In the eyes of all who watched him captaining Chelsea at the age of 18, Ray Wilkins was a golden boy of English football. To an instinctive vision of the game and a superlative range of skills he was already bringing elegance, composure and, most of all, a precocious sense of responsibility that enabled him to instil a sense of purpose into a team who had just been relegated to the old Second Division.
As a classical inside-forward, Wilkins was always a joy to watch. He led Chelsea back into the top tier in his second season as the captain of a team assembled by Eddie McCreadie, a manager willing to put his faith in youth, before taking his qualities to Manchester United, Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Rangers. He was respected everywhere he went in those years, from the mid-1970s to the end of the 80s.
Chelsea (1973-1979)
Manchester United (1979-1984)
Milan (1984-1987)
PSG (1987)
Rangers (1987-1989)
QPR (1989-1994)
Crystal Palace (1994)
QPR (1994-1996)
Wycombe (1996)
Hibernian (1996-97)
Millwall (1997)
Leyton Orient (1997)
Related: Ray Wilkins – a life in pictures
Related: Ray Wilkins obituary
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