Last Man Standing: John Sainty, from Saint to Saints and Beyond

The compelling story of former footballer, coach, manager and director John Sainty. Although Sainty frequently operated "under the radar," the game's senior figures held him in high regard. When he was a player at Tottenham in the 1960s, John Bond noticed his coaching prowess there. He then followed Bond to Norwich and Manchester City, where his measured style served as the perfect counterbalance to Bond's bravado. In the 1990s, Sainty assisted Danny Bergara and Dave Jones at Stockport before Jones took him to Southampton, where he later became academy director, with the likes of Gareth Bale, Adam Lallana and James Ward-Prowse all passing through his care in their formative years. John had begun working on his autobiography with football writer Neil Vacher before his sudden death in 2023. Determined to do John’s story justice, Neil brought this labour of love to fruition with the help of John’s former colleagues. It’s the story of a man who dedicated his life to football.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: For ten years Neil Vacher was club secretary at AFC Bournemouth, one of many different roles he has undertaken at the club since first watching them as a young boy in the early 1960s. Currently the club’s official historian, Neil has contributed articles for the match programme and other club publications for many years and is also the author of MacDouGOAL: The Ted MacDougall Story, also published by Pitch.
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Published: January 13, 2025
Price: £18.99