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Tue 22 February 2022 | 20:29

Top facts about Ray Clemence, Liverpool’s legendary keeper

The shining star of Liverpool was once the toughest problem for Liverpool opponents to overcome, and today supporters can't get enough of the memories of his fantastic performance on the field; welcome to top facts about Ray Clemence, Liverpool’s legendary keeper.

Raymond Neal Clemence, MBE, was a goalkeeper for England and a member of the Liverpool squad in the 1970s.

The first fact of top facts about Ray Clemence is that he is one of just 31 players in football history to have made over 1,000 appearances, and he holds the record for most clean sheets (460). With Liverpool, he won three European Cups, five League crowns, two UEFA Cups, a UEFA Super Cup, an FA Cup, and a League Cup, with his last appearance in the 1981 European Cup Final.

He was formerly a member of the England senior team's backroom staff and served as the head of the FA Development Team, managing the development of players in the England young teams from under-16 to under-21.

A brief but complete review of top facts about Ray Clemence, Liverpool’s legendary keeper

In this article of top facts about Ray Clemence, we have brought our digging tools from the tool shed just to dig deep into the roots of the story of this legendary Liverpool goalkeeper and extract whatever we can find from his successful life and career.

Thus, stay with us as we try to uncover some of the rarest

top facts about Ray Clemence

.

Ray Clemence information

We want you to construct a firm foundation for the future portions of top facts about Ray Clemence by starting with the most fundamental information you can uncover about the keeper. Furthermore, for those who are unfamiliar with the hero of our story, it is preferable to learn about the athlete first before diving into the story.

Personal information

  • Full name:

    Raymond Neal Clemence

  • Date of birth:

    5 August 1948

  • Date of death:

    15 November 2020

  • Aged:

    72

  • Nationality:

    English

  • Place of birth:

    Corby, Northamptonshire, England

  • Marital status:

    Married

  • Religion:

    Christianity

Football information

  • Position:

    Goalkeeper

  • Last team played for:

    Tottenham Hotspur

  • Total appearances:

    Over 1000

  • Club appearances:

    665

  • National appearances:

    61

Physical stats and appearance

  • Height:

    1.83 m

  • Hair color:

    Brown

  • Skin color:

    White

  • Facial hair:

    Clean

Now that you've discovered everything basic there is to know about Ray Clemence, we can go on to the next segment of the

top facts about Ray Clemence

 article, which will delve further into the details and repercussions of everything you've learned so far.

Ray Clemence early life and career

This part of top facts about Ray Clemence is where the story of one of the

best goalkeepers England ever had to offer

begins.

Clemence, who was born in Skegness, Lincolnshire, played eight games for Notts County on trial but was not signed by the Meadow Lane club. Scunthorpe United discovered him while he was playing for his local youth team Skegness Cosmos in a county cup final at their Old Showground facility.

Clemence was asked to official tryouts with "The Iron" after shining in the Cosmos' 4-3 triumph. He passed. On his 17th birthday, 5 August 1965, Clemence signed professional contracts with Scunthorpe United, just before the commencement of the club's 1965–66 Third Division season.

Despite starting out with the club's 'third team,' Clemence's big break came later in his first season when he made his professional debut in a 1-1 draw against Swansea Town at home on April 2, 1966.

Clemence resided with Mrs. Ruby Duce of King Edward Street in Scunthorpe throughout his tenure at the club, in the same flats that would later be rented by Ray's future England and Liverpool colleague

Kevin Keegan

after Clemence's move to Liverpool.

Ray Clemence Liverpool career

And finally, the highlight of his career comes in this section of top facts about Ray Clemence.

Clemence was bought from Scunthorpe United for £18,000 by Liverpool manager Bill Shankly on June 24, 1967. On September 25, 1968, he made his debut and preserved his first clean sheet in a League Cup third-round fixture at Anfield against Swansea Town, who were defeated 2–0.

Over the next two years, he progressed through the reserve team, with the occasional senior appearance, until 1970, when he became the club's first-choice goalkeeper.

Clemence performed well in the FA Cup Final in 1971, but Arsenal scored twice in extra time to overturn Liverpool's advantage and win the game 2–1.

Two seasons later, in 1973, Clemence would be ecstatic when Liverpool won both the League and the UEFA Cup, with Clemence saving a penalty in the latter's final against

Borussia Mönchengladbach

. Because of the penalty save, Liverpool went to Germany with a 3–0 lead rather than a 3–1 advantage.

Liverpool won the League Cup and the European Cup for the third time in 1981, the latter with a 1–0 triumph against

Real Madrid

in a drab match at the Parc des Princes on May 27. Clemence's last game for the club turned out to be this one.

For the first time in eleven years (during which time he played in over 650 matches and missed only six), Clemence's place in the team was jeopardized by the development of Bruce Grobbelaar, and he opted to leave Liverpool for Tottenham Hotspur for a cost of £300,000.

Ray Clemence net worth

No exact amount has been verified as Ray Clemence net worth but it is estimated by various websites that this ex-player has amassed somewhere near 1 million dollars to this day and has left it to his family after his death.

