Raymond Colin Wilkins (14 September 1956 – 4 April 2018) was an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and coach. Born into a footballing family with his father and three brothers involved in the game, Wilkins played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He began his career at Chelsea, where he was appointed captain at the age of 18, and later played for clubs including

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, AC Milan, Queens Park Rangers and Rangers. He won 84 caps for the

England national football team The England national football team have represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by the Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Eng ...

from 1976 to 1986, playing at

UEFA Euro 1980 The 1980 UEFA European Football Championship finals tournament was held in Italy. This was the sixth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. It was the first European Championship to feature eight teams ...

and the 1982 and

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-tea ...

s. After his playing career ended, he worked as a television pundit, and as a coach and manager with Queens Park Rangers,

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

and Chelsea. He managed

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup and his last coaching job was as the assistant manager of Aston Villa later that year.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Hillingdon Hillingdon is an area of Uxbridge within the London Borough of Hillingdon, centred 14.2 miles (22.8 km) west of Charing Cross. It was an ancient parish in Middlesex that included the market town of Uxbridge. During the 1920s the civil pari ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, Wilkins started his career with the Sunday League team Senrab that play in Wanstead Flats, East London.

Chelsea

Wilkins made his name in the 1970s with boyhood club Chelsea, which he joined as an

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

, progressing to his first team debut against Norwich City at the age of 17 on 26 October 1973 as a substitute in a 3–0 home league win. In 1975, following the club's relegation and the departure of many established players, an 18-year-old Wilkins was handed the captaincy of Chelsea by new manager Eddie McCreadie, taking it from long-time Blues captain John 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 in 1976–1977 and, in the next season, consolidation of their place in the First Division. His elder brother, Graham Wilkins also played for Chelsea.

Manchester United

In 1979, after Chelsea were relegated, Wilkins signed for

for a fee of £825,000, the highest fee received for a Chelsea player at the time. He scored ten goals in his five years with the Red Devils, including a long-range strike in the 2–2 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion in the 1983 FA Cup Final (United won the replay). 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 of

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, who made United a £1.5 million offer for the player.

Milan, Paris and Rangers

Wilkins signed with

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.Ray Wilkins talks Diego Costa, Nemanja Matic and David Luiz.
Chelsea Daft (August 2017). Retrieved 4 April 2018. The Italian team was struggling during this period, having suffered relegation in the

1981–82 Serie A The 1981–82 Serie A season was won by Juventus FC, Juventus. Teams A.C. Milan, Milan, A.C. Cesena, Cesena and Genoa C.F.C., Genoa had been promoted from Serie B. Final classification Results Top goalscorers References and sources * Ex ...

season, and Wilkins was joined by fellow Englishman Mark Hateley (himself replacing another compatriot — Luther Blissett). The only foreign players in the squad, the pair helped the team to victory over rivals

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

in the Milan Derby that October, winning plaudits from Italian press and the club's fans. In his first year there, Wilkins played 28

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

games to bring the team to fifth in the league and also won a runner-up medal in the Coppa 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 at Avellino and another goal the following game against Sampdoria. These were the only Serie A goals of his career. Overall, the team struggled for goals, with Pietro Paolo Virdis's total of 13 making him the club's only goalscorer in double figures that year. The club also suffered off the pitch, with owner Giuseppe Farina absconding to South Africa following accusations of bribery and theft. In Wilkins' final season there ( 1986–1987), he fell out of the first team structure, following the signing of Roberto Donadoni and the continued presence of both Agostino Di Bartolomei and Alberigo Evani. The team finished fifth in the league, beating Inter twice, in

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...

'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". Wilkins signed for Paris Saint-Germain in the middle of 1987, but this proved to be short-lived: he failed to break into the team ahead of Gabriel Calderón and Safet Sušić so he eagerly took the option to move to Scotland to sign for Rangers for £250,000 that November. He made his debut for Rangers on 28 November 1987 in a 3–2 win over Hearts at Ibrox. He became an integral part of the team for the rest of the season, making twenty-nine appearances, which included both legs of the European Cup quarter-final against Steaua Bucharest. However, it would be the following season he would truly make his mark at Rangers. Reigning Scottish champions, and Old 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. Rangers went on to win the league title that season, the first of their eventual nine-in-a-row. Wilkins also played in Rangers' win over

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

in the 1988 Scottish League Cup Final. 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. As such, he left Rangers in December 1989 to sign for Queens 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.

