The end of an era for Clement

Albion today reflected on the end of an era as Neil Clement woke to the first day of the rest of his life.

The defender's retirement yesterday cut the final dressing room link with a different club – where Premier League football was little more a dream.

His Hawthorns career literally spanned a decade, beginning 82 days into the 'Noughties' and ending less than a week into 2010.

In each key moment of one of the most tumultuous periods in Baggies history, Clement has been there, quietly and unassumingly making a difference. He played in three Premier League seasons and helped to secure a fourth.

Yet when Clement checked in at the Hawthorns almost 10 years ago, a return to the dark days of the early 90s seemed far more likely for Albion than a top flight future.

His first task, in the spring of 2000, was to help newly appointed manager Gary Megson haul the Baggies back from the trap door to Division Three.

They achieved their goal with a few scares, and such was Clement's impact that he became a permanent summer signing as Megson kicked off his Hawthorns transformation in earnest.

When the club reached the First Division play-offs in 2001, Clement was player-of-the-season on the left of a new-look back three.

When they reeled in Wolves to reach the Premier League in momentous fashion in 2002, he switched to left wing-back but continued to excel, winning a place in the PFA team of the year and developing his trademark exocet free-kicks.

And when they bounced back to the top-flight in 2004 after relegation the previous season, Clement was Megson's 'flexible friend', filling in at centre-back, in midfield and even in attack.

Arguably his finest hour and undoubtedly his most classy displays came a year later, when his post-Christmas form and on-field leadership were crucial to Albion's famous 'Great Escape.'

But relegation in 2006 was followed by the first of the knee injuries that would blight the rest of his Baggies career. Despite days in the gym and hours in surgery, Clement would never fully be free from his fitness demons.

Yet there were still great moments, not least in 2008, when he added two separate promotions to his impressive CV. First he returned from a painful rehabilitation on his left knee to join Hull on loan and help spark the run that propelled them to the Premier League.

Then, for the final weeks of the campaign, he returned to Albion and looked imperious as he steadied a shaky back four, started an FA Cup semi-final and became the club's only three-time promotion winner.

Clement revelled in a joyful and emotional day at QPR – footballing home of his late father Dave – and marked his 300th appearance for the Baggies by helping them clinch a first league title. He did not know then it would be 300 and out, having described the end of the Championship triumph as the best form of his career.

But the injury jinx returned a few months later and, this time, there was no way back. The inevitable announcement arrived yesterday, ending a career which, despite its long spells of frustration, is still the envy of many.

It leaves Robert Koren, signed three years ago yesterday, as the Baggies' longest-serving player, and Roman Bednar, level with Clement on 26 Albion goals, as the leading scorer left on the books.

Most of all, it severs the final ties to a time when things were very different – when players trained on a borrowed pitch and Championship survival seemed to be the extent of Albion's ambition.

The era of Neil Clement has changed all that.

He recalled, in one of his final interviews as an active player: "I always remember sitting down when I first signed from Chelsea with John Wile. He was saying how much the club was losing every week financially.

"I'm proud that has changed a lot and I hope I have played a part in that, whatever small part it might be."