Contract talks on hold at Walsall
Monday 25th January 2010, 10:30AM GMT.
Walsall have put all contract talks on hold after their cash flow problems but manager Chris Hutchings has reassured fans he will do everything to keep his stars.
The boss is eager to tie down his out-of-contract men, including Manny Smith and Alex Nicholls, but after the club lost £100,000 following the big freeze next season’s budget is yet to be confirmed.
It would usually be settled by now, but Hutchings insists once he gets the green light he will aim to secure his players’ futures.
The manager said: “We don’t know what’s happening, because the finances aren’t coming in so it’s been put back for a couple of months. The players have to be realistic, if we can do it we will. We have to get on and deal with it and, as much as I’d like to do it now, if I can’t do it I can’t.
“The scenarios are we can’t do it at this moment, but I’m sure when I have a meeting with our finance director Stef Gamble and the chairman Jeff Bonser to see if we can start sorting one or two out we’ll go down that line.”
Hutchings cannot put a timescale on when talks will begin but is philosophical about the delay and insists no one is panicking.
He said: “How long is a piece of string? If we have another three games called off it’ll be put off again, that’s where we’re at. It’s not ideal but that’s the way of the world.
“At this moment we can’t project the budget, because we’ve had a month off with no revenue. It’s always a bit of guesswork and that can go up or down.”
But the Saddlers boss will prioritise his players when the time comes to talk.
He said: “We might want to sort someone out and another might not be such a priority, that’s not disrespectful to the player but it might be I can’t really see him signing. I’d then give it another couple of months to see what’s what.
“Finances dictate on whether I can gamble and keep him or gamble and see what else is out there. You’ll have your priorities of who you want to sign and get sorted.”
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The reason for this is simple walsall fc is dying its been said before i just feel sorry for those 2900 fans that do turn up.
walsall stayaway!!!!!
Bonser Out !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Contracts at Walsall cannot be discussed until we know for sure what division we will be in.
Sorry that was last years excuse,or was it the year before.
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Dont know why we are bothered in this. walsall will be dead and buried by the end of the season.
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Whalley, Bonser, now Hutchinson – everyone speaking for this Football Club only serve to make Gerald Ratner appear to be a serious candidate for Salesman of the Year!
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Same old story, same old excuse,same old outcome!!!!!!!!
Fact is,yrs of ‘same old’ has driven the fans away = less incoming cash= cant keep/get players………it’s a downwards spiral, back to the basement…..the only saviour would be Sir Ray…..food for thought eh?
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Simple solution Bonser, sell up for a realistic figure and let someone who really can take this club forward have a go.
You keep bleating about nobody wanting to buy the club, if you asked a reasonable price for the club then both parties could get what they want – a total and permenant break from each other.
You keep hanging around because you want to go leaving a good legacy behind. It’s too late for that, you’re name is tarnished forever.
The only way the majority of the fans will return is by one person (YOU) leaving.
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aj – you seem to be someone who is revelling in the fact that the club is struggling at the moment – do you want to see it die? Bonser won’t be out of pocket – he’ll just sell the ground. I don’t understand you stayaways; why don’t you all get down the Banks’s on Tuesday night and support “your” team…and stop moaning!! PS I’m no apologist for Bonser but there are worse chairmen out there – ask Hull’s supporters.
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What is it with these stayaways?
They would rather see their club suffer than support the team on the pitch.
Its as though they are happy to say I told you so.
Call yourself supporters…
And dont come back at me and say you will return once Bonsers gone or that you are a long standing supporter who has had enough .. most of us have had enough of your wingeing and moaning – get behind your club or go somewhere else but dont tell us you support Walsall Football Club because clearly you dont.
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Yeah, ’cause everyone going to games made all the difference didn’t it?
Everyone attending really stopped us selling Dann and not re-investing a penny didn’t it?
Everyone attending enabled us to continue playing Paul Ritchie and strengthen the team for a Championship play off push didn’t it?
Get real, we’ve been taken for mugs long enough. Sitting there happily clapping as we’ve always done will only get us what it’s always got us – short changed.
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Well said, Daventry! C’mon you Reds!
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Don’t worry Daventry, with eachone that stops going you become the bigger supporter. Buy the shirt, buy the scarf its all bonus points. Go to every game…ooh what a big supporter. Get a birthday card with Number one fan on it just see you swell with pride…
Nah mate, I ain’t a supporter no more. I ain’t supporting the status quo. Every year the same thing, hoping something will turn up so we can sell it and just keep the same thing going.
The supserskills games thing
Fryatt and Bennett.
A bit of land by the hotel.
Dann and Fox
The advertising hoarding.
All the time bimbling along, the only hope of promotion is if we go down. The debt getting bigger because we need to pay the rent.
