Walsall F.C.

Association football club in England

football club
Walsall Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Walsall, West Midlands, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourthly tier of the English football league arrangement. The club ‘s nickname, “ The Saddlers ”, reflects Walsall ‘s status as a traditional center for saddle manufacture. Walsall moved into their Bescot stadium in 1990, having previously played at nearby Fellows Park for about a century. The team play in a red and white kit and their club cap features a swift. They hold rivalries with nearby Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion, arsenic well as farther off but more regularly contested rivalries with Coventry City, Shrewsbury Town and Port Vale.

The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town and Walsall Swifts. [ 1 ] : 9 The baseball club moved to the Football Alliance from the Midland Association the be class, before being invited to help found the Football League Second Division in 1892. They failed re-election in 1895, but were elected back into the Football League after one temper in the Midland League. They failed re-election again in 1901 and this fourth dimension spent two decades outside the Football League, chiefly in the Birmingham & District League. Invited to help form the Football League Third Division North in 1921, they would remain in the third gear tier for the following 37 years before becoming founder members of the Fourth Division. Walsall won the Fourth Division deed in 1959–60 and then secured promotion out of the Third Division the follow temper, though were relegated in 1963 and again in 1979. Walsall won forwarding out of the Fourth Division in 1979–80, but suffered two consecutive relegations after winning forwarding into the second Division at the end of the 1987–88 political campaign. Promoted in 1994–95 and again in 1998–99, they spent four of the adjacent five seasons in the second base tier, punctuated by a successful third tier promotion campaign in 2000–01. Two relegations in three years left Walsall back in the fourthly tier in 2006, but they secured an contiguous forwarding as 2006–07 League Two champions. Their first match at Wembley Stadium came in the 2015 Football League Trophy Final, which they lost to Bristol City. In 2016 they missed out on promotion to the Championship by a unmarried point, and lost the resulting playoff semi-final against Barnsley. The Saddlers ended an 11-year stay in League One with relegation in 2019 .

history [edit ]

formation and early years ( 1888–1939 ) [edit ]

The Walsall team pictured in 1893 Walsall were formed as Walsall Town Swifts F.C. in 1888 when Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. amalgamated. [ 2 ] Walsall Town had been founded in 1877 and Walsall Swifts in 1879. [ 2 ] Both clubs had played at the Chuckery, and the newly formed club remained at the like grind. Walsall Town Swifts ‘ first couple was a 0–0 draw against Aston Villa in the Birmingham Charity Cup final on 9 April 1888. A disagreement over the venue of the play back meant Aston Villa were rewarded the trophy. [ 1 ] : 7 [ 3 ] late that class, Walsall Town Swifts played friendly matches against two founder members of the Football League ; a strong Burnley side were beaten 1–0 and West Bromwich Albion were held to a 2–2 draw in front of 7,000 spectators at the Chuckery. Walsall ‘s first league political campaign in the Midland Association started with a 2–2 attract at home to Crewe Alexandra on 22 September 1888. They went on to finish in 3rd target in the league. [ 1 ] : 141 The club were first admitted to the Football League in 1892, as founder members of the raw Second Division. They moved to the West Bromwich Road background in 1893 after complaints from local residents about them playing at the Chuckery. After finishing 14th out of 16 teams in 1894–95 the club failed to be re-elected to the Football League. At the begin of the 1895 season the cabaret once again motivate grounds, this time to Fellows Park which remained the club ‘s home for over a century. In 1896 the clubhouse changed their name to merely Walsall F.C. [ 2 ] and joined the Midland League. A class later, they returned to the Second Division. The team finished in 6th place in 1898–99 in a season that, to this day, proves to be their highest always league ending. Despite this relative achiever, the club once again failed re-election two years late and dropped back into the Midland League. A move to the Birmingham League followed in 1903 and in 1910 the club were elected to the Southern League. With the expansion of the Football League after World War I, Walsall became a establish member of the Third Division North in 1921 and have remained a Football League side ever since. Walsall ‘s highest “ home ” attendance was set in 1930, when they played in of front of 74,646 fans in a 3–1 frustration to Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round. [ 4 ] Although a home match for Walsall, the tie was played at their opponents ‘ Villa Park land to ensure as many people could watch the local David vs Goliath meet as possible. It remains the highest attendance that Walsall have ever played in front man of and was a record crowd for Villa Park at the time. [ 1 ] : 28 In the years from 1921 leading up to World War II Walsall ‘s success remained limited, with finishes of 3rd in 1922–23, 5th in 1932–33 and 4th in 1933–34 the closest the club came to achieving forwarding. The decent results in the early 1930s were spearheaded by the emergence of one of Walsall ‘s greatest ever players, Gilbert Alsop, who scored a remarkable 169 goals between 1931 and 1935. [ 1 ] : 29 Alsop besides inspired Walsall ‘s finest ever FA Cup resultant role, scoring the afford finish in a 2–0 dwelling win against Arsenal in 1933. Arsenal were regarded as the best team in the country at the time and went on to win the First Division that season and the two seasons following that. [ 1 ] : 30–31 As such, the cup get the better of to Third Division North side Walsall is placid regarded as one of the greatest upsets in FA Cup history. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] In the follow season, 1934–35, Walsall continued their cup pedigree by reaching their first always aged final examination in the Third Division North Cup. The Saddlers fell at the final vault, however, with a 2–0 defeat to Stockport County at Maine Road. [ 1 ] : 178

