Weston’s defence of Walsall’s season
Tuesday 30th March 2010, 11:25AM BST.
Walsall defender Rhys Weston has launched a defence of the Saddlers’ flagging season and believes the critics need to get off their backs.
The team have slipped to 14th in League One after just four wins in 19 games to leave any hopes of a promotion push in tatters.
But defender Weston believes their detractors need to be more realistic.
He said: “I think we’ve exceeded expectations to a point this season. You read forums and you see in the press people are disappointed with how we’ve been doing, but that’s a mark how far we’ve come as a team.
“I think as a group we’ve done as well as we could have done. Results haven’t gone as well as we’d like but we still believe in ourselves.
“We have got eight games left and we just want to win as many games as possible.”
The right-back is adamant confidence has not been hit despite the Saddlers’ disappointing form since December, including Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Exeter.
Weston said: “I’m still confident in our ability as a squad and football is a confidence game to a degree. All we can do is focus and concentrate to prepare ourselves properly for the next one.
“We have got Stockport away on Saturday, it’s a difficult game and we have to be 100 per cent focused. We have to dust ourselves off and go again.
“It’s not a sob story. We’re being found wanting in the final third but you can’t question the commitment of the players.
“A contentious decision cost us a point on Saturday.”
UK Sport
Latest Blog — A week is a long time in football
This time last week we were staring down the barrel, third from bottom with a worse record than at the same stage last year, writes Saddlers blogger Mark Jones.
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“as well as they could have”
shows what they think of the club and them selves get rid from top to bottom and start again.
joke manager joke players joke club
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You along with your colleagues are mint Weston! Conference full back at best nevertheless of similar ability to the other clowns!
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Who do these guys think they are fooling? Whos turn will it be next to say ‘were doing ok for what we have here’.
4 wins in 19 games! That is relegation form, nothing more nothing less.
Get that idiot of a manager out, and any of his squad that think this season has been a success.
E&S, can you please get an interview with CH, and grill him, this guy has had an easy ride so far for his performance.
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These comments from Weston have really got my back up!…
‘just four wins in 19 games’
- unacceptable even budgeting for a dip in form. Relegation form.
‘I think we’ve exceeded expectations to a point this season. You read forums and you see in the press people are disappointed with how we’ve been doing, but that’s a mark how far we’ve come as a team.’
- Exceeded expectations?!, really? What are our expectations then Weston. As a fan my expectations are that a Walsall side provides commitment, entertainment and something to get a little bit excited about. Whether that be a battling victory on a cold Tuesday night evening at Oldham, something other than rolling over and being ticked by dross such as the mighty Exeter City and their huge budget or god forbid a push for a play off place! What we have been served up this season has been nothing more than tripe!
‘I think as a group we’ve done as well as we could have done. Results haven’t gone as well as we’d like but we still believe in ourselves’.
- You believe that if you wish. I’m glad you believe in yourself because I certainly don’t!
‘It’s not a sob story. We’re being found wanting in the final third but you can’t question the commitment of the players’.
- So who’s to blame then Weston?
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Utter tosh Weston. If this is what you and yout team mates think is ok, that explains why you are where you are. Show some fight, show some bottle, show some ambition.
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If they lose on Saturday against Stockport Hutchins/O’Connor need to be sacked. It’s no better than when Mullen was there in fact a darn site worse!!
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Talk about alienating the paying customer Weston im surprised as i thought u had more about you.The club is dying a slow death , caused by Bonser and Whalley.We have a poor manager and a very average set of players, which i could accept if they gave everything, but this isnt always the case.We’ll be lucky to get 2000 next season, wat u gonna do then jeff?
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The whole ethos of the club from top to bottom is that of just being happy to survive. No wonder the fans have desterted, once you take away the hope of the fans then there really isn’t much else to get excited about. I mean, hope of succes is as close to real success Walsall fans usually get.
What’s happened to Whalley’s oft quoted aim of returning to the Championship? Buried under the pile of other equally rubbish quotes intended to fool the fans that progress is really desired at the club.
This club needs the clearout of all clearout’s (from top to bottom) if the club will ever prosper again.
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If we’ve “exceded expectations” what the sodding hell were our expectations?
We couldnt have done any worse in the cups if we’d tried and we could well yet finish just 3 or 4 points above the highest relegated team.
Blimey Weston…I feel privileged. Muppet.
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Over-achieved? Knocked out of every cup in virtually the first round, won 4 times in the last 19 games and not yet guaranteed of avoiding relegation. I can only assume we expected to be relegated this season! These players must have less faith in Hutchings than I have!!!!
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What’s galling is that Weston was part of the side that spent 3 months in the play-off places under Dicky Dosh only 2 years ago (although it seems a hellova lot longer). Clearly the club could be aiming higher if it wasn’t for the combination of a lack of ambition and sheer greed on the part of the owner.
However this shouldn’t let the players off the hook for their recent ‘efforts’.
You’re better than that Rhys.
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Rhys, who do you think you are fooling, seriously?
“over achieved”, are you havin a laugh, its been one of the worst seasons of football I’ve ever seen.
As all the above have mentioned, 4 wins in 19 games, thats terrible. A win in OVER one every 4 games. That, in any league, is relegation form. It wont change with Hutch in charge.
The club needs to sort out, from top to bottom. Bonser needs to set a price and stick with it, Hutch needs to leave, the players need to have a long look at them selves and get rid of the trash. The fans wont come back until YOU SORT IT!!
HUTCHINGS OUT!!
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Does anyone else get the feeling that what Weston has said had been scripted for him? If four wins in nineteen games is ‘exceeding expectations’ then what should we have expected?