We don’t need gate money to survive they say. Well stuff you then many reply.
I am not surprised at AJs apparent gloating, after all the more unpalateable for everyone and then he can hope to return.
When Charles I went to Parliament for money, they started to ask a few questions. They wanted a little something in return. The same is happening at the club. People want to know what the hopes are. Where their money goes. they want a say. Its understandable with Roy Whalley telling us we can have a say in the NHS policy from every billboard.
Personally, I probably won’t return to the level I did before (Seen the club at 86 league grounds and in France, Cornwall and Scotland). I find the welcome elsewhere much more genuine, much more heartfelt and in my head I realise that any sense of honour from being a big fan was all in my head and not worth anything….certainly not what I paid in when others take out much more. Oh its all legal, I don’t disparage anyone on that. But my morals back then more than matched those I was judging.
Your shouts at those that aren’t going anymore will echo around the increasingly empty stadium. Especially when they aren’t encouraging in their nature.
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Well said Daventry and AJ – Have you noticed these moaning people quickly pen a comment to this kind of story but have zero to say after a good win. By the way – whilst i don’t especially like Leeds Utd and their supporters they are a fine example of loyalty to your team.Fans like that must be worth 10pts a season.No wonder they always score in the last 5 mins! Perhaps we Saddlers should turn up more and moan a lot less.
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Totally ignoring the fact that is absolutely NOTHING to do with one off wins or losses.
As long as the club TRIES to move forward I will support it unquestionably (i.e. going down away at Ipswich all those years back – we all sang and shouted with pride).
It’s when the club doesn’t even try that many fans lose interest. If our only point of existence is to pay the rent cheque then you’re only fooling yourself if you think continuing to attend unquestionably is the loyal thing to do.
Walsall FC WILL NOT move forward until Bonser has gone. If we need a bit of short term pain to achieve that outcome then I for one am willing to take that pain. If you want to claim I’m not a real fan, or ask me to support someone else because of that fact then I’ll have to take that on the chin. Won’t stop me being sure it’s for the greater good though.
Just for the record:- 23 years unbroken support, two sone been going regularly for 7 years, 3 season tickets for the past 2 years. NO MORE UNTIL THERE IS REAL CHANGE AT THIS CLUB!
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Are you Bonser in disguise?
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with the current state of the club i would rather it died whats the point of having a club and paying good money to see if your not getting anything back no customer service no ambition then in less than 6 days time we will again lose our best players with no replacement if you want to keep going and getting laughed at by the current owner then your the fools.
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I don’t get this let the club die line you are using aj.
I understand you are completely fed up with the current regime as am I however my reasons for continually going are to support the team and the lads who pull on a red shirt, good, bad or indifferent.
My thinking has always been why should my enjoyment be spoilt by the owner. You do have to make a stand but I don’t see what staying away achieves other than impact the playing side.
We will always sell our best players and will always be in the shadow of those around. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have ambition but that needs to be realistic.
I think we are suffering due to the success of the late nineties and 00′s which has create expectation greater than ever seen at the Saddlers. This in itself is a mark of how far we have come but needs to be balanced about how we compete at the level we are at.
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“why should my enjoyment be spoilt by the owner” is probably the reason I am unlikely to renew next year. For the last two years there has been no enjoyment. The financial stripping of the club takes away any quality and entertainment. Where is the enjoyment in plodding along, then any time there is a genuine reason for excitment the rug is pulled from under you. I can’t believe Hutch has even responded to these questions around budget and why the hell Whalley has published a statement about us losing 100k finances. Surely they would have been better off keeping their mouth shut! People already despise the hierarchy from the rent/Dann/Fox/Gerrard penny pinching antics, this is just going to push even more people away!
On a side note, regardless of what league we’re in and what budget we have, why are we not signing up the player we KNOW are our best assets that are out of contract like Manny?! Fair enough not everyone will be here next year, but why would you not want your best players secured early? Unless he’s saying when they leave we will be getting even worse quality to replace them next year because they will be cheaper, which this report basically is saying. Walsall REALLY need to invest in some proper PR to help in interviews and official statements! oh sorry, I used the word invest, that will be a foreign concept down the Banks’s
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I think you have half a point Mal when you say we are suffering from the success of the turn of the millenium.
One thing I think that has happened, although it cannot be proven or disproven because the lack of intelligence (!), is that we are losing the fans that we attracted at this point now. We have however been losing fans for a much longer period, but we were attracting fans at the same time.
No we are attracting none, and the pace of decrease has gone up and is much more noticeable.
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ive paid enough of my hard earned money to bonser yes to bonser not to the club and sooner everyone realises that bonser will never put any money back into the footballing side the better ive given enough of my hard earned money to bonser over the years and from the beginging of the season i will be giving him another penny.
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