Post-war era and first gear league title ( 1945–1980 ) [edit ]

1945–46 signalled the concluding season of local war-time competitions. Between January and May 1946 the Third Division South Cup was contested as a harbinger for the return of full-time league football late that year. Walsall reached the final to face Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic at Stamford Bridge but, in a duplicate of their previous concluding appearance in 1935, they lost the couple 2–0. [ 1 ] : 189 The return of football following the war saw a spike in attendances for many clubs across the Football League and Walsall were no unlike. In the 1947–48 temper a act of impressive turnouts at Fellows Park, including a season-best 20,383 for the visit of Notts County, saw the club record its highest modal league attendance to date of 15,711. [ 1 ] : 191 In the same season Walsall finished in 3rd place but once again missed out on promotion to the Second Division. The early 1950s saw some of Walsall ‘s most distressing and blue times in the Football League, as the club faced the re-election process four years in a quarrel. They finished bottom of the league in 1951–52, 1952–53 and 1953–54 and improved to lone second bottom in 1954–55. The club, however, managed to retain its Football League condition through this period, largely thanks to the high attendances at Fellows Park demonstrating a healthy desire for League football in Walsall. [ 1 ] : 41–42 In 1958, following a reorganization of the Football League, Walsall became laminitis members of the Fourth Division — now holding the distinction of being founder members of the Second, Third and Fourth tiers. Under the management of Bill Moore, the clubhouse achieved consecutive promotions, scoring 102 goals on their way to winning the Fourth Division title in 1959–60 and finishing as Third Division runner-up in 1960–61. The league championship in 1960 was the club ‘s beginning in their 72-year history. In the club ‘s beginning season in the second tier of English football since the early 1900s a post-war criminal record 14th-place finish was achieved. [ 1 ] : 203–205 It was during this season that the club besides recorded its record attendance, as 25,453 crammed into Fellows Park to see The Saddlers beat Newcastle United 1–0 in August 1961. [ 1 ] : 47 [ 7 ] however, after just two seasons in the Second Division, the clubhouse were relegated back to the Third Division in 1962–63. An unfortunate defeat to Charlton Athletic in a replay concluding meet of the season sealed Walsall ‘s relegation, as the London club leapfrogged them in the postpone to survive. [ 1 ] : 47 One of Walsall ‘s finest ever talents, Allan Clarke, made his breakthrough as a first team even in the 1964–65 season. Aged equitable 18, he scored 23 league goals in 1964–65 and a foster 23 goals in all competitions in 1965–66. He was sold to First Division Fulham for a then golf club record fee of £37,500 in March 1966 and went on to earn 19 caps for England and win a league deed at Leeds United. [ 8 ] [ 1 ] : 98 1970–71 saw the first league meet between Walsall and their very first opponents Aston Villa. The two clubs met in the Third Division with Walsall winning the home tie 3–0, thanks to two goals from Geoff Morris and a Colin Taylor penalty. The off marry at Villa Park later in the season ended scoreless. Ken Wheldon, a local businessman made good, took over the cabaret in 1972 and brought some optimism of a bright future. [ 9 ] The stick to years were inconsistent but were buoyed by a few good cup results and the emergence of Alan Buckley, who signed for the cabaret in 1973 and went on to become a fecund goalscorer for the club. [ 10 ] Walsall remained in the Third Division until a far delegating to the Fourth Division in 1978–79. It was Buckley who took on the role of player-manager for the re-build in the one-fourth tier. once again The Saddlers rose from the ashes of adversity as they secured an contiguous promotion. At one stage in 1979–80 Walsall recorded 21 straight matches without kill, a record that even stands nowadays. This saw the begin of an earned run average that became a hallmark for some of the most attractive football seen in Walsall as, under the guidance of Buckley, the side gradually established itself as forwarding contenders in the Third Division. [ 1 ] : 55

