Ray Kennedy- Arsenal and Liverpool legend
In 1951 one of Arsenals 1970/71 Double winning heroes was born, he bears the name of Ray Kennedy.
As a youngster Kennedy grabbed the attention of a footballer scout from Port Vale, commencing training at Vale Park following the mythical Stanley Matthews walking into his home and encouraging Kennedy to agree to a schoolboy contract. Despite being picked up by one the greatest footballers to live when 16 Matthews believed he was “too slow to be a footballer”. Kennedy was regarded as being too big and not to clean enough on the ball to become a professional.
Not long afterwards Kennedy was let go by The Valiant before packing his bags for the North East in 1967 where he was paid to work in a sweet factory playing part-time for New Hartley Juniors, where he formed an attacking alliance alongside once England schoolboy international Ian Watts. Altogether the duo amassed 142 strikes between them and assisted the side to the East Northumberland Junior League title, the Northumberland FA Junior Cup, the East Northumberland Junior League Charlton Trophy, the Tynemouth Junior League Challenge Cup and the Magpie Trophy all with ease.
Kennedy was scouted again by this time Arsenal when at New Hartley Juniors, even though the scout went originally to have a look at Watts. This led to an apprentice contract which Kennedy put pen to paper to in 1968. Later that year Kennedy agreed to professional terms. In his first season Kennedy struggled at getting a position in the starting line-up, instead he featured 20 times for the Reserve team as they secured the Football Combination Division One Championship during the 1968/69 season.
Kennedy made his Gunners debut in September 1969 versus Glentoran competing in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and his league debut as substitute a month later in a 1-1 draw against Sunderland away from home. He would net his first Arsenal goal the next time the two played one another later on in the season which The Gunners lost 3-1. Despite not featuring in the 1969/70 Inter Cities-Fairs Cup second tie in the final versus RSC Anderlecht, Kennedys strike still proved to be a turning point as Arsenal clinched the cup 4-3 on aggregate.
After the first match of Arsenal’s 1970/71 campaign which witnessed Charlie George break his ankle, Kennedy stole his place in the first team forming a new attacking partnership with John Radford in the next match before featuring constantly for the rest of the season. By the end of the campaign Kennedy had clinched Arsenal’s first ever double after they sealed the 1970/71 First Division trophy and FA Cup after beating Liverpool narrowly 2-1. After that year’s first round draw to Lazio in the Inter Cities-Fairs Cup Kennedy was attacked by the Lazio team in a restaurant due his so called “cheeky face”.
Returning to the league he grabbed his first hat-trick in a walk in the park 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest, after the match he declared he “still expected to be dropped any minute.” The Gunners would run riot to overturn Leeds United at the top of the First Division to win the title on the last day of the league campaign. Kennedy permitted this after hitting his header into the back of the net in the North London Derby versus Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. During that years FA Cup final against Liverpool which Arsenal triumphed in Kennedy struggled to score from the great number of opportunities he was given. Once the final was done and dusted Kennedy let out “nobody remembers anything bad if you win.” By the end of the 1971/72 season Kennedy had been knocked out of the side due to being plagued with illness, however he had still finished Arsenal’s top talisman for a second consecutive year after scoring 19 times in 55 matches.
Kennedy suffered a tricky 1972/73 season, with his confidence in decline and struggling with form after being marked heavily by all opposition’s defenders and an unhealthy diet witnessed his weight increase. The Gunners skipper Frank McLintock claimed to the coaching team that Kennedy was only working at 60% effort seeing Kennedy handed a fine of £200 before he lost weight and found form once again. The Gunners would go onto fire themselves into that season’s FA Cup semi-finals before losing to Sunderland.
The 1973/74 campaign watched Kennedy fail to score between October to mid January with rumours spreading of a move to Sunderland, Newcastle United or Aston Villa. Within a month Kennedy let out a declaration “my game had gone downhill since I got married but has started to pick up again now I am in bachelordom… I feel that I am better off without her.” He finished the year in superb form, however despite his recovery Bertie Mee brought in Brian Kidd to take Kennedys place in the first team.
In the summer of 1974 Kennedy signed for Liverpool in a club record of £200,000. During his time at the famous Liverpool side of the 1970s and 1980s which took the British Football Empire by storm, Kennedy would win an astonishing five First Division titles, four Charity Shields, one UEFA Cup, three European Cups and one League Cup.
By 1982 Kennedy had left Merseyside for Swansea City in a deal worth £160,000 where he played beneath once teammate John Toshack. The Swans came close to winning the First Division title before falling out to Liverpool the season before he moved to the club. His one and only season at City saw Kennedy lift the 1982 Welsh Cup.
For the 1983/84 campaign Kennedy spent the duration of the season at Fourth Division side Hartlepool United. After the club were forced to re-apply for football league status he was made player manager to increase their re-election campaign hopes. However at the end of the year he joined Cypriot team Pezoporikos as player coach. Despite taking up this position tricky health saw Kennedy fly back to England after not long for the remainder of the 1984/85 campaign which the club officials weren’t overjoyed about at all.
In 1985 he turned out for Northern League outfit Ashington but was only able to play six times after struggling from extreme stiffness in his right leg due to Parkinson disease taking hold over his body. After being physically unable to play for his Melton Constable Sunday League side, he soon struggled with the tasks of day to day life.
Throughout his playing career Kennedy was called up 17 times for England’s first team from 1976-1980 scoring goal, after 6 appearances for The Three Lions at u-23 level between 1972/73.
After battling with Parkinson Disease for nearly 30 years Kennedy passed away in 2021 aged 70.
Liam Harding
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He was a terrific player at The Arsenal, but he blossomed into a superb one at Liverpool.
He was a gentleman in every aspect and it was terrible to see him decline from Parkinsons disease.
I read an article that reported Ray had sunk to such a level that he was loving alone and living in dreadful conditions.
I believe Liverpool acted on that and looked after him (it could have been one of Liverpool’s fans) in his final years.
If ever anyone deserves the “Rest in Peace” words, it was Ray Kennedy.