Full name Stephen Neal Clemence Years Team Parents Ray Clemence Name Stephen Clemence | Playing position Role Football player Height 1.80 m Siblings Sarah Clemence | |
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Date of birth (1978-03-31) 31 March 1978 (age 37) Profiles | ||
Interview first team coach stephen clemence on pre season 12 07 16
Stephen Neal Clemence (born 31 March 1978) is a retired English football midfielder who last played for Leicester City where he was team captain.
Contents
- Interview first team coach stephen clemence on pre season 12 07 16
- Exeter city v the tigers reaction with stephen clemence 23 08 16
- Tottenham Hotspur
- Birmingham City
- Leicester City
- After playing
- International career
- Personal life
- Honours
- Career statistics
- References
Clemence began his career with Tottenham Hotspur, where he spent six years as a professional, but never established himself as a regular first-team player. He was capped once for England at under-21 level. He moved on to Birmingham City in 2003, where he was chosen player of the 2006–07 season, at the end of which he signed for Leicester City. An injury prone player, Clemence was well known for his passion, drive, leadership and commitment on the pitch. He suffered a series of long-term injuries in his career, the worst being a damaged heel while at Leicester, which brought his career to an end after 18 months on the sidelines. After retirement he joined the coaching staff at Sunderland before moving to Hull City as reserve team manager and as first team coach and then Aston Villa as first team coach.
Exeter city v the tigers reaction with stephen clemence 23 08 16
Tottenham Hotspur
The first team Clemence played for was Tottenham Hotspur, for whom he made his debut against Manchester United on 10 August 1997, a match Tottenham lost 0–2. His season was cut much shorter by a four-day spell in February 1998, during which time Clemence picked up a red card against Barnsley. He involved himself to a greater degree the following season, displaying more of the form which won him a place in the England U21 side. He scored three times during his spell at Spurs, his first coming in the 1997–98 FA Cup against Fulham, followed by two league goals against Derby County and Sunderland. Despite not being part of Tottenham's squad for the 1999 Football League Cup Final he made three appearances during their victorious League Cup campaign.
Clemence's injury woes started when he suffered a torn medial ligament in his left knee, following a collision with Blackburn Rovers midfielder Garry Flitcroft in a match at Ewood Park in August 2001. His injury required surgery and was thought he would be out for three months. However, despite clocking a few hours of football in the reserves, Clemence was injured for 13 months. It was not until October 2002 that he resumed training. When he recovered in November, Luton Town manager Joe Kinnear was interested in signing him on loan.
Injury during the 2001–02 season meant he did not play until April. In the 12 months before and during the 2002–03 season, Clemence suffered a total of three major injuries. In what turned out to be his last season at Tottenham, Clemence played only once in a 2–1 League Cup defeat to Burnley on 6 November 2002, in which he picked up an injury knock to his calf.
Birmingham City
When the transfer window opened in January 2003, Birmingham City agreed a fee believed to be in the region of £1.3 million for Clemence. He joined Birmingham City for a fee of £900,000 on 10 January, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract. He made his debut in a 4–0 defeat to Arsenal at St Andrew's on 12 January 2003.
In July 2003, Birmingham City participated in the Premier League Asia Trophy in Kuala Lumpur, losing out on the final but beating Malaysia 4–0 for third place, with Clemence scoring the third goal. Injury struck again in the 2003–04 season, meaning that once again he had to sit several games out. He also found himself competing with David Dunn and Robbie Savage for a central midfield spot. Nonetheless, he finished the season by making his 50th appearance for the club.
In the 2004–05 season, Clemence's first team chances were again in the balance when the club signed Muzzy Izzet, but stated he would fight for his place in the team. In the 2005–06 season, the club opened talks with Clemence in May 2005, and he signed a new three-year contract on 14 October. Clemence suffered a calf problem in a 1–0 defeat to Aston Villa on 16 October 2005. On 4 April 2006, Clemence suffered a torn hamstring in a 1–0 win over Bolton Wanderers on 4 April 2006, sidelining him for the remainder of the season while Birmingham were relegated from the Premier League.
He contemplated leaving the club after being dropped twice in 2006–07, but later became an integral part of the team, helping the club win promotion back to the Premier League. For his contributions, Clemence was named the club's player of the year and players' player of the year awards that season. He played his last match for Birmingham in a 1–0 defeat to Preston North End on 6 May 2007, missing out on the Championship title.
