I can still remember when Ray first arrived at Crystal Palace.
I was a young player at the time and we had a really young dressing room with all of the energy that comes with it.
And I’ll always remember the humility that he had, coming into that dressing room, having played for Manchester United, AC Milan, PSG and being a multiple-capped player for England.
He just fitted into the group so easily and had the complete respect of everybody.
I felt privileged to play with him and even though he only joined us for a six-month period, he was a really good influence on all of the guys there at the time and he had a big influence on me in terms of his professionalism and outlook on training and he’s always kept in touch.
He was one of the great English midfielders. Until you work with somebody, you don’t necessarily know how technically good they are.
There was always this laugh about him only playing sideways, yet when he played with us you could immediately see that his technical ability to play the ball was phenomenal.
In the modern game, those attributes would have been appreciated far more than they were at that time, so he really was a top, top player.
He would have been one of the earliest to go abroad and play in the Italian league. At the time, it was at a really high level so being able to transition into a club like AC Milan and be as popular as he was there speaks volumes for his ability.
It was really sad when I heard what happened at the weekend. It’s happened so suddenly and it’s tragic for Jackie and his family.
Ray was a great ambassador for the game, a proud Englishman who loved playing for his country and an absolute gent - a class act.
