Ray Wilkins: Remembering a legend

The England legend learned his trade in the capital, playing Sunday League football for Senrab, a team with such success in producing players for Chelsea that Ray Lewington – later Palace Assistant Manager – gave them the nickname ‘Chelsea Juniors’.

Their role of honour is something to be reckoned with: Sol Campbell, John Terry, Jermain Defoe, Ledley King, and more. But in the early 1970s, two youngsters were catching the eye. Crystal Palace managed to swoop for one of them. The other got away.

The first was Vince Hilaire. His ability was recognised by Terry Venables and he was handed his first-team debut at 17-years-old, and would go on to be named the club’s Player of the Year in 1979.

The second was Ray Wilkins. Chelsea was his boyhood club, and his ultimate destination. He, too, would make his debut as a 17-year-old novice – and his impact was instant. Following the club’s relegation in 1975, he was handed the captaincy aged just 18 over long-time skipper John Hollins. He kept the armband for four years.

In 1979, Chelsea were relegated again, and Manchester United swooped. His leadership qualities were evident once again, and he regularly captained the side. Palace fans may remember fondly his long-range screamer in the 1983 FA Cup final against Brighton & Hove Albion – the Red Devils went on to win the replay.

Before the supremacy of the Premier League, Serie A was the pinnacle of European football. Soon Wilkins’ performances – which had earned him Man Utd’s Player of the Year award in 1984 – had attracted the attention of AC Milan, who signed him for a hefty fee. He was unlucky to play at the San Siro during a barren period for the club, and after a short-lived spell with PSG he returned to the United Kingdom with Rangers and QPR.

Then came Palace’s turn. By this point, Wilkins was more than a household name; he was something of a national hero. He had earned 84 caps for the national side – he is still 14th in the all-time list of appearances – and captained England on 10 occasions, featuring in the 1982 and 1986 World Cups in Spain and Mexico respectively.

But by 1994, he was 38 years old and coming to the end of his playing career. Palace manager Alan Smith was determined to add experience and winning know-how to his squad, and thought Wilkins the perfect fit, signing him as a player-coach to aid his transition from first-team regular to backroom staff.

It did not go as planned. Wilkins broke his left foot on his Palace debut, and never played for the club again; the dream of the cultured midfielder and England legend lighting up south London was dead, and Smith headed back to the drawing board.

Having only arrived over summer, Wilkins returned to QPR as player-manager in November of the same year, and bade goodbye to Palace for good. Sometimes a great player and a great club just don’t find themselves in sync.

Wilkins’ reputation in football was already assured, but his coaching career enhanced his legacy further, as he returned to boyhood club Chelsea as Assistant Manager, winning a Premier League title and three FA Cups. Meanwhile, his media career made him a respected and well-loved pundit for fans up and down the land.

Ray Wilkins suffered a cardiac arrest and died a week later at the age of 61 on April 4th, 2018. “He was a true friend and a gentleman,” former Palace captain Gareth Southgate said in tribute. “Ray was a great ambassador for the game, a proud Englishman who loved playing for his country.

"When he played with us you could immediately see that his technical ability to play the ball was phenomenal. In the modern game, those attributes would have been appreciated far more than they were at that time, so he really was a top player."

A respected player on the field and a much-loved figure off it, the footballing world lost Ray Wilkins far too soon. It may have been brief, but Palace can count themselves lucky to have been a part of his journey.