthorpe; in the very same digs which would then immediately be occupied by Ray's future England and Liverpool teammate Kevin Keegan following Clemence's departure to Liverpool.[18]
After being reintroduced to the side after they had lost their opening three games in all competitions,
And despite Clemence himself worrying that a humiliating 7-1 defeat away to arch-rivals
This run took Clemence's figures to 50 appearances and 12 clean sheets in all competitions for Scunthorpe;[16] but unbeknownst to him, he had been scouted in 12 games by legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly and his coaching staff.[21] This came to fruition later that summer, when Clemence was forced to leave a beachside deckchair-stacking shift early, with the news that an urgent telegram awaited him at home.[16] This was because Liverpool's bid for the now 18-year-old shot-stopper had been accepted, and the Scunthorpe chairman personally drove Clemence to Anfield in his Rolls-Royce the next morning.
Looking back on his time with the club, Clemence fondly recalled how Scunthorpe United was: "A club I'm proud to be associated with. While I was there it was like being part of a family.[14]
Liverpool
Clemence was signed by Liverpool manager
In 1971 Liverpool reached the
Liverpool won another League and UEFA Cup double in 1976 and then made a bid for a unique treble a year later. They achieved the first leg when they won the League title, but lost the
Liverpool retained the European Cup in
In 1981 Liverpool won the
The emergence of Bruce Grobbelaar put Clemence's place in the side under threat for the first time in eleven years (during which period he played in more than 650 matches and missed a mere six), and he decided to leave Liverpool to join Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £300,000.
Tottenham Hotspur
Clemence left Liverpool to join
Clemence's first Tottenham appearance was in the
Spurs won the UEFA Cup in
International career
Clemence was a regular for
Clemence captained England once—the first keeper to do so since Frank Swift.[32] The game in question was a 1981 friendly with Brazil at Wembley, although Clemence couldn't prevent the Brazilians from scoring as England lost 1–0.
Because of injury to his left knee Clemence was retired from international football with 61 England caps in a 12-year international career. The presence of another goalkeeper, Peter Shilton, meant that the England management struggled to decide which keeper was the best, and ended up alternating their selection. Shilton ended up as first choice keeper for the rest of the 1980s, playing in two more World Cups and attaining a record 125 caps.[33]
Coaching career
Management
Clemence retired in 1988 and joined the coaching staff at Spurs, working his way through to the first team, before leaving to become joint manager of Barnet (with fellow goalkeeper Gary Phillips) in January 1994. At the start of the 1994–95 season, he took sole charge leading Barnet to ninth and 13th in Division 3.
England coaching team
In August 1996
He also occasionally worked as a pundit on TV and radio, and commented on current goalkeeping stories in football.[35][36]
In 2013, Clemence retired; being "lavishly saluted", and being bought a gift from the England national team; despite his last appearance at an international level being 30 years earlier.[22]
Personal life and death
Clemence was appointed an MBE in the 1987 Birthday Honours for services to football.[37] His son, Stephen was a midfield player who came through the ranks at Spurs and Birmingham City, before retiring injured from Leicester City in 2010. He was appointed manager of Gillingham in 2023. Clemence's daughter Sarah also has footballing connections, being the wife of former Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest manager and Scotland striker Dougie Freedman.
