Farewell, Ray, a true football legend — and a lovely fella
THERE is no getting away from the saddest story of the week. You will have seen many emotional tributes to Ray Wilkins, following his death at the age of 61, and they are all sincere. I never had the privilege to work with Ray but I saw him play for Queens Park Rangers when I was a kid and he was a legend. He would be in the middle of the park, bossing games with the quality of his passing and his intelligence. You could see he would be a coach one day. He used to live close by me and whenever I bumped into him, Ray would always want to talk football and was genuinely enthusiastic. He would listen to what you had to say, and offer you some advice if he thought you needed it. His words were always insightful. He just loved football. Other people have articulated their feelings better than I ever could, from Jody Morris, Nigel Quashie and John Terry, but I will say that he was a player of great distinction. More than that, he was a lovely, lovely fella. My thoughts go out to his family and many, many friends.