blue b4 the moon
Well-Known Member
Yep that his the nail on the head, I'd add from what I can remember his football style made us dull to watch.
Anyway, RIP Ron.
Ron Saunders RIP
- Thread starter PinkFinal
- Start date
Anyway, RIP Ron.
remember arthur mann
Well-Known Member
Good innings.
Carver
Well-Known Member
One of the first instances of ‘player power’ that I remember, I was in the last year of Junior school.
Big Malc brought new training techniques to the club and different tactics from continental europe, based on skill with a cutting edge. Joe Mercer moulded this all into a tight knit unit.
Ron wanted them running through brick walls and being super fit, as is the norm nowadays and the old guard weren’t having it, especially as the most influential players were perhaps between the ages of 28 and 33 (bell, Pardoe, Oakes, lee, summerbee, Law, Marsh). Tony Book was in his last season and interim manager after Johnny Hart became ill and Book was just about to retire as a player.
Yeah, Saunders didn’t like Marsh and I reckon Saunders and Franny didn’t see eye to eye either as he was ‘disappointed’ to be transferred by the club (don’t think he mentioned names) to Derby. This could have been Swales though as there was something to do with a transfer fee and it was either an honour to be given a free transfer for long service or by getting a free he might have got a better signing on fee at Derby. There’s reference to it in the Lee, Bell, Summerbee video.
Anyway, the team wouldn’t play for him and were only just above the relegation zone on goal average when Swales ditched him and put Tony Book back in charge. My Dad and Uncle didn’t take to him and used to moan that he was still ‘crap at City’ when we were driving home from Maine Rd. and Villa had won. That was until they won the league.
Memories of a boy in the mid 70’s.
Great manager for Villa though, R.I.P. Ron
Big Malc brought new training techniques to the club and different tactics from continental europe, based on skill with a cutting edge. Joe Mercer moulded this all into a tight knit unit.
Ron wanted them running through brick walls and being super fit, as is the norm nowadays and the old guard weren’t having it, especially as the most influential players were perhaps between the ages of 28 and 33 (bell, Pardoe, Oakes, lee, summerbee, Law, Marsh). Tony Book was in his last season and interim manager after Johnny Hart became ill and Book was just about to retire as a player.
Yeah, Saunders didn’t like Marsh and I reckon Saunders and Franny didn’t see eye to eye either as he was ‘disappointed’ to be transferred by the club (don’t think he mentioned names) to Derby. This could have been Swales though as there was something to do with a transfer fee and it was either an honour to be given a free transfer for long service or by getting a free he might have got a better signing on fee at Derby. There’s reference to it in the Lee, Bell, Summerbee video.
Anyway, the team wouldn’t play for him and were only just above the relegation zone on goal average when Swales ditched him and put Tony Book back in charge. My Dad and Uncle didn’t take to him and used to moan that he was still ‘crap at City’ when we were driving home from Maine Rd. and Villa had won. That was until they won the league.
Memories of a boy in the mid 70’s.
Great manager for Villa though, R.I.P. Ron
Last edited:
The Preacher
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 24 Nov 2009
- Messages
- 1,528
Tough, uncompromising character who seemed to upset the applecart when he came in. I and many of my contemporaries didn’t take to him but can’t argue he wasn’t a big success at Villa.
stan bowles
Well-Known Member
Was manager of top flight Birmingham City when I saw Altrincham knock them out of the FA Cup in the 3rd Round in 1986 at St Andrews. I remember a reference from Mike Doyle to the effect that Ron didn't treat the City players with much respect and ruled with an authoritarian hand.
I'm just slightly too young to remember Saunders at City, though I do recall his title-winning Villa side that also went on and won the European Cup three months after he'd resigned. He was a figure who always interested me given his spell at our club so I recently read a very good biography of him written by Graham Denton, a Villa fan:
His stint at Villa showed he was a top manager and I always wondered what he might have achieved at Maine Road had he managed to stick it out until the summer of 1974, when he could have built his own side. I suppose his time at City was marked by the same failing as Brian Clough at Leeds that same year - he alienated players when he still needed them to play for him.
He didn't sell Franny Lee, by the way. Lee was offloaded the following summer after Tony Book had been appointed on a permanent basis, and we put the fee towards buying Asa Hartford. When Swales was holding meetings with the players to discuss Saunders's future, Lee actually went and told Saunders what was going on because, even though the two of them didn't really see eye to eye, he thought it was a disgraceful way to conduct business. Franny has suggested that he was sold because Swales wouldn't forgive him for that.
It may also surprise one or two people to find out that, according to his biographer Graham Denton, Saunders tried to sign Rodney Marsh for Villa. I also wouldn't have thought that Marsh was his type of player, but there you go.
His stint at Villa showed he was a top manager and I always wondered what he might have achieved at Maine Road had he managed to stick it out until the summer of 1974, when he could have built his own side. I suppose his time at City was marked by the same failing as Brian Clough at Leeds that same year - he alienated players when he still needed them to play for him.
He didn't sell Franny Lee, by the way. Lee was offloaded the following summer after Tony Book had been appointed on a permanent basis, and we put the fee towards buying Asa Hartford. When Swales was holding meetings with the players to discuss Saunders's future, Lee actually went and told Saunders what was going on because, even though the two of them didn't really see eye to eye, he thought it was a disgraceful way to conduct business. Franny has suggested that he was sold because Swales wouldn't forgive him for that.
It may also surprise one or two people to find out that, according to his biographer Graham Denton, Saunders tried to sign Rodney Marsh for Villa. I also wouldn't have thought that Marsh was his type of player, but there you go.
Carver
Well-Known Member
Cheers Petrusha
Fat Chance
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 2 Jul 2009
- Messages
- 2,771
The lost master: Ron Saunders won Aston Villa the title in 1981 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/~/article-4347212/index.html?ito=native_share_article-masthead
dennishasdoneit
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 25 May 2008
- Messages
- 10,207
- Team supported
- Manchester City FC.
Great pic. Never seen that before.He was slightly before my time .
Any thoughts on his time at Maine Road?
Mad Eyed Screamer
Moderator
And quit a few months before they lifted the Euro Cup!
So Tony Book is now our oldest living former manager. Thats 2 we lost this year with Johnny Hart as well.