Derek Saunders
| Derek Saunders | ||
.png) Derek Saunders (1955)
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| Personnel | ||
|---|---|---|
| Surname | Derek William Saunders | |
| birthday | January 6, 1928 | |
| place of birth | Ware , England | |
| date of death | March 3, 2018 | |
| Place of death | Essex , England | |
| position | External rotor (left) | |
| Men's | ||
| Years | station | Games (goals) 1 |
| Ware Town | ||
| -1953 | Walthamstow Avenue | |
| 1953-1959 | Chelsea FC | 203 (9) |
| National team | ||
| Years | selection | Games (goals) |
| 1952-1953 | England amateurs | 6 (1) |
| 1952 | British Olympic Team | 3 (0) |
| 1 Only league games are given. | ||
Derek William Saunders (born January 6, 1928 in Ware , † March 3, 2018 in Essex ) was an English football player . The left outside runner won the English championship with Chelsea in 1955 , after having competed with the British selection at the Summer Olympics in Helsinki in 1952 .
Athletic career
Saunders learned to play football in his home town of Ware and in the Ware Town team, which had been decimated by the Second World War, he took on responsibility as captain and coach at a young age. After 31 games in this double function, his uncle gave him a trial training at Millwall FC , but instead of a commitment at a professional club, he hired at the amateur club Walthamstow Avenue . There, too, Saunders was team captain and in 1952 he won the FA Amateur Cup . He was considered one of the best English amateur players and in the same year he came with the British selection at the Olympics in Helsinki in 1952. The tournament ended disappointingly in the preliminary round, but with this appearance he catapulted himself into the focus of Chelsea , which finally signed him a year later in July 1953. At the same time, Arsenal FC also showed interest .
Saunders' time with the "Blues" was very successful. As a regular player on the half-left defensive position as an outside runner, he won the English championship in 1955. Besides Eric Parsons, he was the only player who was used in all 42 league games of the 1954/55 season. He succeeded on March 9, 1955 one of his rare goals to an important 4-2 away win at West Bromwich Albion . He then spent almost another four years in Chelsea with the last appearance on January 24, 1959 in the FA Cup against Aston Villa (1: 2).
Later attempts to switch permanently to the coaching business failed. After taking care of the Chelsea reserves and counting players like Jimmy Greaves among his protégés, he was under discussion as a possible new head coach at Torquay United . However, nothing came of that and so Saunders turned his back on professional football. Instead, he was hired as head gardener and trainer on the Vincent Square playing fields at Westminster School . There he looked after soccer and cricket teams and after his retirement he and his wife moved to Frinton .
Title / Awards
- English Championship (1): 1955
- Charity Shield (1): 1955
- FA Amateur Cup (1): 1952
Web links
- Statistical data from the Post War English & Scottish Football League AZ Player's Database
- Profile on barryhugmansfootballers.com
- Usage statistics at Chelsea
Individual evidence
- ^ Former Chelsea Player, Derek Saunders Dies At 90. In: Global Village Extra. March 7, 2018, accessed May 16, 2018 .
- ↑ barryhugmansfootballers.com: Profile Derek Saunders , accessed June 25, 2020
- ↑ England's Matches Amateur (England Football Online)
- ↑ Interview with Derek Saunders (Chelseafc.com)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Saunders, Derek |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Saunders, Derek William (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English soccer player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 6, 1928 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ware , England |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 3, 2018 |
| Place of death | Essex |