I seem to remember he played a couple of the youngsters (Candlin & Roberts?) on the last game of the season against MK Dons. We were getting smashed in the first half and they were hooked off at half time. Something about him kicking off and making one of them cry in the dressing room.
Didnât we have the chance to send Vale down and he put out a weakened team. Think Vale survived on the back of beating us too.
There were some grim performances around that time. Coventry away when Osbourne did his best impression of Jamie Lawrence and avoided the ball and plodded around the pitch until he was finally taken off.
I thought the last game of the season was MK Dons and they stuffed us too. Could be wrong about that though, I try to block some of these memories!
Brilliant man, superb physio and performance coach, decent manager, had us competing fine in the division above where we are now. If heâd stayed, and we hadnât got Keates, we could easily be in that division still.
His biggest failing, and what let him down in the end, was he demanded as much commitment and passion from his players as he had himself and you got the impression that, if a player didnât 100% buy in to and agree with him, there would be problems - see the OâConnor situation. Many of that team he put out have gone on to have decent careers at League one or equivalent level. Itâs a shame he couldnât have developed that âsofterâ side that Dean Smith would have demonstrated, whereby some players need a kick up the backside whereas others need a soft approach and to be instilled with confidence.
Best memory? Two really - firstly how he took a dispirited team under OâDriscoll and got them so close to promotion. Secondly, he signed Oztumer, one of the finest players to grace a Walsall shirt and who gave us so many special moments.
Nah, you were right.
I meant to say MK Dons but wasnât concentrating. Just changed it.
Itâs funny as when OâConnor was mentioned yesterday by another poster I thought he meant Martyn OâConnor! Was thinking he wasnât on the coaching staff so what the link was other than being a great player in late 90s/early 2000s.
Completely forgot about J OâC and I was disappointed when he got frozen out although he was replaced that season by likes of James Wilson (who mid season then went to non league LincolnâŚ) so at least back then solid regulars were replaced by comparable level players.
One other thing that people were taking the p*** off around that time was taking the squad in pre season to that army camp in the Lake District. Was reading Roy Keaneâs book years ago and he did exactly the same thing at Ipswich!
Yeah plus Iâm sure an ex player said he made youth players box naked (or something like that).
Is that true? Because it is incredibly creepy, not to mention revolting. I really hope thereâs no truth in it.
Donât know for sure but was a story told on a podcast.
Iâve got Harry Harris in my head as the player but not sure if Iâm just remembering him as being on the podcast or whether it was actually him who told the story.
Those training tactics and mentality went out with the 1950âs conscripted British army sergeant majors
Sean Geddes
So even if fans thought that we treated him badly as a stalwart of the club, he got his just rewards in the end?
I donât know why we just didnât give the job to Winsor Davies 
Sounds like he was as bad as Fullerton
If Whitney did any of those things, Iâm sure in the present climate he would have suffered some quite serious consequences as would Walsall fc. Instead his career has blossomed including a role at villa which probably pays many times more than anything he earned at Bescot. Sean Geddes was released by Dean Smith by the way in 2011, Whitneyâs only contact with him ( if any) would have been as physio. Geddes has a massive chip on his shoulder about Walsall and Dean Smith, he was likely one of the first casualties of no knobhead.
Was thinking exactly that. Heâd never work again
Has Fullerton?
Not sure kicking balls at them is seen in the same way as making them box naked, but Iâm sure if it was proven, it would affect his career prospects
A bully is a bully mate whatever context or form it takes
It was this podcast i think, itâs now been taken down.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5aC1ttlBQlbAWmcNlc78g0
Here is a UTS thread on it
âThe one about a punishment of naked boxing by Whitney wtfâ
Making them box fully clothed would be a criminal offence as it involves coercive control involving physical assault, yet alone naked!! Whitney would be doing time if that was the case, its nonsense.
Lucky for him. Geddes comes over as a self-entitled bitter little failure that managed to dine out on a couple of goals he scored for Worcester City when they had a bit of a cup run, big deal.
Harry Harris ( who wasnât so lucky) - but looks like heâs dined out at Mcdonalds/Burger King/Pizza Hut and Kebab King on a regular basis en-route to being player-manager at Walsall Wood , was also plying his trade in non-league long before Whitney got anywhere near a coaching/management role at Walsall.
So its very difficult to see how these accusations stack up to be fair.
I listened to that when it was posted ages ago. Canât recall the naked boxing story but can randomly recall Harris said Whitney drank his own p*** or something and then said in jest they then made him manager although I assume it was many years later as think Harris was coming through around 2006-07?
It isnât right but different times then if true.