Tottenham Hotspur Clapham was born in
Lincoln, Lincolnshire. His career started at
Tottenham Hotspur with Clapham playing for the Spurs' first XI in the
1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup. Subsequently, he made one first-team league appearance for Spurs, a 2–1 defeat to
Coventry City on 11 May 1997. Clapham had loan spells at
Leyton Orient (six games between 29 January and 22 February 1997) and
Bristol Rovers (five games between 27 March and 26 April the same year).
Ipswich Town The next season saw him loaned to
Ipswich Town for two months between 9 January and 12 March 1998, the move then becoming permanent for a fee of £300,000. He made a total of 175 full and 20 substitute appearances in the league for Ipswich and scored eight goals, the most notable coming from his left-footed free kicks. In 1999, he was voted Ipswich Town's Player of the Year. He also tasted European action with the club, playing 12 games in the
UEFA Cup in two successive campaigns,
2001–02 and
2002–03. Ipswich Town's relegation in 2002 led to the club going into
administration and created a need to sell players. Clapham was one such player as he was sold.
Birmingham City He joined
Premier League club
Birmingham City for £1.3 million in 2003 after four years at
Portman Road. He settled into the team and was a virtual ever-present until a hamstring injury forced him out in December 2003. His recovery was hampered when he suffered
shingles during February 2004, and he was unable to return until April. In the following two seasons, he remained a squad player with competition for his slot from a number of players, such as
Stan Lazaridis and
Julian Gray, limiting his appearances. In May 2006, he was released by the club as they slipped from the top flight. In all, he played 84 league games over three seasons and scored once, against
Manchester United in December 2005. Clapham was released in May 2008.
Notts County After a period in July training with
West Bromwich Albion, managed by former Ipswich teammate
Tony Mowbray, he joined
Southend United on trial but was not offered a contract. After two weeks' training with
Notts County, he signed a short-term deal with the
League Two club in September 2008, then in January 2009, he signed an 18-month contract extension to keep him at the club until May 2010. He and seven other players were released at the end of the 2009–10 season.
Lincoln City He signed a one-year contract with League Two club
Lincoln City in July 2010. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 win over
Macclesfield Town on 9 October, and scored again in an
FA Cup defeat to
Hereford United. He was not offered a new contract after a mass clearout of players after Lincoln's relegation from the Football League.
Kettering Town In August 2011 he signed for
Kettering Town after a trial. A month later, after manager Morell Maison was replaced by
Mark Stimson, Clapham left the club. ==Coaching career==