Bio:
Ray Clemence was signed by Liverpool manager Bill Shankly on 24 June 1967 from Scunthorpe United for a fee of £18,000. He made his debut and kept his first clean sheet in a League Cup third round tie at Anfield on 25 September 1968, Swansea Town were the visitors and were beaten 2–0. He was nurtured through the reserve side over the next two years, with the occasional senior appearance, until 1970, at which point he became the club’s first choice goalkeeper.
In 1971 Liverpool reached the FA Cup Final, where Clemence played well but Arsenal scored twice in extra time to overcome Liverpool’s lead and win the game 2–1. There would be joy for Clemence two seasons later in 1973 when Liverpool won both the League title and UEFA Cup, with Clemence saving a penalty in the final of the latter against Borussia Mönchengladbach. The penalty save meant that Liverpool took a 3–0 lead to Germany with them, rather than 3–1. Gladbach won 2–0 at home, had Jupp Heynckes scored the penalty, then with the same second-leg result the tie would have finished 3–3 on aggregate, and Borussia Mönchengladbach would have won on the away goals rule. The 1973–74 season saw Liverpool claim yet more silverware winning the FA Cup with a comprehensive 3–0 victory over Newcastle United.
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 FA Cup final 2-1 to rivals Manchester United. A few days later, Liverpool won the European Cup for the first time in Rome, defeating Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1. In the second half Clemence made a magnificent save against Uli Stielike when the score was 1–1.
Liverpool retained the European Cup in 1978 with a narrow 1–0 win over Club Brugge at Wembley, but conceded their League title to Nottingham Forest, to whom they also lost in the League Cup final. In 1979 and 1980, Clemence kept goal as Liverpool clinched the League title in each season. The 1978–79 League success saw Clemence set a record that was never beaten under the two points for a win system, conceding only 16 goals in the 42 league matches (and just 4 at Anfield). This remarkable record remains for a 42-match season and endured until beaten in the 2004–05 season by Chelsea, who conceded 15 goals in the 38 League matches.
In 1981 Liverpool won the League Cup, and for the third time the European Cup, the latter with a 1–0 win over Real Madrid in a dour contest at the Parc des Princes on 27 May. It turned out to be Clemence’s last game for the club.
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.
Factfile:
- Full Name: Raymond Neal Clemence
- Position: Goalkeeper
- Date of Birth: 05.08.1948
- Birthplace: Skegness
- Nation: England
- Club Career: Liverpool
- Period: 1967-1981
- League Games, 470
- League Goals, 0
- Previous Club: Scunthorpe United
- Transfer Fee: £18.000
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