 Wilkins in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Raymond Colin Wilkins[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1956-09-14)14 September 1956 | ||
| Place of birth | Hillingdon, England | ||
| Date of death | 4 April 2018(2018-04-04) (aged 61) | ||
| Place of death | St George's Hospital,Tooting, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Chelsea | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1973–1979 | Chelsea | 179 | (30) |
| 1979–1984 | Manchester United | 160 | (7) |
| 1984–1987 | AC Milan | 73 | (2) |
| 1987 | Paris Saint-Germain | 13 | (0) |
| 1987–1989 | Rangers | 70 | (2) |
| 1989–1994 | Queens Park Rangers | 154 | (7) |
| 1994 | Crystal Palace | 1 | (0) |
| 1994–1996 | Queens Park Rangers | 21 | (0) |
| 1996 | Wycombe Wanderers | 1 | (0) |
| 1996–1997 | Hibernian | 16 | (0) |
| 1997 | Millwall | 3 | (0) |
| 1997 | Leyton Orient | 3 | (0) |
| Total | 694 | (48) | |
| International career | |||
| 1972 | England Schoolboys | 7 | (0) |
| 1974 | England Youth | 6 | (3) |
| 1975–1976 | England U23 | 2 | (0) |
| 1976 | England U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 1976–1986 | England | 84 | (3) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1994–1996 | Queens Park Rangers | ||
| 1997–1998 | Fulham | ||
| 1998–2000 | Chelsea (assistant) | ||
| 2000–2002 | Watford (assistant) | ||
| 2003–2005 | Millwall (assistant) | ||
| 2004–2007 | England U21 (assistant) | ||
| 2008–2009 | Chelsea (assistant) | ||
| 2009 | Chelsea (caretaker) | ||
| 2009–2010 | Chelsea (assistant) | ||
| 2013–2014 | Fulham (assistant) | ||
| 2014–2015 | Jordan | ||
| 2015 | Aston Villa (assistant) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Raymond Colin WilkinsMBE (14 September 1956 – 4 April 2018) was an Englishfootball player and coach.
Born into a footballing family with his father and three brothers involved in the game,[2] Wilkins played as amidfielder. He began his career atChelsea, where he was appointedcaptain at the age of 18, and later played for clubs includingManchester United,AC Milan,Queens Park Rangers andRangers. He won 84caps for theEngland national football team from 1976 to 1986, playing atUEFA Euro 1980 and the1982 and1986 FIFA World Cups.
After his playing career ended, he worked as a televisionpundit, and as a coach and manager with Queens Park Rangers,Fulham and Chelsea. He managedJordan at the2015 AFC Asian Cup and his last coaching job was as the assistant manager ofAston Villa later that year.
Born inHillingdon,Middlesex, Wilkins started his career with the Sunday League teamSenrab that play inWanstead Flats, East London.[3]
Wilkins made his name in the 1970s with boyhood clubChelsea, which he joined as anapprentice, progressing to his first team debut againstNorwich City at the age of 17 on 26 October 1973 as a substitute in a 3–0 home league win.[4]
In 1975, following the club's relegation and the departure of many established players, an 18-year-old Wilkins was handed thecaptaincy of Chelsea by new managerEddie McCreadie, taking it from long-time Blues captainJohn Hollins. He took to the role well, keeping it for four years. He emerged as Chelsea's key player of that period, leading a team of mainly young players to promotion again in1976–1977 and, in the next season, consolidation of their place in theFirst Division.
His elder brother,Graham Wilkins also played for Chelsea.
In 1979, after Chelsea were relegated,[5] Wilkins signed forManchester United for a fee of £825,000,[6] the highest fee received for a Chelsea player at the time.[7] He scored ten goals in his five years with the Red Devils, including a long-range strike in the 2–2 draw withBrighton & Hove Albion in the1983 FA Cup Final (United won the replay).[6]
He was voted player of the year by the team's supporters at the end of the 1983–1984 season. His midfield performances drew the attention ofMilan, who made United a £1.5 million offer for the player.[8]
Wilkins signed withMilan in summer 1984. He later remarked that the most difficult part of adapting to the Italian game was the focus on fitness – the coaching staff made him work to reduce his body fat levels and Wilkins described the result as being in the best shape of his career.[9] The Italian team was struggling during this period, having suffered relegation in the1981–82 Serie A season, and Wilkins was joined by fellow EnglishmanMark Hateley (himself replacing another compatriot —Luther Blissett). The only foreign players in the squad, the pair helped the team to victory over rivalsInter Milan in theMilan Derby that October, winning plaudits from Italian press and the club's fans.[10] In his first year there, Wilkins played 28Serie A games to bring the team to fifth in the league and also won a runner-up medal in theCoppa Italia (having eliminated Inter in the semis).
