My pen name is Zidane! I’m from Sutton Coldfield and have supported Walsall since I was about 8 or so. My Dad and brother are both Villa fans but I escaped to be a Saddler and never looked back!
What was your first game?
It was a 0-0 draw against Mansfield Town!!! My dad wanted to take me to a Villa game but couldn’t get a ticket so I begged him to take me down the Saddlers!!
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Describe the most memorable and the worst game you have seen and why?
Cardiff when we won the play offs in 2001. We came from behind to force extra time and then fell behind in the first few minutes of extra time. Walsall equalised in the second half of extra time about 3 minutes later up stepped Darren Byfield to score the winner!!! Pure jubilation!! 3-2 winners! Championship here we come!! Ensuring promotion with your good selves!
Other than that Walsall 4 Huddersfield 3 last season.We had just lost 5-0 away at Colchester, been dumped out the FA Cup to Slough as well and Paul Mersons job was really hanging in the balance. Huddersfield went 3-1 up and we came back to win 4-3! Amazing game with a superb hat trick from young Matty Fryatt and a great strike from Merson himself. Was so excited after we scored the fourth I fell over my seat!!!
Who are your current local rivals and why? Well Walsall are the minnows amongst Villa, Birmingham City, West Brom and Wolves. We also have a disliking for Stoke Shitty and Port Fail!!!
Who are the best and worst players you have seen?
Best player in my time is probably Jeff Peron who played for us under Jan Sorenson. He was a joy to watch and was transferred to Portsmouth in 1998/9 season. We still gained promotion that season without him but I wish we could have kept him.
The worst; There are many under Paul Taylor’s recruitment of players. Aldophus Eydilie, Bica, Samassi Aboooooooou, dani Rodrigues But the worst might be Carlos Andre! - Yes all foreign from all over the world combined games for the club probably eight if that!!
How did you fare last season?
Last season was the worst I can remember for a long time. Coming from the Championship and into League One expectation was high. Our manager was making promotion predictions and it all looked rosie! We started the season well with a win but then it went seriously wrong. Dumped out of the FA cup to Slough, lost 5-0 away to Colchester in March we looked like we would be relegated. We were conceeding for fun. We used five goalkeepers in a bid to replace the Super Jimmy Walker who left for West ham. Then transfer deadline day we signed Julian Joachim and Anthony Gerrard (cousin of Steve) who were both inspirational. We ended the season with 5 wins out of 5, ensuring safety and a high to end the season to give us optimism for this season. Unfortunately JJ joined Boston in the summer, his home town club instead of us.
Where do you think you’ll finish up this season?
This season I think we will be anywhere from 4-16th!!! We are inconsistent and show many false dawns!! However I do think we are close to getting it right. After a series of rubbish signings that dont make the squad Merson has made some gems in Fox, Gerrard, Skora and Constable. I think we will finish 6th!!
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Paul Merson came under a bit of stick late last season. Is he proving his worth to you this season?
Paul Merson is the long term appointment. He is no short term fix, he is here to learn his trade. He will make mistakes but you have to expect that. Merson will develop as a manager, at times he is naive tactically but he will learn from this. Last season he was Attack Attack Attack but he now realises you can’t always do this. Merson does get a lot of stick but Walsall fans are fickle!! When he starts to get consistent results I’m sure more fans will appreciate him.
It’s nice to see we handed you three points on the opening day of the season by way of saying sorry for all that stick we gave you when you went down. Martin Butler still managed to score. Why the hatred for him?
Butler was another in a long list of targets from the Boo Boys. Personally I don’t mind him. I think in that game where we had to beat you to stay in the Championship I swear he missed two chances on purpose, he started his career at Walsall and kept contact with Roper and Wakka in goal. He was a young player at Walsall and sometimes could be lazy but just how getting constantly barracked by the crowd would help him I will never know!
If Walsall were a TV personality, who would it be and why?
Good question!! Probably any that goes on ‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here’ to get column inches in the newspapers. Eg. Signing Merson and putting him as manager!!
So what do you think of The Millers?
I’m seeing much likeness between you and us in the circumstances. Eg. Finance, other bigger clubs around you etc. You have mirrored us in recent years. That’s why I like Rotherham. Always admired the job Ronnie Moore did for you. I closely follow your progress as I have a mate who supports Rotherham.
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Which current or former Millers player has impressed you the most? I think he left you this season but I have always been impressed with Jamal Campbell- Ryce, tricky winger who causes problems in League One. Saw him when he was on loan at Chesterfield last year. Present players!? Butler!! hahaha
Are you happy with your chairman and board members?
Yes, they get a bit of stick but always agreed with don’t spend what you haven’t got!! Which team do you want to beat this season the most and why? Well we beat Forest so happy with that, erm I’d swap bragging rights over anyone for promotion!!
What sort of line up can we expect from you?
Ha ha now that is the $64,000 question!! More like how many formations and change of positions from a single player in the game. I’d say 4-4-2 but maybe 3-5-2 or 4-5-1!!
Who’s your strongest/weakest link?
Strongest link - Simon Osborn and Daniel Fox
Weakest Link - Joe Broad!!! - Just been loaned out to Redditch but he will be back I’m sure!
What’s your predicted score?
3-1 Walsall
Who’s going up?
Huddersfield, Swansea and Us/Barnsley or Brentford
Who’s going down?
Swindon, Gillingham, Blackpool and Tranmere
And finally….Meat and tatty, Beef n Onion or Balti?
Beef n Onion