Ray Graydon
Encyclopedia
Ray Graydon is an English
football
manager and retired football player. He was recently employed as First Team Coach
of Championship
team, Leicester City while Rob Kelly
was manager during the 2005-06 season.
and began his career with his home-town team, Bristol Rovers, making his debut in the 1965-66 season. In the summer of 1971, he secured a move to Third Division
Aston Villa. With the West Midlands
side (by now playing in the second division) he won the Football League Cup
in 1975, scoring the only goal in the final. He was also a member of the 1977 League Cup
winning side.
Graydon joined Coventry City for the 1977-1978 season. Although in and out of the side he still made a significant contribution to what would be one of the most exciting campaigns in the clubs 34 year top flight history. Manager Gordon Milne
played the whole season with a 4-2-4 formation with Graydon and Tommy Hutchison
playing as out and out wingers. The side, containing Hutchison and Graydon also boasted Mick Ferguson
, Ian Wallace
, Terry Yorath
, Graham Oakey
, Bobby MacDonald and Jim Blyth
. Graydon left Coventry at the end of the season and thereafter had a spell in the North American Soccer League
with Washington Diplomats
. After this Graydon began pursuing coaching ambitions.
alongside Dave Merrington
, and as assistant to Maurice Evans
at Oxford United
, most notably helping Oxford to the 1986 League Cup
. However, management was an option that Graydon avoided until approached by Walsall
in the summer of 1998.
manager Kevin Keegan
's big-spending Fulham
side. What made the feat even more achievable was not only that Walsall were favourites for relegation in the summer of 1998, but that behind them lay the likes of Gillingham
, Preston North End, Wigan Athletic and Manchester City - all having spent millions of pounds that season. Walsall's team cost approximately £80,000 with perhaps the smallest operating budget of any team in the league. Within the League Managers Association
, Graydon polled only behind Sir Alex Ferguson
, in the poll for Manager of the Season.
Relegation from the First Division
followed the season after, although, despite early struggle, Graydon took his team to the brink of survival. This was no mean feat, and the odyssey to the First Division had allowed Graydon to re-assess what needed to be done to ensure that next time Walsall gained promotion, they would stay in the higher division.
Indeed, Graydon again worked his midas touch the following season, taking Walsall to the Division Two play-off final - defeating Reading 3-2 after extra time to, yet again, earn promotion. In a true sign of the gentleman Graydon had become known as, instead of celebrating immediately, he embraced with Reading manager Alan Pardew
, and shook the hand of each Reading player, including former Walsall captain, Adrian Viveash
.
Graydon's second spell in the First Division was just as unsuccessful as the first (but he stayed faithful despite being courted by then Premiership side, Southampton) After a dismal performance in the January Black Country
derby
with West Bromwich Albion, Graydon was sacked. This decision was met with derision amongst the footballing press; however, the same press expected Graydon to walk into another job in football within days.
were not so successful at Rovers, with relegation avoided yet again the following season. Graydon was sacked in January 2004, and is yet to return to management.
to manage in China
during 2004. This arrangement lasted a matter of months, however.
In February 2006, Graydon was approached by Leicester City manager Rob Kelly
, and became the club's first team coach. After the end of the season, he left the club.
In July 2009, he was acknowledged for his legendary status amongst Walsall fans with a star on Birmingham's Walk of Stars on Broad Street after topping the most votes, voted by Walsall fans against other legendary Walsall stars.
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|align=left|Bristol Rovers
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|align=left|25 April 2002
|align=left|16 January 2004
|-
!colspan="4"|Total
|}
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
manager and retired football player. He was recently employed as First Team Coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
of Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
team, Leicester City while Rob Kelly
Rob Kelly
Robert Anthony "Rob" Kelly is an English former footballer and manager. Recently caretaker manager at Nottingham Forest, after Steve McClaren's departure and prior to the appointment of Steve Cotterill...
was manager during the 2005-06 season.
