 Hankin in 1979 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Raymond Hankin | ||
| Date of birth | (1956-02-21)21 February 1956 (age 69)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Wallsend, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 19??–1970 | Wallsend Boys Club | ||
| 1970–1973 | Burnley | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1973–1976 | Burnley | 112 | (37) |
| 1976–1980 | Leeds United | 83 | (32) |
| 1980–1981 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 46 | (20) |
| 1981–1982 | Arsenal | 0 | (0) |
| 1982 | Shamrock Rovers[citation needed] | 3 | (1) |
| 1982 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 27 | (11) |
| 1982–1983 | Middlesbrough | 21 | (1) |
| 1983–1985 | Peterborough United | 33 | (8) |
| 1985 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 10 | (1) |
| 1985–1986 | Whitby Town | ||
| 1986–1987 | Newcastle Blue Star | ||
| 19?? | Guisborough Town | ||
| Total | 335 | (111) | |
| International career | |||
| 1973 | England Youth[3] | 6 | (2) |
| 1974–1975 | England U23 | 3 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1989–1991 | Northallerton Town | ||
| 1992 | Darlington | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Raymond Hankin (born 21 February 1956) is an English former professionalfootballer. Acentre forward, he played inthe Football League forBurnley,Leeds United,Middlesbrough,Peterborough United andWolverhampton Wanderers. He spent three seasons with theVancouver Whitecaps of theNASL, had brief spells withArsenal andShamrock Rovers, and finished his playing career in Englishnon-league football. Internationally, he was a member of theEngland youth team that won the1973 European Under-18 Championship, and was capped three times forEngland at under-23 level.
Hankin was born inWallsend,[1]Northumberland, where he played football forWallsend Boys Club.[4]
Hankin began his club career in 1970 as an apprentice withBurnley.[4] He turned professional in February 1973, and made hisFootball League debut on 24 April 1973, at the age of 17 years and 2 months, as an 83rd-minutesubstitute in a 3–0 win at home toLuton Town that left Burnley needing one point from the final match of the season to win theSecond Division title.[5] Hankin was selected inEngland's squad for the1973 European Under-18 Championship in Italy in June. He scored the only goal of the semifinal againstItaly,[6] and started in the final, in which England beatEast Germany 3–2after extra time to win the tournament.[7]
He made hisFirst Division debut on 5 September 1973 away toTottenham Hotspur, standing in forPaul Fletcher.[citation needed] He forced a brilliant save fromPat Jennings before, with 13 minutes left and Tottenham 2–1 ahead, being fouled for a disputedpenalty from which Burnley equalised, and four minutes later his team scored a winner.[8] In the reverse fixture a week later, he set up a goal forGeoff Nulty and "caused [Tottenham] considerable trouble particularly in the air" in a match that finished 2–2.[9] AfterFrank Casper was injured during that match,[10] Hankin played regularly.[11] He scored his first goal on his third appearance, with a glancing header to secure a draw at home toDerby County on 15 September,[12] and finished the season with 8 goals from 34 league appearances.[11]
In the 1974–75 season, Hankin missed only five matches in the First Division, and scored 14 goals.[11] A match againstLeeds United in September 1974 was particularly eventful. With the scores tied, Hankin was fouled while jumping to head a crossed ball andLeighton James converted the resulting penalty for what proved to be the winning goal. Hankin himself did not see out the win. He and Leeds defenderGordon McQueen had both already been booked when Hankin took hold of his opponent's shirt "like a page boy clutching a bride's train"; McQueen turned round and hit him,[13] and both were sent off.[14] Hankin's football was not restricted to his club. In October, while still only 18, he was included in theEngland under-23 squad for aEuropean Championship qualifier againstCzechoslovakia. England won 3–0, and Hankin made his debut as a substitute.[15] He made two more appearances for the under-23s that season, both infriendlies.[15] He was also a member ofDon Revie's All Stars XI that played a charity match against aWest Midlands XI managed byJoe Mercer in aid of those affected by theBirmingham pub bombings.[16]
Third in the table in January 1975,[17] Burnley finished the season in mid-table, and despite Hankin's 13 goals, were relegated back to the Second Division in at the end of the 1975–76 campaign.[11][18] Hankin began the new season still at the club, but was available for transfer. In September 1976, the injury-hitWest Ham United agreed a fee of £200,000 for the player; he turned them down, because he and his wife would be uncomfortable in London.[19] A move to Leeds United – 1973–74 Football League champions and1975 European Cup Finalists – was agreed, but the medical revealed knee problems that required further investigation and possible surgery.[20] Amid reported interest fromMiddlesbrough,[21] Leeds were convinced that the injury "would have no long-term complications",[22] and the move went ahead, for a fee of £172,000.[23]
