Ray Daniel (soccer player, 1928)

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Ray Daniel
Personnel
Surname William Raymond Daniel
birthday November 2, 1928
place of birth Swansea ,  Wales
date of death November 6, 1997
Place of death Clevedon ,  England
position Middle runner
Juniors
Years station
1943-1946 Swansea Town
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1946-1953 Arsenal FC 87 (5)
1953-1957 Sunderland AFC 136 (6)
1957-1958 Cardiff City 6 (0)
1958-1959 Swansea Town 45 (7)
1960-1967 Hereford United
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
1950-1957 Wales 21 (0)
Stations as a trainer
Years station
1962-1963 Hereford United
1 Only league games are given.

William Raymond "Ray" Daniel (born November 2, 1928 in Swansea , † November 6, 1997 in Clevedon ) was a Welsh football player and coach . The 21-time national player won the English championship as a middle runner in 1953 with Arsenal FC and was immediately active for the first division rivals AFC Sunderland .

Athletic career

Arsenal FC

Daniel learned to play football in his Welsh homeland, Swansea , in the early 1940s ; a city that was to produce several great talents at the time, such as Trevor Ford , John and Mel Charles , Ivor and Len Allchurch , Cliff Jones and Terry Medwin . He was 15 years old when he made his debut for the Swansea Town first team during World War II . His potential was not hidden beyond the Welsh borders and so Arsenal decided to sign him in 1946 - initially as an amateur player. Daniel followed in the footsteps of his brother Bobby, who, however, had not been used in the professional field and had died in the war. Twelve months after arriving at the Gunners, Daniel signed a professional contract.

The young middle runner had to wait a little longer than expected for his probation opportunities at the first division, which was mainly due to the veteran Les Compton , who remained in Daniel's position as a mid-thirties regular player even at an advanced age. However, this fact did not change the fact that he was a candidate for the Welsh national team and as Arsenal reserve player he made his debut on November 15, 1950 at Roker Park in a 4-2 draw against England . In the 1951/52 season Daniel finally came to regular appearances in the professional game of Arsenal. His first success was reaching the final of the FA Cup , which Arsenal lost 1-0 to Newcastle United , with the Gunners having to play for almost an hour due to a serious injury to Walley Barnes . Daniel himself stood out in the final for playing in pain with a forearm in a cast after injuring himself at a game in Blackpool three weeks earlier . The disappointment did not last long, because the following year Daniel won the English championship with Arsenal. He was now at the height of his athletic career, missed only one of 42 league games and formed the runner line with Alex Forbes and team captain Joe Mercer . Daniel was considered to be a kind of equivalent to the English international Neil Franklin , so solid, creative and technically adept at the same time that he sometimes reminded of a half- forward. In addition, he looked very self-confident in his appearance. The course seemed set for a continuation of the successful career at Arsenal, but disagreements with the sporting management caused his surprising departure in June 1953.

Sunderland AFC

Top division rivals AFC Sunderland , then known as the “ Bank of England ” among English football clubs, built a star-studded team and persuaded Daniel to come to North East England with his friend Trevor Ford (teammate from the Welsh national team) . The transfer fee for Daniel was £ 27,500, a record for a defender. Daniel led his new team to fourth place in the 1954/55 season , but high expectations fell short after the numerous investments. Sunderland initially disappeared in average and then in the lower table regions of the first division. One of coach Bill Murray's desperate measures was experimenting (unsuccessfully) with Daniel as a center-forward . Things took a dramatic turn in 1957 when Sunderland found itself amid controversy. This dealt with illegal payments to football players and resulted in the suspension of numerous players, including Ray Daniel's.

1957 marked a turning point in Daniel's career. He lost his place in the Welsh national team to Mel Charles after a total of 21 full internationals, thereby missing out on the development of Wales' participation in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden . In October 1957 he hired for 7,000 pounds in his Welsh home with the second division club Cardiff City and only a few months later moved back briefly to his "heart club" Swansea Town. After the end of his professional career, he ran for Hereford United for seven years in the Southern League from 1960 and was occasionally in the role of player- coach.

After the active career

Away from football, Daniel works as an innkeeper in Swansea, as well as a representative for the brandy manufacturer Courvoisier and as a postmaster in Cockett , a village near Swansea. He died four days after his 69th birthday in November 1997 in the English city of Clevedon .

Title / Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ England 4 Wales 2 (2-0) (England Football Online)
  2. ↑ a b c Obituary: Ray Daniel (Independent)
  3. ↑ Ray Daniel (Arsenal.com)
personal data
SURNAME Daniel, Ray
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Daniel, William Raymond (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Welsh football player and coach
DATE OF BIRTH November 2, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Swansea
DATE OF DEATH November 6, 1997
Place of death Clevedon