Ray Clemence dead aged 72: England, Liverpool and Spurs legend passes away
ENGLAND and Liverpool legend Ray Clemence has died at the age of 72.
His family have released a statement after he 'passed away peacefully'.
Clemence leaves behind his wife Veronica, daughters Julie and Sarah and son Stephen, who is a former Tottenham player and current coach at Newcastle.
The Clemence family have released a statement following the deeply sad news of the passing of the Liverpool legend.
It reads: "With great sadness, we write to let you know that Ray Clemence passed away peacefully today, surrounded by his loving family.
"After fighting so hard, for such a long time, he’s now at peace and in no more pain.
"The family would like to say a huge thank you, for all the love and support that he’s received over the years.
"He was loved so much by us all and he will never be forgotten."
The Skegness-born star played for Scunthorpe, Liverpool and Tottenham during an illustrious 23-year career.
During that time he also represented England 61 times, captaining his country.
He famously engaged with fellow Three Lions legend Peter Shilton for the spot between the sticks during the 1980s.
After retiring in 1988 through injury, Clemence joined the Spurs coaching staff.
He managed the senior side along with Doug Livermore in the 1992/93, and also went on to manage Barnet.
But it was his coaching and development roles with England that Clemence will be fondly remembered by.
He joined Glenn Hoddle's team in 1996 as goalkeeping coach, and took up several roles over the years before retiring from football in 2013.
Clemence was an ambassador with Prostate Cancer UK and spoke to the organisation about how he was living with the illness.
He told the organisation back in 2018: "It came out of nothing, really. When I went to the toilet, the flow of urine wasn’t as strong as it used to be and I never felt like I emptied my bladder.
"I was a coach with the England team at the time so I spoke to the physio, and he immediately said I should get a PSA test as I was over 50.
"When you first hear the word ‘cancer’ you think 'oh my God, this is a big problem'. But after that initial shock you think about how you’re going to deal with it.
"I’m very fortunate that I have a very strong wife who has suffered me for 46 years. She knows me inside out and had cancer herself 19 years ago and came through it.
"I also have three fantastic kids, who have always supported me. They’re strong, so I was honest with them from the start and they know everything that’s going on in terms of my treatments."
During his playing career Clemence won five league titles, one FA Cup, one League Cup, three European Cups and two Uefa Cups with Liverpool.
With Spurs he added another FA Cup and another Uefa Cup to his collection.
And the North London club were one of many to post their tributes to Clemence on Sunday.
Tottenham stated: "We are deeply saddened to report the passing of legendary former goalkeeper Ray Clemence.
"We extend our deepest sympathies to Ray's family and many friends throughout the game at this sad time."
The England national team Twitter posted: "We are extremely saddened to learn that former Three Lions goalkeeper and coach Ray Clemence has passed away at the age of 72.
"All of our thoughts are with Ray’s family, friends and former clubs at this time."
Liverpool released a statement that read: "We’re deeply saddened by the passing of one of the greatest-ever goalkeepers, Ray Clemence.
"The thoughts of everyone at Liverpool Football Club are with Ray’s family and many friends. Rest in peace, Ray Clemence 1948-2020."
More to follow…
Source: Read Full Article