In July 2007, he was linked with a move to Charlton Athletic in a £500,000 bid. Southampton were also believed to be monitoring him, while Leicester City were planning on a double signing with teammate DJ Campbell. These transfer rumours arose after then-manager Steve Bruce told Clemence he could not guarantee him first team football.
Leicester City
On 9 July, Leicester City made an offer for Clemence, which Birmingham rejected, demanding an increased bid for the player. On 13 July 2007, Clemence signed a three-year contract with Leicester for an initial £750,000, in a deal which could be worth £1,000,000. Birmingham teammate DJ Campbell joined him at the club seven days later. Clemence was named the new team captain on 28 July, and was picked by the BBC as Leicester's key player for the 2007–08 season. Clemence later admitted in July 2009 that "when [then-manager] Martin Allen was here, we didn't have a settled team and we were not sure if our jobs were safe."
He made his debut in a 1–0 defeat to Blackpool at the Walkers Stadium on 11 August 2007. Clemence scored his first goal for Leicester in a 3–2 League Cup win over Nottingham Forest on 18 September, and his second in a 1–1 draw against Charlton Athletic on 29 December. He suffered a calf strain in January 2008, followed by a thigh injury in early March, though he was sidelined for only a short while. On 29 March however, Clemence suffered a torn calf muscle in a 1–0 win over Scunthorpe United, just a week prior to the end of the season as Leicester were relegated from the Championship. It would be his final competitive match of his career.
Clemence underwent an operation in April and was expected to recover in time for pre-season training. However, he suffered complications following surgery on his Achilles' heel. As a result, Clemence played no part in the 2008–09 season, while vice-captain Matthew Oakley took over the armband and helped the club regain promotion from League One. He had a second operation in October 2008, in which the surgeon had to take the Achilles off the heel-bone, clean it and then sew it back on. He also shaved some of the bone off the heel. As of July 2009, Clemence was yet to recover from his heel injury, an ordeal he considered "tough to deal with mentally because this is the longest time I've had out of the game."
He marked his return to action in a 3–1 win over Derby County reserves on 8 September 2009, playing for 30 minutes as a substitute. He played his first full game in a 1–0 win over Barwell reserves on 13 October 2009, scoring the match-winning penalty. Manager Nigel Pearson, however, said on 26 November that Clemence would not be rushed back into the first team, adding he wanted him to be "absolutely spot on" before returning. He returned to training intermittently with the squad in early December. On Easter Monday 2010 however, Clemence announced his retirement from football after failing to fully recover from his heel injury. He was released by Leicester on 17 May 2010.
After playing
In the summer of 2010, Clemence joined Steve Bruce's coaching staff at Sunderland as a development coach with the reserve team. Bruce was the manager who signed him for Birmingham City.
On 29 June 2012 it was announced that Clemence had taken up the post of reserve team manager and first team coach at Hull City, again under Steve Bruce.
On 13 October 2016 Clemence left Hull City and reunited with Bruce again at Aston Villa to become first team coach.
International career
Clemence is a former England U21 player, earning just one cap in his career. He was eligible to play for Northern Ireland through his Northern Ireland-born grandmother. Clemence however, rejected the chance to represent the country in May and July 2004, a decision which then-manager Lawrie Sanchez said he would "respect." Sanchez did ask Clemence to reconsider in October 2006, but he never represented a national team at senior level.
Personal life
Clemence was born in Liverpool. He is the son of England international goalkeeper Ray Clemence, who was then a Liverpool player. In 2003, he married model and actress Angela Saunders. Their first son, Jack, was born on 5 February 2005. His wife gave birth to their second child, Sadie, on 20 April 2007. He married actress Suzanne Clemence (nee Collins) (actress) on 4 June 2017 who has previously played Nikki Shadwick in TV show Brookside When asked to name a favourite book as part of a 2005 scheme to promote reading, organised by the National Literacy Trust in conjunction with the Premier League, Clemence chose The Twits by Roald Dahl, which he had enjoyed as a child.
Clemence is the brother-in-law of Nottingham Forest manager Dougie Freedman, married to his sister Sarah, and of golfer Brian Davis, married to Julie.
On 21 November 2004, Clemence and Birmingham City teammate Dwight Yorke had two Blackburn Rovers supporters arrested by police for racist abuse in a 3–3 draw at Ewood Park, before pressing charges against them.
Honours
Tottenham Hotspur
Birmingham City
Career statistics
Correct as of 18 April 2009