This is our 16th season since Dickie Dosh took us up from the 4th Division in 2007 as Champions on that sunny day in Wiltshire. I did lump on!
Since then the statistics don’t lie, in that in 16 seasons, our beloved club have:
• Made the playoffs just once (3rd in L1 2015/16)
• Finished in the top ten twice (10th in L1 in 2009/10 & 9th in L1 2012/13)
So in 16 seasons we have only made the Top 10 on 3 occasions or 19% of the time. In the last 7 seasons we haven’t made the Top 10 once despite dropping a division.
Our average league finish during those 16 seasons is 14.3, over the past 7 seasons our average league position is 16.7.
Whatever excuse you want to make or caveat you want to add, only 3 top ten finishes in 16 seasons is abject failure.
Given these facts, Flynn is doing a decent job getting us to 15th currently which is above par on the past 7 seasons.
Bottom line is during these 16 seasons of failure there have been three constants Pomlett, Gamble & Mole and yet we expect different results with the same suits at the top?
Chuck in only reaching the FA Cup third round 3 times in that period & only having 3 strikers who managed 15 league goals or more in a season (Grigg, Bradshaw & Ozthumer). Then Bescot really has been a great place to be.
We need change, proper change, this abject failure presided over by the board needs to stop & stop now. Then we can make history & perhaps finish in the top ten for only the 4th time in 17 seasons. Ffs.
In this division we have always been a top 6 team barring the odd season never have we finished as low as in this spell on a regular basis even under Hibbitt.Been supporting us for 39 years and this is the worst i have seen would have said Barnwell but that was at a higher level.
Pretty much the same as Killer. This all new to me. Walsall are a div 3 club or a very very good div 4 one. Old talk. The Hibbitt days were dark but 100 times better than this. Shocking decline and under Pomlett we are lucky to still be in the football league.
This has been lowest we have been in terms of performance and league placings in the time I have supported WFC. I have seen some shocking football and performances but usually neither have lasted as long as this.
My expectation for this club is Division 3/L1. Either midtable, struggling or having a go at promotion. I expect a cup run, not every season but maybe every 3 seasons out of 5 as an average. My expectation is based on my norm; late 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. There was usually some excitement and expectation during those decades. The 90’s didn’t start well but got better with us ending up in the Championship. That was remarkable for us though, and exceeded all my “realistic expectations”.
Getting out of this league isn’t unrealistic for a club like us but it is still hard as this is a brutal league. We can do it but we won’t walk it.
Nice post Wiltshire. As much as some posters on here like to criticise the fan base I think we’ve been pretty patient. This is literally one of the worst periods in the club’s history!
I think our realistic short-term aim should be to yo-yo between the third and fourth tiers. We really shouldn’t be too far away from that and it would deliver some much needed excitement.
Long-term I’d like us to emulate Rotherham and bounce between the second and third tier. That would take ambition, vision and investment. Over to you Trivela…
On a final note, spare a thought for our youngest fans. I started watching Walsall in 1998 and the first nine years were amazing! Those memories keep me going.
What do you have to remember if you came along after 2007? One decent season that ended with a humiliation in the playoffs and a damp squib at Wembley in the JPT. We need to give young fans something to celebrate!
At this moment in time i would just like to see us play some decent, entertaining football that sends me home with a smile on my face, and looking forward to the next game. If that also brings us anywhere near threatening the slightest hint of success, then that is a massive bonus.
With the excemption of being able to meet up with some fantastic friends, there is not a single thing that i enjoy about going to watch us play, or the matchday experience at the moment. Never felt this way before, even through what seems like continuous previous years of battle against relegation. Even those years were more enjoyable than this.
