A refreshing change

It’s amazing reading the fans’ comments about Wilkinson and Labadie leaving their respective clubs. There is a lot of wonderment about them going to little old Walsall. Talk of offering bigger deals and more money to entice them. Given we have now employed a D of F and a plucked the manager from Spurs, something must have changed with our dealings and it is so refreshing to see.

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I don’t want to keep on about him as he’s gone now but these two probably don’t even turn up for a chat with Dutton still here!! Taylor & hopefully a realisation from LP that we do need to spend a couple more quid to get to where he wants has got us off to a great start in terms of recruitment! Also gives us a foundation when in negotiations with other players now! As I said on Twitter yesterday … Darrell Clarke leaving us in the lurch & finishing 19th may have been exactly what we needed …

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And definitely what Vale needed.

I think Pomlett said that he never wanted to finish 19th again. A reality check and wake up call. A new way of thinking was needed.

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Hats off to the club. Everything just looks and feels more professional. I for one will admit that when we appointed the DOF the name Jamie Fullarton didnt fill me with a great deal of optimism but I have to say I think the bloke is having a real impact on things and long may that continue. LMatt Taylor sounds like he could be a genius appointment and the players signed have both given him a glowing report.

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I have certainly questioned Pomlett at times, the whole Dutton thing for an example was a sorry mess for all concerned. Everything at the club still had a very familiar feel to it and the more Pomlett tried to communicate with the fans, the more questions there seemed to be.

I have thought about this a lot, well I think about Walsall F.C a lot obviously. I genuinely think that Pomlett thought Clarke would get us promoted with the budget he gave him. He put all his eggs in that basket and Clarke let him down in more ways than one. I think most agreed that Clarke seemed like a great appointment at the time, it didn’t work out and these things will happen.

Pomlett had a lot of questions thrown his way from fans over the last few months of the season and rightly so in my opinion. What I like is that he has actually listened. He has thought outside the box a little and looked at things from a different angle. The best statement he made for me was when he said that no one on the board knows anything about football. Very true, they are fans of the game like most of us on here, but they have no actual experience within the game. I think it was a stroke of genius employing someone that actually does have experience within the game to make those decisions. We don’t know if he is the right man yet of course but all Pomlett can do is try and make the best decisions he possibly can. I have to say I am very impressed. We don’t know if it will all work out, there are no guarantees in football but all of a sudden things feel a little more professional.

I think at times it seems like Walsall fans are unrealistic and their expectations are too high, this may be true to some extent, but I think most genuine fans just wanted the feeling that we can actually compete with the teams around us.

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Most of DC’s signings signalled a team in decline. Liddle, Sinclair, Guthrie (and even Sadler) were all players well past there ‘best by date’. Holden and Pring were loans that came as free of wages. Lavery was without a club. McDonald came on trial. Not even sure Adebayo was a strategic thought out signing, more a who is available on a free.

I think Jules and James Clarke were positive signings, but the rest lacked ambition. That may have been the mentality of the manager or the way of the club. But it looks like things may have changed. Don’t think we could have enticed either JF or MT if we’d have continued along the line of ‘little ol Walsall’. Here’s hoping the next few signings have us equally enthusiastic.

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I’m not going too giddy yet, but the two latest signings are a very good sign and I hope there will be 3 or 4 more real decent quality players bought in.

I often have a nightmare imagining what James Clarke and Sinclair were actually being paid by us for 2 years…

I’m sure we said all this when we bought Cook & Ginnelly in. Let’s just stay cautious.

I’m pleased but as I have said elsewhere, too many false dawns to get carried away.

Yep. We’ve been through the cycle so many times before.

This feels totally different to recent pre-seasons. Leigh told this new management team that he wanted the club to be “shaken up”! That’s exactly what’s happening. Long may it continue.

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And as Pomlett himself said in one of his videos, we may not agree with his decisions and sometimes not like what we hear but he’ll always tell us what he’s doing and the rationale.

Always got the impression with Bonser that he saw talking to fans as below him and we were just an irritant he had to put up with whilst collecting his pension. Also didn’t help that he had an overinflated opinion of himself as club saviour so thought we should all be grateful and stop moaning.

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I have never met Bonser (I don’t want to either) but speaking to people who have met him, he really did genuinely believe all the stuff about him being our saviour.

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It certainly is refreshing and the first two signings are most certainly perfect for this league and you know exactly what your getting with them but I’m more bothered about the balance now and getting the mix of experience and youth right id like to see 7/8 of the signings we’ve already witnessed and 3/4 younger players to make the starting 11 up just my opinion and I’m extremely happy with our dealings so far.

£384,000 over two years :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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Makes ya wanna throw up dont it :joy:

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I agree about the change we are seeing and very much hope it brings success but a lot will depend on how good Taylor is as a league coach. As most of you know I am normally optimistic and I am but with a little bit of caution thrown in after the last few years.Another 3 or 4 decent signings including 2 centre backs will help.

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If White doesn’t sign I hope Kinsella will play at RB as he’s much better defensively than going forward.
I don’t see a place for Bates in the side, MT wants us to attack, Alfie is not creative enough for that.
We need a CF or two, another winger and a LB, if MT can find quality in those positions it will really excite the fanbase.

Repeat it often enough and it becomes a common truth.

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It’s a good start.

Completely the right method so far if you want to be serious player in any league. Sign regulars and key men from teams who were comfortably finishing above you in the table, that’s how you improve.

Begs the question of what the hell happened with the strategy in last few years. Yes tougher to do it at league one level but just gambling on young players all the time down in league 2 wasn’t a great move…Ade and Jules at least came off but many others haven’t in last two years.

I’d say looking at the two signings we’ve made it’s looking maybe a 433 formation but im not sure where Holden fits in with wilko playing on the right of a front 3. Unless he plays as an advanced midfielder.