Walsall commercial director Roy Whalley believes that a ‘lack of civic pride’ is impacting on attendances at the club.
At this week’s Focus Meeting at the Saddlers Club, Whalley and fellow director Nigel Bond were quizzed by fans about a range of issues, including low gates.
“We’ve all shared our frustrations with gates over the years,” Whalley said. “Is there a problem with this town that really stretches outside the football club?
“You read about the Arboretum illuminations and people not turning up to that.
“Is there a lack of civic pride that deters local people from supporting local institutions, such as the football club?
I think the problem within the town is wider than just the football club.”
Bond confirmed that the fee received for the sale of Scott Dann to Coventry last week was a club record of £1m, as revealed in the Express and Star last week.
But Sky Blues manager Iain Dowie believes he’s got a bargain – and disputes that Coventry paid the £1m figure.
“After watching Scott Dann in training, I think I’ve got better value than I first thought,” Dowie said.
“I’ve paid just north of £200,000 for him – for that he looks a great acquisition.”
But Dowie’s figure does not include add-ons, which are believed to relate to Coventry’s promotion to the Premier League.
25 Comments
whalley you’ve talked rubbish all these years and still you don’t change. the reason fans don’t come through the turnstiles is because you keep selling the players which show’s a lck of ambition.
why should we pay out to watch walsall with our hard earned money for you to throw it back in our faces by selling our best players when we’re in the play offs.
your a muppet always have been and always will be
1. You had p*ss poor attendances when you were 17 games unbeaten and hadn’t sold Fox or Dann, maybe if a few more of you went to games the players would see they wanted to stay there, I personally don’t blame them for leaving.
Irish Saddler asks: “why should we pay out to watch walsall with our hard earned money… when we’re in the play offs.”
Haven’t you answered your own question?
And if you need reminding, we also won promotion last season too - as champions.
I have to agree with these comments. I was born In Wolverhampton, to a Wolves supporting family, but was raised in Walsall. However when anyone asks me where im from I always say Wolverhampton, (although dont mind saying Willenhall!). Whilst I think Walsall has made some positive steps in the recent past, the mismanagement of the Town by the local authority and lack of pride in the town does I believe contribute to the low attendances suffered by Walsall as people dont want to be associated with the Town or its Club. We have to remember also that, Walsall have long lived in the shadow of other local clubs and you are more likely to see Villa, Albion or Wolves fans from the area than Walsall. Sad fact is (just like Wolves) generations of potential supporters have been lost to more succesful teams both local and national.
Irish Saddler, you really are living up to the Irish stereotype aren’t you! Can we take it from your name that you don’t actually live in the town? I’m not Roy’s biggest fan by any means but there is certainly more than a grain of truth in what he says. The youth of Walsall would rather wear a Man U./Chelsea/Arsenal top under their hoodies than the hallowed red and white because they are gloryhunters who have no real interest in the game but want to appear”trendy”.The majority of them have never even heard of Dann and Fox or any of the others we’ve sold over the years and so would hardly be likely to withdraw their support over this issue. Take a bite of the reality sandwich; Walsall has always been a selling club and, most likely, will always remain as such.We are no different to many other clubs of a similar size, location and with a similar history except that many of them have gone to the wall whereas we haven’t. Better a selling club than no club at all!
Why does E&S label these comments as an ‘attack’? It sounds like a reasonable contribution to the debate to me. But Walsall don’t just have to compete with Wolves Bham and the Baggies for their fanbase. I work with Arsenal, Liverpool and Man Utd ‘fans’ who obviously have no pride in the Midlands full-stop. It’s all about glory and the telly these days.
ok you sold the 2 top lads from our squad, the fans wouldnt be in such a revolt to the club if you actually pumped the money back in, all the board is after is money money money excuse the pun, i wouldnt be suprised if DD isnt driven away because of this lack of ambition. The message is simple, spend some money, show ambition, and you’ll win back the fans, but until you dont it will conintue like this forever.
“But Dowie’s figure does not include add-ons, which are believed to relate to Coventry’s promotion to the Premier League.”
Makes perfect sense seeing as the likelyhood of Coventry returning to the premiership before ZiDann’s contract expires are slim.
I agree with Roy. Very few people have a good word to say about the town or its people. Even Richard Money has a go virtually every week and then bemoans people for not turning up ( ???). The club has good to average support for the 3rd tier and am I right in thinking Walsall had the biggest away support by far last season averaging nearly 1000 for basement football? True to form though nothing gets mentioned about this and all and sundry dive on the club after two mid winter gates of less than 5000.
I have been a supporter since 1959, Walsall have always and will sell their best players, I do not believe Bonser or Money when they say they are not a selling club. If Bonser has any ambition for the club, WHY will he only sell the club, but not the land, he knows no one will just buy the club and give him £400,000 rent. If they want gates to go up then HE HAS to show the joe public that he wants to build a football team that can compete.
If any of your readers disagree, then ask the Walsall directors what will be done with the £1.5 million we just has scooped. Bonser says thank you!
its simple most people from walsall support villa or wolves,and ofcourse man u liverpool and chelsea. because they feel they are going to have a succesfull team to follow. and dont beleive walsall will be succesfull. i live near bristol and its the same here take away the fans who only come out the closet when their club is doing well, most people walk around here in spurs tops and man u and liverpool when asked why their answer was cause man u are going to win cups !! and bristol rovers aren,t !!!