The following season he remained a key player in Milan's midfield, appearing in 29 league games and scoring two goals – one late goal to salvage a draw atAvellino and another goal the following game againstSampdoria. These were the only Serie A goals of his career.[11] Overall, the team struggled for goals, withPietro Paolo Virdis's total of 13 making him the club's only goalscorer in double figures that year.[12] The club also suffered off the pitch, with owner Giuseppe Farina absconding to South Africa following accusations of bribery and theft.[13]
In Wilkins' final season there (1986–1987), he fell out of the first team structure, following the signing ofRoberto Donadoni and the continued presence of bothAgostino Di Bartolomei andAlberigo Evani. The team finished fifth in the league, beating Inter twice, inSilvio Berlusconi's first year as owner. Wilkins played 105 games (74 in Serie A) for Milan between 1984 and 1987.Corriere della Sera eulogised him as a "serious and meticulous professional who was immediately appreciated for his long and precise passes".[14]
Wilkins signed forParis Saint-Germain in the middle of 1987, but this proved to be short-lived: he failed to break into the team ahead ofGabriel Calderón andSafet Sušić so he eagerly took the option to move to Scotland to sign forRangers for £250,000 that November.[9]
He made his debut for Rangers on 28 November 1987 in a 3–2 win overHearts atIbrox.[15] He became an integral part of the team for the rest of the season, making twenty-nine appearances, which included both legs of theEuropean Cup quarter-final againstSteaua Bucharest.[15] However, it would be the following season he would truly make his mark at Rangers. Reigning Scottish champions, andOld Firm rivals,Celtic played Rangers on 27 August 1988. With the score tied at 1–1, Wilkins scored a "thunderous volley" from the edge of the penalty box to put Rangers ahead, and his side eventually recorded an emphatic 5–1 win that day over their rivals.[15][16] Rangers went on to win the league title that season, the first of their eventual nine-in-a-row.[16] Wilkins also played in Rangers' win overAberdeen in the1988 Scottish League Cup Final.[15] He remained an important team member into season 1988–89, playing in almost every game for the first half of the season, but his family wished to return to London.[17] As such, he left Rangers in December 1989 to sign forQueens Park Rangers. Following his last appearance for Rangers, Wilkins received a standing ovation from the 40,000 crowd. Despite only playing two seasons for the Glasgow club, he was later inducted into their Hall of Fame.[17]
The longest stint of his late career was atQueens Park Rangers, for whom he was a regular first team player from November 1989 to 1994, including the team's first two Premier League seasons. He made his debut in the 3–0 away win versus Crystal Palace.[18] Wilkins left QPR in the summer of 1994 on a free transfer to join Crystal Palace as a player-coach under managerAlan Smith, but only made one appearance due to breaking his left foot on his debut.[19]
Wilkins re-joined QPR asplayer-manager on 15 November 1994, following the exit ofGerry Francis. The rest of that season was a success with the team finishing eighth in the Premiership. However the close season of 1995 saw the departure of Les Ferdinand to Newcastle and the following season the team struggled and were relegated.[20] As player-manager, he appeared in a further 21 games for the club from 1994 to 1996. Wilkins left QPR by mutual agreement in September 1996 after the club was bought by media tycoon Chris Wright following their relegation from the FAPremier League.[21]
Wilkins played for four clubs in the 1996–1997 season. He played one game atWycombe Wanderers before moving toHibernian for a 16-game stint. Toward the end of the season he played three times forMillwall in the Second Division and, finally, three Third Division games forLeyton Orient before retiring.[22][23]
Wilkins scored three goals in 84 games forEngland,[23] captained the team on ten occasions,[24] and played at the1982 and1986 World Cups.[25] Wilkins was called up to play forEngland for the first time in 1976 by coachDon Revie,[26] then made his debut on 28 May in a 3–2 win overItaly at theU.S.A. Bicentennial Cup Tournament in New York.[5]
He achieved one of his career highs after helping England qualify for the1980 European Championships in Italy — the first tournament England had reached for a decade.[27] During a group game againstBelgium, Wilkins scored a memorable goal when he lobbed the whole Belgian defence (thereby breaching the Belgians' obviousoffside trap) and delivered a second lob, this time over the head of the goalkeeper and into the net to put England ahead. The Belgians swiftly equalised, however, and England failed to progress beyond the group stage.[28]
Wilkins was a fixture in the England squad through a successful campaign to qualify for the1982 World Cup in Spain, which England exited at the second group stage. Over the season 1983/84, Wilkins continued to play for England under new coachBobby Robson but the team failed to qualify for the1984 European Championships.[27]
Wilkins remained an England regular during his spell atMilan and he was chosen for the squad which qualified for the1986 World Cup inMexico. He played in the opening defeat againstPortugal.[29] Wilkins became the first Englishman to be sent off at the World Cup in a goalless draw withMorocco in 1986, for throwing the ball atGabriel González. The ball hit the referee having been thrown in protest at being deemedoffside.[30] He was suspended for the next two games and was not reinstated by the time the quarter-final againstArgentina came round, a game which England lost 2–1.[31]
