Independent Saddlers Supporters Association
As our Chairman, Dave (Olly) Beckett, posted earlier, we have requested a meeting with the board after being inundated with questions from Walsall fans. Based on previous experience, we aren’t that hopeful. However, the board should not be hiding; questions need answering about what has gone so wrong since January.
Below, I will write questions and concerns from the ISSA committee and Walsall supporters.
The first thing to be said is that this can not be passed off as progress just because we are finishing higher than the previous season. A staff member was heard saying, “You would have accepted the playoffs at the start of the season” This may well be true, but if you add some context, this was a golden opportunity. We had to be the worst team in the league over an extended period to blow this. The discontent is not because supporters feel we have some divine right to be promoted. It is because we were in such a strong position it seemed unimaginable we could throw away such a big lead.
A statement was released from the Club stating we would come out of the January window stronger. Do you feel that we did? Accepting that losing Nathan Lowe was always going to hurt us, but that is no excuse for such a dramatic drop off.
If you do feel that the January transfer window was a good one. Do you feel that Mat Saddler has mismanaged the players that were brought in? For example, Connor Barrett and Jamie Jellis, two of our best players in the first half of the season, have been totally run into the ground. It took Connor Barrett to get suspended for Nathan Asiimwe to be given a proper chance. He has looked more than capable and could have given Connor Barrett a much needed rest. Alfie Chang, a highly rated player from Birmingham City was left out of the match day squad on numerous occasions, while Jamie Jellis was running on fumes and a shadow of the player we know he is. Certain players seem to have been frozen out, and the togetherness that was shown when we were flying quickly disappeared.
Has Mat Sadler’s position as Walsall manager been in question at any point during this dreadful run? Two wins in twenty games, no wins in 13 is relegation form for almost half a season. Many who travelled to Barrow feel that he should have been removed after that game. The results from the lunchtime kick-offs had all gone well for us. The team should have been pumped up and raring to go. He could not get us motivated. It was a dreadful performance, not a single shot on target in a game of such importance. Doing the same things that had failed us for such a long time. There may have only been 4 games to go, but given the position we were in, two wins out of a favourable run would have been enough. A change then would surely have given us a better chance of promotion.
Is Mat Sadler’s position as Walsall manager in question now? There are exceptions, but most managers with a run of results like we have had would be gone now. We collapsed at the end of last season to miss the playoffs, with only 11 points from our last 11 games. This season, despite having a better squad at his disposal, we have been significantly worse in the second half of the season. It is going to be really difficult for Mat Sadler to turn this around.
I will also add that some of Mat Sadler’s comments have not gone down well with supporters. Comments like “I understand the frustration we aren’t 20 points clear” and “We are exactly where we want to be” No Walsall supporter I know ever expected us to win the League by 20 points. In fact, most Walsall fans I know, including myself, would have happily taken 3rd place and promotion, even when we were 12 points clear at the top. As I mentioned earlier, there is a lack of context here, and if this is genuinely the outlook from within the Club, then it is very alarming. These comments seem disrespectful to all the fans that have backed the team so well, not only this season but through some really tough times. They may well be comments for self-preservation, but they are completely out of line with what we have witnessed, and I would hope there is a different outlook from within the boardroom.
The consequences of this collapse, if we don’t manage to get promoted, could set us back years. With many players out of contract, loan players going back and the hurt within the fanbase and you would hope within the club, next season could be a very difficult one. Could you give an outline of your plans to ensure we can still compete moving forward?
Some supporters have raised concerns about the finances, with significant losses announced. If we are in League 2 next season, crowds are certain to be down from this season. Freezing season ticket prices was well received, and rightly so. However, over recent years, supporters ’ pockets have been hit hard. How do you plan to recoup these losses?
Where do we stand in the food chain within the group of Clubs? With the Irish and Danish Clubs able to get European football, does that put us last on the list for investment?
We would be really interested on your thoughts about how this dramatic collapse has happened. Do you really understand the hurt of supporters? It isn’t a fan base demanding success. It’s a fan base that has stuck with the Club through some dreadful times. Some of the lowest points in our history have happened in recent years. This was a golden opportunity that looks like it has been wasted now. I have seen Walsall have back to back relegations, 15 straight defeats, and lose to non-league teams in the cup, as have all the other ISSA Committee members and thousands of supporters. For me personally, I have never hurt as much in all those years as I am right now. These opportunities don’t come around often, 18 years and counting. We urge you not to hide, but to answer our questions and try and put this sorry mess right.
If you have any other questions you would like asked, put them forward to us. Keep them sensible, please.
Mark Cassell
Independent Saddlers Supporters Association - Secretary.
