Merse

I would argue that any issues we had with Merson are a result of Merson the manager, and not Merson the footballer.

True, sometimes he was thinking faster than the players around him, but when he was taking the squad out on the booze instead of taking them training, whose fault was that? Needs to look at his own behaviour before criticising the fans.

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Agree with this. If only we could have seen more of him doing what he did best as a player.

One of the best players ever to pull on a Walsall shirt.

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Youā€™re right of course, none of us know what would have happened if someone else had been appointed.
Iā€™m not saying Merson was a good choice, I just canā€™t agree with the narrative that heā€™s to blame for the relegation.
We were so terrible at Gillingham, I suspect many of our fans were resigned to relegation after that. Our next game was against Norwich, easily the best team in the division, and we also had a game at Palace, who were flying.
As it was, we nearly got the point at Palace that would have been crucial, but were cheated out of it. Oh well.
Anyhow, I wonā€™t be going to The Robin to see him, Iā€™ve checked and there arenā€™t enough wild horses in Shropshire to drag me there.

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Despite my negative comments about Merson earlier in the thread, I do agree that you canā€™t put that relegation on Merson.

The way we were playing Iā€™d say we were looking at getting relegated if Colin Lee had remained. If someone else had come in, who knows?

Merson should never have been anywhere near the managerā€™s job I think that is obvious and indisputable.

The end of the following season was a strange one though. When we had Joaching and Surman. For 5 or 6 games it was some of the best attacking football I have seen us play since Buckley was manager.

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Wanker.

Yes, the following season I think we had 45 points with 5 games left and were looking nervously over our shoulders, but won all those games to finish comfortably on 60 points. As you say, the football was very enjoyable with those 2 loan signings, a young lad with a very good career ahead of him, and an experienced player with a very good career behind him. But the following season was a mess and we deserved to finish bottom.

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Sorry :flushed:

:joy: :wink:

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:laughing: so you should be.:wink:.Joking apart Iā€™ve seen that video a few times now mate and going off that video he is exactly what Iā€™ve just called him.Did I see somewhere that heā€™d apologised in a newspaper the other day?

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Therein lies what may have been the thinking behind having Merson as manager. He is, and was, a football celebrity, so itā€™s not a big step from there to imagine he could have pulled a few strings to bring in the kind of players we may not have otherwise had a chance to get.

NaĆÆve, yes, but weā€™re now all looking at his term through the lens of hindsight. Iā€™d bet more than a few people at the time had dreams of him bringing in loads of Premier League starlets. He sort of did; Surman, Dann, Fox, were all brought in on his watch. But he failed spectacularly at the rest of it.

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Yes of course you can see it from that point of view. I think he also attracted extra fans through the gates. If I recall rightly the attendances the season after relegation was over 5000.

I remember ringing Daz Hale on WM after the Slough result, after i had had a few, and propper ripped into him and the club, i think it went along the lines of
" At the end of the day, it is the clubs fault for putting an alcoholic drug sniffing idiot in charge of our once great football team " :joy:

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Thought it was a bit harsh as well :joy:

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Isnā€™t that the game Merse decided to go all out attack and we lost 5-0?

Said he didnā€™t know how to defend before the match, which might have at least said," we need a defence coach in ,and fast," to a less starstruck owner.

I canā€™t remember whether we went all out attack, but I know it was a far better performance than a few days earlier against an out of form Gillingham. I think Norwich were the top scorers or second top, Huckerby played for them in attack and a good Swedish bloke, and Crouch in the game at Bescot where he was superb, but I donā€™t remember if he played at Carrow Road.

I think you summed it up nicely

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Interested heā€™s moved back to London. Used to live by me and saw him a few times in the local pub up Whitehouse Common.

Him and Kylie wouldā€™ve been some sight on the red carpet events! Guess that shows the circles heā€™s always mixed in that he could just go up and ask her out even if he was fighting addiction at the time.

In my memory he was in charge for a lot more than just four games. I think more of the blame has to lie with Bonser who should have known better.

The 4 games were back end of 03/04 season when he got parachuted in after Lee got sacked after Palace away IIRC. Then got smashed at Norwich and went down on GD.

Then got the job full time.

04/05 had a slump mid season but strong finish so probably similar to Whitneyā€™s only full season in charge. 05/06 was the pits though, some of those loan signings from January onwardsā€¦ :joy:

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Lee was sacked after Gillingham away. Merson managed us for Norwich away, Sheff Utd (I think) at home, Palace away and Rotherham at home.

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