A fan take on the Whalley statement

Walsall's Sporting Star columnist Darren Fellows has his own take on points raised by chief executive Roy Whalley in the last match programme.

I guess that those Southampton fans who bought the Matchday programme on Saturday afternoon and read Roy Whalley's two page spread couldn't fail to be impressed by the industrious achievements laid out by our chief executive.

They would be right to be impressed. From the Sunday market, through the stadium redevelopment and right up to those huge advertising hoardings the invention, aspiration, effort and willingness of the club's directors to diversify and ensure these opportunities come to fruition is pretty impressive.

The campaign documented by Mr Whalley that forced the town council into allowing the Sunday market is a magnificent example of what can be achieved when minds are put to achieving something. Whilst I have a number of reservations about the net and long term benefit of our conference facilities you simply cannot argue with the facts detailed in Roy's article.

The suites are fantastic, are used every day and are something for the club to be hugely proud of.

But what worries me is the use of the line that emanated over the spring as the local nimbys made one final attempt to block the clubs latest commercial venture. As Roy defended and detailed the club's intentions to erect those massive advertising hoardings, included was the argument that the boards were needed "in order to help ensure that league football stays in the town of Walsall."

At the time, only a few people picked up on the significance of this statement.

Again over the summer the same line was duplicated in another media article, which Roy again returned to and used the same argument in Saturday's match programme.

In order to retain league football in Walsall? Personally I have to say the frequency of use for this statement now leaves an uncomfortable resonance with me. Surely after all the investment, invention and diversification we are better placed than this?

Surely those monsterous billboards that now shadow the M6 or the phenomenally successful Sunday market aren't really the difference between us retaining League football in our town or not? Or, am I really to conclude that after two decades of Bonserism we are, or could be, that close to losing league football in Walsall?

But if Roy is exaggerating then come clean and ease such concerns. Similarly if he isn't then I also suspect that the club should come clean and let us know just when, why and how this has become the case.

Indeed, after 20 years of apparent financial prudence, inspired direction - as listed by the achievements above - and being a beacon that other clubs should aspire to, is the true extent of our ambitions the retention of league football in the sixth largest town in the United Kingdom? Because, rightly or wrongly, that was the thing that resonated with me after reading the article.

Unsurprisingly, Roy failed to mention the progress the club had made over this time in increasing its supporter base.

Indeed you'd have thought that boosted by a that sparkly new stadium that was referred to, the wonderful pre-match facilities rightly boasted about and the legacy of more time spent at Championship level under this regime than any other, that you'd comfortably be able to draw in 8,600 Saddlers fans for a match against either Leeds or Southampton.

To have only achieved this figure from the combined home support from these games borders somewhere between embarrassing and pathetic.

At next Monday morning's AGM I truly hope that the directors who attend are seriously grilled on the matter of attendances, why they feel that they are quite so poor and what ideas they have to develop them.

But I wouldn't advise holding your breath for an inspired answer By the continued lack of progress in this area I worry that this was all used up a while ago on Man of the Match text-in opportunities and Billy Bescot merchandise.

I don't think I'm being harsh in suggesting that aims such as the retention of league football in Walsall appears a manifesto for stagnation at best, or that we are and should be better than that.

Surely there must be someone out there who wants to buy and allow such a football club to move forward again.

Or like a certain chief executive, am I also left clutching at straws?