Neil Clement

Left-sided defender

Born:	Reading	3rd October 1978		Signed:	5th July 2000	Left:	6 January 2010
Nationality:	England	Height:	6' 0"	From:	Chelsea	To:	Retired
Caps:	None	Weight:	12st 3lbs	Fee:	Ł100,000

Neil Clement played more games for Albion than any other player during the first decade of the 21st century, when Albion were heavily involved in either a promotion or a relegation battle every year. A stylish and positive defender, who played at both left wing-back and in central defence for Albion - and occasionally in midfield - his left-footed free kicks were often a vital weapon in the Baggies' armoury. It was a bitter blow to the side as well as to the player himself when he was forced to retire in January 2010, aged 31, due to injury.

He was the first player ever to be part of three Albion promotion-winning sides.

Born in Reading, Clem spent much of his childhood in Solihull. His father, Dave Clement, made 472 appearances for Queens Park Rangers between 1964 and 1979, and also won five caps for England. He made his debut for QPR in the 1966-7 season, but didn't play in the League Cup final against Albion. By the time of Albion's other famous defeat by QPR, in the semi-final of the FA Cup in 1982, Dave Clement's career was over, and tragically, so was his life; he committed suicide at the age of 34 when he believed his career was over after suffering a serious leg fracture. Neil was just three years old.

Neil Clement was said (on the official Albion website) to have rejected a contract with Wolves as a teenager, and signed instead for Chelsea. He made his debut in the Premiership on 21 December 1996, aged 18, but struggled to get into the side in the subsequent three years. His team-mates on his debut (a 3-1 win over West Ham) included Dan Petrescu, Ruud Gullit, Mark Hughes, Gianfranco Zola, Roberto Di Matteo, and Eddie Newton. Ironically, Di Matteo was Albion's head coach, and Eddie Newton his assistant, when Clem was forced to announce his retirement. The irony is deepened by the fact that Di Matteo was himself forced to retire through injury, also at the age of 31, in 2002.

Clem made two substitute appearances for Chelsea in the League Cup, before going on loan to Reading in November 1998. Reading were in the Second Division at the time, having just been relegated, and Clement was one of an incredible 43 players that they used that season. He made eleven starts, and scored his first senior goal - the equaliser in a 2-1 victory over Lincoln - in his second game for the Royals.

Later that season he had a further loan spell at Preston, where he made four appearances. He might have made more, had he not been sent off in his first game!

2000: Clem becomes an Albion player

In November 1999 he went on loan to Brentford, and in February 2000 he made his fourth and last appearance for Chelsea, in an FA Cup quarter-final victory over Gillingham - as a substitute for John Terry. One month later Clem became one of five players brought in by Gary Megson on or just before transfer deadline day, in a bid to secure Albion's place in the First Division. (The others were Des Lyttle, Tony Butler, Georges Santos and Bob Taylor.) He made his debut two days later, in a 2-1 defeat at Manchester City's Maine Road - as did the other four new arrivals, except of course that in the case of Taylor, this was his second spell with the club. He also played in all of the remaining seven games that season, in which Albion were unbeaten; First Division status was duly saved with a 2-0 victory over champions Charlton Athletic on the final day.

Clem returned to Chelsea at the end of the 1999-2000 season, but in July he came back to Albion on a permanent contract, for a fee of Ł100,000. (Chelsea had been reported to want five times as much). He was a virtual ever-present in Albion's side for the next six years. He missed just one League game in each of his first two seasons, in which we respectively reached the play-offs and were promoted. In each of these two seasons he was our third highest scorer - behind Lee Hughes and Jason Roberts in 2000-1 (with seven goals) and behind Scott Dobie and Danny Dichio in 2001-2 (with eight). His first goal for Albion was the equaliser in a 2-1 victory over Derby County in the League Cup (indirectly from a corner, after Mart Poom fluffed it); this was Albion's first visit to Pride Park, and our first ever victory over a Premiership club.

He also scored a memorable goal in Albion's 3-1 defeat at the Molineux in March 2001, finishing off a powerful solo run with an unstoppable shot. We were already 3-0 down at the time and the result was not in doubt - but at least Clem's goal gave us something to cheer about. (We were pretty sanguine anyway, to be honest - it was the first time they'd beaten us in eight attempts.)