The injury delayed Hankin's debut for Leeds until 6 November, when he started in a 2–0 win overEverton atGoodison Park.[24] He made three more appearances without scoring (plus a fourth, againstBristol City atAshton Gate, in a match abandoned because of fog[25]) before his knee problems returned.[26] Towards the end of the season he underwent surgery, and regained fitness in time to join in pre-season training.[27] He scored five goals in his first five matches,[28] and two weeks later, againstManchester United, produced "a display of aerial ability throughout that must put him along the game's great headers of a ball".[29] TheGuardian's reporter still had concerns that he andJoe Jordan needed to establish as close a relationship as existed betweenMick Jones andAllan Clarke in Leeds' title-winning days.[28] Hankin himself relished playing alongside Jordan,[23] but lost him to Manchester United halfway through the season; before Jordan's departure, Hankin had 14 league goals, but produced only 6 in the remainder of the campaign. The total of 20 still made him Leeds' top scorer by some distance.[30][31] Hankin was selected for theEngland under-21 squad for the1978 European Championship quarter-final second leg match againstItaly in April, but had to withdraw through injury.[32]
Playing alongside new signingJohn Hawley, Hankin contributed 9 goals from 30 league appearances in 1978–79 to help Leeds finish fifth and qualify for theUEFA Cup.[31][33] In March 1979, he was suspended for two weeks by managerJimmy Adamson for an unspecified breach of club discipline;[34] Hankin said later that it was for missing treatment to an injury.[35] Early in the new season, Hawley was sold[33] and Hankin submitted a transfer request, which was turned down by Leeds' board: Adamson said he was too valuable a player to lose.[36] In hopes of a move abroad, Hankin declared himself an admirer of "Continental methods and their style" before submitting a second request in October[37] – also rejected[38] – before being made available for transfer some six weeks later.[39] His form had dipped, and by March 1980, when he finally left the club, he had scored only three league goals and one in theUEFA Cup.[23][31]
There were offers from First Division clubs for Hankin's services,[40] but he signed forNorth American Soccer League (NASL) clubVancouver Whitecaps – the reigningSoccer Bowl champions – for a fee of £300,000.[41] The team was managed byTony Waiters, who had been in charge of the England youths at the 1973 European Championships,[42] and Hankin's Leeds teammateDavid Harvey had joined a few days earlier.[41] Hankin registered 8 goals and anassist from 24 matches in his first season,[2] but the club itself was unsettled. The second season, with Waiters gone and another ex-Leeds man,Johnny Giles, in charge, things were different.[43] Although theIrish Times thought some members of the team that played pre-season friendlies in Ireland, Hankin included, needed to "shed a bit of weight before the real competitive season gets under way",[44] the Whitecaps won their division, but failed in the playoffs. According to Hankin, whose personal return rose to 12 goals and 8 assists from 22 matches, "we were the best team in the NASL, but we blew it."[2][43]
In November 1981, First Division clubArsenal, who were struggling to score goals after the departure ofFrank Stapleton, expressed an interest in signing Hankin. There was some argument about the fee – variously reported as £300,000 or £400,000 – and the deal included an agreement for him to return to Vanvouver if he did not impress. Reunited with Leeds striker partner John Hawley, Hankin played twice for the first team, both times as a substitute in theLeague Cup againstLiverpool, but no permanent move ensued. He attributed that to the economic problems then current in English football.[35][45] Before returning to Canada for one last season with the Whitecaps, Hankin made a few appearances forShamrock Rovers under Johnny Giles, who combined coaching the Whitecaps with managing theLeague of Ireland club. He scored the only goal of the match atSligo Rovers on his debut, as well as missing from six yards "when it looked so much easier to score."[46]
After the1982 NASL season finished, Hankin returned to England to sign forMiddlesbrough, bottom of the Second Division, on a two-year deal for a fee of £85,000.[47] He made his debut on 28 September againstGrimsby Town: he and teammateMick Kennedy were sent off as Middlesbrough lost 4–1.[48] That wasBobby Murdoch's last match as Boro manager; in successorMalcolm Allison's first match in charge, a League Cup tie against Burnley, Hankin scored his first goal for the club.[49] He was a regular in the side despite a lack of goals, but fell out of favour towards the end of the season and made his final appearance as a substitute againstLeicester City on 5 April 1983. He received a two-match ban for reaching 41 disciplinary points,[50] and was transfer-listed at the end of the season.[51] He had scored just once in 21 league matches.[52]
