He was involved in football for 36 consecutive years; he left his final managerial role, at West Bromwich Albion, at the age of 54.

As a player, he was an old-fashioned, hard-shooting centre forward who scored 246 goals in 16 years for Everton, Tonbridge Angels, Gillingham, Portsmouth, Watford and Charlton Athletic.

[1] Saunders was leading goalscorer for six consecutive seasons at Portsmouth[2] and his goals were a key factor in helping Pompey win the Third Division title in 1962.

[7] For the second season running Saunders managed a team to the Football League Cup final, but once again they lost – this time to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Despite their cup success, City's league form was shaky, and Saunders was dismissed three weeks before the end of the season.

In January 1986, Saunders walked out on struggling Birmingham to take charge of local rivals and fellow strugglers West Bromwich Albion.

[12] In a friendly fixture staged as a testimonial for the recently deceased Tony Barton, Saunders appeared at Villa Park in 1994 as manager of a Villa side drawn mostly from players who had played in the European Cup final in 1982, against a West Midlands all-stars side.