Playing career
Ray Graydon was born in BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
and began his career with his home-town team, Bristol Rovers, making his debut in the 1965-66 season. In the summer of 1971, he secured a move to Third Division
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
Aston Villa. With the West Midlands
West Midlands conurbation
The West Midlands conurbation is the name given to the large conurbation that includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the large towns of Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Solihull, Stourbridge, Halesowen in the English West Midlands....
side (by now playing in the second division) he won the Football League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
in 1975, scoring the only goal in the final. He was also a member of the 1977 League Cup
League Cup
In association football, a League Cup or Secondary Cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament to be called "League Cup" was held in Scotland in 1946/47 and was entitled the Scottish...
winning side.
Graydon joined Coventry City for the 1977-1978 season. Although in and out of the side he still made a significant contribution to what would be one of the most exciting campaigns in the clubs 34 year top flight history. Manager Gordon Milne
Gordon Milne
Gordon Milne is an English former footballer and football manager.-Personal life:Gordon Milne, was born in Preston, Lancashire, England and is the son of the former Preston player Jimmy Milne, and son to Jesse Milne...
played the whole season with a 4-2-4 formation with Graydon and Tommy Hutchison
Tommy Hutchison
Thomas "Tommy" Hutchison is a Scottish former footballer.-Club career:Beginning his professional career with Alloa Athletic in the Scottish Second Division, being spotted by Archie McPherson...
playing as out and out wingers. The side, containing Hutchison and Graydon also boasted Mick Ferguson
Mick Ferguson
Michael John "Mick" Ferguson is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent the best years of his playing career at Coventry City...
, Ian Wallace
Ian Wallace
Ian Wallace is the name of:*D. Ian M. Wallace, ornithologist*Ian Wallace , science fiction author*Ian Wallace , pioneer of Vancouver's conceptual art movement...
, Terry Yorath
Terry Yorath
Terence Charles Yorath is a former footballer and has been a manager at both club and international level. He is also the father of television presenter Gabby Logan....
, Graham Oakey
Graham Oakey
Graham Oakey is an English former football player. Oakey made 88 league appearances for Coventry City.Born in Droitwich, Worcestershire in 1954, Graham was a product of Coventry's youth development system. He made his league debut in a home 2-2 draw against Manchester City in September 1974...
, Bobby MacDonald and Jim Blyth
Jim Blyth
For the player of the same name see Jim Blyth James Anton 'Jim' Blyth is a former Scottish football goalkeeper, and current goalkeeping coach at Middlesbrough....
. Graydon left Coventry at the end of the season and thereafter had a spell in the North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
with Washington Diplomats
Washington Diplomats
The Washington Diplomats were an American soccer club based in Washington, D.C.. Throughout their existence, the club played their home games at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium...
. After this Graydon began pursuing coaching ambitions.
Coaching career
Graydon become a highly respected coach - particularly working at SouthamptonSouthampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
alongside Dave Merrington
David Merrington
David Robert Merrington is a former football manager.As a player Merrington appeared in midfield for Burnley, playing 98 league games including a spell as captain. He later played for Bristol City before retiring and going into coaching .Merrington was a brief caretaker manager for Sunderland A.F.C...
, and as assistant to Maurice Evans
Maurice Evans (footballer)
Maurice George Evans was a football player with Reading Football Club, and later manager of Shrewsbury, Reading and Oxford United....
at Oxford United
Oxford United F.C.
Oxford United Football Club is an English association football club based in Oxford, Oxfordshire. The club play in League Two, following promotion from the Conference National in May 2010. The club had been a non-League side since their relegation from the Football League in the 2005–06 season. The...
, most notably helping Oxford to the 1986 League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
. However, management was an option that Graydon avoided until approached by Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
in the summer of 1998.
Walsall (1998-2002)
Replacing colourful Dane, Jan Sorensen, Graydon's first task was to keep Walsall in the then Second Division, and to re-introduce an element of professionalism to the club. However, success went much further than this - with promotion being secured alongside then-EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
manager Kevin Keegan
Kevin Keegan
Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....
