Portsmouth goalscoring great and former Aston Villa manager Ron Saunders dies
Pompey goalscoring great Ron Saunders has passed away at the age of 87.
Saunders is the third-highest scorer in the club’s history, netting 162 times in 261 appearances after recruited in September 1958.
Arriving from Division Four side Gillingham for £10,000, the powerful centre-forward scored at least 20 times in four of his six full campaigns.
Saunders left in August 1964, moving to Watford in a £15,000 deal following a bitter fall-out with manager George Smith.
In 2013, he was inducted into Pompey’s Hall of Fame, although unable to attend the Fratton Park event through ill health.
Saunders would go on to achieve tremendous success as a manager, winning the Division One title with Aston Villa in 1981 and also claiming the League Cup twice.
He suffered from dementia later in his life and, since May 2018, has resided at a care home near Solihull.