Our Supporters
28 Feb 2015Wembley is a very special place for me by Ray Clemence MBE
Ray Clemence has fought many battles here at Wembley, but now he’s focussed on helping Men United take on a far bigger fight. We spoke to Ray in the build up his former side, Tottenham Hotspur's Capital One Cup Final finale against London rivals Chelsea.
I've been lucky enough to play at the home of football on more than 50 occasions. I’ve also had the privilege of captaining my country there against Brazil and have coached from the touchline and played in five finals at Wembley.
Today I've got a different role, and I'm immensely proud to be named as guest of honour on behalf of Prostate Cancer UK. Not many people get that opportunity, and my family and I are really looking forward to what’s going to be a fabulous day.
Obviously Chelsea are the side in form and top of the league. Not many teams have beaten them this year, but it’s worth pointing out that one of the teams that have achieved that feat, comprehensively so in fact, is Tottenham. I was at that game when they beat them 5-3. It was an amazing spectacle and Spurs really deserved the victory, which I'm sure will give them a lot of confidence ahead of today.
I've been in this game long enough now to know that anything can happen in any given game. When I was at Liverpool we took the lead in the 118th minute in the final against West Ham United but were pegged back even later than that by Ray Stewart’s penalty.
We won the replay, back in the era when things weren't settled on the day, and who knows; it may well come down to the keepers this afternoon. Quite who those keepers are, only the two managers know.
Squad rotation is commonplace these days, and Michel Vorm has featured for Spurs during the competition. Hugo Lloris is probably one of the top two keepers in the Premier League at the moment – and few are better than him in Europe - so Mauricio Pochettino has two excellent players to choose from.
Likewise, in Thibaut Courtois and Petr Cech, Jose Mourinho also has two fantastic goalkeepers to choose from. I'm often asked about penalty shoot-outs, particularly ahead of one-off games when that remains a possibility. It's always really difficult to call. Any keeper is capable of saving penalties but the pressure is more on the people who take them.
Hopefully they mishit one or something like that, and that gives him a chance to make the save. Believe me, if a penalty is struck with the right force and in the right areas then it's impossible for the keeper to save it, no matter who he is!
Going back to my role on the day, I'm proud to be an ambassador for Prostate Cancer UK, and am happy to report that I'm feeling fine and enjoying life right now.
The disease is not going away - I've been fighting it since 2005 - but the amazing team looking after me are doing a great job in keeping it under control.
Ray Clemence is an ambassador for the charity and has joined Men United to help beat prostate cancer. This year Ray has played a major part in our inaugural Men United Sports Quiz and will be leading out a team at our Golf Day on 29 April 2015.