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Walsall blog: Saddlers Brand of Justice
Tuesday 28th April 2009, 9:05AM BST.
Walsall blogger Mark Jones enjoyed sticking it to Milton Keynes Dons and costing them automatic promotion in the penultimate game of the season.
When it comes to sunny end of season fixtures, what comes around goes around.
To wit, in 1991 a Saddlers victory over Blackpool on the last day, in what was possibly Chris Hutchings last appearance for the club as a player, denied them promotion and sent Peterborough up.
In 1992, a satisfying last away day win over the irritating Barry Fry and his Barnet upstarts.
Even more notable when coming out of the ground dressed as an Arab, flanked by two mates, one in full evening dress and another in a Santa costume, a bemused Barnet fan asked us why Gary Bull had received so much stick.
He said: “Did he used to play for you? No. Has he scored against you in the past? Not likely.
“Has he got sent off, injured one of your players or been involved with something nasty against you then?’ No.
“Well surely you weren’t giving him all that abuse just because he’s Steve Bull’s cousin? Yes.”
In 1996, Martin O’Connor bursts into the Blackpool box to notch the winner that stopped them getting promotion once again, in front of a large and thirsty away end.
But Tangerines boss Sam Allardyce and Barry Fry later teamed up to extract a terrible revenge, by luring Mart away and stitching us up at the tribunal that summer though.
In 2007, days after our League Two title-clinching result at Swindon, history repeats itself with another local born midfielder Dean Keates moving to the Posh.
They were now with wads of cash due to an Irish millionaire buying into the club, having seen what a shambles they were under Fry’s stewardship on the hilarious ‘Big Ron Manager’ programme.
Now in 2009, it has come full circle as the mighty Saddlers, now managed by Hutchings and O’Connor, beat another unwelcome addition to English football in our last away game – a result that handed promotion to Deano’s Peterborough.
Just occasionally in football everything comes together and you get to enjoy a top day out. Saturday in MK’s imaginatively titled Stadium MK was one of them.
The sun shone, there was fancy dress, loads of singing, a conga and a few extra faces that hadn’t been seen for some time in the away end.
Of course we beat MK Dons and we ended their hopes of automatic promotion.
Now I still think that club should be relegated into the lower reaches of non-league football.
MK received a fantastic amount of abuse from our travelling support and quite rightly, as it is a club with no history and no soul. Admittedly their rich backer has built a top-notch stadium but the MK ‘consumers’ have little idea of what it takes to be a fan.
Their player of the season awards were announced to a mere ripple of light applause and most of the home end opted for the car park rather than stay for their team’s lap of honour. They don’t deserve the position they occupy.
From our point of view it was good to see a decent all-round team performance, with man-of-the-match Jabo Ibehre causing all sorts of problems for their defence and scoring with a pretty tasty finish.
Anthony Gerrard and Manny Smith were commanding at the back and goalkeeper Clayton was also superb – two facts which are not unrelated as far as I’m concerned.
Just to top everything else off, AFC Wimbledon clinched promotion to the Blue Square Premier too.
Congratulations to a club run by fans who are not prepared to take any crap, you are truly an inspiration.
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Mate, Wolves dont actually care about Walsall, you think we are bothered, Willenhall Town are our biggest rivals, and there ground is much bigger than Purple Loans stand along with the other 3 sheds you have got round your so called stadium. Who is your top scorer Andy Rammell? when will you boys learn that Steve Bull is a legend and if the best you can do is play against his cousin way back when, well thats just a little unfortunate. Champions 08-09.
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I actually enjoyed reading that. It’s good to see Albion aren’t the only bitter and twisted club in the midlands.
SUPER SUPER MICK!!
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Lee cares so little about Walsall that he comes online, reads the Walsall blog and goes out of his way to comment upon it. Bless the Wolves fan, they never do make alot of sense! They even try and throttle the manager that just took them to the Premiership…..No danger of seeing a Wolves fan on mastermind any time soon. The bloggers comments about the stick we gave to Mr Bulls cousin was tongue in cheek, us Walsall fans have to get our kicks somehow.
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A hillarious read; the only way Walsall can define themselves is by spoiling other clubs parties…you really have nothing elses to cheer for. I took my son to the Walsall v MK Dons home game when they were roundly trounced (courtesy of some free tickets through his school). Walsall really is a club going nowhere, aging fans (what few there were) a stadium specially constructed so that everyone has a restricted view (I wonder if this was a special request to prevent fans having to watch the game) dire football, dire facilities , toilets from the 1800′s. I don’t suppose that you have much to look forward to really, perhaps bitterness and spite is really all you have. I can’t imagine any other midlands club wishing so much ill toWalsall, I suppose it wouldnt be fair…its a bit like having a go at an old person who is just seeing out their twilight years until they depart altogether.
