Former advisor at town's football clubs dies (From Northwich Guardian)

John Bond, a former football supremo at both Northwich Victoria and Witton Albion, has died this week

10:41am Thursday 27th September 2012 in Sport By Andrew Simpson, Senior Sports Writer

A FOOTBALL manager who helped both football clubs in Northwich through troubled times died yesterday, Wednesday.

John Bond was 79.

He was hired as a consultant by former Northwich Victoria chairman Mike Connett to pick a successor to Steve Burr, one of the club’s most popular managers among supporters, in June 2007.

Together they picked Neil Redfearn as Burr’s replacement.

“It’s going to be an interesting combination and an effective one too,” said Connett at the time of Redfearn’s appointment.

“Neil will give the players a level of tactical guidance they’ve never before known and John will oversee the whole process.

“It’s something I believe will herald a new era of success for the club.”

Redfearn quit after nine games in charge, eight of which were defeats, with Northwich anchored to the bottom of the Football Conference’s national division table.

A decade earlier, Bond had been hired by Vics’ neighbours Witton as director of football.

He was hired in the summer of 1998 by chairman Tom Shaw, at the time putting together a package to keep the club afloat.

Bond, then 60, worked with first team boss Kevin Tully.

He said: “I’m here to help the club back on to the straight and narrow.”

The former Manchester City manager, who took the Blues to the FA Cup final in his first season at the helm in 1981, resigned from his post in August 1999.

He left for Wigan Athletic to work alongside John Benson, his old assistant at Maine Road.