Same for me, the kids are always up for it even on days when I could take it or leave it.
Same at school too, Villa, Man United with a very small scattering of Walsall. It used to get at me, but when I look back, why did I care? I spent my Saturdays with my Dad being part of something that they could never understand. There were some grim times in my last few years at school, same sort of timeline as yourself. Losing to Yeovil being one of the worst, luckily I was on work experience for that one! It was all part of the journey, and those times spent with my Dad are the best memories of my whole life. I hope my boys feel the same when they are older.
1 Like
This is why our patience is unfortunately pretty thin. Stats donāt lie, starved of any success to boost the club and town.
Iām 29 now and Iāve seen nowt as an adult
Started following us in 2002, only vaguely remember the 06 season as i was 12 at the time
I remember you from school mark I did last 6 months at the comp, yourself Dave law, Andy tidman where only Walsall lads there that I knew, prior to this I was at sneyd, Dingle mad mate, there was only me and 2 more lads in the year that went to Walsall.
1 Like
Weāve been promoted 8 time in 134 years - so averaging once every 17 years.
We need to go up this year to maintain our average.
3 Likes
But we didnāt get promoted at all for the first seventy years, until there was a fourth tier.
2 Likes
In the 60ās when I was at Handsworth Tech I was the only kid in the whole school who supported the saddlers. It was full of Albion and Villa fans.
I blame my parents for us living on the Birmingham side of Great Barr.
1 Like
In general, getting promotion requires getting relegated so the long time since promotion mostly reflects our stability in the 3rd tier. Lotās of teams have been promoted more recently but, as Andy says, we would not see them as being in a better position. Southend, Hartlepool, Rochdaleā¦
None of that diminishes how bad the last 5 years have been, of course.
1 Like
Youāre right, who else would I want to follow? Bloxwich born and bred, obviously if the Strollers had been in the League, wellā¦
Seriously though agree with you. The nearly season with Smith was the missed promotion, our highwater mark just wasnāt quite high enough. And that itself has meant that the low, in the 4th \Tier has been worse , like 89-92 rather than straight back to Div 3.
1 Like
If we donāt get promoted this season it will be/equal the longest spell in the clubās history without a promotion since 4 tier football came into existence? So without being picky it will be record-breakingly unusual, and not normal at all. What I would say is, you donāt have to have promotions to see good entertaining, exciting football. There was plenty of that about in the 70ās and 80ās, punctuated with some stonking cup exploits which regularly meant beating top-flight opposition. Would I be correct in saying that the last time we beat a top flight team was 94/95? West Ham?? If so thatās 30 years, an entire generation. By the time I was 18 there had been wins over top flight Newcastle, Leicester, Arsenal, Coventry, and Charlton, as well as notable wins against second tier Man U and Birmingham and of course some unforgettable draws against the likes of Watford and Liverpool. The last 17 years have been by and large the most uneventful, unsuccessful, and dare I say boring years in the history of the club, the last couple of years under Smith being the exception.
4 Likes
Charlton when Jorge scored was the last top flight team we beat I think. Not taking anything away from your post with that though.
1 Like
No absolutely hence the question mark, just doing stuff from memory, even though I was there 
1 Like
Iād agree with that. I only started watching in 1972 but I enjoyed most of the 70s. Good football under Moore, Fraser and Mackay, and lots of cup games against big teams, some of which we beat. Plus we had The Buck to watch. It was a shame we didnāt get promoted, especially in 1976, but I enjoyed it all the same.
The last decade and a bit has been mostly dull with just the odd bright spell.
1 Like
How did we get from the Birmingham League in 1921 to Division 3 (N)? Was it a reward for League position or by invitation based on whatever criteria were being used?
My absolute hero, was always so gutted I missed his last game.
Was that the only time weāve ever won at The Valley btw?
Won there under Hutchings I believe
1 Like
The football league had expanded the previous season to include a third division, however they were mostly southern clubs. To balance this the following season they created division 3 (S) and division 3 (N). We applied for membership of the new division and were one of 14 teams accepted en bloc. All of the previous football league members were accepted into the new division.
The Birmingham & District league provided Walsall and Wrexham for the new division. The other new members were Lincoln, Accrington Stanley, Rochdale, Chesterfield, Crewe (all former members), Nelson, Tranmere, Ashington, Hartlepool, Darlington, Durham, Barrow (accepted en bloc), Wigan Borough (34 votes), Halifax (25), Southport (25) and Stalybridge (23)(all elected).
Failed applicants were Castleford (18), Rotherham (13), Blyth Spartans (9), Gainsborough (8), Doncaster (6), West Stanley (6), Wakefield (4), Lancaster (3), Scunthorpe (3) and South Liverpool (1).
Of the 18 new teams, only Walsall and Crewe have been football league members continuously since then.
8 Likes
You need to be less soft mate. All heās presenting are facts and the truth. Itās an unfortunate reality
1 Like
Walsall joined the Football League in 1892 and did not achieve promotion until 1960 - so that was 68 years without a promotion. We were promoted to the second level in 1961, but there was a 19-year wait until 1980 when we gained our next promotion, from the fourth level to the third.
So a 17-year wait is actually only the third worst run without promotion in our history - I donāt know what people are complaining about. There were lots of fans in the last century who supported the club all their lives, but never experienced promotion at all. Perhaps that is what lays in store for all those too young to remember Dickie Dosh.
