Ray Kennedy

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Biography

Raymond Kennedy (born 28 July 1951) is an English former Association football|football player who won every domestic honour in the game with Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal and Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool in the 1970s. He played as a both a midfielder and a Forward (association football)|forward , and scored 109 goals in 498 The Football League|league games; and also won 17 caps for England national football team|England , scoring three international goals.

Rejected by Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale , he eventually turned professional with Arsenal in 1968. He spent the next six years with the club, helping them to a Football League First Division|League and FA Cup Double (association football)|Double in 1970–71 in English football|1971 . He also won a Inter-Cities Fairs Cup|Fairs Cup medal, and a league and FA Cup runners-up medal before signing for Liverpool for a £180,000 fee in 1974. He spent the next eight years with the club, helping them to five league titles, three UEFA Champions League|European Cup triumphs, as well as trophies in the UEFA Cup , UEFA Super Cup|Super Cup , and Football League Cup|League Cup , and an additional four FA Community Shield|Charity Shield victories. During this time he also added a runners-up medal in the league, FA Cup, League Cup, Super Cup, and Intercontinental Cup (football)|World Club Championship to his trophy cabinet. Sold on to Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea for £160,000 in 1982, he added a Welsh Cup winners medal to his collection before moving on to Hartlepool United F.C.|Hartlepool in 1983. He retired from the game in 1984 at the age of 32, having already started to feel the effects of Parkinson's disease .

Early life

Kennedy was born at Seaton Delaval , Northumberland .

He trained as an apprentice with Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale , but at the age of sixteen was told by manager Stanley Matthews that he was "too slow to be a footballer". Considered to be too big and clumsy to be a professional, groundskeeper Dennis Dawson claimed that he was the only man at the club to see any potential in the youngster. Dawson also told how Kennedy was released by the club after he was told "You will never make a pro as long as you have got a hole in your arse!". Kennedy returned to his native north-east and started playing as an amateur for New Hartley Juniors and working in a sweet factory.

Club career

Arsenal

Kennedy was spotted by a scout for Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal , who signed him in 1968. A year later he made his first team debut on 29 September 1969, against Glentoran F.C.|Glentoran in the 1969–70 in English football|1969–70 UEFA Cup|Inter-Cities Fairs Cup ; that season Arsenal progressed to the competition's final and the young Kennedy had a starring role, coming on as a substitute in the first leg, with Arsenal losing 3–1 to R.S.C. Anderlecht|Anderlecht , Kennedy scored a crucial late goal. Arsenal completed the comeback in the second leg with a 3–0 win at Arsenal Stadium|Highbury , and won 4–3 on aggregate; it was their first European trophy.

Kennedy had only played six times in 1969–70, but the following season ( 1970–71 in English football|1970–71 ) he only missed one game in all competitions, as part of the Arsenal side which became only the second in the 20th century to win the coveted Double (association football)|Double of Football League First Division|League Championship and FA Cup . A tight, dramatic finale to the title race saw Kennedy score the only goal of the game against Arsenal's fiercest rivals Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane to secure the title for Arsenal, their first since 1952–53 in English football|1952–53 . Three days later, Arsenal beat Liverpool 2–1 after extra time to win the FA Cup. Kennedy didn't score in the final, but did end the season with 27 goals, making him the club's top scorer.

Arsenal returned to Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley to defend the FA Cup the following season but lost 1–0 to Leeds United A.F.C.|Leeds United ; Kennedy came on as a substitute for John Radford (footballer)|John Radford but was unable to net the equaliser; he still finished as Arsenal's top scorer for 1971–72 in English football|1971–72 , scoring 19 goals. For the next two seasons he continued to be a regular for Arsenal, scoring consistently (and finishing as top scorer again in 1973–74 in English football|1973–74 ) but did not win another trophy as the Double-winning side was slowly broken up.

Liverpool

After the end of the 1973–74 season, Kennedy was sold to Liverpool for £180,000. Whilst it is widely believed that he was the last signing made by manager Bill Shankly , Shankly had actually announced his retirement earlier that same day. Kennedy was actually signed by then Chairman John Smith (businessman)|Sir John Wilson Smith .

Ray made his Liverpool debut in a league match against Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (stadium)|Stamford Bridge on the 31 August 1974, it took Kennedy just 22 minutes to open his goalscoring account as the Reds went on to comfortably beat the London ers 3–0.

Despite his ability as a striker, Kennedy's chances to play in his favoured centre forward role at Liverpool were restricted due to the presence of the prolific Kevin Keegan and John Toshack . Shankly's successor Bob Paisley , however, had other plans for Kennedy. Giving him the number 5 shirt, Paisley converted the burly striker into a cultured attacking midfield player, based on the left flank, Kennedy flourished in this role for the rest of the decade. Indeed, his form was so good, that Jimmy Greaves later described Kennedy as 'the player of the seventies'.

