People could tell you one trillion times that the ‘slight’ improvements we saw were down to O Kelly. U still wouldn’t get it.
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I can’t even begin to talk about the things you need to be told one trillion times but still wouldn’t get!!
All I ask is you may not like my opinion but at least respect the fact there’s some thought behind it.
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Erm I would argue that the minute O’Kelly stepped in the building the style of play changed.
I would also argue that our recent style of play has been similar to what was implemented under Smith, again O’Kelly was obviously a driver of that.
Maybe I am being harsh.
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Well we could discuss that all day but there’s no way Sadler brought a coach in to implement a way of playing that didn’t concur with his own vision and how he wanted to play. We can agree that would be foolish can’t we?
So regardless of who it was or how good or bad ROK is, Sadler determined the culture and the style of play and employed someone alongside him that would mirror that. That’s managing isnt it?
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Yea and No , I could argue that if his vision is so clear why has he stuck around for so long when previous managers didn’t share the same?
I find it a bit odd myself.
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He’d just finished playing for Walsall.
Location / Home.
Family / schools for his young children.
Wife may have a job.
May have had no other offers of work while studying for his coaching badges.
Business interests (Gensanx 
)
Financial commitments in terms of mortgages / income.
There are a million reasons outside of the actual football that meant he may have just been very happy to have been in a job in an area he and his family were settled in at a club he liked being at….
It’s possible Matt Taylor did share the same outlook / values in the team but that as a combination it didn’t work. Sadler may have been less experienced coaching wise which alongside a rookie manager is difficult. Maybe neither of them had the ability to implement what they wanted to see. Maybe they didn’t have the resources or players available to do what they wanted?
We won’t know for sure but what is clear as day is that Sadler had zero input into how we played under Flynn and so in my eyes anything moving in the opposite direction to the one we were travelling in is positive.
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And yes it may have been very dependant on ROKs input, and my only hope is that that is the delay and they’re trying to tempt ROK to be involved or Sadler is working secure the services of someone equally as good at his job.
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Given the time we are taking it very much looks like we’re taking a belt and braces approach to recruitment of the new manager. This is an approach I myself encouraged the club to make.
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During the match with Doncaster it was clear to anyone sitting behind the dugout that it was Richard O’Kelly who was in charge.
He was animated, constantly communicating with the players and speaking to individuals during breaks in play. Matt Sadler stood nearby with the body language of a sulky teenager waiting at a bus stop, not really involved in what was going on.
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Yes Everyone knows that. Sadler isn’t going to get the managers job.
I was near the dug out also and that’s complete nonsense.
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Ok I am with you
I’ve always thought Flynn was manager and Hatswell was number 2 and coach .Sadler seems to get credited or blamed with an awful lot of the way we’ve played under those two .and now the same people argue who is responsible for 3 games of change off style .ROK or Sadler .my view on both regardless of that is ROK is a vastly experienced coach who was no 2 to probably one of our best managers at this club and would be an asset to this club in whatever role we could persuade him to take .as for Sadler he’s again a player who’s had a good career both here and elsewhere he’s expressed a genuine interest to stay in the game coaching and eventually management even though he appears to have a successful business.at what level we might offer him a job I don’t know but when you look at the coaching staff at present at all levels Sadler I feel ,again is an asset and someone who certainly has an affection for this club .if we are genuinely trying to but a better set up in place for a new manger then I would have though we would be having conversations with both
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While very poorly run clubs, like Swindon Town for example, appoint their managers as soon as they possibly can, giving them far too much time to mull over things like strategy, formation, identifying targets, allowing the new operation to settle, etc etc, Walsall FC The Venue and Football Club has always chosen to appoint a cheap interim option before giving our actual chosen manager very little time at all. This means that we then don’t have to deviate from our tried and trusted methods of securing the very best footballers from the 5th or 6th list of potential targets, complemented by loanee gambles where if they do pay off, we will then lose that player and not have to pay any silly money out from our Director salaries. It also means we conclude our business at the latest possible time, meaning nobody has had a chance to gel or get to know each other, providing the perfect excuse as to why another season is falling apart.
We have to strive to uphold the strong footballing philosophy that we have worked so hard to build over the years, regardless of the sacrificial lamb, sorry manager, that is in the dugout. As I have mentioned before, we often have spies from those very poorly run clubs at Mansfield (the scoundrels!), Port Vale, Swindon and many other jealous rivals.
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TBF @chunkster Flynn and Hatswell didn’t strike me as the sort who would take much notice of anyone else I reckon it was their way or no way as seen in their lack of any changes to tactics when it was obvious their way wasn’t working.
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I agree. The style of play and the team itself would have been determined by Flynn and Hatswell. All those long throws…
As soon as Sadler took over, certain players stopped being in the squad and the whole style of play changed. The fact that O’Kelly was animated during the games says nothing about what happened in the days leading up to them.
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George Burley does strike me a man who might wear braces, hope he makes Doug Taylor his top target!
Is this the WS1 version of granting royal assent Tone ?
Agree, can’t remember which game it was but we scored from a set piece and one of the players gave credit to Hatswell for the work done on this in training. Set pieces can be very effective at L2 level but I don’t think it worked for us. Also I don’t think it is a style of play that our supporters like to watch