Has Walsall's decline 'bottomed out'

That’s true re the media. But what needs to be called out is the state of the club and consistently the fact that we pay rent to play football in our own stadium

1 Like

I get that the rent really is a pain in the arse, but in all fairness we have enough commercial revenue streams to almost off set that.

Maybe the press should question where all of the transfer fees have disappeared to, I’m more interested in that.

That’s the real issue.

8 Likes

A quick scroll through the club’s official history page under the move to Bescot Stadium section, there’s literally loads of points that could be challenged for further explanation, eg. the exhausting all avenues to finance the purchase of the freehold in 95.

That’s history, but moving forward into what the future might hold, there would also be no harm in re-visiting Pomlett’s pledge to address the situation, or asking for a valuation, etc etc. All within the scope of decent journalism - ie. asking questions - nothing remotely libelous.

Nobody expected Pomlett to sort things out straight away but he was the one talking 5 year plans at the start of his ownership, and we are at the half-way point of that timescale.

1 Like

Within that logic, we also need to ask ourselves how bad things would have been should Brentford have lost in the play-offs and if Luton hadn’t have come in for Ade.

Make’s you wonder.

2 Likes

I know he isn’t popular with a lot of Walsall fans, but I remember Tony Butler saying 30 years ago it was “madness” to sell a ground you own to move into a ground you don’t own, and it wouldn’t end well. So the entire local media hasn’t had the wool pulled over its eyes. Just most of it.

I did phone WM 19 years ago to have a moan about the “well run Club” mantra, and tried to point out it wasn’t (in my opinion) correct. Franksy wasn’t interested, mentioned the “little club surrounded by much bigger clubs” argument, and when I tried again said “how do you think they will get on tomorrow?” I pointed out that I hadn’t called in to talk about that but I thought we would lose 1-0. He said something like “you are a little ray of sunshine” and that was the end of it. First and last time I phoned. Anyhow, we did lose 1-0. :joy:

5 Likes

Infrastructure of the club everybody knows that .

1 Like

I’m wondering if the boardroom looks like one of Trumps, all garish and gold plated. :sweat_smile:

Well.now Mike Ashley is twiddling his thumbs. he can come here.
It would be handy for him , as he can keep an eye on the shop in Park Strret.

1 Like

Why would he come here?

He could and we do a Wigan a few years in the premier league a couple of thousand on the bandwagon I wouldn’t mind that

But why would he? Like most fans I hope for a Chairman with some real money but Ashley?

Interesting what they’d want to do with it. They may hate their Dad’s association with the club and what it’s become and wish to rid the family name of any link to the club once he’s no longer around.

Anyone know if they’ve ever come to any games in the past, obviously his brother does given he was on the board a while back.

Is he our number two fan?

Going back to the 90s, didn’t Jeefs daughter work in the ticket office, or have I invented that? Or was it his wife? Or both of them?

No idea. I was being mischievous lol.

The glamour, the glitz, the Mike Ashley Stadium…all for a bit of pocket money?

1 Like

He wasn’t just on the board, he owned a fairly big chunk of shares which were also sold to Pomlett the same time as Jeff’s.

And Robert Bonser is also a pension fund beneficiary. The pension fund isn’t solely Jeff’s. Both Bonser brothers and their wives are all beneficiaries.

1 Like

He is a Walsall lad probably our only billionare.

Is he? depends which version of Wiki you read. Does anyone around the age of 57 remember a Mike Ashley at school?

Went to Grammar School in Buckinghamshire, according to Wiki, so would only be junior school, if correct. ( Doesn’t look like it was a boarding school, so family must have moved, by the look of it.)

1 Like

Yes. Thing there is I presume they’re all in their 70s given Jeff isn’t far off 80 now so another decade or so and it will pass to the children or whoever else stands to inherit the freehold.

I really think the trust or whoever is showing concern for future of Walsall FC needs to just forget about Bonser as it’s lost cause with him as we’ve seen over last 20 years and try to reach out somehow to his kids and try to get some dialogue going as to what their intentions are when their parents are no longer around.

Waste of time trying to ask Mole and Gamble as we’ve seen at previous fan forums as they’re experts at straight batting that type of question.

1 Like

Impossible to say we’ve bottomed out until we start improving. Unfortunately we aren’t improving yet. I think we will, gradually this season, but we aren’t yet so no.

3 Likes