The untimely death of our former captain, Ray Wilkins, saddened us all.
Wilkins not only played for Chelsea, captaining the side as a teenager but also coached the side and stepped into the managerial hot-seat when Chelsea were in-between bosses.
Yesterday, a 90-minute memorial service was held for the midfielder, with it taking place at St Luke’s and Christ Church, in Chelsea.
As you can imagine, due to his popularity, the congregation was littered with icons of the game.
Amongst the Chelsea contingent were Frank Lampard and Antonio Conte, whilst the current England manager, Gareth Southgate, also took time out to attend.
Another former player in attendance, Frank Stapleton, produced the perfect eulogy when the former Manchester United striker remarked during his speech,
“If he was playing now he’d be spoken of as one of the best players in the world.”
Other contributions came from his son Ross, who gave a speech relating to Ray’s continual battle with depression and alcohol in his later life.
Ray’s daughter, Jude, read a poem which contained the following lines,
“There’s only one Ray Wilkins, that’s what the fans say and that is as true of tomorrow as it is of today. Not just a great sportsman but a truly great man.”
Words, here at Vital Chelsea, we’d like to echo.
The final tribute to Ray will come at the forthcoming FA Cup Final when, in the 8th minute, his shirt number, the supporters of both clubs will break into an outburst of spontaneous applause.
RIP Ray.