Elsewhere in League One, trouble at Walsall.

[strings]

Saddlers’ fans in new protest - Express and Star

Saddlers’ fans in new protest
Monday 12th April 2010, 11:30AM BST.

Banner-waving protesters showed their anger at Walsall FC’s Banks’s Stadium during a second week of protests over the club’s chairman.

A series of placards were smuggled into the ground for the Saddlers 2-1 win against Tranmere Rovers by fans desperate to voice their anger against the club’s chairman Jeff Bonser.

Fans are said to believe that the chairman is not using money from the club to invest in new players. There were references made to him spending time in Cyprus, where he is believed to have a holiday home.

Chants in protest against the club’s running could be heard throughout the League One clash and a number of critical banners were unfurled, despite threats by the club that openly dissenting fans could be banned from the ground. A wall of stewards formed a human barrier to the ground’s main entrance immediately after the game as a crowd of protesters gathered to make their feelings known.

Some fans reported having been issued bans by staff at the club, but police said no arrests were made during the protest, but there were scenes of unrest between fans and stewards.

It comes after Walsall chief executive Roy Whalley promised to ban the banner-waving protesters. He accused fans of trying to destroy the club, after raising banners against Bonser and manager Chris Hutchings.
------------------------------------------------

Knowing a few locals, there is a strong feeling that the only reason the chairman is involved is because of the conference facilities, which due to their fantastic location make an absolute fortune. I doubt they'll manage to get rid of their chairman very easily.

 

[wigman]

Looks like more stewards than fans in that photo,always going to be difficult for Walsall given there geographical location in the Midlands.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Bonser OUT!

Programme notes from their CE

I thought the atmosphere within the stadium at the recent home game against Millwall and Colchester was excellent. Both were good games. The Saddlers faithful got behind their team and both matches yielded valuable points for us.

It was not the same on Monday. Okay we won the game but the atmosphere was poisoned by a small group of spectators- I will not grace them with the term 'supporters' in the Lower Tier of the Floors 2 Go Stand, whose moronic behaviour spoiled the afternoon for many of the decent vast majority of our fans.

The strength of feeling expressed to me in the 15 emails and telephone calls I received emphasised to me how much resentment and frustration there is about the antics of a small group who seem to have set their hearts on destroying Walsall Football Club.
The people who contacted me pleaded for the club 'not to turn the other cheek' in the face of the bile that is sometimes thrown at us, but to fight back. So thats exactly what we will do.

Firstly let me deal with the two banners that were displayed. One of them read out Hutch Out. That was a disgrace. Chris Hutchings and Martin O'Connor are a hard working and professional management duo who are doing a great job for the club.
On gates that have often slumped below 3,500 a level that is more appropriate to a moderate League Two side or Blue Square Premier outfit, they have ensured that we can look forward to another season in League One. This is a remarkable achievement, especially when you consider that only Hartlepool have a lower average attendance than us and most other teams we are competing against have at least double of average gate.
Then we have the ridiculous 'upside down' Cypriot flag, which I suppose just about illustrates the mentality of those responsible for it. Just what was that all that about? If Jeff takes a couple of holidays in Cyprus during the year, so what? Most of us take annual holiday including the people behind the banner but no one should have to justify where they go.

The flag had Pension Fund on it. Now everyone who has any kind of interest in Walsall should know that in 1991 the club was on its financial knees on the verge of going out of business. If Jeff hadnt taken the action he did at the time there would not be a Walsall Football Club today. It may not be convenient for the discontents to remember this, but Jeff Bonser was the saviour of Walsall FC then and his ongoing financial suppoort in the 19 intervening years has on a number of occasions saved the club from going into administration. He and the other Directors have made substancial loans available to the club to ensure its financial stability and that remains the case today.

There are people who seek to use the rent to pillory the Chairman. What they cannot, or will not understand is that when you make the kind of high risk investment he made in 1991, it is reasonable that you recieve a return on that investment. A bit like when you put money into a bank account tou earn interest, or when you take a bank loan you have to pay interest. The club has on numerous occasions over the years, offered detailed explanations about the rental payments but the problem is that the people we have been talking to are so entrenched in their conspiracy theories that they do not want to know the truths and would rather peddle their mischevious mistruths.
There is no conspiracy, the financial details are listed clearly in the Annual Accounts.