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Wolves fans invade the pitch, rip a players shirt off his back then fight each other for it… Enough said really…
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Biffo Well said. I was at the Hartlepool game this season in the their end, was great. had a great time seeing the one cap wonder Ricketts and his band of 10 has beens or youngsters lose a 2 goal lead. I just think you guys need to stop thinking that we are your biggest rivals, wake up will you, start having ago to Pelsall Villa or something, more your cup of tea.
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AFC Wimbledon fan here thanks for the congratulations also well done to beating the franchise. Good luck for next season
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For the love of god i as a walsall fan was starting to respect wolves but idiots like lee, dave and biffo actually really annoy me.
I just beleive wolves fans are the most arragant in the world and there is just no need for it and certainly cant back it up. just cos you got promoted to the premier league doesnt justify laying into clubs like walsall when in all honesty you’ll struggle to avoid relagat you’ll struggle next season anyway.
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What are the odds of Walsall playing Wolves on the opening day of the 2010/11 season? Both teams playing in their rightful division. Wolves in the Premiership? No chance whatsoever of surviving. At least they have a pretty good speedway team this year. Suppose the Dingles could switch to Monmore, if weekly thrashings are too hard to stomach!
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Biffo & Lee, can I just make sure I’ve got my facts straight here, you continue to run Walsall F.C into the ground based on a minor jibe on this blog about Steve Bull’s cousin, you take this as i massive attack on your precious Wolves and think that Walsall fans are bitter and twisted etc etc. You call us a run down team full of has beens……….but, wait a minute, you both claim to have taken in Walsall games this season (MK Dons & Hartlepool to be precise), both of these games coincided with Wolves HOME games,(against Blackpool & Coventry City respectively). Why on earth wouldn’t super fans like you two choose to attend “little” Walsall over the team you “support”. I’ve got a lot of Wolves friends who are proper supporters, and I’m delighted for them this season, because they understand football and don’t act like kids like you pair!
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Now now mattsadler there’s no need to call me an idiot. The article does read as if written by someone who’s bitter about the success of other clubs and can only find hope in spoiling the success of others.
I actually quite like Walsall y’know.
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Matt, I can’t believe you would ever refer to Dingle scum… I mean Wolves fans, as arrogant.
More of them are idiotic, giro cashing, imbeciles. :-)
I love those orange boys, even upto a month ago they were calling into WM asking for “super Mick”‘s head!! I’m glad they are around to make me laugh. Keep up the comedy lads.
p.s. I wonder where they’d be if Sir Jack hadn’t come along when he did?
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Biffo, you’re right, we do get great pleasure from other peoples misfortune but isn’t that part of the fun? I’m sure you’ve probably enjoyed watching West Brom get trounced week after week. Also, all of this ‘our ground is bigger that your ground’ is a bit sad isn’t it? You’ll find your ground is nothing special during your brief visit to the Premiership.
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wfcdanoc…its very simple why I wasn’t at the Wolves game…I’m not a Wolves fan. I was amazed that the whole blog above is based around putting the spoke into other clubs wheels…how mean spirited can you get -where is there anything about how well walsall have played, or how they have improved under the new managerial partnership…its all pretty sad really and sums the mentality of the Walsall fans up. Just remember, what goes around comes around, you wont have any cause for complaint when fans crow about preventing your promotion or sending you down next year.
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i can understand these wolves fans having digs about walsall being a small club, what with them having such a massive loyal band of fans, 30thousand of em had season tickets when they were in div 4 don’t forget!!!!
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desben…constructive well thought out criticism there…you really proved how intelligent you are with your reasoned argument – NOT.
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Well, we seem to know how to wind up Wolves fans don’t we? Simple enough to do as they are simple people.
I would rather be a fan of a small club like Walsall than be a Wolves fan and be associated with the town of Wolverhampton.
I have to travel round the country for my job (that’s right a job something people in Wolverhampton don’t seem to have) and when I tell people where I’m from they always take the micky out of Wolverhampton and Wolves fans. They seem to be a bit of a joke in the footballing world.
Congratulations to you though Biffo and Lee, credit where credits due. You must be the first people in Wolverhampton to have a Computer, and you worked out how to use it! Where did you steal that from?
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Wolves fan or not Biffo you have had a pop at Walsall FC and the fans of the club for no reason at all. Yes, I am very happy we were the team that stopped MK Dons getting automatic promotion. The same MK Dons that stripped the soul out of a long standing football club, they stand for everyrthing thats wrong in football today, so sorry if we enjoyed halting there financially backed steamroller through the lower leagues. Its not bitterness or mean spirited, this is a club that has been manufactured and has no tradition, any success they have is ill gotten!
