Ray Wilkins

Did You Know?

• Wilkins was a patron for the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young.
• He was made an MBE in 1993.
• He appeared as a commentator on 1990s Tango soft drink commercials.

Club career

Wilkins began his career with the Sunday League team Senrab in Wanstead Flats, East London. He joined Chelsea as an apprentice and made his first-team debut against Norwich City on 26 October 1973 at age 17, coming on as a substitute in a 3–0 home league win. After Chelsea's relegation in 1975 and the departure of several established players, new manager Eddie McCreadie appointed the 18-year-old Wilkins as captain, taking the armband from John Hollins.

He held the captaincy for four years and led a young squad to promotion in 1976–1977 and consolidation in the First Division the following season. His elder brother Graham also played for Chelsea. In 1979, after another relegation, Wilkins signed for Manchester United for £825,000, a club record fee received by Chelsea at the time. He scored ten goals in five years with United, 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 United supporters at the end of the 1983–1984 season. Milan then made a £1.5 million offer for him, and Wilkins signed with the Italian club in summer 1984. Adapting to Italian football required a focus on fitness; coaching staff worked to reduce his body fat, and Wilkins said he reached the best shape of his career. Milan had been relegated in 1981–1982, and Wilkins was joined by fellow Englishman Mark Hateley, who replaced Luther Blissett.

The pair were the only foreign players in the squad and helped Milan defeat rivals Inter Milan in the Milan Derby that October, earning praise from the Italian press and fans. In his first season, Wilkins played 28 Serie A matches, helping the team finish fifth in the league and earning a runner-up medal in the Coppa Italia after eliminating Inter in the semi-finals.

International career

Ray Wilkins earned three goals in 84 England caps and wore the captain's armband ten times. Don Revie gave him his first call-up in 1976, and he debuted on 28 May that year in a 3–2 win over Italy at the U.S.A. Bicentennial Cup Tournament in New York. A career highlight came when he helped England reach the 1980 European Championships in Italy, the nation's first major tournament in ten years. During a group match against Belgium, Wilkins chipped the ball over the Belgian defence to beat their offside trap, then lobbed the goalkeeper to put England ahead; Belgium equalised soon after, and England went no further than the group stage.

He was a regular throughout the successful qualification for the 1982 World Cup in Spain, where England were eliminated in the second group phase. Under new manager Bobby Robson in the 1983–84 season, Wilkins kept his place, but England missed out on the 1984 European Championships. While playing for Milan, he remained a consistent selection and was part of the squad that qualified for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. He featured in the opening loss to Portugal.

In a 0–0 draw with Morocco, Wilkins became the first Englishman sent off at a World Cup after throwing the ball at referee Gabriel González in frustration over an offside decision. That ban kept him out of the next two matches, and he was not brought back for the quarter-final defeat to Argentina, 2–1. His 84th and final England appearance came in November 1986 against Yugoslavia.

Style of play and reception

Wilkins played primarily as a deep-lying playmaker, using vision and passing range to dictate tempo from central midfield. He was noted for his elegance, composure, and tactical intelligence, and was particularly known for long-range, accurate passing. He earned the nickname 'Butch' early in his career and was also called 'Razor' (or 'Rasoio' in Italian) for the precise, driven nature of his passes. He could calibrate passes using the instep of his foot, a technique uncommon at the time.

Though not a prolific goalscorer, he scored memorable goals such as a curling left-footed strike in the 1983 FA Cup Final and a well-timed volley for Rangers in 1988. He began as a classical inside-forward with strong leadership qualities, captaining Chelsea at 18 and leading the team back to the First Division. In midfield, he often sat deep, holding position and playing simple passes to encourage teammates to take creative roles. He was effective at regaining possession through positional sense and willingness to sacrifice for the team.

This selfless approach led some to view him as unimaginative; manager Ron Atkinson nicknamed him 'The Crab' for his perceived sideways passing. George Best said that had Wilkins arrived at Manchester United ten years earlier, he would have been recognised as one of the world's most intelligent footballers. Wilkins was a serious, meticulous professional known for his correctness, and after his death was described by former teammates, managers, and media as an 'absolute gentleman'.

Coaching career

Wilkins managed Queens Park Rangers from 1994 to 1996 and Fulham in 1997–1998. In March 1999, he became Chelsea's first-team coach after Graham Rix was jailed for child sex offences. When Vialli was hired by Watford, Wilkins again assisted him until their dismissal in June 2002. From 2003 to 2005, he assisted Dennis Wise at Millwall but left after objecting to the hiring of Dave Bassett.

From 2004, Wilkins was assistant coach to Peter Taylor with the England under-21s until Taylor left in early 2007; he was not retained by incoming head coach Stuart Pearce. In September 2008, he was appointed assistant first-team coach to Luiz Felipe Scolari at Chelsea after Steve Clarke's departure. Following Scolari's dismissal in February 2009, Wilkins served as Chelsea's caretaker manager for a Fifth round FA Cup tie against Watford, which Chelsea won 3–1.

On 11 November 2010, it was announced that his contract would not be renewed and he left with immediate effect. He later said he reached a 'harmonious conclusion' with Chelsea and that the club had not given him a reason for his sacking. Carlo Ancelotti wrote that without Wilkins, Chelsea would not have won anything. On 30 December 2013, Wilkins was appointed assistant head coach of Fulham; he and technical director Alan Curbishley were dismissed on 17 February 2014, and the season ended with relegation.