RIP BUTCH
CHELSEA paid an emotional tribute to the late Ray Wilkins, who would have turned 63 today.
Ahead of their Premier League clash with Wolves this afternoon, the Blues took time to pay their respects to a Stamford Bridge legend.
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On their official Twitter account, the club posted a video showing some of Wilkins' highlights during his time at Chelsea.
That included him in the famous No8 shirt, scoring and tussling for possession in midfield, as well as his time as a coach, marshalling his players on the training ground and lifting silverware.
The video starts with Pat Nevin saying: "He is a very, very special individual and he was absolutely one of us," before the likes of Glenn Hoddle and John Terry shared their memories of the former midfielder.
The tweet simply read: "Ray Wilkins would have been 63 today. RIP, Butch. We miss you."
BLUES LEGEND
Wilkins joined Chelsea as an apprentice before making his first-team debut in 1973 aged 17.
He was then handed the captaincy of the football club at the age of just 18 following the club's relegation in 1975 and went on to play more than 200 games for the Blues.
In 1979, 'Butch' signed for Manchester United and spent five years at Old Trafford before spells at AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Rangers, Queens Park Rangers, Crystal Palace, Wycombe Wanderers, Hibernian, Millwall and Leyton Orient.
After hanging up his boots in 1997 - 11 years after his 84th and final England cap - following a spells as a player-manager at QPR, Wilkins managed Fulham before re-joining Chelsea as a coach.
As Chelsea assistant, he picked up the Premier League and three FA Cups, leaving in 2010 and taking up roles at Fulham, the Jordan national team and Aston Villa, finishing in 2015.
GREATLY MISSED
A regular on Sky Sports, he spent time as a pundit before suffering a cardiac arrest at the end of March last year, passing away on April 4 at St George's Hospital in London.
Plenty of supporters replied with their own messages of support on Twitter.
One wrote: "I really do miss him, the way he talks, his idea of the beautiful game, honestly today me he will always be our best assistant coach."
Another said: "Missing him so much, such a fantastic gentleman. Gone but never forgotten."
Many others simply added: "Rest in peace Ray Wilkins."
Chelsea - especially boss Frank Lampard - will be desperate to get a win today, for Wilkins and for their own Premier League campaign.
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It is unclear if fans are planning to pay their respects in the eighth minute in the away end at Wolves this afternoon - although the home side may be holding their own minute's applause for an eight-year-old fan.
After a win, two draws and a defeat, the Blues head to Molineux out of form and facing somewhat of an injury crisis.
N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Pedro, Emerson Palmieri, Antonio Rudiger and Ruben Loftus-Cheek could all be out, while Reece James and Callum Hudson-Odoi stepped up their recovery with the Under-23s last night.
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