The wonder of Roy Whalley's Walsall world

Stunning promotions, last-day relegations, play-off joy and cup despair – if it's happened in football you can bet Roy Whalley has seen it.

moreExcept his beloved Walsall at Wembley that is.

Spend any time with the Saddlers' stalwart and you can't fail to become engrossed in footballing tales of the sublime and ridiculous which date back almost six decades.

But Whalley, who recently called time on his full-time role at the club when he stepped down as commercial director, says the fact he has never seen the Saddlers at Wembley remains a constant source of frustration.

Under Ray Graydon, Walsall reached the 2001 Division Two play-off final where they beat Reading, but by twist of fate the game was played at Cardiff's Millenium Stadium as Wembley was being rebuilt.

"It was a wonderful day at Cardiff, a wonderful experience and I'm not knocking it," says Whalley

"But one of my great desires is to see Walsall play at Wembley. We lost to Bournemouth and Millwall in consecutive years in the Autoglass Shield Area Final.

"That upset me. It's something I long to see and it would be great for our supporters."

Whalley's retirement last month brought down the curtain on 27 years as a full-time employee in which he also served as chief executive and secretary.

But one job the 66-year-old will never walk away from is that of fan. He freely admits he's been a Saddlers diehard since being taken to his first game – a 1-1 draw with Millwall – at the age of eight by his grandfather.

He's seen the club rise to the second tier of the English game and sink as low as the fourth, move to a brand-new stadium and survive financial disaster more than once.

While Whalley names the 2001 play-off win as the best moment from his time working at the club, for his greatest memory as a fan you have to go much further back. To April 1961, when a 14-year-old Whalley joined hordes of Saddlers fans on a journey to Shrewsbury for a crucial Third Division game which resulted in a 2-1 win and promotion.

"That's my greatest day," he says, "the one I really cherish.

"We needed to win and QPR to lose to go up. Both happened and there were 10,000 Walsall fans at Gay Meadow. There were loads outside on the railway embankment."

January 1975 was another memorable month, as a Saddlers team which included outgoing community director and goalkeeping coach Mick Kearns recorded FA Cup wins over Manchester United and Newcastle in the space of three weeks.

With the highs must come lows and Whalley has seen his fair share. The 1963 last-day relegation at Charlton "knocked him about".

But the biggest low was the Saddlers team which contained high-profile names like Paul Merson and Vinny Samways getting relegated from the Championship in 2004.

"Every time we have been relegated has been bad but that one that really sticks in the mind. I felt we had the most talented squad we have ever had," says Whalley.

"We should never have been relegated with players like Paul Merson and Vinny Samways in the side. I felt they let us down big-time and that season knocked us around a lot as a club."

That failure ended the club's three-year stay in English football's second tier and they have never returned.

A further relegation to League Two followed two years later but the Saddlers bounced straight back and are arguably enjoying their best time on the pitch since those heady days of the early 2000s.

In Dean Smith, Whalley believes the Saddlers have the perfect manager to guide them back to the second tier.

He said: "I love the fact he started his career here. He was our youngest-ever captain, he has a feel for the club and I like that.

"As manager he has been outstanding. I think we can be cautiously optimistic about the future."

Whalley's all-time Walsall side:

1. James Walker 1993-2004, 2010-13 (534 appearances)

2. Colin Harrison 1964-82 (530 apps, 34 goals)

3. Danny Fox 2005-08 (99 apps, 6 goals)

4. Craig Shakespeare 1981-89 (355 apps, 60 goals)

5. Scott Dann 2004-08 (59 apps, 7 goals)

6. Jimmy Dudley 1959-64 (176 apps, 3 goals)

7. Mark Rees 1977-90 (274 apps, 42 goals)

8. Allan Clarke 1963-66 (82 apps, 46 goals)

9. Tony Richards 1954-63 (358 apps, 198 goals)

10. Paul Merson 2003-06 (77 apps, 6 goals)

11. Colin Taylor 1958-63, 64-68, 69-73 (503 apps, 189 goals)

Substitutes: Zigor Aranalde, Stan Bennett, Vinnie Samways, Ken Hodgkinson, Alan Buckley, Jamie Paterson, Clayton Ince (gk).