Ray Kennedy

Raymond Kennedy (28 July 1951 – 30 November 2021) was an English footballer who won every domestic honour in the game with Arsenal and Liverpool in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Kennedy played as a forward for Arsenal, and then played as a left-sided midfielder for Liverpool.

Ray Kennedy was born on 28 July 1951 in Seaton Delaval, a former pit village in Northumberland, to Martin and Veronica Kennedy, a coal miner and housewife respectively.

He was the eldest of four children: Trevor, Michael, and Janet.

He was spotted playing schoolboy football by a scout at Port Vale, and began training at Vale Park after manager Stanley Matthews came to the Kennedy home to persuade him to sign schoolboy forms at the club.

However, at the age of sixteen Matthews felt Kennedy was "too slow to be a footballer".

Kennedy was considered to be too big and clumsy to be a professional, and groundskeeper Dennis Dawson said he was the only man at the club to see any potential in the youngster.

He was released by the club after being told that he would never make it as a professional.

Kennedy returned to his native north-east in March 1967 and started working in a sweet factory whilst playing as an amateur for New Hartley Juniors, where he built a successful attacking partnership with former England schoolboy international Ian Watts.

The pair scored 142 goals between them, and helped the club to win the East Northumberland Junior League, the Northumberland FA Junior Cup, the East Northumberland Junior League Cup, the North East Youth Challenge Cup, the East Northumberland Junior League Charlton Trophy, the Tynemouth Junior League Challenge Cup and the Magpie Trophy.

Kennedy turned professional for Arsenal in November 1968.

Kennedy was spotted by Arsenal playing for New Hartley Juniors, and though the scouts had initially gone to the game to watch his striker partner Watts, Kennedy had impressed enough to win an apprentice contract with Arsenal in May 1968.

He then signed professional forms with the club in November 1968.

He had a difficult task though to win a first-team place, as manager Bertie Mee used only 15 players throughout the entire 1968–69 season, during which time Kennedy made 20 appearances for the Reserve team as they claimed the Football Combination Division One title.

He made his first-team debut on 29 September 1969, against Glentoran in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and his First Division debut as a substitute on 18 October, a 1–1 draw with Sunderland at Roker Park.

He scored his first goal for the Gunners in the reverse fixture against Sunderland at Highbury, which ended in a 3–1 win.

He made his first-team debut 10 months later, and went on to win the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1970, the First Division and FA Cup Double in 1970–71, and then play on the losing side in the 1972 FA Cup final.

Charlie George broke his ankle on the opening game of the 1970–71 season, and Kennedy replaced him as John Radford's strike partner for the following game, and went on to feature in the remaining league fixtures of the campaign as Arsenal went on to be crowned champions.

They exited the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup with defeat to German side 1. FC Köln at the quarter-final stage, though after their draw with Lazio in the First Round Kennedy was attacked by some of the Lazio players in an Italian restaurant, and in the ensuing brawl police pulled a gun on teammate Eddie Kelly; Kennedy later said he was targeted by the Lazio players due to his "cheeky face".

Back in the league, he scored his first hat-trick in victory over Nottingham Forest, though he admitted after the match that he was "still expecting to be dropped any minute".

Arsenal overtook Leeds United to win the league title on the final day of the season, Kennedy scoring the only goal of the game with a late header in a 1–0 victory over North London derby rivals Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.

In the FA Cup, Arsenal progressed past Yeovil Town, Portsmouth (following a replay), Manchester City, Leicester City (following a replay), and Stoke City (following a replay), before meeting Liverpool in the final at Wembley Stadium.

His form then declined, and he was sold to Liverpool for a club record £200,000 fee in July 1974, at the same time that Bill Shankly resigned as manager.

He initially struggled at the club, but after manager Bob Paisley converted him to a left-sided midfielder he went on to help Liverpool to become the dominant club of English football from 1975 to 1982.

During his time at the club Liverpool won the First Division five times (1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80, and 1981–82), the FA Charity Shield four times (1976, 1977, 1979 and 1980), the European Cup three times, (1977, 1978, and 1981), and the UEFA Cup (1976), UEFA Super Cup (1977), and League Cup (1981).

He scored 148 goals in 581 league and cup appearances in a 15-year career in the English Football League and also won 17 caps for England between 1976 and 1980, scoring three international goals.

He also picked up runners-up medals in the FA Cup (1977), UEFA Super Cup (1978), League Cup (1978), and World Club Championship (1981) and won the Match of the Day's Goal of the Season award in 1978–79.

He was a strong player with an excellent first touch, intelligence, and all round ability.

This allowed him to transition from a forward to a midfielder during his time at Liverpool.

He went on to appear as a 77th-minute substitute in the first leg of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final against Belgian club Anderlecht at Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, and scored a late goal in a 3–1 defeat.

Though he did not appear in the second leg, his goal proved to be decisive as Arsenal claimed a 4–3 aggregate victory to win the first European trophy in the club's history.

His only international tournament appearance was at Euro 1980.

Bob Paisley described him as "one of Liverpool's greatest players and probably the most underrated".

Despite his trophy successes with Arsenal and Liverpool, after winning six caps for the England under-23 side he was unable to translate his club form into a good international career, and was used as a stand-in for Trevor Brooking before he retired from international football in frustration in March 1981.

Kennedy joined Swansea City for a £160,000 fee in January 1982 and added a Welsh Cup winners medal to his collection four months later.

However, the effects of Parkinson's disease began to reduce his effectiveness on the pitch, and he dropped into the Fourth Division with Hartlepool United in November 1983.

During the 1984–85 season he spent a brief time as player-manager of Cyprus club Pezoporikos and later played for Northern League club Ashington.

He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in November 1984.

His life after football was difficult, as he had to deal with the effects of Parkinson's, the loss of his business, and the breakdown of his 15-year marriage.

He remained reliant on charity to fund his medical expenses, and was forced to sell his medal collection and caps in 1993.