Ron Saunders
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ronald Saunders | ||
| Date of birth | 6 November 1932 | ||
| Place of birth | Birkenhead, England | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1951–1955 | Everton | 3 | (0) |
| 1955–1957 | Tonbridge Angels | ||
| 1957–1958 | Gillingham | 49 | (20) |
| 1958–1964 | Portsmouth | 236 | (145) |
| 1964–1965 | Watford | 39 | (18) |
| 1965–1967 | Charlton Athletic | 65 | (24) |
| Total | 392 | (207) | |
| Teams managed | |||
| 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 | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Ronald "Ron" Saunders (born 6 November 1932 in Birkenhead, Cheshire) is a retired English football player and former successful manager. He remains the only manager to have taken charge of Aston Villa, Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion, the three second city clubs normally being bitter rivals.
As a player, he was a hard-shooting centre forward. He scored over 200 goals in 13 years as a centre-forward for Everton, Gillingham, Portsmouth, Watford and Charlton Athletic. Saunders was leading goalscorer for six consecutive seasons at Portsmouth and his goals were a key factor in helping Pompey win the Third Division title in 1962. He remains their third highest goalscorer. He retired from full-time playing in 1967, when with Charlton, and became player-manager at non-league Yeovil Town.
As a manager Saunders first tasted success at Norwich 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 the Football League Cup final, losing 1–0 to Tottenham Hotspur. He resigned as Norwich manager on 17 November 1973 following a boardroom row after a 3–1 home defeat to Everton.
Five days later, Saunders accepted an offer to take over at Manchester City. For the second season running Saunders managed a team to the Football League Cup final, but once again they lost – this time to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Despite their cup success, City's league form was shaky, and Saunders was dismissed three weeks before the end of the season, with the club outside the relegation places on goal average alone. He did not stay out of work for long however, and the following month joined Second Division side Aston Villa as manager.
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