Albion played with three centre-backs in the early part of Gary Megson's reign, and Clem was one of those three - normally alongside Matt Carbon and Tony Butler. He was named as the club's Player of the Year for the 2000-1 season.

It was at the start of his second season with Albion that he switched to wing-back, and around the same time he also began to make his mark as a free-kick specialist. For at least one year, during Lee Hughes' time at Coventry, he was Albion's first choice penalty taker. In September 2001 he scored two of Albion's goals in a 4-0 victory over Manchester City - one from the penalty spot and one direct from a free kick. Later that season, he scored two penalties in the FA Cup: one in the third round at Sunderland, equalising Kevin Phillips' opener (Andy Johnson got the winner), followed by the only goal of the game against Leicester City in the fourth round. But for many Albion fans the pick of his eight goals that season was a stunning 69th-minute equaliser against Wolves at The Hawthorns.

He was named in the PFA's Division One XI for the 2001-2 season, in which Albion ended their 16-year exile from the top flight.

2002: The Premiership

He was not altogether successful in making the step up to the Premiership in 2002, and in particular his trademark forays down the left flank were less productive. He did contribute two goals from free kicks - in home games against Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur - but towards the end of the season he lost his place to loan signing Iffy Udeze.

The arrival of Paul Robinson from Watford in October 2003 was more bad news for Clem. He was restricted to substitute appearances for a while, but he did return to the side later in the season, playing in midfield alongside Jason Koumas, Andy Johnson and Mark Kinsella. Before long however Artim Sakiri began to take preference for the left-midfield role.

That season ended in a second automatic promotion for Albion, and for the opening game of the 2004-5 season, away to Blackburn, Clem was again named in midfield and he was also made captain. He put Albion ahead in the 34th minute with adeflected free kick, but Craig Short later equalised for Blackburn. Next up was Villa at home, and Clem made it two in two with a powerful header from Jonathan Greening's free kick.

Four games later he received the first red card of his Albion career, when he brought down Fulham's Luis Boa Morte on the edge of the box. The Cottagers' Andy Cole was sent off for his reaction to the same incident - which meant that Albion had ten men against nine, as Papa Bouba Diop had already been sent off for pushing Albion captain Darren Purse in the face. Fulham were 1-0 up when Clem and Cole saw red, but Kanu grabbed a late equaliser for Albion.

Back to central defence

In November Clem reverted to left back as cover for Robinson, but his career took on a new direction following a memorable game at the City of Manchester Stadium on the 28th of December 2004. Bryan Robson had made several changes for this game, and Clem had moved back into midfield. When Tommy Gaardsoe was sent off for a professional foul it was Martin Albrechtsen that came on to partner Darren Purse in central defence, and Albion miraculously salvaged a point thanks to a bizzare own goal from City's Richard Dunne. But with Gaardsoe suspended, it was Clem that moved to partner Purse in central defence for the next game; and when Gaardsoe was able to return to the side, it was Purse that made way. So was formed a central defensive partnership between Tommy Gaardsoe and Neil Clement, which saw Albion through to the Great Escape in 2005.

Clem was named as Albion's vice-captain for the 2005-6 season, and took the captain's armband on several occasions in the absence of Kevin Campbell. The season began, as the previous one had finished, with Gaardsoe and Clement as the first-choice central defensive partnership, although Gaardsoe was struggling with a groin injury and would eventually announce his retirement in December. Fortunately for Albion, Curtis Davies arrived right at the end of the summer transfer window and was able to take his place. Clement and Davies played alongside each other for most of the remainder of the season, although Clem began to struggle with an ankle injury towards the end.

2005-6 ended in relegation for Albion, and by the start of the following season the arrival of Paul McShane and Chris Perry meant more competition for Clem. He also struggled yet again with injury for a while. But when Tony Mowbray arrived to replace Bryan Robson, Perry was one of the "old guard" that fell out with him and/or his assistant Mark Venus, in a big way. Steve Watson was another, and this meant that McShane moved to right back and Clem returned to the side to partner Davies in central defence for the early months of 2007. A further injury towards the end of the season meant that Sam Sodje had to be brought in to see Albion through to the end of the season; Clem only returned to the side for the play-off final, which of course ended in disappointment for Albion.

