Best Walsall Defence

best defenders i have seen: Dann, Henry, Fox, Gerrard, Viveash, Mountfield, Pointon, Brightwell, Richie, Padula, Roper, Butler, Demetriou

Potential to add to the list if they continue good form for a couple more seasons: Barrett, Williams, Allen, Gordon

My all time back four would be

Gino - Viveash - Dann - Demetriou

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Yeah definitely did my dad for one has never returned was the straw that broke the camels back with bonsor for him.

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Forbes Caswell Hart Mower back in the day.

Kory Robert’s was a class act before he got injured.

Westwood was good as well.

Loved Ritchie when he was here.

Gerrard was absolutely class.

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Serella Serella Serella …

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That’s a good list.

We get a bit misty eyed over promotion winners but we should remember some of the quality we had during those second tier years where we held our own. I’m thinking the likes of Emblen, Bazeley, Carbon, Chettle, Aranalde and Barras.

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Matt Carbon was Rolls Royce - just couldn’t keep him fit

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Gino Padula was an exceptional defender - talent and pure ability-wise the best individual defender I’ve seen playing at Walsall.

Agreed . Without doubt the best left back we’ve ever had . Just one season with us wasn’t it ?

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No mention of Andy Dornan :disappointed:

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Probably not regarded primarily as a defender (I remember him more as central midfield during the years I watched him) but nobody has mentioned “Young” Colin Harrison either.

My aged brain must be becoming addled. I always thought of him as a right back. Feinting to pass down the line then cutting inside as the attacker went flying past :grin:

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In that era you have to put Barras and Tillson in there too

Ahem…

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My bad. :bowing_man:

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Dornan was 100 percent a right back.

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I’m sure it wasn’t even a full season. God knows how he got to Walsall - another one of Paul Taylor’s finds I suppose!

Think Gino was indeed a Taylor find. No objection to STM’s finds for the club, but he also represented them as agent, I believe, so on the way out it was a little conflicted…

Bugger i was just going to post that :rofl::rofl:

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I think those players who came in after Ray Graydon from Colin Lee onwards circa 2002+ may well have been represented by Taylor’s Pro Soccer Consultsncy business.

Whaks book ties this in saying he left around this time and that’s when his business started.

That’s not to say he didn’t have links to an agent … this is how many clubs (Wolves / Mendes) work these days.

Jimmys says in his book the system of Taylor bringing in players was hit and miss, so many sessions were ruined by bad players.

Not much to give Jeff credit for but his use of Paul Taylor and his openness to doing something many other clubs wouldn’t consider with a DoF / General Manager who’d bring in overseas players etc deserves credit.