In February 2005, Clemence announced that he had been diagnosed with
Clemence is held in high regard by both Liverpool and Tottenham fans. He was voted in at No. 11 on the Liverpool Football Club web site poll
International
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
England | 1972 | 1 | 0 |
1973 | 1 | 0 | |
1974 | 4 | 0 | |
1975 | 8 | 0 | |
1976 | 9 | 0 | |
1977 | 9 | 0 | |
1978 | 5 | 0 | |
1979 | 7 | 0 | |
1980 | 7 | 0 | |
1981 | 5 | 0 | |
1982 | 3 | 0 | |
1983 | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 61 | 0 |
Honours
Liverpool
- Football League First Division: 1972–73, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80
- 1973–74
- 1980–81
- FA Charity Shield: 1974, 1976, 1977 (shared), 1979, 1980
- 1980–81
- 1975–76
- European Super Cup: 1977[22]
Tottenham Hotspur
See also
- List of men's footballers with the most official appearances
References
- ^ "Ray Clemence". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Ray Clemence". The FA. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ "Ray Clemence". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ Mason, Peter (16 November 2020). "Ray Clemence obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- ^ "Ray Clemence". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
- ^ Louise Taylor (23 March 2017). "Gianluigi Buffon's 1,000th career game is testament to a beacon of stability". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- ^ James Horncastle (23 March 2017). "Gianluigi Buffon is far from finished after 1,000 games between the posts". ESPN FC. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- ^ Glenn Moore (27 May 2011). "Zanetti, Inter's captain and gentleman, joins the 1,000 matches club". The Independent. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- ^ Wirunhchatapant, Naratorn. "World Football Historic Center: World Record and Statistics". Xtrahistory.blogspot.com. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
- ^ "Liverpool FC deeply saddened by Ray Clemence passing". Liverpool FC. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- ^ Shoot Magazine, 27 August issue, 1977. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
- ^ "18 Holes with Ray Clemence in Dubai | Vidcast #4". YouTube. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
- ^ a b Soccer Monthly, August 1979, Interview with John Keith (Daily Express). Retrieved 3 December 2020.
- ^ a b c Scunthorpe United Football ClubScunthorpe United vs Morecambe and Bolton Wanderers official match programme. 21st-24 November 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
- ^ a b c d Staff, John. (17 October 2012). From Nuts to Iron - The Official History of Scunthorpe United 1899-2012. Yore Publications p236
- ^ ISBN 978-1-9088471-9-5
- ^ LFC Official Matchday Magazine interview. 30 October 2001. Liverpool vs Borussia Dortmund. Retrieved on 3 December 2020.
- ^ Keegan, Kevin. (1977). Kevin Keegan by Kevin Keegan. Arthur Baker Ltd, p54.
- ^ "1966-67 Season Final Football Tables". Englishfootballleaguetables.co.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
- ^ "▶️ Ray Clemence: '7-1 Defeat To Grimsby Town Almost Changed My Career'". Grimsby-townfc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
- ^ "Ray Clemence - Liverpool's finest keeper - LFChistory - Stats galore for Liverpool FC!". Lfchistory.net. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d Winter, Henry (1 November 2013). "Stalwart Clemence quits after 47 years". The Daily Telegraph. pp. S8. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ Hassall, Paul (12 February 2010). "Ray Clemence on Shankly". Liverpool F.C. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ "English League Cup". Soccerbase. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
- ^ Rowland, Chris. "TTT Top 20 Players – Ray Clemence". The Tomkins Times. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- ^ Prentice, David (5 February 2009). "Liverpool FC legend Ray Clemence clean sheets record still a benchmark". The Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- ^ Abbink, Dinant. "Round 3". RSSSF. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
- ^ McIlvanney, Hugh (9 May 1971). "Have a double on George". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- ^ "Goals: Fewest goals conceded in a season (in 42 games or more)". fl125.co.uk. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ISBN 0851127177.
- ^ Mason, Peter. "Ray Clemence obituary". The Guardian. Guardian News & Media Limited. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- ^ "Former England, Liverpool goalkeeper Clemence dies at 72". espn.com. ESPN Enterprises. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- ^ "WHEN PETER SHILTON SET ENGLAND RECORD AGAINST DENMARK". TheFA.com. The FA.
- ^ Wallace, Sam (22 May 2010). "From bootlaces to back rubs...meet the team behind the England team". The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media Limited. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ "Pellegrini coy on Hart involvement". The Express. 1 November 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ Sale, Charles (3 August 2013). "Al Jazeera recruit 25 pundits for new season". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ "No. 50948". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 1987. p. 11.
- ^ "Statement on behalf of the Clemence family". Liverpool F.C. 15 November 2020.
- ^ "Ray Clemence: Former England goalkeeper dies aged 72". BBC Sport. 15 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000381597. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
External links
- Ray Clemence – FIFA competition record (archived)
- Ray Clemence – UEFA competition record (archive)
- Ray Clemence at National-Football-Teams.com
- Official past players at Liverpoolfc.tv
- England coaches at thefa.com
- Profile at Liverweb.org.uk
- Ray Clemence at goalkeepersaredifferent.com
- Ray Clemence at IMDb
- List of great players at truegreats.com
- Player profile at LFChistory.net
- Ray Clemence @ Goalkeeping Greats