Hankin moved on toFourth Division clubPeterborough United for a "small fee" in early September.[53] He scored twice on his debut, and continued to score at a rate of one every four matches,[54] but his disciplinary problems increased. He was sent off four times during the 1983–84 season,[55] and was warned by the club on several occasions as to his future conduct.[56] Injury meant Hankin missed the first half of the 1984–85 season, but when, eight matches into his return to the team, he was sent off for a fifth time,[54][55] the club cancelled his contract with immediate effect.[55][56] Hankin himself said he was targeted by opponents because of his reputation.[23]
Within days, he signed for Second Division clubWolverhampton Wanderers – managerTommy Docherty told him it was his last chance in football[57] – but in the eleven matches he played for them was unable to make enough difference to prevent their relegation. When he returned for the new season overweight, Wolves cancelled his contract.[58]
Hankin moved intonon-league football, signing forNorthern League clubWhitby Town in October 1985.[citation needed] Under the management of former Leeds and Whitecaps teammate David Harvey, he scored 9 goals from 32 appearances in his first season, and "helped to bring the best out of players around him, whilst still knocking goals home himself."[59][60] He scored the goal that took Whitby into the second round proper of the1985–86 FA Cup,[61] and the following season helped the club reach the first round.[62]
He moved on to another Northern League club,Newcastle Blue Star, and then a third,Guisborough Town, for whom he scored 26 goals from 82 appearances.[63] While captaining Guisborough in the first round of the1988–89 FA Cup against Football League clubBury in a match switched to Middlesbrough'sAyresome Park ground, Hankin was involved in a bizarre incident. The referee instructed the captains to wear armbands, but Guisborough did not have such a thing in their kit. According to the club's secretary, there was no such requirement under FA Cup rules. After Hankin used and then discarded a wristband because it was too tight, the referee booked him for not wearing his armband, and then sent him off for using "foul and abusive language" when he argued.[64] The matter was raised in Parliament by the local MP,Richard Holt, who took advantage ofparliamentary privilege to assert that the team were "cheated by a biased referee" who should have been "hounded out of the ground."[65]
Hankin took over as manager ofNorthallerton Town in March 1989. He led them to promotion from the Northern League Second Division in 1989–90 and a mid-table finish the following season before resigning at the end of that campaign.[66] He was credited by the club's then chairman with "introduc[ing] professional attitudes" on which his successor could build.[67] He then joined Darlington as youth-team coach under the management of his former Leeds teammateFrank Gray,[68][23] and spent the last few weeks of the 1991–92 season ascaretaker manager after Gray was sacked,[69] but was unable to prevent their relegation to the Fourth Division.[70] It emerged later that "reckless contracts" meant that not only Gray and Hankin but three other managers were on the financially struggling club's payroll long after their departures.[71]
Hankin worked inNewcastle United's Football in the Community scheme for several years, latterly as director, until he was made redundant in 2008. He took the club to an industrial tribunal, alleging unfair dismissal, but reached a settlement just before the hearing.[23][72] He then left the game, and went on to work with adults with special needs.[23]
Hankin's playing career was marred by his disciplinary record, with a significant number of red cards awarded.[23]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Burnley | 1972–73[11] | Second Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| 1973–74[11] | First Division | 34 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6[a] | 4 | 47 | 16 | |
| 1974–75[11] | First Division | 37 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 41 | 15 | ||
| 1975–76[11] | First Division | 34 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | 40 | 14 | ||
| 1976–77[11] | Second Division | 6 | 2 | — | 1 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Total | 112 | 37 | 6 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 139 | 47 | ||
| Leeds United | 1976–77[31] | First Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| 1977–78[31] | First Division | 33 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 40 | 21 | ||
| 1978–79[31] | First Division | 30 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | — | 38 | 11 | ||