Later career

The longest stint of his late career was at Queens 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. Wilkins left QPR in the summer of 1994 on a free transfer to join Crystal Palace as a player-coach under manager Alan Smith, but only made one appearance due to breaking his left foot on his debut. Wilkins re-joined QPR as player-manager on 15 November 1994, following the exit of Gerry 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. 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 FA

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

. Wilkins played for four clubs in the 1996–1997 season. He played one game at Wycombe Wanderers before moving to Hibernian for a 16-game stint. Toward the end of the season he played three times for Millwall in the Second Division and, finally, three Third Division games for Leyton Orient before retiring.

International career

Wilkins scored three goals in 84 games for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, captained the team on ten occasions, and played at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups. Wilkins was called up to play for

for the first time in 1976 by coach Don Revie, then made his debut on 28 May in a 3–2 win over

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

at the U.S.A. Bicentennial Cup Tournament in New York. He achieved one of his career highs after helping England qualify for the 1980 European Championships in Italy — the first tournament England had reached for a decade.Ray Wilkins
The FA. Retrieved on 4 April 2018. During a group game against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, Wilkins scored a memorable goal when he lobbed the whole Belgian defence (thereby breaching the Belgians' obvious offside 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.Croke, Ruaidhrí (3 May 2016)
Euro Moments: Ray Wilkins produces moment of magic as English fans riot
''Irish Times''. Retrieved 4 April 2018. Wilkins was a fixture in the England squad through a successful campaign to qualify for the 1982 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 coach Bobby Robson but the team failed to qualify for the 1984 European Championships. Wilkins remained an England regular during his spell at

and he was chosen for the squad which qualified for the 1986 World Cup in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. He played in the opening defeat against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. Wilkins became the first Englishman to be sent off at the World Cup in a goalless draw with

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

in 1986, for throwing the ball at Gabriel González. The ball hit the referee having been thrown in protest at being deemed offside. He was suspended for the next two games and was not reinstated by the time the quarter-final against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

came round, a game which England lost 2–1. Wilkins made his 84th and final England appearance in November 1986, against

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

Coaching career

Early coaching career

Wilkins was QPR manager from 1994 to 1996, and managed fellow West London club

in 1997–1998. In March 1999, Wilkins was appointed Chelsea's first-team coach after Graham Rix was jailed for child sex offences. Wilkins and Rix were Chelsea's interim managers after the sacking of Gianluca Vialli at the start of the 2000–01 FA Premier League season, but both were sacked from the club on the orders of new manager

Claudio Ranieri Claudio Ranieri (; born 20 October 1951) is an Italian professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of Serie A club AS Roma, Roma but will leave on 30 June 2025, followin ...

in November 2000. When Vialli was hired by First Division club

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

, Wilkins again assisted him until their dismissal in June 2002. From 2003 to 2005, Wilkins assisted former Chelsea player Dennis Wise in his managing of Millwall, but announced his exit when he took exception at Dave Bassett being hired in the coaching staff.

England U-21

From 2004 on Wilkins was assistant coach to Peter Taylor with the England under-21s until Taylor left in early 2007. Wilkins was not retained by incoming head coach Stuart Pearce.

Return to Chelsea

In September 2008, Wilkins was appointed assistant first team coach to Luiz Felipe Scolari at Chelsea, following Steve Clarke's departure to West Ham United. In February 2009, following Scolari's shock sacking, Wilkins was appointed as Chelsea's caretaker manager for the Fifth round

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

tie with

. Chelsea won the game 3–1, through a Nicolas Anelka

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

, with the club's new manager Guus Hiddink watching from the stands. 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". 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. Chelsea manager

Carlo Ancelotti Carlo Ancelotti (; born 10 June 1959) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of the Brazil national team. Nicknamed "Carletto" in Italy and "Don Carlo" in Spain, he is regarded as one of the greatest ...

, who was himself sacked at the end of the 2010–2011 season, wrote about Wilkins, in his autobiographical book ''The 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."