With Liverpool, Kennedy won the League title and UEFA Cup in 1975–76 in English football|1975–76 , scoring in the final of the latter. The following season, he came close to equalling his Double achievements with Arsenal when Liverpool ventured to Wembley for the FA Cup final having already regained their title. Victory over Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United would make Kennedy the first player to win the Double with two different clubs, but Liverpool lost the game 2–1. Kennedy nearly forced extra time in the last minute when his long-range shot hit the crossbar.

With dreams of the traditional Double gone, Liverpool went to Rome to contest their first UEFA Champions League|European Cup final against Borussia Mönchengladbach and won the game 3–1, earning Kennedy his third European honour. Kennedy and Liverpool retained the trophy the following year and again in 1980–81 in English football|1980–81 (in which he scored the decisive away goal against Bayern Munich in the European Cup semi-final), while also winning the two more League crowns and their first Football League Cup|League Cup .

Swansea

After the emergence of young midfielder Ronnie Whelan in 1981, Kennedy left Liverpool (having played enough games to guarantee a final title medal) for £160,000 in January 1982 to join the renaissance of Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea City under his former team-mate Toshack, who had previously recruited fellow Liverpool legends Tommy Smith (footballer born 1945)|Tommy Smith and Ian Callaghan . He made his Swans debut on 30 January 1982 at the Vetch Field , Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United were the visitors and were seen off by 2 goals to nil.

Kennedy's spell at Swansea ended acrimoniously, with Toshack accusing Kennedy publicly of not trying, when the truth was that Parkinson's disease was setting in. Kennedy tried to resume his career in his native north-east at Hartlepool United F.C.|Hartlepool United joining them in November 1983, but his condition worsened and he was forced to retire in 1984 just before his 33rd birthday. He wrote Hartlepool's application letter for re-election to the Football League in 1983–84 which may have helped them to survive. His condition was finally confirmed by a Specialty (medicine)|specialist when he was 35.

International career

Kennedy won his first of 17 caps for England national football team|England as a left sided midfielder. He never played as an orthodox centre forward again. Kennedy though was forced to compete with Trevor Brooking for the left midfield role, and believed England national football team manager|England manager Ron Greenwood favoured his old West Ham protege Brooking. The Liverpool man also believed that his influential old Liverpool colleague and then England skipper, Kevin Keegan , preferred Brooking in the side, and these two factors played a large part in Kennedy informing Greenwood he no longer wished to play for England in late 1980.
Don Revie gave Kennedy his first cap on the 24 March 1976 in a friendly with Wales national football team|Wales at the Racecourse Ground , Wrexham , Kennedy scored the opening goal as England won the game 2–1.

Retirement

Kennedy's only work in football after he finished playing was a brief spell at Sunderland A.F.C.|Sunderland as a coach. He has spent the majority of life since retirement and diagnosis working towards publicising and raising funds for the research and treatment of Parkinson's disease|Parkinson's . Arsenal and Liverpool played each other in a testimonial game at Highbury in 1991 to raise money for the cause, 18,000 turned out to support the cause.

Ray Kennedy published his autobiography "Ray of Hope" in 1993, co-authored by Dr. Andrew Lees (neurologist)|Andrew Lees who at that time treated Ray for Parkinson's disease.

To this day Kennedy lives a quiet, homebound life with decreased mobility and a dependency on drugs to control the discomfort of his condition. He had to sell his medals, caps, shirts and other memorabilia after falling on financially hard times. The "Ray of Hope Appeal", organised by three Liverpool fans Karl Coppack, Stephen Hinds and Matthew Anton to help Kennedy, was featured in the Daily Mirror on 26 January 2008. Daily Mirror

Kennedy is still a favourite amongst Liverpool supporters, and was voted in at No.28 on the 2006 poll 100 Players Who Shook The Kop.

Honours

* Arsenal (1968–1974) – 212 appearances, 71 goals

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup|Fairs Cup winners medal (1970)

Football League First Division|Division 1 (Level 1) (winners medal 1971)

FA Cup winners medal (1971)

Division 1 runners-up medal (1973)

FA Cup runners-up medal (1972)

* Liverpool (1974–1982) – 393 appearances, 72 goals

5 Division 1 (level 1) winners medals (1976, 1977, 1979, 1980 and 1982)

3 UEFA Champions League|European Cup winners medals (1977, 1978 and 1981)

UEFA Cup (1976)

Football League Cup|League Cup winners medal (1981)

UEFA Super Cup winners medal (1977)

4 FA Community Shield|Charity Shield (1976, 1977, 1979 and 1980)

Division 1 runners-up medal (1978)

FA Cup runners-up medal (1977)

League Cup runners-up medal (1978)

UEFA Super Cup runners-up medal (1978)

Intercontinental Cup (football)|World Club Championship runners-up medal 1981

* Swansea City (1982–1983) 42 appearances, 2 goals

Welsh Cup winners medal 1983

* England (1976–1980) – 17 caps, 3 goals

Footnotes

url= http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N146927041130-1517.htm |
title=Ray Kennedy Interview |
work=Liverpool FC Official Website |
accessdate=7 August 2006

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