LAST MAN STANDING

John Sainty, from Saint to Saints and Beyond By Neil Vacher

Most readers of Spurs Odyssey are of course Spurs fans. To many of those readers I suspect the name John Sainty does not ring any bells. Those of a certain age, like me, and those who remember the annual Spurs handbook may just remember the name, which did feature in early sixties editions.

John Sainty's football career began with Spurs, around the time of the double season, two FA Cup wins and the first European trophy win by any British club. John doesn't have a Tottenham Hotspur legacy number, because he never made a first team appearance, but you will find his name alongside the likes of Phil Beal and Derek Possee, making his debut in the Eastern Counties League in the 1961/62 season.

In the 1963/64 club handbook, John is listed on the same two pages as Possee, Frank Saul, and Bobby Smith. He was described as a 5ft 10 inches tall wing-half. "Born in Poplar and while at school captained London and Essex schoolboys." John signed professional forms in April 1963, but he moved to Reading in 1967. John did qualify as an FA coach while with Spurs.

Spurs fan or not, you'll like this compelling story of former footballer, coach, manager and director John Sainty - packed with personal insights from former colleagues and contemporaries, including Dennis Tueart, Neil Warnock, Kevin Reeves, Dave Jones, Terry Dyson and Ted MacDougall.

Sainty often operated "under the radar" but was well respected by the game's senior figures. Schooled as a player in the 1960s at Tottenham, his coaching ability was spotted at Bournemouth by John Bond, whom he followed to Norwich and Manchester City, where his measured approach proved an ideal foil to the brashness of Bond.

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. Read how the boy from Poplar rubbed shoulders with the good and not so good of English football as he:

. Received his football education as a youngster with Spurs

. Was knocked "black and blue" on his League debut for Reading

. Was released by Bournemouth before an end of season party

. Was given his first coaching position by John Bond at Norwich

. Helped Bond take Manchester City to Wembley before receiving the axe at Maine Road

. Persuaded Jairzinho to take a training session at Stockport

. Laid the foundations for Southampton's successful football academy

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.

Last Man Standing - Hardcover: 272 pages Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd (27 January 2025) ISBN-10: 1801509271 ISBN-13: 978-1801509275 RRP: £25.00

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