Walsall chairman Jeff Bonser believes the fans that want him out are ‘divorced from financial reality’ and that the club’s season has been a successful one.
Supporters vented their anger at Bonser during the final day clash with Hartlepool, but the chairman says that the same fans were praising him to the hilt last year after their League Two championship triumph and it’s been a year of progress at the Banks’s Stadium.
“Those same people the season before would have given me the freedom of the town,” Bonser said. “They are divorced from financial reality.
“All I think about those sort of people is ‘thank you very much for attending the match and please keep coming again next year’.
“Unlike a lot of people, I think this last season has been successful, albeit we petered out at the end, but that happens sometimes.”
Bonser refuted suggestions that the sales of Scott Dann and Dan Fox to Coventry represented the beginning of the decline.
“I’d like to remind people that in September we were bottom of the League,” he said. “They were both in the team when we got beaten 3-0 by Oldham.”
The chairman added that he would have settled for 12th place at the beginning of the campaign.
44 Comments
A part of me understands where Bonser is coming from here, he has installed finacial stability within the football club, but is seem to have cost us our ambition and desire to move forward! I will never expect us to spend £1.5 million on 4 new superstars and crash into administration, thats not what the fans want. We just want SOME investment in the playing side of the club, we don’t want a new stand, or a new suite for nice big functions, or a hotel. We just want to be able to say we’re moving forward and getting quality players in, not just freebie cast off’s from other clubs! All you have to do is look at our highest transfer fee paid out to see that investment is out dated to say the least!
“How To Make Friends & Influence People” by JW Bonser!
Clown. What a way to create an even worse situation.
freedom of the town?
Hold on Jeffery, you’re rewriting history there aren’t you mate? NO ONE would have given you the freedom of the town you joker - you didn’t even bother to go to Notts County. Come to think of it, I dont remember anyone praising you, let alone praising you to the hilt. Promotion from such a dire league, is no big achievement jeffery - just look at how easily Hereford have done it.
But hell, give yourself another public eulogy just because people are starting to see you for what you really are.
Funny how you’ve done more press interviews in the last 2 weeks, than in the previous 18 months.
I must be in a minority of approx 1 in thinking that on the whole Jeff does a good job for our football club. It is all too easy to jump on the “sack the board” bandwagon at any club when things turn sour. However, if I could appeal to Mr Bonser over one issue, regardless of who our manager is, it is our tranfer policy. Can we please pay the odd (even small) tranfer fee ? You would be amazed how this improves moral ! also, can we stop signing hopeless 3rd rate overseas players who get a contract and barely kick a ball. Isn’t this a watse of our finances ?..and finally stop signing already injured players (there were at least 3 last season !) once again this wastes money. Or am I being too simplistic here ?
What a prize muppet.
Egotistical.
Bonser OUT!
If we are so successful, why do so few bother to support the club. Perhaps our leader should remember the Customer is always right. If he does not like what is served up he will always go elsewhere.
However perhaps JB is just satisfied with what we have got and is just happy to turn up to collect the rent!
“All I think about those sort of people is ‘thank you very much for attending the match and please keep coming again next year’.
“those sort of people” line your pockets for your pension fund, I suggest you think more carefully when speaking to the press.
There will be less people at home games next season thanks to your ridiculous match day prices, we will only pay extra if theres quality ion the pitch.
BONSER OUT!
i agree with colin bonbser has been good for walsall, we are running at a small profit for many years or a small loss which is amazing that we survuve on attendances of around 5thousand. If people of walsall want more money spent they shouldall come and attend more matches so we make more money.
I dont know when we were supposed to spend the transfger fees of dann and fox baring inmind they went through rite on the transfer deadline.
I am a sympathiser of both fans and board, as there are very good arguments on both sides of this situation……WELL JB…..LET’S SEE WHO YOU BRING IN AS MANAGER?
