The Goalkeeping Way Back Machine: Episode 19…Ray Clemence

I’m going to be biased because I’m a Kop fan at heart, but Liverpool have always had a knack of producing some of the best goalkeepers in England. Ray Clemence resonates some of the best in English goalkeeping, not only at home but possibly in the world. With over 665 games for Liverpool and 314 clean sheets, this veteran played his guts out winning 5 first division championship medals, an FA Cup, 3 European Cups and 2 UEFA Cups, the man has done it all. One of the great things about Clemence’s style of goalkeeping was his ability to use powerful momentum to move off his line and attack the ball…he also has mad sideburns and a toothy grin that would make the Cheshire cat envious.

Another important aspect of Clemence’s style of goalkeeping was his great aerial ability. If you slow down some of his most important penalty saves (for example), you would notice that when he dived he would outstretch and move forward off his line to attack the ball. During the late 70′s and throughout the 80′s, Clemence had to go toe to toe with Bruce Grobbelaar for a Liverpool starting spot, and the great Peter Shilton for the English cap. This testing period showed Clemence’s great goalkeeping ability to be resilient when the going gets tough…something each goalkeeper should scribble into their training diary.

Clemence was one of the only goalkeepers since the great Frank Swift to have captained the English squad against a powerful Brazilian squad (alright it was a friendly, but it is still important!) This showed that goalkeepers can also be effective generals. Leading from the back allows a goalkeeper to help aid their attack and hold their defence in place. Because the goalkeeper has an eagle-eye view of the playing field, they can take the time to communicate their directives up the channel from their back line to their attacking players (if they communicate effectively, of course). Following is a video of the great Ray Clemence in action for Liverpool.