John Bond (footballer)

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John Frederick Bond (born December 17, 1932 in Dedham, Essex) is an English former professional football player and manager.

Contents 1 Playing career 2 Coaching and managerial career 3 After management 4 External links

[edit] Playing career

John Bond joined West Ham United in March 1950 from Colchester Casuals, his league debut coming 2 seasons later. His ability as a goal-scoring right back soon resulted in him gaining a regular place in the Hammers side, his partnership with Noel Cantwell proving particularly useful. As West Ham won the Second Division title in 1957-58, Bond missed only one game, and scored 8 goals. He also played in the 1964 FA Cup Final win at Wembley towards the end of his Upton Park career, but missed out on the European Cup Winners' Cup Final victory the following season, despite playing 4 times in the earlier rounds of the competition. In January 1966, after 381 league games for the Hammers, in which he scored 32 times, Bond left to join Torquay United, then managed by his former West Ham team-mate Frank O'Farrell. He played 130 league games for the Gulls, scoring 12 goals, and helped Torquay to promotion at the end of his first season. He retired in 1969, having already opened a sweet shop (Bondy's Tuck Shop) in the Torre area of Torquay.

[edit] Coaching and managerial career

Bond's coaching career began when he joined the staff at Gillingham (having been turned down on applying for the managers job at Torquay), and in May 1970 he was appointed manager at Bournemouth. He led Bournemouth to promotion, as runners-up in Division Four at the end of his first season, and almost to promotion again the following season, as Bournemouth finished 3rd in Division Three. His son Kevin has just been appointed as manager.

His successes at Bournemouth led to him being appointed Norwich City manager in November 1973, replacing Ron Saunders. This followed a period of negotiations between the two clubs, Norwich eventually paying £10,000 in compensation for the acquisition of Bond and his chief coach Ken Brown. Bond continued his successes at Norwich, signing great players such as Martin Peters.

The end of the 1973-74 season saw Norwich relegated in last place, but the following season he guided them back to the top flight at the first attempt, and also to the League Cup Final, which they lost 1-0 to Aston Villa at Wembley. He then managed to keep Norwich in the top flight, despite the financial constraints he was under, until resigning to manage Manchester City in October 1980, taking his assistants John Benson and John Sainty with him.

The end of his first season in charge at Maine Road saw him lead City out at Wembley for the FA Cup Final against Tottenham Hotspur, a game they lost 3-2 and made famous by Ricky Villa's goal. He was sacked by City in February 1983 as they struggled at the foot of the First Division, and would eventually be relegated.

In June 1983, Bond took over at Burnley, newly relegated to Division Three and with high expectations of going straight back up. He brought in some of his previous players from Manchester City, selling players such as Trevor Steven, Lee Dixon and Brian Laws, the previous season's player of the year, who were all destined for greater things. He was not well liked amongst the fans and left in August 1984 after Burnley had finished 12th.

In December 1984 he was appointed manager of Swansea City who were struggling to avoid being relegated from the First to Fourth Divisions in successive seasons. He immediately released some of the younger players (most notably Dean Saunders) to bring in some older heads. They ended the season just one place clear of relegation, but the following season started badly and with the Swans on the brink of bankruptcy, Bond left on December 20, 1985 and Swansea were relegated at the end of the season to complete their demise since the John Toshack era.

On January 22, 1986, Bond was appointed manager of Birmingham City and failed to prevent their relegation from Division One, 7 consecutive defeats at the end of the season sealing their fate. The following season, Birmingham struggled again, eventually finishing just one place away from relegation to Division Three. This was not good enough for the Birmingham board and Bond was sacked on May 27, 1987. Upon leaving St Andrew's, Bond lashed out at then-Chairman Ken Wheldon, saying; "You wouldn't treat a dog they way I have been treted here."

He was appointed assistant manager to Asa Hartford at Shrewsbury Town in January 1990, and a year later, in January 1991, was appointed manager after Hartford's dismissal. At the end of the 1990-91 season, Shrewsbury narrowly avoided relegation from the Third Division, but the following season, Bond failed to keep them up, and Shrewsbury were relegated back to the bottom flight (by now renamed Division Three by the Premier League shake-up). The following season saw Shrewsbury finish 9th, and at the end of July 1993, Bond resigned, along with the Shrewsbury chairman.

[edit] After management

He then worked as a football commentator for BBC Radio Five Live, before returning to coaching, assisting his son Kevin who was manager at Stafford Rangers, mainly in a scouting capacity. In November 1998, Bond was appointed manager at Witton Albion, who were struggling in the Northern Premier League First Division, but eventually finished in a healthy 8th place. In September 1999, Bond, by now nearing his 67th birthday, was brought out of retirement by Wigan Athletic manager John Benson to assist with coaching and scouting in a consultancy position, a role he is still holding as he approaches his 74th birthday.

[edit] External links

• John Bond management career stats at Soccerbase

Preceded by Freddie Cox	A.F.C. Bournemouth manager 1970-1973	Succeeded by Trevor Hartley
Preceded by Ron Saunders	Norwich City F.C. manager 1973-1980	Succeeded by Ken Brown
Preceded by Malcolm Allison	Manchester City F.C. manager 1980-1983	Succeeded by John Benson
Preceded by Brian Miller	Burnley F.C. manager 1983-1984	Succeeded by John Benson
Preceded by Colin Appleton	Swansea City A.F.C. manager 1984-1985	Succeeded by Tommy Hutchison
Preceded by Ron Saunders	Birmingham City F.C. manager 1986-1987	Succeeded by Garry Pendrey
Preceded by Asa Hartford	Shrewsbury Town F.C. manager 1991-1993	Succeeded by Fred Davies