RAY JONES RIP
FORMER Rhyl FC manager Ray Jones has passed away aged 63.
A native of Deeside, Ray carved out an illustrious pro career as a granite-hard full back with Chester making 169 appearances for the Blues between 1962 and 1969.
He then moved into part-time football as a player with Runcorn, Oswestry and Bethesda before taking the helm at Colwyn Bay.
Ray arrived at Belle Vue in 1979 and started the youth policy that unearthed Andy Holden, Barry Horne, Andy Jones and Carl Dale.
After taking over first team duties Ray steered the Lilywhites to three promotions in five years. He will be missed by all who knew him in and out of football.
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Rhyl Football in the Community aim through a wide range of initiatives, to encourage people, particularly children, to participate in football and other sports.
All Rhyl fans will be affected by the sad news that Ray has passed away. He dragged the club up from the depths of the North West Counties League Division 2 in the late 1970s and into the Northern Premier League and gave us something to believe in again. Not only did he do that on a minimal budget, but he gave future stars like Andy Jones, Barry Horne and the rest their first chance to achieve great things.
As if all that wasn't enough, he was one of the nicest guys you could wish to meet - he would enjoy a chat and a pint with the fans whenever and wherever. He was always willing to discuss the match, no matter what the result, and we liked him all the more for that.
Ray was an important part of Rhyl FC's history, and will never be forgotten.
Spot on Mike
I was in the youth team when Ray was 1st team manager. Not only did he know everyones name in the youth set up he also attended as many youth games as he could.
A great memory I have of Ray is the night promotion was clinched to the Northern prem at Belle Vue, he walked into a packed clubhouse after the game and every single person stood as one to greet him with a standing ovation.
R.I.P Ray a true gentleman.
I was very saddened to hear of the passing away of Ray Jones. I played under Ray when he was manager of both the reserves and First teams.He was a very honest and approachable manager who worked minor miracles during his time at Rhyl.He built a team with very few resources available to him, which always tried to play football the right way. He brought to the club players of the calibre of Andy Jones, Les Armour and Dave Dodds to name a few.He achieved notable successes culminating in our promotion to the old Northern Premier League.
He has played his part in the history of the club and will be sadly missed.
I was the manager of the social club at the time Ray was at Belle Vue and as others have said he was always approachable, apart from the hours before a game. He told me he may then seem aloof but he was giving all his thoughts to the forthcoming match.
The other thing Ray would always do was to support any activities connected to the club and get the players to do likewise.
With a succession of managers passing through Belle Vue.one of my little sayings is "we've never replaced Ray Jones" that is until John Hulse took over.
Ray was a true Clubman who connected to players and fans alike, Rest in peace Ray.