And how much investment he gets for the ‘nine/ten’ new players we need? Then we can make our minds up as to where your loyalty now lies! TIME TO STAND UP AND BE COUNTED (again!)
Hmmm. Michael Ricketts scored for Oldham that day. He was soon to sign for us on loan and that (along with the arrival of Jimmy Mullen) heralded the start of an unprecedented unbeaten run.
When he left, the rot started to set in, and the goals dried up. Yes the defence was affected by the loss of Dann and to a lesser extent Fox but the failure to invest in quality up front was also a major problem.
Unfortunately I have only recently realised that JB is in this for the benefit of JB first and the football club a distant second.
I supported him when I thought he was a fan and a benefactor but I’m really not sure he’s either.
4. COLIN - HERE HERE!
There are plenty of clubs in similar size to us who manage to spend money on transfer fees. Why does JB keep on trying to con us that spending money on transfers will take us into administration. Maybe if the ground rent was lower we could spend money. Maybe JB should negotiate a better deal with our landlord!
I have no sympathy for Bonser and it was good to see probably the most vocal demand for his resignation. The sale of top players demoralised the fans and players and manager. None of us could give anymore to the cause.
Bonser has gladly taken the money, but at least we have a good irrigation system on the training ground, any further lack of spending on the team will see us playing sunday league in Essington.
I have already purchased by season ticket for next year and I am hoping I won’t be dissapointed and feel it is a waste of my money.
It’s time for JB to give us something to cheer about….Before we do an Oxford Utd and have the best ground in the conference.
P.S. The beer in the bar under the main stand is weak, flat, and out of date…..much like the board.
SOD OFF, SADDLERS FANS TELL SUPREMO
Next time Uncle Jeff does an interview (presumabley tomorrow judging by recent productivity levels), can the interviewer ask him how much he wants for his controlling interest in the club
He mentioned in one of last weeks eulagies that he has been waiting for someone to make him an offer, but then forgot to mention how much it would cost.
Please remind him, as some of us are quite interested.
Love the interviews, keep them coming, and thanks in anticipation.
Geordie.
I would not expect Jeff to tell me how to each and I dont really know the first thing about financing a football club.
I let him run the club until someone else offers to run it!
We have no choice1
We have to get behind the club, team, board and manager until things change.
Delete first comment letter missing!
I would not expect Jeff to tell me how to teach and I dont really know the first thing about financing a football club.
I let him run the club until someone else offers to run it!
We have no choice1
We have to get behind the club, team, board and manager until things change.
Cant he say what the Birmingham City board said which was ‘If im not wanted here, I dont want to be here’ JUST GO
SELL UP!!! GIVE IT AWAY!!! SELL IT TO THE FANS!!!
SELL IT TO PETE WATERMAN!!!!!
GIVE HIM A BELL AND CHECK IF HE WANTS IT…
Okay, Jeff, call and attend a public meeting. You name the time and place. State your case to the paying customers, and allow us to state ours. Clearly if you feel the bridges crumbling around you it’s time to start building them again. As for being divorced from the financial reality of thing at the football club, why don’t you divorce yourself from the £7000 a week rent your charge for a season and reinvest it into the playing side of the set up? And spend a few bob on attending a half decent PR course while you’re at it. You may find the benefits of both or either of the above far outweigh the disadvantages.
Well keep on calling the interviews JB, at least now everyone is sussing the situation out. I felt like a mug years ago and still do now (when I attend that is). Well most the people I know who want to support the club, from now on will only be going away from home as they wont put another penny in your pocket. You wanna change the record you know, ‘free transfers aren’t free’ , go and support rotherham or luton’ what do you want a medal from the fans for keeping the club running? I guess you have done well out of it enough though. What made me laugh was that you convinced Dicky Dosh that the people of the town were not backing the club, when we all knew (the people who have watched the coming and goings down the years) that half the people dont attend because of no ambition and no investment! Still even he wised up to it in the end.
