Burnley FC great Willie Irvine’s tribute to Ralph Coates

A BURNLEY great has paid glowing tribute to the legendary Ralph Coates in the wake of his death at the age of 64.

Former Clarets striker Willie Irvine has nothing but fond memories and gracious words for a team-mate and friend who he described as “popular” off the pitch and “tremendous” on it.

“We were like a real family back then,” recalled Willie, who still works for Burnley Football Club in a hospitality capacity.

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“Ralph was an extremely popular member of the dressing room.

“He was very quick witted and was a real joker, even though he did have the Bobby Charlton-style hair.

“They were all great lads back in that era and that, I think, is how we came about a lot of our success.”

Having made his debut in 1964, it was not long before Coates, who made 261 appearances for the club, netting 32 times, established himself as one of the most dangerous wingers in the country, terrorising full backs week in, week out.

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“If you wanted to head one of his crosses, you really had to put your head on it or it would knock your block off,” said Irvine.

“He was a brilliant winger.

“He didn’t necessarily pick people out in the box, but when he put it in there, he would really drive it in.

“He was only about 5ft. 7in. but his legs were huge and he had real power in them.

“He was tremendous winger, and it was a real privilege to play with him during that time.

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“He was such a modest person, and when I heard the news about his stroke around the time of the Leeds game, I was just devastated.”

Although Coates’ job as match-day host at Tottenham meant his visits to Turf Moor were not a frequent as he would have liked, Irvine said he was fortunate enough to have caught up with a him at a recent reunion event held after the Leicester game this season.

“They had a reunion for the Clarets of yesteryear a few weeks ago, and Ralph actually made the trip up.

“He had a similar role at Tottenham to what I do at Burnley, so we had plenty to talk about.

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“It was great meeting up with all the players, some of whom I haven’t seen since I left the club, and it was especially nice talking with Ralph.

“He was chatting away and he was as right as rain.

“I managed to see him about once a year or so, and they were always good times.

“It was really nice to have seen him before he passed away.”