Dave Clements
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | David Clements | ||
| Date of birth | 15 September 1945 | ||
| Place of birth | Larne, Northern Ireland | ||
| Playing position | Left winger, Midfielder, Left back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1963–1964 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | (0) |
| 1964–1971 | Coventry City | 230 | (26) |
| 1971–1973 | Sheffield Wednesday | 78 | (0) |
| 1973–1976 | Everton | 83 | (6) |
| 1976–1977 | New York Cosmos | 18 | (2) |
| 1978 | Colorado Caribous | 15 | (1) |
| Total | 424 | (35) | |
| National team | |||
| 1965–1976 | Northern Ireland | 48 | (2) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1975–1976 | Northern Ireland | ||
| 1978 | Colorado Caribous | ||
| 1981–1982 | Denver Avalanche | ||
| 1982–1985 | St. Louis Steamers | ||
| 1986–1991 | Kansas City Comets | ||
| 1991–1994 | University of Denver | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Dave Clements (born 15 September 1945) in Larne in County Antrim, was a football player and manager from Northern Ireland. He started his career as a left winger but also played as a defensive midfielder and left full back throughout a career which lasted from 1964 to 1976 in which time he played for Coventry City, Sheffield Wednesday and Everton making a total of 392 league appearances and scoring 32 goals. He played 48 times for the Northern Ireland national team between 1965 and 1976 scoring two goals. He then managed the national team for two years in 1975 and 1976 before moving to the NASL in the United States.
Dave attended Larne Grammar School and excelled at both football and rugby union, during his time at the school he earned football caps for the national team at schoolboy, youth and amateur level. As a junior he played for the Larne suburban team of Millbrook before signing for Irish league club Portadown F.C. in 1961. After starring in a 2–0 Irish amateur win over Wales in January 1963 he signed for English Division One club Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Dave Clements' spell as an apprentice at Wolverhampton Wanderers lasted for just over a year, however in that time he failed to break into the first team.
Despite this lack of success at Wolves, he caught the eye of Coventry City manager Jimmy Hill who paid £1,500 for the 18-year-old at the start of the 1964–65 season. Clements made a fine start to his City career, scoring on his debut on 23 January 1965 against Northampton Town and netting eight times in his first ten matches. Two months later on 17 March 1965, aged just 19, he earned the first of his 48 caps for the Northern Ireland national team against the Netherlands. Clements was an integral part of the Coventry side which won the Second Division championship in the 1966–67 season and then did well in the top flight. He played as an outside left for much of his time at Coventry for whom he made 228 league appearances (255 including cup games) and scored 30 goals in total over a period of seven seasons. Throughout his time at Highfield Road he continued to be a regular for the Northern Ireland team, earning 21 caps in total while with the Midlands team. His most famous moment as an international player came in October 1967 when he scored the winning goal in a Euro 68 qualifier against Scotland at Windsor Park. Coventry manager Noel Cantwell surprisingly agreed to let Clements move on after six-years at the club and after rejecting a move to Hull City in February 1971, he moved to Sheffield Wednesday in August of the same year as part of a combined deal that also included Brian Joicey and cost the Yorkshire club £100,000.
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