Ray 'Butch' Wilkins RIP

[bluefatnose]

Devastated to hear of his death today. 61 is no age nowadays.
Remember him captaining Chelsea at 17 or 18 years of age, class act and very mature player for his age. RIP Ray.

[Five and In]

Such sad news.

A true football man and as everybody is saying today, a real gentleman.

If I close my eyes, I see "Butch" in his Chelsea kit driving his team forward. He was some player.
His move to Man Utd and Italy saw a change in his role for which I believe he always got too much stick.
He sacrificed his own style to play a more reserved role for the sake of the team and allowed others to play a more attacking game.

Always spoke well with common sense and respect as a pundit and although he had his issues, he kept them pretty private.

He will be truly missed.

RIP Ray

[littlewiggy]

It certainly makes you question your own mortality when someone you remember seeing play what only seems like yesterday sadly passes away.

I feared the worst for poor Butch when I first heard about his heart attack.
61 is no age nowadays. A sad day for football.

RIP Big Ron's "crab."
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[Pete’s Picture Palace]

Taken during his only 45 minutes on the field at Palace - 20.8.1994, home v Liverpool. He had a spell or two as coach and assistant manager at Palace in the various merry-go-rounds there, always happy to talk and do his best. A superb player whom I first saw in 1976 at the Bridge when Palace won there in the Cup. He's No 8 below.



I also saw a good Palace side totally dismembered by him and Peter Reid when they were playing for QPR at Palace, December 1989. They gave the team, and fans, a lesson in the art of simple but effective football.

RIP Ray.

[gatfb]

RIP Ray. Loved the 76/77 team but then just like now it imploded.

As for that 76 Palace game. I remember we came back from 2 down only for Taylor to score that sickening winnner. Also will always remember Malcom allinson in his sheepskin and fedora coming out to the shed and holding up his fingers to denote what he thought the score would be. nowdays he would be done for it.

Oh, and nearly forgot the trouble and the famous kung fu kick.

[Texas Rangers]

R.I.P Ray.

A superb player and a gentleman by all accounts.

[cfcmartin1965]

Truly saddened at the news of the death of Ray Wilkins.

He was my first footballing hero when I first started going to Stamford Bridge as an 11 year old at the tail end of the 1976/77 season.
Ray was the kingpin of an exciting young Chelsea team which won promotion at the end of that season.

R.I.P. Ray you may have left us know but you will never be forgotten.

[Fishy]

I believe his last 4 games were for Millwall before he became Assistant Manager to Dennis Wise when we finally got to the FA Cup Final in 2004.

RIP Ray - thanks for the memories.
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Millwall league AWAYS wanted
45/6 Newport; Swansea; Leicester.
47/8 Coventry.
48/9 Newport.
49/0 Walsall; Exeter.
50/1 Port Vale.
51/2 Port Vale 1/5.
52/3 Swindon.

[Goalsandwickets]

Just posted this on my blog.

Our paths crossed way back in 1972 when Ray was just starting out his football career.

Already, at that time when he was just 15, he was a class act;

http://www.goalsandwickets.co......y-wilkins/

[manchesterunitedman1]

Ray Wilkins

Forget the football completely, a decent man of high principals who had time for everyone whether you had money or were just a normal guy in the street.

On Talksport today a chap rings up but does not want to give his name, his story was that he was ex army, no home sitting on a piece of cardboard outside a train station.

He recounted how Ray Wilkins stopped, said hello, sat on the cardboard with him, gave him 20 quid to find shelter and a hot meal and took him in a cafe for a coffee, the army guy said only if he would let him pay for the drinks.

He said RW spoke to him and showed a little interest in him, this guy is now living in a home, has met someone and is soon to get married and he rang up and said "Forget the Football-Ray Wilkins was a great man-who helped to save me"

May His Dear Soul Rest in Peace
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[littlewiggy]

Lovely story Leslie, what a thoroughly decent man he was.

Another guy that gets a lot of bad press, Mario Balotelli used to drive around Manchester at night handing out cash to homeless people. I heard an amusing story about the old bill stopping him one night and on peering through his car window, asking him ... "Why do you have all this cash lying on your seat sir?"

"Because I am rich" ... he replied, with absolutely no idea how unintentionally funny he was.
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