Another point that needs to clearly understood is that the Pension Fund has provided additional investment into the club, that has made it possible to improve facilities at the stadium and develop the clubs infrastructure. The club could never have afforded to build The Bonser Suite or the Stadium Suite frm its own resources, nor could it have afforded to fund the giant new M6 advertising structure. It was the Pension Fund that providd the investment at the annual cost to the club that is a small percentage of the revenue that will be achieved from the income streams that have resulted.

We all need to understand that Walsall Football Club can only operate at its current level because of the revenue streams that have been developed off the pitch. All of us connected with the club want to return to. The Championship but we have to be realstic. To have to operate on sub 4,000 gates makes that task very difficult. At the end of the day, how much progress a club can make up the football pyramid will depend on the size of its crowds.

At Walsall we have a modern stadium, facilities that many Premier League clubs would be proud of, a state of the art training venue, we are a major conference venue and operate the ost comprehensive entertainement and activity programme in The Football League or Premier Leagye. We will continue to work hard to build on this commercial success.
As long as we can continue to do this, as well as ensuring we live within our means, the town will retain its football club. Whether we can advance to a higher level, however, it very much in the hands of the people of Walsall and how much support they are prepared to give to the club.
What we do know is we will not attract better attendances while there are people attached to the club whose sole purpose, it would seem is to destroy the club through innuendo and encouraging disunity. We are not prepared to stand by and watch this happen.

We know who was resposible for Mondays unrest and they will be banned from The Banks's Stadium. While flags and banners supporting The Saddlers are very welcome, we will not alow anyone to bring in flags or banners containing messages that undermine the club. Anyone who does manage to bring offensive displays into the ground will be ejected and banned from the stadium.

The club are fully aware of messages posted on certain unofficial websites that contain offensive and inflammatory material. These sites are being monitored. Those responsible for inciting spectator unrest will and are being banned from attending matches. The club are seeking legal advice about messages containing libelous material and will pursue through litigation those responsible. In view of pending legal action, we can make no further comment about these cases.
Let me make very clear the club is taking action against those people whose words and actions are spoilling the enjoyment of the vast majority of supporters and preventing others from wanting to support their club. Their actions are sinister and unwarranted, threatening the livelihoods of the 100 full time staff and 200 part time club employees, and the very existence of the towns football club.

We will not stand and watch this happen.

 

[severnside gull]

their stewards are the most openly hostile towards fans (home and away) of any club I have ever visited..............very heavy handed and OTT

 

[crodonilson]

I don't know what their supporters problems are, their board and management are doing a teriffic job on limited resources, only Hartlepool average less than they do and they are still in with a shout of the play-offs.

 

[Rambo]

Chief Executive 'Roy Whalley' - has anyone seen National Lampoons Vacation?!

 

[Billy the Fish]

I don't know what their supporters problems are, their board and management are doing a teriffic job on limited resources, only Hartlepool average less than they do and they are still in with a shout of the play-offs.

But what if there's X amount of money being siphoned off and they could be doing much better, why should the fans accept that, we know full well that chairman don't always have the best interests of the club in mind.

 

[The Large One]

Nothing like reaching out to the supporters to explain your position.

And that's nothing like reaching out... etc.

Maybe the Walsall supporters don't have a point, and they are behaving like morons. But setting up a dialogue and a quiet word letting them know what the reality is will stop them in their tracks. Whatever the issues are, they have just been inflamed by that statement, and banning them - almost always counter-productive when dealing with peaceful protests - will only encourage them.

That statement from the club makes me now think there is an issue with the chairman needing to be resolved.

 

[strings]

The Black Coutry rumour that is doing the rounds is that almost NONE of the income from conferencing (which is sizeable) is going back into the club.

