Ray Wilkins
From TheChels.info - The Chelsea Football Club Wiki
| Ray Wilkins | |
| |
| Full Name | Raymond Colin Wilkins |
| Date of Birth | 14 September 1956 |
| Place of Birth | Hillingdon, Middlesex |
| Player | |
| Position | Midfielder |
| Chelsea career | 1973-1979 |
| Debut | 26 October 1973 |
| Games (goals) | 198 (34) |
| Other clubs | Manchester United Milan Paris Saint Germain Glasgow Rangers Queens Park Rangers Crystal Palace Wycombe Wanderers Hibernian Millwall Leyton Orient |
| Staff | |
| Years | 1998-2000 2008-2010 |
| Role(s) | Assistant First Team Coach Caretaker Manager |
| Other clubs | Queens Park Rangers Fulham Millwall |
Raymond Colin Wilkins MBE (born 14 September 1956) is a former Chelsea player who was club captain during the late 1970s and voted player of the year in 1976 and 1977. He was also assistant manager at Chelsea under four different managers, and had two spells as caretaker manager, in 2000 and 2009.
The son of professional footballer George Wilkins, Wilkins (nicknamed Butch from childhood) made his name in the 1970s with boyhood club Chelsea, whom he joined as an apprentice, progressing to his first team debut against Norwich City in October 1973. His brothers Graham and Stephen also joined Chelsea around this time.
In 1975, following relegation and the departure of many of the club's 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 Ron Harris. He took to the role well, maintaining it for four years. He emerged as Chelsea's key player in this period, leading a team of mainly young players to promotion again in 1976-77 and consolidation in the First Division in the next season.
International
Wilkins was called up to play for England for the first time in 1976 by coach Don Revie and quickly made his debut against Italy during a mini-tournament in the U.S.. He was to become a permanent fixture in England squads for a decade to come.
Returns to Chelsea
Wilkins returned to Chelsea in February 1999 to be assistant manager to Gianluca Vialli following Graham Rix's imprisonment, and was with the club when they won FA Cup in 2000. When Vialli was dismissed months later, Wilkins was appointed caretaker manager alongside Rix, taking charge for two games before departing when Claudio Ranieri arrived with his own backroom team.
In September 2008 Wilkins was appointed assistant to Luiz Felipe Scolari and again took over as caretaker manager when Scolari was sacked. He remained assistant during the reigns of Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti, winning a league title and two FA Cups. In November 2010 the club announced that Wilkins' contract would not be renewed and he left the same day.
Images
 Ray enjoying the open top bus ride, 16th May 2010 |
 Ray on the bench, 9th May 2010 |
| Player of the Year |
|---|
| 1967: Bonetti | 1968: Cooke | 1969: Webb | 1970: Hollins | 1971: Hollins | 1972: Webb | 1973: Osgood | 1974: Locke 1975: Cooke | 1976: Wilkins | 1977: Wilkins | 1978: Droy | 1979: Langley | 1980: Walker | 1981: Borota | 1982: Fillery 1983: Jones | 1984: Nevin | 1985: Speedie | 1986: Niedzwiecki | 1987: Nevin | 1988: Dorigo | 1989: Roberts 1990: Monkou | 1991: Townsend | 1992: Elliott | 1993: Sinclair | 1994: Clarke | 1995: Johnsen | 1996: Gullit 1997: Hughes | 1998: Wise | 1999: Zola | 2000: Wise | 2001: Terry | 2002: Cudicini | 2003: Zola | 2004: Lampard 2005: Lampard | 2006: Terry | 2007: Essien | 2008: J.Cole | 2009: Lampard | 2010: Drogba | 2011: Čech | 2012: Mata 2013: Mata | 2014: Hazard |
