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John Mortimore - RIP


VectisSaint
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Sad to hear today that John Mortimore has passed. Former President of the Club, and a long relationship from when he was coaching back in the Lawrie Mac days. Good man, will forgive his links with the Skates. Playing career was with Chelsea as a Centre Half. Managed in Spain and Portugal as well as that lot down the M27.

RIP John. 

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That is sad news.

Most with recall back to the Lawrie Mac days will know him as assistant manager. Hampshire chap too.

Always seemed a quiet man, was well respected by his peers in the game.

Think the last time I saw him was walking into St Marys alongside Bobby Charlton their chat seemed to be a full catch up carrying on from where they had arrived in the same car.

RIP

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Very sad news to read this.

John Mortimore was a great servant to Saints who I think was assistant to Ted Bates late 60s/early 70s from recollection before going abroad at a time very few British players did never mind managers or coaches.

I think he was the manager of Portsmouth who signed Ron Davies for them.

Someone said to me by at one stage in the early-mid 1980’s that he was the ‘brains’ behind part of Lawrie’s success after the name players (Ball, Keegan & Channon) had left, and that the sweeper system with Agboola was largely his inspiration.

It was a shame in 1985 when Lawrie left for Sunderland that Mortimore wasn’t an option. Think he said in an interview that he’d have been interested but had already accepted the post at Benfica.

Another sad loss of someone who contributed a great deal to Saints,

RIP.

 

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We all have to die in the end and John has had a good innings. One of a large group of friends in the Itchen he will be sadly missed by us on match days

When dismissed by Cortese he just came down from the directors box a few rows behind us and sat with us. No bitterness that one could tell.

End of an era one could say.

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23 hours ago, Nick75Sfc said:

Turned me down in 1989 when I had trials for Saints. OK, I let one in through my legs in a trial game but ..... 

RIP well thought of in the game, thats for sure.

I thought as a coach, he was on a different level to anyone else I have ever come across before. Certainly made the likes of Lew Chatterly look pretty amateurish. I guess you don't manage Benfica twice unless you know your stuff.  

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On 28/01/2021 at 20:49, Chez said:

I thought as a coach, he was on a different level to anyone else I have ever come across before. Certainly made the likes of Lew Chatterly look pretty amateurish. I guess you don't manage Benfica twice unless you know your stuff.  

It was an oddity that with his record of coaching successfully in Europe he wasn’t appointed to more prestigious jobs in England when he returned.  Managing Benfica is no simple task.  He was certainly an important figure in our history.  Thanks John.

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