Monday the 8Th of November was another classic fans forum. Stefan Gamble, Jamie Fullerton, Matt Taylor and Leigh Pomlett all took to the stage to answer the fans burning questions. There were some cracking answers, particularly from Fullerton and Pomlett who got the most laughs. Taylor also came across excellently and it is clear to see why Pomlett and the players have bought into his vision, the way Taylor speaks is intelligent, witty and his analytical side incredibly interesting.
Match day experience
The evening started with questions about the condition of the stadium and the match day experience. It’s been an on-going issue since the start of the season long queues, lack of food and drink and poor conditions.
Pomlett addressed this, the club lost around 70 members of staff due to the pandemic and before the beginning of the season the club had to replace the staff. Staff training was required and the club was still dealing with restrictions and issues from the pandemic. The club has been working extremely hard to rectify this issue since the beginning of the season.
Jamie Fullerton and the Academy
Another question raised was around the impact Jamie Fullerton has had at the club, there hasn’t been much seen of him since his arrival.
Pomlett started by saying “We wanted to improve the entire footballing state of the club”. Fullerton continued, saying he prefers to work behind the scenes, he spent the first few months with the club completing a top to bottom analysis of the footballing side of the club.
Since then Fullerton has established a scouting network, which previously the club didn’t have, and Fullerton is now receiving regular updates on clubs/players that they are watching.
Fullerton also said he wants to bring the youth side more in line with the first team. Right now there is a disconnect and he has been working on building a bridge between youth and first team, so Taylor and future managers have more players ready to step up into the first team and have extra options when recruiting.
The academy has suffered in recent seasons and is currently bottom of its respective league. Fullerton agreed that the results were less than ideal, however he is looking at the big picture. He also, went on to say that he has been putting extensive processes in place in order to resolve these issues. The result doesn’t show the full picture and it’s going to take time for the processes in place to reflect on the results.
Questions were asked about youth players Shay Willock and Jayden Campbell. Willock recently joined Walsall however has been very quiet and Fullerton informed us that the youngster has been unlucky with injuries and needs to get some time on the pitch and get up to full fitness before he can start to work with Taylor and his squad.
Campbell, on the other hand, left Walsall when his contract expired. He was on the fringe of the senior squad last season and fans were excited by his development, however things turned sour. Campbell was offered a contract in the summer but decided to turn it down in favour of a move away from the club.
Recruitment
One of the bigger talking points was recruitment. Currently Walsall have five players on loan and there were a lot of questions surrounded George Miller and Rollin Menayese. Both players have been excellent, and fans really don’t want to lose them in January.
Pomlett started with Miller stating that he would like to sign him, but that decision would be down to Taylor. The major the factor in signing Miller is his wage:
“Championship player wages are very considerable so that is something we have to consider.”
Pomlett went on to say that Fullerton’s job is to find the next George Miller. If certain players are to leave, the club has a structure in place to replace them and won’t be left in a vulnerable position.
Menayese is a player that the management team have been very pleased with. Pomlett would be interested in signing Rollin on a permanent basis. His wage is more reasonable than Miller and the player is also looking for a permanent home after a few loan spells in recent seasons.
The contracts the loan players are under is watertight says Fullerton, they don’t expect to lose anyone, but they have contingency plans if that comes to pass. Walsall finally have multiple plans, rather than the panic signing we have seen in the past.
By Harley Sheldon
Featured Image – Walsall FC
The academy always did well in pushing scholars through to pro in recent years, Leek, Kinsella, Perry, Bates, Willis, Joe F to name a few, plus the sale of Luke Pearce to Southampton FC. The link between the academy and first team was good when Daryl Clarke and Brian Dutton was in place. Campbell was only offered 23s football and he is better than that and is a big loss to the club and the fans who love it when one of their own come through the ranks!!
Shay Willock came to the club through the old HOC (Neil Harding) who brought him in from an education program FOC. Academy has gone down hill and staffing has been weakened and first team is in no better position league wise than under old regime.
Very difficult to see any improvements JF has made?
Good luck Walsall FC and your fans who deserve so much more 🙏⚽️