Ex-Shrewsbury Town boss John Bond dies at age of 79
Ex-Shrewsbury Town manager John Bond died today at the age of 79. Bond, one of the most colourful figures of his generation, died after a long illness.
He was in charge at Gay Meadow from January 1991 until May 1993.
He made his name as manager of Norwich City and was also in charge at Manchester City when they lost the FA Cup final in 1981 to Tottenham Hotspur.
He also had spells in charge at Burnley, Swansea City and Birmingham City and led Norwich to the League Cup Final in the 1974/75 season, losing 1-0 to Aston Villa.
Bond became manager of Shrewsbury Town following the sacking of Asa Hartford.
He oversaw a famous FA Cup giant-killing of Wimbledon, setting up a 5th round clash with giants Arsenal, which Shrewsbury narrowly lost 1-0.
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.
The following season saw Shrewsbury finish ninth, and at the end of July 1993, Bond resigned, along with the Shrewsbury chairman.
Martin James, Shrewsbury Town's head of human resources and community development, said: "It's very sad news. John was always a very colourful man and manager and his teams always tried to play football the right way.
"The thoughts of everybody associated with the club are with John's family."
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