Wilkins made his 84th and final England appearance in November 1986, againstYugoslavia.[32]
Wilkins was QPR manager from 1994 to 1996, and managed fellow West London clubFulham in 1997–1998.[33] In March 1999, Wilkins was appointed Chelsea's first-team coach afterGraham Rix was jailed for child sex offences.[33] Wilkins and Rix were Chelsea's interim managers after the sacking ofGianluca Vialli at the start of the2000–01 FA Premier League season, but both were sacked from the club on the orders of new managerClaudio Ranieri in November 2000.[34]
When Vialli was hired by First Division clubWatford, Wilkins again assisted him until their dismissal in June 2002.[35] From 2003 to 2005, Wilkins assisted former Chelsea playerDennis Wise in his managing ofMillwall, but announced his exit when he took exception atDave Bassett being hired in the coaching staff.[36]
From 2004 on Wilkins was assistant coach toPeter Taylor with theEngland under-21s until Taylor left in early 2007. Wilkins was not retained by incoming head coachStuart Pearce.[37]
In September 2008, Wilkins was appointed assistant first team coach toLuiz Felipe Scolari atChelsea, followingSteve Clarke's departure toWest Ham United. In February 2009, following Scolari's shock sacking,[38] Wilkins was appointed as Chelsea'scaretaker manager for theFifth roundFA Cup tie withWatford.[39] Chelsea won the game 3–1, through aNicolas Anelkahat-trick, with the club's new managerGuus Hiddink watching from the stands.[40][41]
On 11 November 2010, it was announced that Wilkins' contract with Chelsea "would not be renewed" and that he was to leave the club "with immediate effect".[42] On 1 December 2010, Wilkins reached what he described as a "harmonious conclusion" with Chelsea following his unexpected departure from Stamford Bridge. While appearing as a guest on Sky Sports Champions League coverage on 7 December 2010, Wilkins said that Chelsea still had not given him a reason for his sacking.[43]
Chelsea managerCarlo Ancelotti, who was himself sacked at the end of the2010–2011 season, wrote about Wilkins, in his autobiographical bookThe Beautiful Games of an Ordinary Genius: "Ray is one of those select few, always present, noble in spirit, a real blue-blood, Chelsea flows in his veins ... without him we wouldn't have won a thing."[44]
On 30 December 2013, Wilkins was appointed assistant head coach of Fulham.[45] He and technical directorAlan Curbishley were sacked on 17 February 2014 and the season ended with relegation.[46]
On 3 September 2014, Wilkins was appointed as the new head coach ofJordan. He led Jordan at the2015 AFC Asian Cup, where they were eliminated in the group-stages for the first time after two losses againstIraq andJapan and a win overPalestine.[47]
On 25 June 2015, Aston Villa managerTim Sherwood appointed Wilkins as his assistant manager. On 26 October 2015, Wilkins was sacked along with Tim Sherwood and the rest of the coaching team.[48]
In the 1990s Wilkins was part of the team that contributed to theFootball Italia show that aired onChannel 4.[49] Wilkins later appeared as acommentator forSky Sports, particularly on theirChampions League coverage.[50] He also worked forTalksport.[51] Wilkins was also featured as a commentator on the 1990sTango soft drink commercials, 'You know when you've been Tango'd'.[52]
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The son of professional footballerGeorge Wilkins, he had two sisters and three footballer brothers:Graham Wilkins (born 28 June 1955 in Hillingdon), a former professional, who played in the Football League as a full-back for Chelsea,Brentford, andSouthend United; formerBrighton & Hove Albion manager and playerDean Wilkins; andStephen Wilkins, who was signed by Chelsea and later made one appearance for Brentford, before playing for a number ofnon-League teams, includingDagenham andHayes.[2] Throughout his life, Wilkins was known by his childhood nickname of "Butch".[53]
Wilkins married Jackie (née Bygraves) in 1978.[2] The couple had a son and a daughter.[5]
He was a patron for the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young.[54] In1993, he was made anMBE.[55]
In March 2013, he was stopped while driving and found to be "nearly four times" over thelegal alcohol limit.[56] In February 2014, he said that he hadulcerative colitis.[57] In July 2016, Wilkins was given a four-year ban for drunk driving.[58] In August 2016, he admitted he was an alcoholic.[59]
On 28 March 2018, Wilkins had acardiac arrest, resulting in a fall, and was placed into aninduced coma atSt George's Hospital inTooting.[60][61] He died at the age of 61 on 4 April 2018.[5]
Hours after his death, Milan played rivalsInter Milan in theDerby della Madonnina at theSan Siro. His former captainFranco Baresi laid a bouquet of flowers next to Wilkins' shirt by the side of the pitch.[51] A section of Milan fans held aloft a banner which read "Ciao Ray: Leggenda Rossonera" (English: "Goodbye Ray: Legend of the Red and Blacks").[62] During Chelsea's home game againstWest Ham United on 8 April, fans atStamford Bridge gave a minute's applause in the eighth minute to pay tribute to Wilkins. They also held a banner which read "Ray was one those select few, he knew what it meant to be one of us a real blue blood. Chelsea flowed through his veins, may you rest in peace Ray."[63]