| 1979–80[31] | First Division | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 1 | 21 | 4 | |
| Total | 83 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 103 | 36 | ||
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 1980[2][73] | NASL | 24 | 8 | — | — | 2[d] | 1 | 26 | 9 | ||
| 1981[2] | NASL | 22 | 12 | — | — | 2[d] | 0 | 24 | 12 | |||
| Total | 46 | 20 | — | — | 4 | 1 | 50 | 21 | ||||
| Arsenal | 1981–82[52] | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 1982[2] | NASL | 27 | 11 | — | — | 3[d] | 1 | 30 | 12 | ||
| Middlesbrough | 1982–83[52] | Second Division | 21 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 26 | 3 | |
| 1983–84[52] | Second Division | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 21 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 26 | 3 | |||
| Peterborough United | 1983–84[1][54] | Fourth Division | 27 | [e] | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 | [e] |
| 1984–85[1][54] | Fourth Division | 6 | [e] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[f] | 0 | 8 | [e] | |
| Total | 33 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 9 | ||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1984–85[1] | Second Division | 10 | 1 | — | — | — | 10 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 332 | 110 | 10 | 3 | 34 | 9 | 22 | 7 | 398 | 129 | ||
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Darlington | 24 February 1992 | End of season | 15 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 013.3 | [69][75] |
England youth
Burnley
Vancouver Whitecaps
England will meet East Germany in the final of the UEFA youth tournament on Sunday. Tonight England beat Italy 1–0 with a goal by Hankin, and East Germany beat Bulgaria 1–0.
West Ham United, suffering from a loss of power in attack because of a particularly severe crop of injuries, yesterday agreed to pay Burnley £200,000 for Ray Hankin, a burly but mobile forward whose presence should create more scoring opportunities for, among others, the wispy Alan Taylor.
Hankin ... feels that neither he nor his wife would be able to settle in London.
Currie at least also paved the way for the equaliser shortly afterwards by Hankin, who gave a display of aerial ability throughout that must put him along the game's great headers of a ball. He hit the crossbar twice and Stepney saved his most specacular effort—a downward bullet from Jordan's astute nod back, So while his goal was deserved, it seemed incongruous that it should come from a fierce shot.
Ray Hankin, transfer-listed by Leeds yesterday, is the likely answer to Ipswich's goal-scoring problems. Manager Bobby Robson confirmed before leaing for today's match at Derby that he is likely to move for the striker over the weekend.
After weeks of agonizing, however, Arsenal baulked at the asking price of £400,000 and the Englishman, the property of the Canadian club, Vancouver Whitecaps, went on loan to Shamrock Rovers. 'In a sense, the recession in football and my arrival in Ireland are not unconnected, ... Had the money been freely available in England, I would probably have ended up at Arsenal.
Giles, who is resuming his appointment with Vancouver Whitecaps in March, has found it increasingly difficult to serve two clubs whose seasons now seriously overlap.
Peterborough United have cancelled the contract of their forward, Ray Hankin, who was sent off for the fifth time in one and a half seasons with the club, against Port Vale on Saturday. Their manager, John Wile, said that Hankin would leave because of "persistent misconduct on the field, despite previous verbal and written warnings".
Wolverhampton Wanderers have cancelled the contract of Ray Hankin less than five months after he joined them. The forward had almost 18 months to run on his agreement after being signed on a free transfer from Peterborough United in March. He struggled with his form and fitness in the 11 games he played last season, and when he returned for pre-season training still carrying excess weight, the club decided to give him a free transfer. The caretaker manager, Sammy Chapman, said: 'It is a great pity because he has a lot of talent which is being allowed to go to waste.'
Frank Gray, the manager of Darlington the third division's bottom club was also dismissed yesterday, along with Tony McAndrew, his assistant. Ray Hankin was appointed caretaker manager until the end of the season.
Billy McEwan, the former Sheffield United and Rotherham manager, is taking over at Darlington from the caretaker-manager Ray Hankin.
Bernard Lowery, the Darlington chairman, presented the club's annual report for the year ending June 30. It revealed that Frank Gray, Ray Hankin, Billy McEwan, Alan Murray and Eddie Kyle – all past managers at Feethams – had still been paid long after they had left the North East club. 'Reckless contracts brought us to our knees," Lowery said. "At one stage, when we had all these managers being paid simultaneously, only a substantial injection of capital kept us afloat.'