Jeff, we just want you to be honest, rather than constantly telling us we are wrong.
If you want extra investment then reveal your demands regarding the ownership of the freehold of the land Bescot Stadium sits on which is owned by your pension fund. If you wont sell the freehold, who in their right mind would buy the club off you?
Other clubs own their land which means they have one big asset, instead of one big overhead.
If you would like dialogue with the fans, which you quite clearly would judging by the amount of press interviews you’re doing, why dont you turn up to the clubs AGM for the first time in 10 years? Or perhaps you know you’d get slaughtered by the fans, and you’re better hiding behind the express and star?
How much is the club priced at for sale to new owners?, does this include the freehold of the land that the stadium is on?
Unfortunately Jeff “those sort of people” that you refer to have stopped turning up, or did you fail to see the dwindling crowds at Bescot as the season neared its tragic demise from potential promotion material to ‘thank god we got 50 points already’ material.
I for one am one of those people. ST holder for 5 years and I attended just 1 of the last 8 home games.
Tell me Jeff, how do other lower league clubs on similar gates, but without the commercial infrastructure, manage to spend bits of cash without going into admin?
Tell me how say Carlisle or Tranmere, who might have bigger crowds but don’t have our commercial infrastructure, manage to spend money on players etc?
Tell me how Brighton with their inferior ground, complete lack of any commercial revenue etc spend money on players?
Tell me Jeff, because I’m obviously divorced from financial reality. Unfortunately for you, my wallet is also divorced from putting funds into your pocket. Away games only for me.
Last i heard Bonser was after about 11mill for the club which is plainly ridiculous. Cant see anyone wantint yo pay that much.
Yuo are stiring it up now Jeff!
Well at least you are now saying something in public, rather than nothing.
Why don’t you come to the AGM?…..surely it is a directors responsibilty to attend and explain his decisions?
After nearly 40 years of getting to as many games as I possibly could, including, at times, risking my job to do so, I’ve had enough.
Away games only for me until I see genuine ambition from the owner.
JB wasn’t a particularly rich bloke when he took over WFC. He certainly is now.
He wants back some of his ‘investment’, he said after the sale of Dann and Fox? Take it JB, take it all. You’ve had your last £1 off me.
what a plonker! who would have givin him the key to the town? the arrogance of the man is unbelievable…
Much as some of the fans will hate me for saying it, Jeff has a point. What is also worth bearing in mind is that the transfer of Scott Dann was completed in the dying hours of the transfer window deadline, which makes things difficult, particularly as there was apparently an agreement for him to come back on loan which appears to have been reneged on as soon as the window closes.
If you bring in loan players part way through the season you have to bring in the right ones. A striker who wants six or seven grand a week is great if he gets you a dozen goals in the second half of the season, but no good at all if he pulls something in his first half-hour.
Like many I wouldn’t have minded seeing Wracky for another season, but most of the rest of the released list was no great surpirse, and one or two of them no great shakes to be honest.
Let’s just hope we get a new gaffer with a bit of nous, passion and ambition, a few quid from Jeff (another £150k on another Jorge Leitao wouldn’t be a bad more!) and see if we can’t at least get in to the play-offs next season.
Blimey 25 walsall posts.A new club record!
wat a great bloke jeff is continue the good work jeff sell! sell! sell! he doin u a favour an keepin u alive as a club
Mr Bonser. If anyone needs to get real, you do. You just do not care about the fans that have supported the club, loyally over many years. Talking about “divorced” - you are totally divorced from reality. Us fans are getting just a little bit fed up with all the rubbish you constantly try to feed us. Mr Bonser, you will do well to heed the warnings of the fans that have supported both you and the club in the past. If you are not very careful, the Banks’s Stadium will be a very deserted place on match days and there will be no-one else to blame but yourself. As regards a new manager, I just don’t know who will get the job, but I guarantee it will be the man who can say the word YES the most times in a minute. How about attending an AGM. That would be a start at least or have you just not got the stomach for it. Just be fair to the fans for once, thats all we ask.
