by Chinners » Wed Sep 26, 2012 11:30 am
Sad stuff, always likes Bond, shame he got up to no good with one of the female staff (allegedly)
John Bond, former Norwich & Man City manager, dies at 79
Former Norwich and Manchester City manager John Bond has died at the age of 79.
During three years in charge at Maine Road, Bond took City to the 1981 FA Cup final, where they lost to Tottenham.
He also took Norwich to Wembley for the 1975 League Cup final but missed out on the trophy as Aston Villa beat his Canaries 1-0.
John Bond factfile
•Made 381 appearances as a player for West Ham United between 1950-1966
•Finished playing career at Torquay United
•Managed Bournemouth, Norwich City, Manchester City, Burnley, Swansea City, Birmingham City, Shrewsbury Town and Witton Albion
•As a player, was a member of the West Ham side that won the 1957-58 Second Division title and the 1964 FA Cup
•Managed Norwich City to the 1975 League Cup final and Manchester City to the 1981 FA Cup final
He spent 16 years as a player at West Ham, making 444 appearances and winning the FA Cup in 1964.
Former Manchester City player Mike Summerbee has fond memories of his time playing against Bond.
"He was such a lovely man and it's a very sad day. He was a football man. He knew the game inside out," he told BBC Radio Manchester.
It was during his time at West Ham that Bond formed his management ethos.
He would join future managers Malcolm Allison, Frank O'Farrell and Dave Sexton to discuss ideas about how to win games.
After the right-back finished his career with a two-year stint at Torquay, he took his first steps into management at Bournemouth.
In November 1973 he took charge at Norwich and recovered from relegation during his first season in charge to win promotion back to the top flight a year later.
He resigned in 1980, replacing Malcolm Allison at Manchester City, and took the club to the FA Cup final during his first campaign as manager.
Bond went on to manage Burnley, Swansea, Birmingham and Shrewsbury without repeating his earlier success.
His last post as a manager was a short spell at Northern Premier League side Witton Albion in 1998.
Ken Brown, his assistant at Bournemouth and Norwich, says Bond was passionate about being a manager.
"He used to think it was his fault if the game didn't go right," he told BBC Radio Norfolk.
"It wouldn't be the players' fault. I couldn't quite get to grips with that but when I became manager I got the same feelings, you do have to take responsibility."