Of course, this is just a rumour that I heard from a local at work. He heard it in the pub. Therefore, it may well be rubbish. However, rumour does travel very quickly in the Black Country.

 

[The Large One]

I don't know what their supporters problems are, their board and management are doing a teriffic job on limited resources, only Hartlepool average less than they do and they are still in with a shout of the play-offs.

If you don't know what the issues are, how are you in a position to say the board is doing a terrific job?

 

[Simster]

Nothing like reaching out to the supporters to explain your position.

And that's nothing like reaching out... etc.

Maybe the Walsall supporters don't have a point, and they are behaving like morons. But setting up a dialogue and a quiet word letting them know what the reality is will stop them in their tracks. Whatever the issues are, they have just been inflamed by that statement, and banning them - almost always counter-productive when dealing with peaceful protests - will only encourage them.

That statement from the club makes me now think there is an issue with the chairman needing to be resolved.

That's how I see it. It seems odd that the tone of the CE is to talk as if these protestors aren't proper fans, then fill a page explaining how angry they are and why these protestors should be ignored. Not constructive at all, and smacks of bullying.

 

[crodonilson]

If you don't know what the issues are, how are you in a position to say the board is doing a terrific job?

They're still in with a shout of the play-offs on crowds of 3,000 and over the past 10 years have over-achieved, they must be a well run club to keep the club going and to be as succesful as they have been with such small audiences.

 

[The Large One]

They're still in with a shout of the play-offs on crowds of 3,000 and over the past 10 years have over-achieved, they must be a well run club to keep the club going and to be as succesful as they have been with such small audiences.

Not going to...






















































Not going to...



























































Not going to...

































































Not going to...





















































Oh go on, then...

 

[Husty]

Given our clubs history perhaps I should be on the side of the fans here, but the clubs response does seem well reasoned, the banner calling for the managers head is absurd, with the gates they get they will always be punching above their weight in this league but will still be here next season.

 

[Easy 10]

I don't really know enough of the ins and outs about their beef to know who's in the "right" and who's in the "wrong" at Walsall. But they're solvent and comfortably placed in the League. Perhaps when it comes down to it, the ambitions of the (paltry number of) fans are now exceeding the ambitions of the board. The Directors and the Chairman have ploughed their own money in to keep the club running at this level, so really they're quite entitled to reap some rewards from the investment they've made in upgrading the stadium and its corporate facilities. That said, not many clubs at this level really make much of a profit out of that side of things - a football club is still a horrendously expensive thing to run, so I'd be surprised if he really was coining it THAT much over and above the usual running costs.

Its an interesting one though. Say if 3 or 4 years down the line Falmer is turning in a tidy profit from all the corporate facilities. Are we all going to be getting on Blooms back if we can see all that happening, all that money coming in, but at the same time seeing a perceived lack of investment in the team ?

BLOOM OUT !

 

[strings]

Very good point, Mr 10.

As we know ourselves, investment doesn't necessarily mean transfer fees. After all, we couldn't afford Matt Richard's wages, but Walsall could.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Basically Bonser pays himself an annual rent for the stadium and invests very small amounts in the team. He rarely shows any interest in pushing the club any further and takes any profit that the club makes. He has had a stranglehold on the club for too long and a fair proportion of the fans feel that they need a new ownership.

Apparently, according to a Walsall STH friend, they were singing "Bonser OUT!" on Saturday, followed by "We're getting banned in the morning".

I probably haven't done justice to the description of Bonser's behaviour.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

And yet they are STILL above us.

So they must be doing something right...like WINNING football matches.

 

[crodonilson]

Their play-off dream ended last night with a cruel 4-3 loss at Huddersfield with only ten men, conceding two goals in injury time. Strings can probably judge the mood in the local area the best but I imagine Walsall must be a pretty sombre place today.

 

[The Large One]

Their play-off dream ended last night with a cruel 4-3 loss at Huddersfield with only ten men, conceding two goals in injury time. Strings can probably judge the mood in the local area the best but I imagine Walsall must be a pretty sombre place today.

Bloody Americanisms.