Dave Clement
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| Dave Clement | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 2 February 1948 | |
| Place of birth | Battersea, London, England | |
| Date of death | 31 March 1982 (aged 34) | |
| Place of death | England | |
| Playing position | Defender | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1965–1979 1979–1980 1980–1981 1981–1982 |
Queens Park Rangers Bolton Wanderers Wimbledon Fulham |
472 (28) 33 (0) 18 (0) 9 (2) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Dave Clement (born February 2, 1948 in Battersea, London; died March 31, 1982) was a football player. Clement was a right fullback who developed with QPR through the club's youth set-up. He signed professional terms in 1965 and made his first team debut in the 1966-67 season, which was memorable for QPR in that they won the Football League Third Division championship by twelve points and also became the first Third Division side to win a major trophy – the League Cup, beating first division side West Bromwich Albion 3-2 in the first ever final at Wembley Stadium.
The following season, Dave was a regular member of the side, making 34 appearances in another promotion season for QPR. He possessed great stamina and was strong in the tackle but his distribution for a defender was also excellent. Over the coming seasons he became a fixture in the team, missing only six league games from the 1970/71 to 1973/74 seasons.
By the 1975/76 season, QPR now had an exciting, attacking team with stars such as Stan Bowles and Gerry Francis, and Clement was also an integral part of this team. QPR finished the season just one point shy of eventual champions Liverpool. It was during this season that Clement received international recognition, ten years after playing for the England Youth team. He made his full international debut against Wales in March 1976, coming on as a substitute at half-time in a game England won 2-1. Over the next year he would make a further four appearances.
In 1979, after fourteen years at the club and with QPR now relegated to the Second Division, Clement was sold to Bolton Wanderers for £170,000. He had made 472 appearances in all competitions for QPR, and scored 28 goals. He subsequently went on to play for Fulham and Wimbledon before his death in 1982, aged 34. Suffering from depression after badly breaking his leg, and believing his career was finished, he committed suicide by poisoning himself with weedkiller. His son, Neil Clement, who was only three years old at the time, is also a professional footballer and currently plays for West Bromwich Albion.
[edit] References
- Macey, Gordon (1993). Queens Park Rangers - A Complete Record. Breedon Books Sport. ISBN 978-1-873626-40-5.