League Cup test, move to Bescot and the one-fourth tier ( 1980–1995 ) [edit ]

Walsall in action at Fellows Park in 1982 While consolidating in the Third Division in the early 1980s, off-the-pitch issues took prominence throughout the decade. The dilapidate express of the club ‘s Fellows Park home was becoming a trouble and, in 1982, the purpose to move in to groundshare Molineux with Wolverhampton Wanderers was announced by owner Ken Wheldon. The baseball club ‘s fans ‘ quickly protested against the theme, as the Save Walsall Action Group was formed, and it never came to pass. [ 9 ] The 1983–84 League Cup crusade was, arguably, Walsall ‘s finest hour. After victories over Blackpool, Barnsley and local rivals Shrewsbury Town, they defeated First Division club Arsenal 2–1 in the fourth round at Highbury. A 4–2 victory over Rotherham United in the quarter-final see The Saddlers advance to the semi-final to face holders and reigning First Division champions, Liverpool. An incredible 2–2 draw at Anfield in the first leg had Walsall dream of an improbable cup concluding and place in Europe, however, a second peg 2–0 get the better of in front of 19,591 at Fellows Park saw Walsall lose the tie 4–2 on aggregate. [ 11 ] By 1986 far plans were announced to groundshare with one of the club ‘s local rivals. This prison term it was at Birmingham City ‘s St Andrew ‘s ground. The Save Walsall Action Group was again pressed into military action and, after peaceful protests and the support of the local press, the Football League blocked the move. [ 9 ] Walsall were subsequently bought by millionaire entrepreneur and racehorse owner Terry Ramsden [ 12 ] and with his money came high-profile signings and the attention of the national media. In 1986–87, under new director Tommy Coakley, Walsall narrowly missed out on the play-offs but made considerable build up in the FA Cup as they defeated First Division Charlton Athletic and Birmingham City and took Watford to two replays in the fifth turn .
Chart of board positions of Walsall in the Football League. Walsall last earned promotion to the Second Division for the first time since 1963 by winning the Third Division play-offs in 1988. Bristol City were beaten 4–0 in a play back final at Fellows Park thanks to a David Kelly hattrick. however, the 1988–89 season saw the club immediately relegated from the Second Division and Ramsden ‘s commercial enterprise empire collapse. [ 12 ] Walsall were minutes from going out of commercial enterprise but survived, again through the actions of the supporters and local businessmen. A second consecutive relegation followed at the end of 1989–90 as Walsall were consigned to the Fourth Division once again. The golf club moved to the Bescot Stadium in 1990. [ 13 ] At the fourth dimension it was a state-of-the-art arena and was merely the second fresh Football League ground since the 1950s. [ 13 ] The arrival at Bescot Stadium saw some stability brought binding to the club after two consecutive relegations and the baseball club was taken over by Jeff Bonser in 1991. [ 14 ] Kenny Hibbitt managed the golf club for four years, setting the basis for a fortunate era for the club that would follow soon after his dismissal in September 1994. New coach Chris Nicholl led the club to promotion back to the third tier ( now known as Division Two after the formation of the Premier League ) in his first gear season, building the nucleus of a strong and under-rated team. A run of four straight wins at the end of April meant Walsall needed precisely a point from their final game, away to Bury, to secure promotion ; they duly obliged with a 0–0 scoreline to send the travel fans home celebrating. [ 1 ] : 66

