Walsall Column - A Supporters Voice

Fans with memories that go back beyond the construction of what is now the Banks's Stadium will be well aware of the strength of organised supporter groups and the difference they can make.

In the late 1980's, the national campaign organised and fought by the Football Supporters Association repelled the draconian plans of Mrs Thatcher and her main henchman Colin Moynihan.

Had the FSA not fought and won this battle, their proposed compulsory identity card system would have only been the opening salvo in their quest to destroy football hooliganism by cracking the entire football family nut with a somewhat oversized sledgehammer.

At Walsall we have obvious presidents of our own. In 1982 the Barrie Blower led the Save Walsall Action Group, which successfully fought then-chairman Ken Wheldon's unthinkable plans to relocate the club in an equally decrepit stadium in Wolverhampton.

'SWAG' then repeated the same trick again four years later, as we came even closer to oblivion with the proposed 'move' to St Andrews.

Without them the club we now support would have either been asset stripped to assist the second city's second club's quest to financially survive, or had been franchised away around 20 years before Pete Winkleman pillaged what was left of Wimbledon FC.

Again, at AFC Wimbledon the success and power of a strong, united and organised fan group is plain to see. Flying high in the Blue Square Premier, they are now one good season away from achieving their long-term aim of returning league football to their borough.

But fan groups do not simply have to be organised around the extreme campaigns, they also have roles to play in more regular matters.

At Walsall, the Jeff Bonser era has seen a couple of attempts to unite and co-ordinate a section of our fan base that had become disenchanted and disenfranchised with what they perceived to be seeing at Bescot.

Sadly thecClub's inability to view questions in any other light but that of criticism rendered early communication pretty much worthless. Their continued stance of refusing to meet and debate with supporters means that fan group and football club engagement is precisely zero.

The Official Supporters Club, hamstrung by its need to be the 'official supporters club,' simply does not count.

At one point the club initiated the setting up of a Support Liaison Committee, to attempt to introduce some level of dialogue between the club and supporters. Had they given it their complete commitment, rather than attempt to paper over a number of cracks, it might have worked.

But in refusing to allow supporter representatives to be elected in a democratic manner meant that particular initiative was doomed to failure, before it ever got started.

The supporter meetings did continue for a number of seasons and - whilst meetings were never regular - an unbeaten run or promotion usually meant a meeting would soon be organised. They were at least a way of discussing matters with the club.

These meetings, whilst sparsely attended, provided a broad church of opinions and questions. These ranged from youth team matters to the perceived inability to attract larger attendances and why we continued to fail to attempt to buy the land we currently rent.

Chief executive officer Roy Whalley, to his credit, answered every question he was asked. Some were fair enough, some you disagreed with and some were simply not answers to the question asked.

At times he stubbornly refused to be drawn into what everyone at the forum could see. At times he appeared to be 'towing the party line,' but this at least was dialogue.

It was also what was discussed back at base the following day, as time and again initiatives suggested at these meetings were repackaged and introduced a couple of months later.

Matters such as the removal of the tops of the barrier onto the retail park came from these meetings. Trivial maybe, but had there been a flare up in this area as everyone made their exit away from the ground, many fans could have been hurt as a consequence of a poorly considered initial barrier design.

Sadly and frustratingly, if not annoyingly, the club have now bought these meetings to an end. Sighting low attendances as a primary reason for the decision the club has cut the only two way communication chord between itself and it's customers.

Blaming it on low customer take up failed to recognise that in poorly advertising and infrequently scheduling these meetings they were partially responsible for the low turn out. Now your only chance of an answer is an e-mail to the communication department or a signed letter. Two way dialogue? No chance.

Clearly, ground rent was also a regularly visited topic during the supporter meetings. Indeed this, and the general bemusement as to why we have still not attempted to purchase this land, is a topic that has been at the heart of fan group policy over much of the past two decades.

It also appears much of the reason as to why the club will not sell, despite the fact that teams from all over the football spectrum are being sold to Arabs, Americans and Russians at an alarming rate.

Perhaps Jeff has no interest in discussing the club with these people, but it would be nice to know the reason.

But, given the current status-quo, unless you spend heaven knows how much on official matchday programme or bother to wade through the adverts on the official club website it is very doubtful that I'm going to get an answer to this.

Indeed this, or any, question.