Jump to content

BRFCS

BY THE FANS, FOR THE FANS
SINCE 1996
Proudly partnered with TheTerraceStore.com

Ronnie Clayton


Manc Rover

Recommended Posts

Dave Whelan's tribute from the BBC Site:

A former team-mate of Ronnie Clayton, Wigan chairman Dave Whelan paid tribute to Clayton, describing him as "Blackburn and England through-and-through".

"It's such a shock and such a sad loss for Blackburn and the sporting world," Whelan told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"He was the nicest man you could ever meet and to play behind him was a great privilege. He was the fittest person I have ever played with or seen in the whole of my life.

"When we used to train every day, Ron and myself used to run from our training ground, which was two miles away from Ewood Park. We used to run and race each other back to the stadium and I could never beat him."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/blackburn_rovers/9140892.stm

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

He lived at the top of our road when we were kids. Reffed some of our games on a horse field at the back of his house and even somtimes let us wear his international shirts. Always a gentleman and known as Uncle Ronnie to me, my brother and our friends. This news is indeed a shock and it surely is a very sad day. He was a good man and a brilliant ambassador for the Rovers.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Was only saying the other day its the likes of Ronnie and Duggie that statues and stands should be built and named after at "Ewood Park".

RIP Ronnie :brfc:

Hear hear!

When i started watching Rovers in the sixties to many Rovers were 'Douglas and Clayton'. Even at the end of their careers they were both still class acts. Darwen End-Clayton stand, Blackburn End-Douglas stand. Perhaps it could be the last contribution of the trust.

Jack would have approved.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have just been speaking to somebody who works at Rovers and she told me that Ronnie had the early signs of alzheimers (probably why he was forgetful at the tours recently). Apparently, not so long ago he went to a function and all the way there he was talking about Jimmy McIlroy. He hadn't forgot anything about football and when he got to the table his reaction changed as Gordon Burns (BBC News) was sat at his table. Ronnie couldn't remember Gordon and kept saying 'Which football team did he play for?' Sad to hear but just goes to prove that Ronnie truly did love the game just as much as the game loves him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm very upset about this. Loved watching him as a player, lived near him, played footy with his son, received the cup from him after winning a schools final at Ewood.

Lovely man, gentleman footballer with no equivalent in the modern game.

.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of my favourite Rovers photographs shows a diving Ronnie netting in a 2-1 win at Ewood in the FA Cup quarter final against Liverpool in March 1958. Crowd that day, 51k. A few days before the cup game we had played them at Ewood in the league, crowd that day 41k. If there is one thing I could change with my life it would be to have been born ten years or so earlier and caught Rovers in their pomp, mid 50's onwards, with Ronnie, Duggie and the rest. I was, though, lucky enough to have seen Ronnie play between 1966 and 1969 and indeed attended his testimonial at the end of his career.

What a great idea, mentioned earlier, to have a stand named after him and perhaps a statue. Very fitting.

RIP :brfc:

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

my thoughts at this sad time go out to Ronnie's wife Val and his family.

Absolutely devastated upon hearing this news. I met Ronnie on many occasions through ground tours when younger, various events down at the ground and he was often seen pottering around the ground. Always took the time out of his schedule to talk to the fans. Unfortunately i am too young to ever remember Ronnie in the famous blue and white halves, however I have always been told of his ability by my father.

Today is a sad sad day for everyone associated with Blackburn Rovers Football Club. I hope the club give him a fitting tribute tomorrow prior to the match and the players show the characters Ronnie showed himself and give him the perfect tribute by claiming 3 points off the champions.

True blue - never to be forgotton, R.I.P Ronnie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As mentioned renaming one of the stands would be a lovely gesture to a great servant and fan of Rovers.

I had the pleasure of one of his ground tours and he was still kicking and heading every ball with the stories he told...the fire was still burning bright for the game.I too never saw him play but listening to my dad enthuse about him was enough.Tomorrow will be an emotional day for all Rovers fans at Ewood.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.