I am pleased that Clarke is doing well.
As a human-being, he has experienced a trauma that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy.
People are entitled to dislike the way that he left Walsall Football Club, but sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture.
What he has achieved at Cheltenham is worthy of praise.
Not sure anyone is denying that. I hope he has the most peaceful private life he can possibly have going forward.
Couldn’t give a shit how his latest football team does though.
Fair enough @el_nombre 
Just let it go EN. Dont let it fester. You’ll feel much better if you do.
Let it go is exactly what I’m doing 
I’m not posting his results.
When we sold his better players from under him in January and then expected him to continue with a player from Oxford who no one scouted then it was only a matter of time before he found other employment, don’t like the man I don’t dislike the man but sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture.
Yep. And for some reason people still give Smith grief for exactly the same scenario. Patterson and Grigg sold, Brandy’s wages out of reach so he had to build a whole new offensive unit.
Having done that, there was no way he was going to hang around to have another rug pulled from underneath him. Building two really good third tier side on a Walsall FC shoestring close to miracle territory, you don’t hang around for when you’re inevitably going to be asked to do it a third time or if you get promotion asked to compete in the second tier on a lower budget than some fourth tier sides.
Both Clarke and Smith are fairly unique in our history in that they walked because Walsall couldn’t get close to supporting their own ambition. And both did very well by doing so - as Smith said - “no brainer” territory.
You can add Dickie Dosh to that list too…
Remember a fellow Saddler bumping in to Dickie Dosh at the Three Crowns Garden Centre not long after he departed.
When he was asked if could come back to Walsall the response was along the lines of when there’s been changes behind the scenes.
Debates already been had in this thread. Show me the club that doesn’t sell to a championship club from league two post pandemic.
It was a convenient way to drop the shite he’d created, even with those players.
Should we have replaced them better? Yes. Was it bad enough to jump ship and shit on the club on the way out? No.
The worst rug pull of the lot that one.
And Colin Lee
Like I said I don’t dislike, I don’t like him.
He felt he’d been shit on and left for what he believed to better himself, one things for sure he got promoted with vale and looks like he’s turning Cheltenham around.
If you feel your being shit on in the workplace you don’t hang around to take more of it.
I was referring to Dickie Dosh but yes i agree. I think DC’s time was just up with Walsall anyway both needed to move on. Some of the worst football ive ever seen us play to be honest.
Smith went because Brentford offered him 5 times the salary he was getting at Walsall. If he hadn’t have had that offer he might well have stayed and we would probably have won promotion. I doubt he would have stayed long after that for the reason you state but we shall never know.
You won’t find me disagreeing with that it was dreadful at times.
I met Dickie Dosh and I was impressed with him as a person and what he did with the team he had here, and for us as a club, and as our manager.
Still wonder what we could of achieved if Boner had matched DDs ambition.
I know DD had mixed fortunes when he left us, but he just seemed to fit here football wise imo … 
There’s a bit of a common theme here with Lee, Money and Smith. They all developed the football team and wanted to push on, but didn’t have the support to go to the next level. In fact the opposite.
That for me will be the test for Trivela. When we have a good team and are a winning team (and it will happen), will they support the manager and push on or will they ‘cash in’ and sell the best players. It will be interesting when that time comes.
NB those including Clarke in the same bracket as Money or Smith are just plain wrong. Clarke is in Barnwell/Hutchings category. Appalling return for the quality of player he had both in results and performances.
I get where you’re coming from here Andy, DD and DS built their reputations here, while DC to some extent came with one, which … his fault or the clubs, failed to build on.
Before the Wrexham game Chris Westwood was the ex-player they dragged out in the Stadium Suite. He was asked who was the best manager he played under while he was with us. He reckoned Merson was a fantastic man manager but needed a decent coach working with him (another who didn’t understand why mere mortals couldn’t do the things he could), while DD was by far the best coach but couldn’t man manage to save his life.