Over the next two seasons Clem struggled with an injury to his left knee. During the 2006-7 season he received two of the three red cards of his Albion career: away to Plymouth, and at home to Sheffield Wednesday. The first was for a second bookable offence and came seconds before the final whistle; the second was a straight red for fighting with Wednesday's Wolverhampton-born striker Leon Clarke, and came two minutes into second half stoppage time. After the latter incident, there was still time for Darren Carter to be shown a second yellow for a late tackle on the same Wednesday player.

Final season

Clem started Albion's first game of the 2007-8 season, away to Burnley, alongside Leon Barnett in central defence. But that was his last appearance for some time as he struggled with the knee injury. In February he went on loan to Hull City in a bid to regain his fitness; he made no small impression there in his five appearances, as the Tigers continued the impressive rise up the table that would eventually end in promotion through the play-offs. Those five appearances included a 5-0 victory over Southampton at the KC Stadium.

Tony Mowbray clearly felt that Clem had done enough to justify a recall, and he was on the Albion subs' bench for the home game against strugglers Colchester United - replacing Bostjan Cesar at half-time with the score at 2-2 (Albion had been 2-0 down after 17 minutes; they eventually struggled to a 4-3 victory). He started the next game, away to Cardiff City, when his man-of-the-match performance alongside Albrechtsen secured his place for the remainder of the season. It was also just in time to win him a second Wembley appearance with Albion, in the FA Cup semi-final against Portsmouth, which (like the play-off final a year earlier) ended in disappointment.

The final game of the season, against his father's club Queens Park Rangers - when Albion secured their first League Championship since 1920 with a 2-0 win - was Clem's 300th competitive appearance for Albion. Sadly it would also be his last, as he suffered an injury to his right knee in the final pre-season friendly of Summer 2008, against Real Mallorca, from which he would never recover.

Albion's official website, in announcing his retirement, said: "Clement ... left no stone unturned in his quest to regain full fitness. He has undergone two knee operations, sought treatment from top specialists as far afield as Germany, and spent countless hours in the gym. [In a] last throw of the dice, [he underwent] a course of pioneering platelet injections in the joint. [But] Clement's consultant has confirmed [that] the treatment has not worked and ... has strongly advised him to hang up his boots."

Clement naturally admitted he was devastated, but went on to say, "The hardest thing to take is that when I got back into the team at the end of the 2007/8 season, I felt I was playing better than ever and coming into my prime - both physically and mentally. So to get this injury the following pre-season - especially on the eve of our return to the Premier League - was a devastating blow."

He expressed a wish to stay in the game - possibly as a physiotherapist - and added: "West Bromwich Albion have been part and parcel of my life for ten years and I want to say a massive thank you to everyone at the club, and of course the fans, for all their support."

Neil Clement was still only 29 when he played his 300th and last game for Albion. His career had already been ravaged by injury. Had he remained fit, he might have reached 500. He would never have been one of Albion's greatest players, but he was indisputably our most loyal, arguably the most consistent, and on his day one of the most effective players, of the decade that he spent with us.

Here is his complete appearance record for Albion, in the three major domestic competitions:

	League					Play-offs					FA Cup					League Cup					Totals
Season	(Starts/Subs/Goals/Yellows/Reds)
	S	S	G	Y	R	S	S	G	Y	R	S	S	G	Y	R	S	S	G	Y	R	S	S	G	Y	R
1999-2000	7	1	-	-	-						-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	7	1	-	-	-
2000-1	45	-	5	6	-	2	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	4	-	2	-	-	52	-	7	6	-
2001-2	45	-	6	3	-						4	-	2	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	52	-	8	3	-
2002-3	34	2	3	4	-						2	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	36	3	3	4	-
2003-4	25	10	2	1	-						1	-	-	-	-	4	1	1	-	-	30	11	3	1	-
2004-5	35	-	2	1	1						3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	38	-	2	1	1
2005-6	29	2	1	4	-						-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	32	2	1	4	-
2006-7	14	6	1	1	2	1	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	19	6	1	2	2
2007-8	8	1	-	3	-						1	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	10	1	-	3	-
Totals	242	22	20	23	3	3	-	-	-	-	16	-	2	1	-	15	2	3	-	-	276	24	25	24	3