 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ronald Saunders | ||
| Date of birth | (1932-11-06)6 November 1932 | ||
| Place of birth | Birkenhead,Cheshire, England | ||
| Date of death | 7 December 2019(2019-12-07) (aged 87) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1951–1955 | Everton | 3 | (0) |
| 1955–1957 | Tonbridge Angels | 53 | (39) |
| 1957–1958 | Gillingham | 49 | (20) |
| 1958–1964 | Portsmouth | 236 | (145) |
| 1964–1965 | Watford | 39 | (18) |
| 1965–1967 | Charlton Athletic | 65 | (24) |
| Total | 445 | (246) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1967–1969 | Yeovil Town | ||
| 1969 | Oxford United | ||
| 1969–1973 | Norwich City | ||
| 1973–1974 | Manchester City | ||
| 1974–1982 | Aston Villa | ||
| 1982–1986 | Birmingham City | ||
| 1986–1987 | West Bromwich Albion | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ronald Saunders (6 November 1932 – 7 December 2019) was an Englishfootball player and manager. He played forEverton,Tonbridge Angels,Gillingham,Portsmouth,Watford andCharlton Athletic during a 16-year playing career, before moving into management. He managed seven clubs in 20 years, and he was the first manager to have taken charge ofAston Villa,Birmingham City andWest Bromwich Albion, the three rival clubs based in and around the city ofBirmingham.
Saunders also managedYeovil Town,Oxford United,Norwich City andManchester City. He was involved in football for 36 consecutive years; he left his final managerial role, atWest Bromwich Albion, at the age of 54.
As a player, he was an old-fashioned, hard-shooting centre forward who scored 246 goals in 16 years forEverton, Tonbridge Angels,Gillingham,Portsmouth,Watford andCharlton Athletic.[1] Saunders was leading goalscorer for six consecutive seasons at Portsmouth[2] and his goals were a key factor in helping Pompey win theThird Division title in 1962.[3] He remains their third highest goalscorer.[4] He retired from full-time playing in 1967, when with Charlton.
Saunders became player-manager at non-leagueYeovil Town.[3]
As a manager, Saunders first tasted success atNorwich City, guiding them to the Second Division title in 1972, which saw them promoted to the First Division for the first time in their history. Saunders steered Norwich City to survival in their first season in the top flight. They also reached theFootball League Cup final, losing 1–0 toTottenham Hotspur.[5] He resigned as Norwich manager on 17 November 1973 following a boardroom row after a 3–1 home defeat toEverton.[6]
Five days later, Saunders accepted an offer to take over atManchester City.[7] For the second season running Saunders managed a team to the Football League Cup final, but once again they lost – this time toWolverhampton Wanderers. Despite their cup success, City's league form was shaky, and Saunders was dismissed three weeks before the end of the season. He did not stay out of work for long however, and the following month joined Second Division side Aston Villa as manager.[8]
Saunders guided Villa to promotion to the First Division (as runners-up in the Second Division) in his first season as manager, also winning theLeague Cup. He became the first manager to take three clubs to the League Cup Final in three successive years. He re-established Villa as a top First Division club, winning the League Cup again in 1977. In1980–81, he guided Villa to their first First Division title for 71 years.[9]
He resigned from Villa on 9 February 1982, due to a disagreement with the board over his contract. At the time, Villa were mid-table in the First Division and had reached the quarter-finals of theEuropean Cup. His assistantTony Barton took over, and led them to victory in the1982 European Cup Final four months later.[10]
Saunders moved straight to Villa's local rivals,Birmingham City. They went down in 1984 but he got them back into the top flight at the first attempt. In January 1986, Saunders walked out on struggling Birmingham to take charge of local rivals and fellow strugglers West Bromwich Albion.[11]
Saunders was unable to stop Albion from sliding into the Second Division and was dismissed in September 1987, after failing to get them back into the First Division. This was his last managerial role.[12]
In a friendly fixture staged as a testimonial for the recently deceased Tony Barton, Saunders appeared atVilla Park in 1994 as manager of a Villa side drawn mostly from players who had played in the European Cup final in 1982, against a West Midlands all-stars side. This was the first time he had returned to the club since his resignation some 13 years earlier.[13] In December 2006, the 74-year-old Saunders was the guest of honour at Villa Park for the match between Aston Villa andManchester United, invited by new chairmanRandy Lerner.[12] He returned to Villa Park shortly after, on 5 May 2007, for the 25th anniversary celebrations of the 1982 European Cup win.[14]
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref(s) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Yeovil Town | 17 April 1967 | 1 March 1969 | 128 | 55 | 36 | 37 | 043.0 | [15] |
| Oxford United | 1 March 1969 | 9 July 1969 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 050.0 | [16] |
| Norwich City | 10 July 1969 | 18 November 1973 | 221 | 84 | 61 | 76 | 038.0 | [16] |
| Manchester City | 22 November 1973 | 12 April 1974 | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 033.3 | [16] |
| Aston Villa | 4 June 1974 | 9 February 1982 | 395 | 180 | 106 | 109 | 045.6 | [16] |
| Birmingham City | 22 February 1982 | 16 January 1986 | 202 | 72 | 53 | 77 | 035.6 | [16] |
| West Bromwich Albion | 14 February 1986 | 2 September 1987 | 65 | 14 | 19 | 32 | 021.5 | [16] |
| Total | 1,053 | 421 | 287 | 345 | 040.0 | |||
Saunders died on 7 December 2019, aged 87.[17][18]
England U18
Portsmouth
Norwich City
Aston Villa
Last year, Norwich only just escaped relegation by a whisker and again find themselves in the shadows, made even darker on Saturday night when their manager, Ron Saunders, resigned after an angry scene in the boardroom following the 3–1 home defeat by Everton.
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