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As above..more than a little shocked .
R.I.P.
That's a shock. Fantastic midfield player. RIP.
aye, just read it. heard he was in a bad way last week so not entirely a shock. shame, one of footballs true gents, this lot now could learn a lot from him.
RIP ray.
RIP.
His brother drove me to the airport once. Nice bloke. Reckoned he was the better player until he got injured and became a taxi driver.
Ah, that's not good. Can't've been very old. My little bro was a big Chelsea fan back in the day.
Very sad .
Never has a lemonheads song been more appropriate .
Sad indeed but his demons caught up with him. Didn't rate him on the radio but he came across as a nice bloke.
Very sad. He was a hero of mine when he was at Rangers.
Aye, he came to us when he was toward the end of his career, but he was like a Rolls Royce, purred along, oozing class. His goal in the 5-1 drubbing in 1990 was a joy to watch.
All the best to his family, sleep tight Ray.
A real shame. I worked with him many times, and he was genuinely a nice guy.
Sad indeed but his demons caught up with him.
Did he have a known drink problem towards the end? I note he had multiple drink driving charges and was in the middle of a 4 year ban.
He seems to have been a well respected man around football and 61 is no age.
Aye, a pretty ill thought line there, have a bit of respect.
We all have demons, what that has to do with him having a heart attack, f... knows!!!
RIP
@blooddonor - lifestyle can seriously increase the risk of heart problems, cancer, strokes etc.
He was a great player. RIP "The Crab"
Amazing to think "Butch" was 18 when he became Chelsea captain, apparently he didnt like that sobriquet, came across as a classy bloke - RIP Ray.
He was a self confessed alcoholic that thought nothing of getting in his car when pie eyed. His addiction cost him quite a few lucrative jobs and by the looks of things his life at far too young an age.
It does seem like he was a genuinely nice chap and was certainly a good footballer but lets not pretend he went out of his way to lengthen his life.
So Ant is a bad chap for getting in a car when pissed but we have to have a bit of respect for an alky footballer who didn't seem to have respect for others when chosing to get behind the wheel?
Shall we ignore the rapey drug using violent ones as well?
I think what both the high & mighty and the etiquette-obsessed forget (or maybe just don't know in the first place) is that alcoholism is not a choice, it's a disease. Shushing those who bring it up "because it's not appropriate" and alluding to "demons" does nothing but reinforce the prevalent opinion that it's very much the individual's choice to do what they do. Do we hush people who talk about heart disease as a cause of death, or use euphemism to explain away cancer?
I doubt very much that Ray actually thought it was OK to drink drive, but the real person just isn't there when they're under the influence.
So Ant is a bad chap for getting in a car when pissed but we have to have a bit of respect for an alky footballer who didn’t seem to have respect for others when chosing to get behind the wheel?
Shall we ignore the rapey drug using violent ones as well?
WOW
WOWx2.
What a strange angry wee guy.
alcoholism is not a choice, it’s a disease.
Is it though? I'm not personally saying it is or isn't but I think it's a legitimate question. You can and people do stop drinking. People don't wake up one day and decide not to have cancer but people do do that with addictions. And alcoholic or not he was caught three times for drink driving, that is probably only a fraction of the times he actually drove drunk. I'm sure as so many have said he was a wonderful person and it must be very hard on his friends and family but the fact is at times he showed absolutely no regard whatsoever for the lives of others. It's a difficult thing to reconcile but I don't think it's right not to take all of his actions into account when remembering him.
Probably overreacted but I miss a couple of people who would be here except for drink drivers.
So yes I am angry. 5ft 11 though so not to worried about the wee comment. I've never taken strange as being a bad thing either.
Not all alcoholics have a disease, some just drink too much because they like it and want to. My Dad was one of them but that does not take away from the wonderful bloke he was.
Wilkins recently admitted in court, when up for drink driving, again, that he was a alcoholic, his talksport co-presenters hint at it while sympathising. Hell, he regularly turned up bashed for work!
None of this should detract from the fact that he was a great footballer and by all accounts a lovely bloke but if you live by the sword don’t be surprised when it stabs you in the bum.
Blimey Eddiebaby, sorry to hear you feel this way. Thats a terribly cruel post, but you must have your reasons. Hope you find peace.
Loved Wilkins as a player. And thats how will remember him, not for his illness in later life. Think the "crab" nickname was generally unfair as only did that when there was no one else to pass to. Reflected more on other players I thought. RIP.