The footballer Ray Kennedy, who has died aged 70, spent eight years with Liverpool at the height of the club’s powers in the late 1970s and early 80s. Having arrived at Anfield in 1974 from Arsenal, where he had been part of the FA Cup and league double winning side of 1971, he went on to claim a hatful of further honours on Merseyside, winning three European Cups and five First Division league titles under the manager Bob Paisley, who regarded him as “one of Liverpool’s greatest players and probably the most underrated”.
Revered at both clubs, Kennedy was a powerful left-sided midfielder with tremendous vision and anticipation, allied to an unusually good first touch and a knack for scoring goals. He won every domestic trophy on offer and still has one of the highest hauls of medals of any English player, although he won only 17 international caps, a circumstance best explained by the presence of West Ham’s Trevor Brooking, who proved to be more popular with England managers.
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