I’ve been present at every home game this season and the football I’ve seen has, for the vast majority of the time, been absolute dross. Players played out of place even when the usual players for those positions were fit, a baffling reluctance to make the substitutions we could all see needed to be made, a reluctance to shoot at goal and awful ‘lump it’ style football. Things now feel worse than under Jimmy Mullen, and that’s taken some doing.
Chris Hutchings doesn’t have a clue.
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just ask yourselves what Hutchings did at his other clubs. Derby quickly shoved him out of the side door. I feel sorry for O’Connor as I beleive he’s being dragged down by Hutchings and just maybe he’s the man for the job. A bit of local passion
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Martin O’Connor! Your having a laugh, passion is ok but it’s no substitute for ability. I don’t think he’s bright enough to be a manager. Anyway it’s all irrelevant, we’re fast becoming a laughing stock. Bonser is killing my club and I will never forgive him for what he’s done.
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Can’t help but feel that when this appers on the same day that the official website also has a piece with Weston that this comes from a pre-written release from the club.
Which goes to show just exactly how out of touch those in the press department of the club actually are. Sorry peeps good try, but not even close to the tobacconnists, let alone the panatellas.
The fact is though that if we are punching above our weight perhaps the club would like to tell us what our weight is for next season, you know before we decide whether to buy a season ticket.
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ok ok….i feel that these comments may have been taken a little out of context. i wonder how many fans genuinely thought that walsall were promotion candidates at the start of the season? with a squad of 20 players, accounting for injuries and suspensions, do you really think that the league situation is THAT bad? granted, 4 wins in 19 is relegation form…..but for a club of walsalls stature, mid-table is no disgrace. it wasn’t that long ago that walsall were tipped for a relegation scrap……would the fans prefer that? i think not. we have some good league 1 footballers and some average ones…..as do the majority of league 1 clubs. it takes two to tango and i don’t think that walsall can be held totally responsible for some of the poor football on show at the bank’s this season. gates of less than 3500 certainly haven’t helped the cause and those were the attendances at the start of the season before fans became “disillusioned”. instead of bitching and moaning and booing, why not try getting behind the team and supporting them…you’d be amazed at how much a little positivity can achieve. the lads are honest, hard working pros, to question their integrity is very harsh. there are 8 league games remaining…..lets give the team as much encouragement and support as we can, irrespective of our gripes with the chairman and roy whalley. you never know…it might make a difference.
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The fall guy
Its fans like you that has let mr bonser get away with killing our club!!!
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If MO’C is so passionate then why isn’t it shwoing through in the way we play. If HE can’t fire players up to give their all for the club then who can?
If Hutch and MO’C go then what are the odds on Dean Smith taking over? He’d be ideal ‘cheap option’ material. There again, who’s to say he wouldn’t be a success………….
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re; The Fall Guy, no-one expected us to be challenging for promotion but what we do expect is for the players to look interested – some do, some don’t – and for the manager to:- a, drop players who aren’t doing the business, b, play players in their strongest position when they’re fit, c, have a tactic other than ‘lump-it’, d, make a substitution with sufficient time left for the player to affect the game, e,give a fair chance to players that aren’t ‘his’ signings i.e. Alex Nicholls, f, resign!
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Fall Guy, I think it’s the complete lack of ambition and drive demonstrated in those comments that has got people revved up. What kind of hope and excitement does it create when the players and management seem to be happy with 14th place, and keep telling up we should be happy with it?
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Fall guy IS Weston. Ha ha. Genius!
I was sympathetic towards the lads up to a point this season, but rubbish of the sort spouted here seriously makes me wonder.
I have bought a season ticket for next season, because I am loyal to Walsall as a club, it is no indication of my support for the current regime.
The attitude of the current regime has clearly now filtered down to pitch level.
Shut your mouth and play football. Try and put a bit of effort in whilst doing so. I wish I had a job that was that easy.
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Chris- without sounding rude you being loyal to walsall as a club isnt helping.
the only way to hurt bonser and his crew is to hit their pockets.
i wish all those that have brought a season ticket for next year would see that.
yes im an active stayaway because anything else wont hurt the powers that be.
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Oh yes the only way to hurt them is to put the club out of business.
If it wasnt for those loyal season ticket holders you wouldnt have a club to support.
Just for the record i hate the fat man, but he takes his rent either way, so your only hurting your club, not him.
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Rob Powell,
You saved me a lengthy post…. your’s was spot on.
Weston’s reckless early bath in our dismal cup-tie at Accrington sums him up this year; wastrel.
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Bring back the terrace behind the goal and lets get a bit of passion back into our B&Q warehouse of a stadium.
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AJ and other stayaways, you’ve got it wrong. Staying away damages the club, not the man. It doesn’t help the team, doesn’t help the atmosphere and doesn’t make the club an attractive proposition for investment or takeover. I think you have every right not to go, and I respect that, but the reasoning is flawed.
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Ive had a season ticket since 92 and what have i seen happen to my and all of our money nothing but make bonser richer i love where i come and have loved watching walsall but enough is enough what you are seeing on the pitch this season has come from years of no ambition no drive to make our club what it could be
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sickening to read Rhys Weston’s comments.
having sat through hours of dire football with a clear lack of commitment we are told by one of those making us suffer that they have “exceeded expectations”.
i was buying my season ticket today. one less pension contributor jeffrey.
and while we’re at it, along with the fact that we ought to be able to expect far more on the pitch, we ought to be able to expect far more from our local newspaper. the level of journalism is pathetic.
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