A serial of ups and downs ( 1995–present ) [edit ]

Two seasons of stability followed bet on in Division Two before Nicholl resigned. Jan Sørensen took the helm after Nicholl ‘s deviation and lead the cabaret to the fourth polish of both the League Cup and FA Cup in 1997–98. Each test was ended away to a Premier League side as West Ham United won 4–1 in the League Cup [ 15 ] and a glamor tie at Manchester United resulted in a 5–1 kill in the FA Cup. [ 16 ] Despite the club ‘s cup exploits, a poor complete in the league signalled the end of Sørensen ‘s time at Walsall after merely one season. In 1998–99, Ray Graydon took over as coach and led the club to a runner-up spot in Division Two, beating Manchester City to an automatic forwarding place by five points. [ 17 ] After the unlikely promotion to the second grade Walsall found life difficult at a higher level but battled right until the final day of the season, when relegation was finally sealed. A 2–0 defeat at Ipswich meant Walsall returned to the third base grade, despite bowler hat wins over local rivals Wolves, Birmingham and West Bromwich Albion earlier in the crusade. The Saddlers returned to the second tier of English football at the first base try, defeating Reading 3–2, after supernumerary clock, in a electrifying play-off concluding at Cardiff ‘s Millennium Stadium. [ 18 ] Graydon was dismissed in January 2002 following a 2–0 get the better of against local rivals West Brom. Colin Lee took over and fasten survival in the second grade for the foremost time since the early 1960s. The 2002–03 season saw Walsall debar delegating again. however, the 2003–04 political campaign ended in relegation despite a storming begin which had seen the cabaret on the verge of the play-offs going into the New Year. A slump in form see Lee sacked in April [ 19 ] and the appointment of star topology player Paul Merson as coach did not halt the slither. Walsall were ultimately relegated, agonisingly by a single goal, despite a 3–2 victory over Rotherham United on the temper ‘s final day in front of a record Bescot Stadium crowd of 11,049. [ 20 ] Despite the club ‘s relegation and no previous managerial experience, Merson was immediately appointed as full-time director of the club in May 2004. [ 21 ] A poor season in League One about ended in consecutive relegations and the 2005–06 season then turned into a black one for Walsall and Merson. After increasing supporter blackmail following a string of bad results, culminating in a 5–0 kill at Brentford, Merson ‘s reign as Walsall coach came to an end in February 2006. [ 22 ] however, it was besides late and Walsall were relegated on 22 April 2006, after losing 3–1 to Huddersfield Town. [ 23 ] Richard Money was tasked with reviving the golf club ‘s fortunes in League Two. An impressive beginning to the season was maintained throughout and, despite a mini-blip in February, Walsall remained in the top three for about the integral season and were promoted back to League One after beating Notts County 2–1 away from home. [ 24 ] On the final day of the season Walsall drew 1–1 at Swindon Town, thanks to a last-minute finish by Dean Keates in front man of 3,419 travel fans, to secure the League Two title. [ 25 ] [ 26 ]
Walsall ( in red shirts ) playing Gillingham in 2009 at Bescot Stadium Walsall ‘s form continued into the new season, as the club performed powerfully in 2007–08, including a run of 17 League matches without kill and back-to-back promotions looked possible. however, a January transfer window that culminated in the sales of important first base team players Danny Fox and Scott Dann to Coventry City [ 27 ] caused a drop in mannequin throughout 2008. The club ‘s forwarding challenge ended after a run of poor results in March leading to Richard Money resigning american samoa director in April. [ 28 ] The succeed seven seasons spent in League One saw largely mid-table security apart from a few flirtations with delegating. notably, in the 2010–11 season the golf club sat in the relegation places from October through to March but ultimately survived thanks to an upturn in kind following the appointment of Dean Smith as coach in January 2011. [ 29 ] Walsall had been ten points adrift of safety, however, despite accumulating only 48 points by the end of the temper they escaped relegation by one point. [ 30 ] The 2014–15 temper was a memorable one for the club as it reached a Wembley final for the beginning meter in its 127-year history. [ 11 ] Walsall beat Rochdale, Tranmere Rovers, Sheffield United and Preston North End on their way to the Football League Trophy concluding where they were beaten 2–0 by Bristol City on Sunday 22 March 2015. [ 31 ] The Saddlers were backed by over 29,000 supporters in a herd of 72,315 at the national stadium. [ 32 ] Walsall started the 2015–16 season well, leading to interest in coach Dean Smith. At the end of November, with The Saddlers fourth in the table, he left Walsall for Brentford ; at the time of his deviation he was the fourthly longest serve coach in the Football League. [ 33 ] Walsall turned to Sean O’Driscoll to replace Smith. [ 34 ] however, after a six-game winless run and fair 16 games in charge, O’Driscoll was sacked. [ 35 ] ultimately, Walsall missed out on forwarding by just one point and lost in the play-off semi-finals to Barnsley. [ 36 ] Following the decimation of their promotion challenging team, Walsall struggled for the adjacent three seasons in League One and, after a black spell in charge for former play bomber Dean Keates, were relegated back to the fourth tier at the end of the 2018–19 season. [ 37 ] Following delegating, a new era began with Darrell Clarke taking over as coach [ 38 ] and Jeff Bonser ending his 28-year reign as owner and president by selling his 76 % majority shareholding of the club to Leigh Pomlett in July 2019. [ 39 ] Walsall failed to make a League Two promotion challenge in the 2019–20 or 2020–21 seasons, finishing in 13th and 19th position respectively. Ahead of the 2021–22 season Matthew Taylor was appointed fresh oral sex bus with Neil McDonald as his adjunct. [ 40 ]