jeff bonser very good buisness man knows sweet f.a about football end of
ABSOLUTE MUPPET- AS I STATED PREVIOUSLY WE SHOULD ALL AGREE TO BOYCOTT THE GAME..ONLY OPTION
BONSER OUT
tell us jeff how can the likes of Hull City who at the time you took over at the club were in division four with less crowds than us who now with investments and ambition are now on the verge of premiership football.
walsall football club own fellows park sell it to morrisons,build bescot stadium with the money from proceeds, how come mr bonser ends up owning the club, and the ground.
answers on a post card.
Well said, Bonser - it’s always the stupid fans who have the biggest mouths yet have no solutions and it’s time for them to wake up. They are no more passionate about football than a restrained, considered fan. What do these people expect? Alex Ferguson as Manager and Roman Abravomic as owner? Go support them then……
The writer should not have used the word “refuted” since it usually means that Bonser proved the accusation false. Bonser may think that he “refuted” the suggestion that Walsall’s slide began with the sale of Fox and Dann, but most fans will totally disagree with him. The writer could have used “rejected” but most authorities say that is not the same as “refuted”, and the use of “reputed” makes one think that the writer is taking sides in the argument instead of just reporting the statement.
“I would not expect Jeff to tell me how to teach and I dont really know the first thing about financing a football club.”
And if he said that all supporters had to jump off the top of a cliff you’d do it would you?
I remember standing in the sheds at Fellows Park and I remember standing in the rain on a muddy bank, Since the Bonsor family took over no-one does that any more. Before I moved abroad to live I used to sit in the main stand behind Mr Bonsors family. Mr Bonsor has brought this club forward he has invested the clubs resour ces in youth and now look how it is paying off. The biggest handicap for Walsall are the Walsall people who go to the Wolves and the Albion ea ch week instead of supporting their local club.DONT MOAN BE GRATEFUL
Yes moving abroad is often the best policy. Hopefully it won’t be too long before mr. Bonser follows suit and finally settles in Cyprus, the very place he was during the protest against Hartlepool, and on last season’s promotion day.
He will ultimately be judged with what he does with the freehold, and that day is looming.
Name your price Jeff, so that the next time it changes hands the process will be transparent.
Maybe you could state yor intentions at the club’s AGM? You know the thing you never attend.
Sorry Jeff, but Walsall were champions of L2 because we never should gone down the season before. Why did we go down, cos you employed Merse as manager, so don’t give this spin and certainly don’t proclaim ‘freedom of the town’ for yourself……..people who get such an honour, put something back into the town, not take all they can get.
Yes we appreciate what you have done, but you have to apprecaite that you have to do so much more to continue to run a football club theese days than you did 20 (sorry 18) years ago!
PLEASE LISTEN TO WHAT IS BEING SAID? There are some very constructive commnets flying around at the moment and you could pull off a PR success by reacting in the right way.
What about cutting the rent down to peppercorn, now that you have made some money?
Then Reinvest the money into squad. You would then be Mr Popular and also show the town that you mean business.
Great to see so many Saddlers getting involved, the passion is fantastic!
Be grateful for what? The only thing I am grateful to him for is all of these recent interviews. With his appalling PR skills and inane and ill thought our ramblings he is doing a better job than any of us could in exposing himself for what he really is. Keep it up Jeff!
If you want some respect, go to the AGM, sort out the freehold issue in the best interests of WFC (and that is not the same as your best interests Jeff!!) and put the club up for sale at a reasonable price. You have had your pound of flesh many times over.
At the end of the day, we are another Crewe, they haven’t the crowds and need to sell their best players. At the end of the day quality players will move on.
Hull have a rich benefactor and a much wider area to get a fan base from. They have spent a good bit of money. You cannot compare them to us.