33 Facts About Ray Wilkins

1.

Raymond Colin Wilkins was an English football player and coach.

2.

Ray Wilkins won 84 caps for the England national football team from 1976 to 1986, playing at UEFA Euro 1980 and the 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cups.

3.

Ray Wilkins managed Jordan at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup and his last coaching job was as the assistant manager of Aston Villa later that year.

4.

In 1975, following the club's relegation and the departure of many established players, an 18-year-old Ray Wilkins was handed the captaincy of Chelsea by new manager Eddie McCreadie, taking it from long-time Blues captain John Hollins.

5.

Ray Wilkins took to the role well, keeping it for four years.

6.

Ray Wilkins played 105 games for Milan between 1984 and 1987.

7.

Ray Wilkins became an integral part of the team for the rest of the season, making twenty-nine appearances, which included both legs of the European Cup quarter-final against Steaua Bucharest.

8.

Ray Wilkins played in Rangers' win over Aberdeen in the 1988 Scottish League Cup Final.

9.

Ray Wilkins left QPR in the summer of 1994 on a free transfer to join Crystal Palace as a player-coach under manager Alan Smith, but only made one appearance due to breaking his left foot on his debut.

10.

Ray Wilkins re-joined QPR as player-manager on 15 November 1994, following the exit of Gerry Francis.

11.

Ray Wilkins left QPR by mutual agreement in September 1996 after the club was bought by media tycoon Chris Wright following their relegation from the FA Premier League.

12.

Ray Wilkins played one game at Wycombe Wanderers before moving to Hibernian for a 16-game stint.

13.

Ray Wilkins scored three goals in 84 games for England, captained the team on ten occasions, and played at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups.

14.

Ray Wilkins was a fixture in the England squad through a successful campaign to qualify for the 1982 World Cup in Spain, which England exited at the second group stage.

15.

Ray Wilkins became the first Englishman to be sent off at the World Cup in a goalless draw with Morocco in 1986, for throwing the ball at Gabriel Gonzalez.

16.

Ray Wilkins made his 84th and final England appearance in November 1986, against Yugoslavia.

17.

When Vialli was hired by First Division club Watford, Ray Wilkins again assisted him until their dismissal in June 2002.

18.

From 2003 to 2005, Ray Wilkins assisted former Chelsea player Dennis Wise in his managing of Millwall, but announced his exit when he took exception at Dave Bassett being hired in the coaching staff.

19.

From 2004 on Ray Wilkins was assistant coach to Peter Taylor with the England under-21s until Taylor left in early 2007.

20.

Ray Wilkins was not retained by incoming head coach Stuart Pearce.

21.

In September 2008, Ray Wilkins was appointed assistant first team coach to Luiz Felipe Scolari at Chelsea, following Steve Clarke's departure to West Ham United.

22.

In February 2009, following Scolari's shock sacking, Ray Wilkins was appointed as Chelsea's caretaker manager for the Fifth round FA Cup tie with Watford.

23.

On 1 December 2010, Ray Wilkins reached what he described as a "harmonious conclusion" with Chelsea following his unexpected departure from Stamford Bridge.

24.

On 30 December 2013, Ray Wilkins was appointed assistant head coach of Fulham.

25.

On 3 September 2014, Ray Wilkins was appointed as the new head coach of Jordan.

26.

Ray Wilkins led Jordan at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, where they were eliminated in the group-stages for the first time after two losses against Iraq and Japan and a win over Palestine.

27.

On 26 October 2015, Ray Wilkins was sacked along with Tim Sherwood and the rest of the coaching team.

28.

Ray Wilkins later appeared as a commentator for Sky Sports, particularly on their Champions League coverage.

29.

Ray Wilkins was featured as a commentator on the 1990s Tango soft drink commercials, 'You know when you've been Tango'd'.

30.

Ray Wilkins was a patron for the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young.

31.

In July 2016, Ray Wilkins was given a four-year ban for drink driving.

32.

On 28 March 2018, Ray Wilkins had a cardiac arrest, resulting in a fall, and was placed into an induced coma at St George's Hospital in Tooting.

33.

Ray Wilkins's son made a speech about Wilkins' struggles with depression and alcoholism.