The king has had his coronation, now let’s have the Walsall summation…
The Saddlers get a fair bit of stick for their sponsor, but at least they can now call the Poundland Bescot Stadium their own home, with the ground finally under club ownership for the first time
Tuesday 13 June 2023
NEXT HOME GAME: Huddersfield - Saturday 22 July, 3pm
NEXT AWAY GAME: Lincoln (in Spain!) - Friday 7 July, 12pm (Click here for our away day guide)
Dear County fans, Stopfordians, and any Walsall supporters joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Tuesday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.
Walsall were only three points off the play-offs when we went there at Christmas, but a catastrophic run of results (one win in 21) in the second half of the season saw the Saddlers finish closer to the bottom two than the top seven. Tom Lines from One Pod Beyond reflects on 2022-23 at the Bescot.
A big thank you to Anthony at APL Locksmiths for sponsoring today’s edition. Contact details are below should you find yourself locked out.
Enjoy today’s issue.
Des Junior
Had King Charles invited you to his coronation celebrations, and insisted you brought him the best food you’d experienced inside a League Two ground this season, what would you have treated him to?
Enough of my tax has already been spent on the sausage-fingered freeloader, thanks. I'll donate every unsold pie and hotdog from every League Two club to a local food bank instead.
Charles is now king of the UK. But who would you choose to be crowned king of the Bescot Stadium, and who would be locked up in the tower? You can pick anybody who’s had some sort of connection with the club this season.
Danny Johnson would be King of the Bescot. The best instinctive finisher we've had since Tom Bradshaw. His January return to Field Mill wasn't the only reason we had such a disastrous second half of the season but it was a big part of it.
Mansfield's John Radford and David Sharpe can get in the tower for their last-minute decision to loan Johnson to us rather than the permanent deal we'd agreed. Fuck it, let's put Nigel Clough in there too, just to be safe.
Best moment of 2022-23?
Finally owning our own ground for the first time since it was built in 1990.
Worst moment of 2022-23?
The 3-0 defeat at Harrogate in April. Abysmal. Mike Flynn was sacked the next day.
Funniest moment of 2022-23?
Fans of other Midlands clubs taking the piss because we're sponsored by Poundland – a discount retailer in a cost of living crisis. Every one of our illustrious neighbours is sponsored by one or more betting firms, online casinos, or crypto pyramid schemes. That's pretty funny.
Four Four Two said you’d finish 9th. When Saturday Comes said you’d finish 15th. You finished 16th. Discuss.
Walsall and County were the two teams League Two watchers were tipping as dark horses for promotion at Christmas. But our two best players (Johnson and Liam Bennett) were recalled by their parent clubs in January, Liam Kinsella and Jack Earing sustained injuries, and despite bringing in Jamille Matt and Matty Stevens from Forest Green (47 goals between them the previous season) neither had played much and struggled to hit the ground running.
Flynn managed one win in 21 in the second half of the season and there's no doubt he was hamstrung by injuries, the loan recalls, and the fact that a third of his budget was tied up in long-term absentees like Conor Wilkinson and Joss Labadie. But other clubs had injury crises too (notably Northampton and Carlisle) and managed to overcome them. The fact our football was often abysmal didn't help. Nevertheless, Flynn still has his fans at Walsall and we've become such a graveyard for managers that nobody would be surprised if he was successful at Swindon next season.
County 1 Walsall 1 in October. Walsall 0 County 2 in December. Thoughts?
My first thought is that you haven't mentioned County 1 Walsall 2 – by far the best of the three games we played last season. Aside from the FA Cup it was slim pickings for us though. We were lucky to escape with that late equaliser at Edgeley Park and then just when we were putting together a decent run you outclassed us at the Bescot. I don't think there's much doubt you were one of the best three teams in the league but that poor start killed you.
After decades travelling around the world, Sir David Attenborough’s most recent BBC documentary covered Great Britain. Let’s imagine David and his crew have been filming Walsall fans throughout the 2022-23 season. In that famous voice of his, how would he describe them?
“A magical species, increasingly rare yet with the inspirational ability to survive in a hostile environment dominated by many larger and more common predators.”
With Wrexham up and MK Dons down, there’s a couple of teams coming into League Two who generally cause quite a lot of debate wherever they go. You’re on Moonpig.com buying a welcome card for both of them. What messages are going inside?
When Saturday Comes famously refuse to ask MK Dons any questions in their pre-season fan survey, so I'd do likewise and leave their card blank.
The Wrexham coverage is going to be horrific next season – ten times worse than Salford, albeit with actual fans. But I don't have anything against their genuine supporters. They hadn't had a promotion in 20 years before the Hollywood lads turned up so I'd be happy to wish them all the best. One season would be bearable, an interesting novelty even, but (like Salford again) you wouldn't really want it lasting any longer than that (unless you went up with them).
Click on the links below to read the previous 2022-23 reviews we’ve published so far.
Carlisle / Colchester / Crawley / Gillingham / Grimsby / Leyton Orient / Mansfield / Newport / Northampton / Rochdale / Sutton / Swindon / Tranmere / Wimbledon
Save this number now - 07712 657585 - because some County fans will definitely lose their keys over the summer
As you’ll know, we regularly like to have a laugh and a joke on The Scarf My Father Wore, but we’re here to provide a service for the serious matters as well. Whether it’s in the excitement of getting Wrexham away on the opening day, or arriving back in England hungover after Murcia, some supporters are definitely going to lose their keys over the summer.
No need to worry, just pop this number into your contacts now, and you’re all sorted in case the worst does happen. The number is for Anthony at APL Locksmiths, a Heaton Chapel-based company providing mobile, domestic, commercial and automotive locksmith services, as well as key cutting and lock sales from their shop on Wellington Road North.
Visit apllocksmiths.co.uk for further details.
Photo of the day
Manchester city centre
City’s parade last night. I’d definitely buy this bloke a pint.
Today in SK
🍺 Food and drink 🍺
The Nelson Tavern (SK1) have a great range of offers throughout the week, including £4.50 for drinks off the Doubles Bar, a comprehensive range of shots for £2, and 3 for £6 on Jägerbombs.
Tapas Tuesday at TRUNK (SK7) from 5pm. All tapas dishes are 3-for-2 (cheapest dish free).
🎱 Free pool 🎱
The George & Dragon (SK7). 6pm - 9pm.
❓Quiz night❓
A lot of quiz prizes are usually a bit shit, aren’t they? Not at Bask (SK1) tonight though. You can win free gigs for a whole year. 7.30pm. Tickets £3.
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