Roy is right. But there are some of us still flying the flag. I haven’t lived in Walsall for 15 years, BUT, I am a SADDLER, AND I AM PROUD! Keep up the good work boys!!
Forget about whallys comments and look furthur down.Ian dowie saying what a great acquisition dann is too the squad at just over two hundred grand plus add ons.If this is true then walsall have made themselves look even more a laughing stock.What chance of ever making 1 million NO CHANCE same as matty fryatt with all the add ons NO CHANCE.
Robbo, Never a truer word spoken. It goes to show how bad a business man Bonser is.. and we wonder why he never puts money into the club.
Just as a point of interest our avg gate 2002-2003 (league 1 now the championship) 4,648 today avg 4,643.
the main reason for lack of support is simple. Walsall are based with in 5 to 10 miles of four bigger club.
people who say its becuase of are lack of ambition is being a litle naive and jumping on the bandwagon. End of the day we had dann and fox were ubeaten for 17 games and we still struggled to attract a crowd bigger than 5 thousnad.
Stop whinging and support your club it isnt the end of the world. Why would we keep players who dont want to play for walsall anyway.
question when did roy last go to the arbo lights I went last year they were dire thats why people don’t go, as for the football club they seem to think we all earn the same kind of money that they do problem is we don’t, for me and my lad to go saturday and tuesday it costs with everything thrown in around 80 quid.
If you believe Ian Dowie, you’ll beleive anything. He’s trying desperately to hide the amount of money the new owners have given him.
gavin if you read my comments correctly i believe i said why should we pay out to watch walsall with our hard earned money for you (the club) to throw it back in our faces by selling our best players when we’re in the play offs NOT pay to watch us in the play offs.
red messiah i watched walsall for 20 years before i moved to ireland and still wear the jersey every season. they criticise the fans for not turning up then 2 days later they sell 2 of there better players and they still expect fans to turn up. yes we are a small club but we should still have ambitions to play as high as possible. colchester, barnsley and other teams like that are small clubs and still play championship football.
so why not walsall
we will never see that million either for dann as coventry will never make it back to the premiership. yet another excuse for selling a player there’s probably an add on for dann to play for england as well, which we’ll never see
If coventry have got to get to the premier league for us to see the million pound, they might as well have included winning the champions league as well, please tell us they havn’t let Dann go for just over 200 thousand + add ons. Even Bonsor would wait for a beter offer than that (wudn’t he)
I am a baggies fan now living in Canada and raised and schooled in Walsall.
The Saddlers are a wonderful old club whose fan base is and always has been anywhere around the 5000 mark. When on a cup run or promotion run they do a little better.
Albion have a base of under 20,000 and do better etc etc.
These are not BIG clubs and need to work at showing thier ambitions. Albion are for sure moving in the right direction now but the fans are slow coming back.
Attracting fans in any sport in any town in the world means effort from the business and running it as a business. High quality entertainment with good conditions and a safe environment for your family at a reasonable price.
Our clubs rarely think of selling themselves as an attractive place to spend your hard earned money and valuable leisure time and somehow expect huge increases in crowds just because they are doing a little better. That expectation happens nowhere else in business.
It is time the “commercial director” at Walsall got off his fat lazy backside and went back to school to learn a little about marketing a business to what the cusotmer wants !!
Sorry everyone but any criticism of Roy Whalley is in my opinion completely out of order, this man has and still is working many hours for Walsall Fc, he has the club at heart and Walsall will be much worse without him. Blame the owner by all means he makes the decisions, good and bad but if supporters put into the club 10% of what Roy Whwlley does, we would be far better off.
Having lived for the last thirty years abroad only getting back occasionally whether it be Fellows Park or Bescot. Its the place to be and the people you miss. Walsall fans always stand up and be counted (because we can!) not like other fickle supporters. Players and Chairman all come and go eventually. Football wise we will always have our moments….play offs this year? then Money will probably walk
Irish Saddler: I wasn’t questioning your “Red” credentials but your knowledge of the town as it is now. A succession of ineffectual councils have leached the town of its character. We now have more pound shops than Sandwell town! We all have ambitions for the club but lt must be tempered with fiscal responsibility. As for Dowie, he’s already been proved a liar by Simon Jordan.
Allthough I love the Saddlers and follow the results of every match, Ive got to say the best thing I have ever done was getting the hell out of Walsall and moving to Sweden, I miss the Football and I miss the People, but I can realy live without the dirt, brawling, traffic jams, junkies, unemployment and all the other wonders of the town. The funny thing is at least half of my school friends have moved out also. If the waste of space local council ever get there act together and realy improve the place then perhaps people will stick around long enough to start filling Bescot, sorry, Banks’s Stadium.
I know aformer walsall player who said the the Walsall fans are unpleasable and c**p but the board and owner are the worst he had ever worked for.The elite players are treated well those further down the chain are often ignored and are so demotivated they often leave football. nothing changed with the new manager takethe present situation when the team building days do not include all the team what is that about. My friend in now very happy being a plumber supporting Albion