Ray Clemence personal life

Let’s see what we can find in his personal life, although it seems that Ray was protective over his personal life matters, some information can still be recovered from the interviews and documents, about which we will talk in this section of top facts about Ray Clemence.

Clemence was awarded an MBE for services to football in the 1987 Birthday Honors. Stephen, his son, was a midfielder who progressed through the ranks at Spurs and Birmingham City until retiring from Leicester City in 2010 due to injury.

Under Steve Bruce, he is presently the first-team coach of Newcastle United. Sarah, Clemence's daughter, is married to Dougie Freedman, a former Crystal Palace, and Nottingham Forest manager who once played for Scotland.

Clemence confirmed in February 2005 that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and will be out of the England team while undergoing treatment. He was Eriksson's second staff member to be diagnosed with prostate cancer; Brian Kidd had been diagnosed with the condition before

Euro 2004

.

Ray Clemence son

Let us deviate from the main topic of

top facts about Ray Clemence

and talk about his son, Stephen Clemence. Stephen Neal Clemence is an English football coach and former midfielder who played in the Premier League and English Football League for approximately 250 matches. In 2022, he was named assistant manager of West Bromwich Albion.

Clemence began his professional career at

Tottenham Hotspur

, where he played for six years but was never a regular first-team member.

At the under-21 level, he was capped once for England. In 2003, he went to Birmingham City, where he was named player of the season in 2006–07, before signing with Leicester City at the end of the season.

Clemence was a prone-to-injury athlete who was recognized for his enthusiasm, desire, leadership, and devotion on the field. In his career, he experienced a number of long-term injuries, the worst of which was a damaged heel while at Leicester, which forced him to retire after 18 months on the sidelines.

After retiring, he joined the coaching staff at Sunderland before joining Steve Bruce at Aston Villa,

Sheffield Wednesday

, Newcastle United, and West Bromwich Albion as a first-team coach or assistant manager.

Ray Clemence son-in-law

Ray’s family is connected to football from all sides, it almost feels like they have engulfed themselves with football. Sarah, Clemence's daughter, is married to Dougie Freedman, a former Crystal Palace, and Nottingham Forest manager who once played for Scotland.

Douglas Alan Freedman is a former player and manager in the Scottish professional football league.

He has been the sports director of Crystal Palace since December 2019. Freedman was mostly a striker with Crystal Palace, although he also had time at Queens Park Rangers, Barnet,

Wolverhampton Wanderers

, Nottingham Forest, Leeds United, and Southend United.

Freedman earned two caps for Scotland, scoring one goal in a 2002 World Cup qualifier against Latvia.

In 2011, Freedman began his managing career at

Crystal Palace

. In 2012, he joined fellow Championship team Bolton Wanderers but left in October 2014. In February 2015, he was appointed manager of Nottingham Forest, with whom he parted ways in March 2016.

Ray Clemence death and tribute

Fans of both Liverpool and Tottenham hold Clemence in high regard. He was named No. 11 in the 100 Players Who Shook The Kop survey on the Liverpool Football Club website, and he was also the highest-ranking goalkeeper.

He was also named goalkeeper on the BBC's 20th-century Merseyside team, and he came out on top in Total Football's vote as the finest ever goalkeeper, defeating out players like Peter Shilton, Lev Yashin, Gordon Banks, and Pat Jennings.

Clemence passed away on November 15, 2020.

The ex-England international, who died at the age of 72, had a private family service. Since 2005, Clemence had been battling severe prostate cancer.

"Ray Clemence, our dear colleague, and friend, passed away today. In a really poignant service, all of the Spurs legends paid respect to a fantastic man "Ossie Ardiles, a former teammate, posted on Twitter.

"His wonderful family and friends are in our thoughts and prayers. Raymondo, we will miss you... RIP."

Graham Roberts, another teammate, tweeted: "Ray Clemence's family has done him proud; the service was absolutely lovely, and Vee, Stephen, Julie, and Sarah, you should be extremely proud of yourselves; your father was truly unique, and I shall miss him. I felt tears in my eyes as I read this. RIP Clem."

Following Clemence's death last month, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp praised him as a "great player and a lovely guy."

"This is a really sad time for everyone affiliated with Liverpool FC, and we, as the present team and management, express our heartfelt condolences to the family," Klopp stated.

Ray Clemence daughter tribute

It was expected that the daughter of this legendary goalkeeper will send emotional posts on social media regarding her dad's death.

Following the football legend's death, Ray Clemence's daughter wrote an emotional social media homage to her father.

After battling sickness, the former goalkeeper and England coach died at the age of 72, with condolences flooding in for the ex-Liverpool and Tottenham shot-stopper even before his death was known.

Julie Davis, Clemence's daughter, shared a film of some of her father's most prized images and videos with his family, expressing her pride in him. 'This morning heaven acquired an Angel... My Dad fought his best battle to the end but he's finally at rest,' stated the tweet.

Thank you for reading our top facts about Ray Clemence article, we will also much appreciate it if you share this article with your football lover friends so they can also expand their knowledge about this legendary player. 

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