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true blue gent
Ex-Chelsea and Manchester United midfielder Ray Wilkins was true gent who had time for everyone — and will be missed
Ex-England man sadly passed away on Wednesday, having been in coma after suffering cardiac arrest last week
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RAY WILKINS had time for everybody.
In Ray’s world, managers, players, pundits, fans — even us journalists — were all equal.
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He was committed to football, with that infectious, passionate and relaxed way about him drawing admirers from all walks of life.
Wilkins was a charmer, a man capable of putting anyone at ease.
He always took a phone call, even when he was in the thick of the action working as a coach at Chelsea.
Often the grandkids would be wreaking havoc in the background, shrieking through the house while they were left unsupervised for a few minutes.
Emotional Frank Lampard pays tribute to former Chelsea assistant first team coach Ray Wilkins
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He was not one to shout or scold, especially when a polite request to keep quiet so he could finish up on the phone would have the same effect.
That soothing voice, that reverential delivery, was so powerful, whatever the occasion.
He was fiercely loyal. To family, to friends, to all his former clubs.
Even so, respectful man that he was, Wilkins was never one to disclose football’s dirty secrets, no matter how hard you tried.
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You always knew where the line was, an imaginary boundary that Wilkins — the former footballer, former manager, the coach who became the analyst — would never tempt you to try to cross.
It was there, though, an unwritten rule and nobody ever tried to overstep the mark or take a liberty with him.
He never once had cause to use the phrase “off the record” to me and it never felt necessary.
That relationship, formed over many years of bumping into Wilkins at airports, at stadiums, in television studios, or as a guest on my table at the annual Football Writers’ Dinner, will be familiar to so many others in our sport.
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AC Milan pay respect to former player Ray Wilkins ahead of the Inter derby
He was the first to accept or decline an invitation to an event and certainly the first to send a message the following day to say thanks for a good night. I always hoped it was.
Wilkins did not have to do that because his company was enough but it was certainly a measure of the man that he always took the trouble.
Manners, and Wilkins had impeccable manners, go a long way in life.
He loved the big occasions, taking forever to make it through the grand ballroom to his table as people from all areas of the game stopped him to say hello.
He took everything in his stride.
There was time when he thought he was going to Paris Saint-Germain as coach with Carlo Ancelotti, returning to the club he briefly represented at the tail-end of his playing career.
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Wilkins was looking forward to taking that job.
For some reason the call never came, never quite happened for a guy who became so close to Ancelotti during his spell managing Chelsea.
The circumstances suggested he was entitled to be miffed but he never let on.
Instead he continued his career in TV and radio, passing on his knowledge and opinions to football fans around the world.
When he spoke, whether you agreed with him or not, it was always passionate and well-intentioned.
Goodbye Ray, you will be missed in this world.
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