Obituary: Former Halifax Town manager Ray Henderson dies aged 86

He arrived at The Shay in early August 1971 following George Kirby’s departure for Watford, and had the unenviable task of trying, if not to emulate his successor, but at least match his achievements, which was no easy task considering Kirby had just led the Shaymen to a third tier third place and seen his side defeat star-studded Manchester United in the Watney Cup.

That he failed was due in part to his break-up of the side – not necessarily by choice – and under mounting criticism, he paid the price after just one season.

Henderson began his football career in his native Wallsend, and was signed by Middlesbrough after a spell with Northern League side Ashington.

He developed into a fast-raiding right winger, though four years at Ayresome Park yielded just nine league appearances, that despite netting an impressive five goals.

He moved to Hull City in June 1961 for £2,000 and it was here that Henderson enjoyed considerable success, being part of a formidable forward line which included Ken Wagstaffe, Chris Chilton, Ken Houghton and Ian Butler, and in1965-66 he scored thirteen goals as the Tigers won the Third Division championship.

Henderson spent seven years at Boothferry Park, making 229 league appearances and scoring an impressive 54 goals, before retiring.

He moved into coaching with Reading in October 1968, working under ex-Chelsea and England forward Roy Bentley, but he was to lose his job as part of an economy drive.

By the end of the 1970-71 season, Henderson was working as a coach with the FA when Halifax Town came calling, with chairman Arthur Smith claiming: “We have every confidence in Ray. He is pleasant and personable and we believe capable of bringing us promotion.”

Henderson would sign a three-year contract, promising attacking football in much the same vein as that provided by Kirby, but he had little time to prepare his players, meeting them for the first time just two days prior to the opening league match at Mansfield Town.

Henderson enjoyed League Cup victory over Rochdale and his side performed heroically in the second round at First Division Newcastle United, and other early season highlights included victory over York City in front of the YTV cameras.

But FA Cup defeat to non-league Wigan Athletic brought with it mounting pressure, and with the side faltering in the league, the signings of Fred Kemp and Terry Shanahan failed to have the desired impact, though in the case of another, Frank Brogan, Henderson was particularly unlucky to see him break an ankle in only his third game.

The sale of want-away crowd favourite Dave Chadwick to Bournemouth was a blow and without him Town briefly flirted with relegation.

Henderson came up with novel attempts at addressing the situation; in February 72 he accompanied his players to the Yorkshire Television studios to watch a re-run of the previous season’s match with Chesterfield and the following week he then agreed to listen to the supporters’ views at a meeting at the Shay.

The board gave Henderson a vote of confidence and a three-match winning streak eased Town’s situation and contributed to a nineteenth place finish, but it was a position that still gave cause for concern.

Four days after seeing his side push Leeds United all the way in the final of the West Riding Senior Cup, Henderson was sacked on 16 May 1972, though there were those who questioned whether he’d really been given a fair crack of the whip.

He was judged, rightly or wrongly, solely on results, though it is often overlooked that it was he who first brought George Mulhall to the club as coach, so for that alone did Henderson show he had a degree of foresight.

He resurfaced as coach to the reserves at First Division Everton when Billy Bingham was manager, and returned to club management with struggling Southport, only to lose his job there in March 1977 with the club looking odds on for a re-election application.

He eventually left the game, taking employment at a printing company and a medical firm, and lived in Boston Spa in retirement.