You said “I was amazed that the whole blog above is based around putting the spoke into other clubs wheels” No Biffo, wrong again, the above Blog highlights the parts that Hutchings & O’Connor have played in past occurences when we have halted teams promotion pushes, now they are our management team, and they have done it again. It makes sense if you have any knowledge of Walsall FC, which you obviously don’t. The blog is very much in context, please try not to miss the point in future, it makes you look ever so silly.
The blog ends by congratulating AFC Wimbledon, a sentiment most Walsall fans echo, yet you call us mean spirited, a person who wrote, and I quote, “Walsall really is a club going nowhere, a stadium specially constructed so that everyone has a restricted view (I wonder if this was a special request to prevent fans having to watch the game) dire football”……..I’ll leave it up to others on here to decide who has the mean spirited mentality.
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Timbo…calm down sonny, bother to read my posts…I’m not a Wolves fan. I just happen to be interested in all Midlands football, I tend to watch Kidderminster if I watch a game. Pot, Kettle, black I think as you also seem to extremely wound up and throwing random insults everywhere. It must be tough travelling round the country with your job, still those drives wont get tarmac on them without people like you will they.
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I like Biffo, he’s obviously a dingle in denial.
All of his posts go to show he is completely justified in his attempts to take the moral high ground and is so much better than us petty saddlers in every way, He even goes to non-league football. This man is a saint, someone call the Queen quick and get him a knighthood(!) lol
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Desben….Thank-you, however an OBE would be more than enough. Please be the first to write a letter to the queen and you can even come with me to the palace (Buckingham – not Crystal) to collect it. You can even wear it on the way home if you like.
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Biffo (isn’t that a name of a rubbish collection company?)Not angry at all, just enjoying the chance to have a pop at Wolves.
Why get involved then if your not a Wolves fan? What’s wrong with you? What would the OBE for? Services to commenting on things that have nothing to do with you.
By the way the names Tim, not Timbo. Or can’t you read?
Oh, when I travel for work it’s by train not road – 1st class as well.
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22 Tim. No – that would be Biffa. Still, why let facts get in the way eh!?!
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if we’re naming stuff, was biffo a clown? Biff was definitly the baddie in back to the future. and Dean Keates was about the same size as Michael J Fox ahhhh, back to Walsall related things
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Well doesn’t the above post’s from Walsall fans just show how jealous they are of Wolves.
Wolves have a long tradition in football (founding members I believe ;D ) so where were Walsall at this time??
So being as Wolves were around before Walsall were, does that give the right for Wolves to moan and say “we hate the Walsall revolution”…….oh wait, Walsall have never had a revolution :D
but seriously, this having a pop at MK Dons and constant dingle bashing is a bit pathetic, Wigan are no different to MK Dons just the fact they have been around the football league 20-30 years longer (bank rolled status i mean)
I think the top post shows what Walsall have really had to cheer about the last 20 years, which is very little. They celebrate in others misery to make there own seem a little less.
and before the dingle bashing commences, I am originally from Cannock, all my family live there and most are actually Walsall fans, we have the banter and I do look our for Walsall results. I just think Walsall need to get there heads out the clouds and realise they are most people’s 2nd team (Wolves, West Brom, Birmingham, Aston Villa etc) and if they stopped bashing and getting on at the big clubs in the area, they may just get a few more fans to there home games.
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Dublin Wolves – you seem to be missing the point about MK Dons. It’s not the bankrolling of a club that is wrong but the way in which they were created. Also, we’ve had quite a bit to celebrate in the last decade or so (although we’ve had a share to moan about as well).
Also, we’re not really interested in being most people’s 2nd team. This might make me quite unpopular on here but I quite like to see West Mids teams all doing well, your lot included.
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Northern Saddler, I agree, I hate the Albion but would love to see a Wolves, Albion, and Villa derby in the premier league for sure. I would love to see Walsall back in the Championship for sure too, if Blackpool and Barnsley and co. can survive in there, I am sure Walsall can too.
I hope blues get what they deserve this year and thats dumped in the play offs and miss out. The cockiness after there win the other week was unreal!
My point about the 2nd team is more for fans through gates, every club has die hards (even Hednesford town) but a imagine Walsall attracting a further 1000 a week just when Wolves, Villa and Albion are away from home. It would surely help the coffers in the club wouldnt it??
I used to do this when I was growing up, go to Wolves with my Dad and go to Walsall when Wolves were away with my Uncle.
I do understand the point of MK Dons, and not for 1 seconds am I supporting it, but being happy because you beat them and stopped them going up for now, I just don’t get it. The article never stated how you played them off the park for the win, how this win should be the new bar for the team to perform at, it was just MK Dons bashing.
I am a football fan, I like talking football (ie the game itself) not talking how its unfair 1 team is there!
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