Ray Graydon

Later career Graydon joined Coventry City for the 1977–78 season for a fee of £35,000. Although in and out of the side, he still made a significant contribution to what would be one of the most exciting campaigns in the club's 34-year top-flight history. Manager Gordon Milne played the whole season with a 4–2–4 formation with Graydon and Tommy Hutchison playing as out-and-out wingers. The side also boasted Mick Ferguson, Ian Wallace, Terry Yorath, Graham Oakey, Bobby McDonald and Jim Blyth.

The "Sky Blues" finished sixth in the First Division and Graydon left Highfield Road at the end of the season and thereafter had a spell in the North American Soccer League with the Washington Diplomats. The Diplomats finished behind the New York Cosmos in the Eastern Division of the National Conference in the 1978 season, but qualified for the play-offs, where they were beaten by the Portland Timbers. Graydon scored four goals from 26 NASL games. He went on to become the youth team coach at Watford. He led them to victory in the FA Youth Cup in 1988–89, with a 2–1 victory over Manchester City; his team included David James as goalkeeper. He also went on to work as a youth team coach at Queens Park Rangers.

Walsall Replacing Jan Sørensen as Walsall manager in May 1998, Graydon led Walsall to promotion out of the Second Division as runners-up behind Fulham in 1998–99. Fulham chairman Mohamed Al-Fayed had given manager Kevin Keegan £12 million to spend on Fulham, whereas Graydon spent only £30,000 to bring in Gillingham defender Richard Green. In the 2000–01 season, Graydon led Walsall to a fourth-place finish and then to the Second Division play-off final at the Millennium Stadium – defeating Reading 3–2 after extra time to regain promotion to the First Division at the first attempt. Instead of celebrating immediately, Graydon embraced Reading manager Alan Pardew and shook the hand of each Reading player, including former Walsall captain, Adi Viveash. His second spell in the First Division was just as unsuccessful as the first. After a dismal performance in the January Black Country derby with West Bromwich Albion, Graydon was sacked. His successor, Colin Lee, kept Walsall up at the end of the 2001–02 season.

Bristol Rovers On 25 April 2002, Graydon returned to his hometown club to manage Bristol Rovers, who had finished second-from-bottom of the English Football League in 2001–02, warning that "if you have a sick patient then surgery is required and, in this instance, I have to administer that surgery." The following day he published his retained list, releasing 13 players from the club. He led Rovers to a 20th-place finish in the Third Division in 2002–03, before he was sacked in January 2004, with the club then in 12th-place and fans beginning to turn on him and his "negative football".

Later career Since leaving Bristol Rovers, Graydon accompanied Howard Wilkinson to manage in China during 2004. In February 2006, Graydon was appointed as first-team coach at Leicester City by manager Rob Kelly. He left the club at the end of the 2005–06 season. In July 2009, Walsall fans voted to honour him with a star on the Birmingham Walk of Stars on Broad Street.

Career statistics Playing statistics

Honours

Player Aston Villa Football League Third Division: 1971–72 Football League Second Division second-place promotion: 1974–75 Football League Cup: 1974–75, 1976–77

Washington Diplomats President's Cup Football Tournament runner-up: 1978

Individual PFA Team of the Year: 1974–75 Second Division

Manager Walsall Football League Second Division second-place promotion: 1998–99 Football League Second Division play-offs: 2001

Individual Football League Second Division Manager of the Month: August 2000