Later coaching career

On 30 December 2013, Wilkins was appointed assistant head coach of Fulham. He and technical director Alan Curbishley were sacked on 17 February 2014 and the season ended with relegation. On 3 September 2014, Wilkins was appointed as the new head coach of

. He led Jordan at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, where they were eliminated in the group-stages for the first time after two losses against

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and a win over

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. On 25 June 2015, Aston Villa manager Tim 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.

Media

In the 1990s Wilkins was part of the team that contributed to the Football Italia show that aired on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

. Wilkins later appeared as a commentator for

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...

, particularly on their Champions League coverage. He also worked for Talksport. Wilkins was also featured as a commentator on the 1990s Tango soft drink commercials, 'You know when you've been Tango'd'.

Personal life

The son of professional footballer George 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 Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

, and Southend United; former Brighton & Hove Albion manager and player Dean Wilkins; and Stephen Wilkins, who was signed by Chelsea and later made one appearance for Brentford, before playing for a number of non-League teams, including

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fo ...

and Hayes. Throughout his life, Wilkins was known by his childhood nickname of "Butch". Wilkins married Jackie (née Bygraves) in 1978. The couple had a son and a daughter. He was a patron for the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young. In

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, he was made an MBE. In March 2013, he was stopped while driving and found to be "nearly four times" over the legal alcohol limit. In February 2014, he said that he had

ulcerative colitis Ulcerative colitis (UC) is one of the two types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with the other type being Crohn's disease. It is a long-term condition that results in inflammation and ulcers of the colon and rectum. The primary sympto ...

. In July 2016, Wilkins was given a four-year ban for drunk driving. In August 2016, he admitted he was an alcoholic.

Death

On 28 March 2018, Wilkins had a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

, resulting in a fall, and was placed into an

induced coma An induced comaalso known as a medically induced coma (MIC), barbiturate-induced coma, or drug-induced comais a temporary coma (a deep state of unconsciousness) brought on by a controlled dose of an anesthetic drug, often a barbiturate such as pe ...

at St George's Hospital in Tooting. He died at the age of 61 on 4 April 2018. Hours after his death, Milan played rivals

in the '' Derby della Madonnina'' at the San Siro. His former captain Franco Baresi laid a bouquet of flowers next to Wilkins' shirt by the side of the pitch. A section of Milan fans held aloft a banner which read "Ciao Ray: Leggenda Rossonera" (English: "Goodbye Ray: Legend of the Red and Blacks"). During Chelsea's home game against West Ham United on 8 April, fans at Stamford 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." A memorial service was held for Wilkins on 1 May at St 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. 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.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Wilkins goal.''

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Manchester United *

: 1982–83 * FA Charity Shield:

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

Rangers * Scottish Premier Division: 1988–89, 1989–90 *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

: 1988–89 England * Rous Cup: 1986 * British Home Championship: 1977–78, 1981–82, 1982–83 Individual * Chelsea Player of the Year: 1975–76, 1976–77 * English Football Hall of Fame: 2013Walters, Mike (4 April 2018)
'If there was an award for nicest man in football, Ray Wilkins would have won it'
''Mirror''. Retrieved 4 April 2018.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkins, Ray 1956 births 2018 deaths Footballers from the London Borough of Hillingdon People from Hillingdon England men's under-23 international footballers England men's under-21 international footballers England men's international footballers English football managers English men's footballers English expatriate men's footballers English Football Hall of Fame inductees Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Paris Saint-Germain FC players AC Milan players Chelsea F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players Ligue 1 players Scottish Football League players Serie A players UEFA Euro 1980 players 1982 FIFA World Cup players 1986 FIFA World Cup players Fulham F.C. managers Hibernian F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Members of the Order of the British Empire Millwall F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Rangers F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Chelsea F.C. non-playing staff Watford F.C. non-playing staff Queens Park Rangers F.C. managers Premier League managers English association football commentators Senrab F.C. players Fulham F.C. non-playing staff English Football League representative players Jordan national football team managers Expatriate football managers in Jordan English expatriate football managers 2015 AFC Asian Cup managers Aston Villa F.C. non-playing staff Men's association football midfielders Ray English expatriate sportspeople in Jordan English expatriate sportspeople in Italy English expatriate sportspeople in France People with ulcerative colitis 20th-century English sportsmen