A memorial service was held for Wilkins on 1 May atSt Luke's Church, Chelsea, attended by many figures from the world of football. His son made a speech about Wilkins' struggles with depression and alcoholism.[64] On 19 May, his widow Jackie was the guest of honour at the FA Cup final between two of Wilkins' former clubs, Chelsea and Manchester United. Chelsea won the match 1–0 and she presented the trophy to Gary Cahill, the winning captain.[citation needed]
| Club | Season | Division | League | National Cup | Other | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Chelsea | 1973–74 | First Division | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 1974–75 | First Division | 21 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 2 | |
| 1975–76 | Second Division | 42 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 50 | 12 | |
| 1976–77 | Second Division | 42 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 50 | 9 | |
| 1977–78 | First Division | 33 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 40 | 9 | |
| 1978–79 | First Division | 35 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 3 | |
| Total | 179 | 30 | 12 | 2 | 16 | 3 | 207 | 35 | ||
| Manchester United | 1979–80 | First Division | 37 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 42 | 2 |
| 1980–81 | First Division | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| 1981–82 | First Division | 42 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 45 | 1 | |
| 1982–83 | First Division | 26 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 36 | 2 | |
| 1983–84 | First Division | 42 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 56 | 5 | |
| Total | 160 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 24 | 2 | 194 | 10 | ||
| Milan | 1984–85 | Serie A | 28 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 0 |
| 1985–86 | Serie A | 29 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 41 | 3 | |
| 1986–87 | Serie A | 16 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 0 | |
| Total | 73 | 2 | 25 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 105 | 3 | ||
| Paris Saint-Germain | 1987–88 | French Division 1 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| Rangers | 1987–88 | Scottish Premier Division | 24 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 1 |
| 1988–89 | Scottish Premier Division | 31 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 45 | 3 | |
| 1989–90 | Scottish Premier Division | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 22 | 0 | |
| Total | 70 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 96 | 4 | ||
| Queens Park Rangers | 1989–90 | First Division | 23 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 3 |
| 1990–91 | First Division | 38 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 44 | 2 | |
| 1991–92 | First Division | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 30 | 2 | |
| 1992–93 | Premier League | 27 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 32 | 2 | |
| 1993–94 | Premier League | 39 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 44 | 1 | |
| Total | 154 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 182 | 10 | ||
| Crystal Palace | 1994–95 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Queens Park Rangers | 1994–95 | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1995–96 | Premier League | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
| 1996–97 | First Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 25 | 0 | ||
| Wycombe Wanderers | 1996–97 | Second Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Hibernian | 1996–97 | Scottish Premier Division | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| Millwall | 1996–97 | Second Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Leyton Orient | 1996–97 | Third Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Career total | 694 | 48 | 70 | 6 | 84 | 8 | 848 | 62 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 1976 | 3 | 0 |
| 1977 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1978 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1979 | 9 | 1 | |
| 1980 | 8 | 1 | |
| 1981 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1982 | 12 | 1 | |
| 1983 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1984 | 10 | 0 | |
| 1985 | 9 | 0 | |
| 1986 | 10 | 0 | |
| Total | 84 | 3 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 June 1979 | Praterstadion,Vienna, Austria | 24 |  Austria | 3–3 | 3–4 | Friendly | [71] |
| 2 | 12 June 1980 | Stadio Comunale,Turin, Italy | 33 |  Belgium | 1–0 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 1980 | [28] |
| 3 | 23 February 1982 | Wembley Stadium, London, England | 43 |  Northern Ireland | 3–0 | 4–0 | Home Championship | [72] |
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Queens Park Rangers | 15 November 1994 | 4 September 1996 | 80 | 31 | 13 | 36 | 038.75 | [65] |
| Fulham | 25 September 1997 | 7 May 1998 | 43 | 20 | 8 | 15 | 046.51 | [65] |
| Chelsea (caretaker) | 13 September 2000 | 17 September 2000 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 050.00 | [65] |
| Chelsea (caretaker) | 9 February 2009 | 14 February 2009 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | [65] |
| Jordan | 3 September 2014 | 1 July 2015 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 013.33 | [73] |
| Total | 142 | 56 | 23 | 63 | 039.44 | |||
Manchester United
Rangers
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