's big-spending Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
side. What made the feat even more achievable was not only that Walsall were favourites for relegation in the summer of 1998, but that behind them lay the likes of Gillingham
Gillingham F.C.
Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium...
, Preston North End, Wigan Athletic and Manchester City - all having spent millions of pounds that season. Walsall's team cost approximately £80,000 with perhaps the smallest operating budget of any team in the league. Within the League Managers Association
League Managers Association
The League Managers Association is the organisation which collectively represents all Premiership and Football League managers in English football...
, Graydon polled only behind Sir Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...
, in the poll for Manager of the Season.
Relegation from the First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
followed the season after, although, despite early struggle, Graydon took his team to the brink of survival. This was no mean feat, and the odyssey to the First Division had allowed Graydon to re-assess what needed to be done to ensure that next time Walsall gained promotion, they would stay in the higher division.
Indeed, Graydon again worked his midas touch the following season, taking Walsall to the Division Two play-off final - defeating Reading 3-2 after extra time to, yet again, earn promotion. In a true sign of the gentleman Graydon had become known as, instead of celebrating immediately, he embraced with Reading manager Alan Pardew
Alan Pardew
Alan Scott Pardew is an English football manager and former player, currently the manager of Newcastle United....
, and shook the hand of each Reading player, including former Walsall captain, Adrian Viveash
Adrian Viveash
Adrian Lee Viveash is an English former professional footballer who is the current manager of the Chelsea Youth team. He is most notable for his spells with Reading and Walsall during the 1990s. He played in the Reading team which won the Division Two title in 1994 and reached the Division One...
.
Graydon's second spell in the First Division was just as unsuccessful as the first (but he stayed faithful despite being courted by then Premiership side, Southampton) After a dismal performance in the January Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
derby
Local derby
In many countries the term local derby, or simply just derby means a sporting fixture between two, generally local, rivals, particularly in association football...
with West Bromwich Albion, Graydon was sacked. This decision was met with derision amongst the footballing press; however, the same press expected Graydon to walk into another job in football within days.
Bristol Rovers (2002-2004)
Graydon gladly accepted the chance to save his boy-hood favourites from relegation. However, the same strict methods that Graydon had employed to success at the Bescot StadiumBescot Stadium
Bescot Stadium, also known as the Banks's Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is the home ground of Walsall Football Club. It was built in 1989-90 by GMI Construction with a reported build cost of £4.5m...
were not so successful at Rovers, with relegation avoided yet again the following season. Graydon was sacked in January 2004, and is yet to return to management.
Post-Managerial career
Since leaving Bristol Rovers, Graydon accompanied Howard WilkinsonHoward Wilkinson
Howard Wilkinson is a former English football player and manager, and has recently stepped down as a Non-Executive Director at Sheffield Wednesday after formerly relinquishing the chairman role to Milan Mandaric...
to manage in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
during 2004. This arrangement lasted a matter of months, however.
In February 2006, Graydon was approached by Leicester City manager Rob Kelly
Rob Kelly
Robert Anthony "Rob" Kelly is an English former footballer and manager. Recently caretaker manager at Nottingham Forest, after Steve McClaren's departure and prior to the appointment of Steve Cotterill...
, and became the club's first team coach. After the end of the season, he left the club.
In July 2009, he was acknowledged for his legendary status amongst Walsall fans with a star on Birmingham's Walk of Stars on Broad Street after topping the most votes, voted by Walsall fans against other legendary Walsall stars.
Managerial stats
- Competitive matches only.
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Walsall Walsall F.C. Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second... |
|
5 May 1998 | ||||||
|-
|align=left|Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers F.C.
Bristol Rovers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Bristol, that competes in Football League Two. The team plays its home matches at the Memorial Stadium, in the Horfield area of the city....
|
|align=left|25 April 2002
|align=left|16 January 2004
|-
!colspan="4"|Total
|}