It was good as players got announced, ‘their’ songs were sung along with the applause, but was I the only one singing Big Bad Tony Tony Barras in the air…?
You are so right about Graydon’s wider values.
The big negative for me about his time with us was the poor reaction of the town. After his first promotion season our opening day fixture saw less than 5,000 Walsall fans in the home gate of around 6,400 against Swindon. Then the season after the play off triumph there were quite a few attendances in the low 5,000’s meaning that the home contingent was a similar number to what we are getting this season.
He and his teams deserved so much more.
The season after the miracle of 98/99 in particular I was expecting us to nearly fill the place with season ticket sales alone. Naive of me in the extreme as it turns out.
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Spot on…despite all the criticism of the current Board the gates are holding up well in comparison to the Ray Graydon years.
Fans are the problem though
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I don’t think you are alone. I remember queuing for a couple of hours for mine and my old mans season tickets the first day they came out and being late for my afternoon shift at work. As if we were going to sell out, not quite sure what I was thinking, For me, the ones in the queue and probably all the other Walsall fans that had followed through the years it was a time of excitement, but as you say it never really grabbed the town.
Bearing in mind I was only a kid when we played Arsenal and Liverpool, I think the most excited I have seen the town in regards to Walsall F.C is when we got to Wembley. The Town was proper buzzing that great night v Preston and in the following weeks until the Final. I suppose the best we have really done in my time is the Merson, Samways etc season. We almost touched 8000 average gate didn’t we? Who knows if we could have stayed up there a little longer.
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Who was Henry?
Nick Henry
I’ve depressed myself before looking back at the attendances before I actually looked them up I would have swore the ground was more or less full most weeks back then obviously rose tinted spectacles . 6,400 Vs Swindon with probably 1000+ away fans for our first game at championship level 
that’s nothing but absolutely pathetic that is . Walsall definitely didn’t then and definitely doesn’t deserve a football club that high in the pyramid we’re lucky to have a professional football club at all if it’s purely based on gates.
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Looking at attendance figures for that season it seems as though we probably sold around 4,000 season tickets and about 1000-1500 fans paying on the gate with about 800-1000 away most weeks .
It’s crazy how many people still talk about those times of Zigor , Pedro ,Jorge , Super Ray it’s gone down in folklore now everyone in the town was there a bit like every Wolves fan u speak to was there in the 4th division in the 80s even tho they clearly wasn’t because they were only getting 8000 gates , there’s probably only 3500 Walsall fans left alive who genuinely went to most games 20 years ago.
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Just had to google him
8 appearances, what a memory lol
We’re just daft really. Bit of success and we get giddy and ridiculously optimistic.
I’m even dafter because that wasn’t my first second tier rodeo and it was exactly the same ten years before under Coakley. Back then I also thought we’d have regular five figure attendances but that was similarly dashed on the opening day against Plymouth where a very similar crowd to that Swindon one was in attendance.
The difference back in 88/89 was that football was quite an unpopular pastime whereas by the time we had the Graydon years it was supposed to be boomtime. Just not in Walsall it seems.
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Bjarni Larusson and Jason Brissett also played a big part in our first promotion under sir Ray.
And just to underline Graydon’s values, when Brissett openly punched a player away at Preston, Gaydon said not acceptable either he goes or I do and there was only ever going to be one outcome of that one. Not that long after Brissett was gone.
Loved Bjarni (pingu). Even had an Iceland flag we used to bring to games.
One of my favourite (and underrated) players in my view.
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We always had a strong center midfield under Graydon didn’t we? Keates, Bjarni, Bennett, Bukran Henry, probably others I have missed.
It’s a long time ago now but as I recall it we never really had one specific player that did the sitting role in midfield. Either of the two playing we capable of holding and being in attacking positions at any given time. Same as the full backs, if one went forwards the other one would hold their position. The understanding of the system and the high levels of work rate within the team made it work so well.
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I thought he was here for the following season? Didn’t play much after the first few weeks, and he had a loan spell which I think might have been when he ended up in the News Of The World 
, but he was our player until the summer of 2000, wasn’t he?
I remember being at the Bezza for a event and sat on a table next to Mick Halsall who passed me across the news of the world with that Brissett article. He came top out of the other 3 players anyway! 
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Is Wacka in a job at the minute?
If not I’d love him back involved, so infectiously enthusiastic, passionate about the club.
Sorry Maik but I basically just want to see Jimmy every other week.
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