Ray Kennedy, what a player & lovely bloke who suffered so much with Parkinson’s for most of his life... he will definitely NEVER walk alone

RAY KENNEDY’S greatest feat was not soaring into the north London night to head the goal that won the title for Arsenal on enemy soil 50 years ago.

Nor was it his collection of five League titles and three European Cups with Liverpool, where he was

Bill Shankly’s parting gift (below, middle) – an absolute steal at £200,000 – on the day he resigned as manager.

“Maybe it will be said that one of the last things I did at this club was to sign a great new player,” said Shankly.

And nor was it Kennedy’s conversion from a hero on the Gunners front-line to a powerful, left-sided midfielder with an eye for goal at Anfield under Bob Paisley.

Ray Kennedy’s finest achievement was to spend half his life as a prisoner of Parkinson’s disease, the insidious condition which probably curtailed his playing career, and possibly without realising how much he was loved both on Merseyside and at Arsenal.

Kennedy’s death, at the age of 70, extinguishes another star in one of English football’s brightest constellations.

The son of a Northumberland coal miner, his early promise was enough to bring Sir Stanley Matthews – then manager of Port Vale – to the family home in Seaton Delaval, urgently petitioning his parents for permission to sign

Kennedy on schoolboy forms. Although he didn’t break through into the professional ranks in the Potteries, he returned to the north-east and was working in a sweet factory when Arsenal came calling.

Within three years, Kennedy had delivered the sweetest victory of all (above, top), heading the winner at Tottenham that sealed the title five days before Bertie Mee’s side completed the League and FA Cup Double against Liverpool at Wembley. When Kennedy’s double act with John Radford at Highbury faltered, Mee cashed in – and Paisley, taking over from Shankly as king of the Boot Room at Anfield, couldn’t believe his luck.

After 72 goals in 393 appearances for Liverpool, Kennedy had won every conceivable club honour at home and in Europe – including BBC’S Goal of the Season for a wondrous slalom against Derby.

Paisley had no doubts about his value. “In my view, he was one of Liverpool’s greatest players – and probably the most underrated,” said the manager who shared Kennedy’s three European Cup triumphs in 1977 (below, third), ’78 and ’81.

One of the 17-cap England international’s personal favourites was his crucial away goal in a European Cup semi-final against Bayern Munich 40 years ago, when he captained the side in the absence of injured Phil Thompson and Graeme Souness. But if conquering Bavaria was one of his finest hours as a player, Kennedy’s greatest battle only started when he hung up his boots.

Parkinson’s UK chief executive Caroline Rassell said: “Most young boys dream of becoming a footballer. Ray lived that dream and enjoyed incredible success doing so.

“Ray lived with Parkinson’s for a long time. He spoke honestly about the challenges he faced, including dealing with lesser-known symptoms like hallucinations. Many people with the condition feel the need to hide their diagnosis, but Ray inspired so many people to talk openly about their own life with Parkinson’s. The part he played in raising awareness of the condition, like his football skills, will not be forgotten.”

Among the tributes cascading on to social media, former Liverpool striker John Aldridge captured the mood, saying: “Ray Kennedy, what a player and lovely bloke who suffered so much with Parkinson’s disease for most of his life. He will definitely never walk alone.”