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REMEMBERING RAY
The news
that Ray Jones had been tragically killed in a car crash
greeted us en route to Burnley and there was a shocked
silence in the car. It was difficult to get your head
around at first. That a player who Ron and I have had
the pleasure of watching since he first arrived in the
Rangers youth team had been lost in such terrible
circumstances.
I can
remember quite vividly the first time we saw Ray; it was
an Under 18’s game against Swindon Town at the Twyford
training ground. We were staggered by the size of this
kid that Joe Gallen and his team had plucked from Sunday
league football in Essex. He was bigger that Big Pat and
so we christened him Giant Ray from that day and the
name stuck with us!
All
through his career at that level you could see he had
something about him. A great touch; brave as a lion and
with a great knack of scoring goals. He formed a
brilliant partnership with Shabazz as that team set
about dismantling many a side that they came up
against.
There is
always a real sense of pride when you see a kid from the
youth team make his first team debut and when he climbed
off the bench against Watford at the back end of the
05/06 season you couldn’t wipe the grin off my face. He
got another run out against Reading on the final day of
the season and made a goal for Furlong. Ray Jones had
arrived.
His first
senior goal came with a brilliantly placed header
against Northampton Town to win a pulsating Carling Cup
tie in the 87th minute. His first league goal
came in John Gregory’s first game against Hull City. He
ended up with six in total, including a coolly taken
last minute winner at Ninian Park in front of the Sky
cameras. He found himself out of favour in the latter
part of the season but forced his way back into the
first team reckoning at the business end of the
campaign.
He was
injured in pre season and the kicker is that had he not
been injured then he would not have been out with his
pals on Friday night as he would have been in Burnley
with the squad. Ray Jones’ memory will be preserved in
the minds of the R’s fans, despite him making less than
40 appearances for the club, he had made his mark, he
had served notice of his potential and he had won
countless admirers on the terraces.
Our
thoughts at this sad time are with his family and
friends and those of the other lads tragically killed in
the accident. It is always sad when a life is snuffed
out but it always seems doubly so when it is one that
has barely had a chance to get going.
We’ll miss
you big man.
Simon and
Ron
QPRnet.com
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