In a year that has already brought the deaths of several former England international footballers, the list lengthened further on Sunday when it was announced goalkeeper Ray Clemence had died from prostate cancer at the age of 72.
An assured presence behind his defence, whether playing for club or country, Clemence was one of the most decorated players in the English game, collecting a dizzying amount of medals in a 14-year term with Liverpool. He went on to win a few more during seven years spent at Spurs, also winning 61 England caps.
Always a fastidious trainer during his twenty year playing career, Clemence would later impress his renowned attributes of positional sense, agility and concentration on later England incumbents, this while serving as goalkeeping coach to the national team.
Born in Skegness, Clemence signed professional forms at sixteen with third division Scunthorpe United in 1964, making 48 first team appearances before being signed by Liverpool boss Bill Shankly for £18,000 in June 1967.
Serving as understudy to Tommy Lawrence for three seasons, his first team breakthrough coincided with Liverpool reaching the 1971 FA Cup Final – and despite being on the losing side as Arsenal clinched the League and FA Cup double, as the decade unfolded Clemence found mostly winners medals coming his way.
What followed were league title triumphs in 1972-73, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1978-79 and 1979-80, victory in the 1974 FA Cup Final, with another runners-up medal in 1977 – a season that would also see Liverpool win the European Cup for the first time, Clemence also present when they became champions of Europe in 1978 and 1981.
There were also League Cup, Charity Shield, UEFA Cup and European Super Cup triumphs, such being their dominance of English football in winning the Championship in 1979 they let in only 15 goals – Clemence conceding just four times in the entire season at Anfield, both of which set records in the 42-match first division format.
The 1981 European Cup Final victory over Real Madrid in Paris would prove the last of his 665 matches for Liverpool (in eleven seasons he missed only six competitive first team matches) – and with Bruce Grobbelaar waiting in the wings, Clemence was sold to Tottenham Hotspur for £300,000 in the summer of 1981.
In his first season they would lose to Liverpool in the League Cup Final, but Clemence collected his second FA Cup winners medal when they returned to Wembley a few months later to defeat Queens Park Rangers, lifting the trophy after a replay.
Clemence was a substitute when Spurs won the UEFA Cup in 1984, but back in the team when they suffered a 1987 FA Cup Final defeat to Coventry – becoming one of only a handful of players to play in five or more FA Cup Finals.
The last major occasion of his playing career, Clemence, by now suffering with a persistent knee injury, retired at the end of the 1987-88 season, whereupon he joined the Tottenham coaching staff.
For a goalkeeper of such standing his international career was a somewhat curious affair, not only taking place during a mostly lean period for England, but years when he was used in rotation with Peter Shilton.
With little to choose between them, Clemence was first capped by Sir Alf Ramsey in 1972. Failure to qualify for the World Cups of 1974 and 1978 denied him the chance of appearing in the final stages of the competition – Shilton ensconced as first choice by the time England qualified for the 1982 World Cup, Clemence in the squad but not picked to start any games.
Due to the strict alternation policy adopted by Ron Greenwood in the early stages of his reign as manager, Clemence was selected for two of the three matches England played at the 1980 European Championships. Twelve months later he had the distinction of being the first goalkeeper to captain England (leading out the side for a friendly against Brazil) since Frank Swift 33 years before. Clemence won his last international cap under Bobby Robson against Luxembourg in November 1983.
His coaching career, that also included a spell as manager of Barnet, eventually led to a place on the staff of Glenn Hoddle following his appointment as England manager in 1996 – Clemence continuing in the role of goalkeeping coach under former Liverpool team-mate Kevin Keegan, then Sven-Goran Eriksson and Steve McClaren.
European Cup Final…….
Replaced by Franco Tancredi when Fabio Capello became England boss, Clemence took the post of Head of Player Development with the FA, but resumed his previous position when Roy Hodgson became England manager, fulfilling the duties until retiring in 2013.
After a playing career spent at Tottenham, Birmingham City and Leicester City, son Stephen went into coaching and is currently first team coach at Newcastle United.
For a generation of football watchers the most enduring image of Ray Clemence will be of him organising the Liverpool defence at any given point of the 70s – his unflappable temperament almost as much part of their success as technical ability and tactical discipline.
Like Shilton, Pat Jennings and Peter Bonetti, there was nothing overstated or flashy about the way Clemence performed – this a time when team-mates did not mob their custodian on making an impressive save, such things acknowledged by a nod or approving glance from defenders, the goalkeeper doing merely what was expected of him.
Ray Clemence did this as well as any.
NEIL SAMBROOK is the author of ‘MONTY’S DOUBLE‘ – an acclaimed thriller available as an Amazon Kindle book.
Another well documented read. RIP Clem
Hi Steve – hope you well;
Thanks for the endorsement – and sentiments echoed with regard to the great Ray Clemence.
Be safe and well.
Regards
Neil