Rivals [edit ]

A 2013 survey revealed Walsall fans consider Black Country neighbours Wolverhampton Wanderers to be the golf club ‘s independent rivals. [ 41 ] however, meetings between the teams are relatively rare, with Wolves having spent most of their being in the exceed two tiers of English football. alone 16 competitive fixtures have been played between Walsall and Wolves, with the most recent occur in 2014. [ 42 ] Meetings with the Black Country ‘s other professional clubhouse, West Bromwich Albion, are similarly rare, with The Saddlers and The Baggies having clashed just 14 times. [ 43 ] however, the Black Country rivals did meet on numerous occasions during wartime regionalised league fixtures. [ 1 ] More regularly-contested rivalries exist with Shrewsbury Town, Coventry City and Port Vale. All three clubs are frequently The Saddlers’ geographically-closest league fixtures. Walsall have the upper handwriting in the Shrewsbury and Port Vale rivalries, having won importantly more fixtures than they have lost. [ 44 ] [ 45 ] [ 46 ]

Grounds [edit ]

The Chuckery [edit ]

This multi-purpose sports grind was situated in a district near to the Walsall Arboretum. It comprised some 12 football pitches and four good-sized cricket squares. It was the first ever home grate for Walsall F.C. from 1888 until 1893 .

West Bromwich Road [edit ]

The new flat coat in West Bromwich Road, which had a capability of just over 4,500, proved to be a lucky omen for The Saddlers between 1893 and 1896 .

Fellows Park [edit ]

Fellows Park was a former football stadium in Walsall, England. It was the home ground of Walsall F.C. from 1896 until 1990, when the team moved to the Bescot Stadium .

Bescot Stadium [edit ]

Bescot Stadium, presently besides known as Banks ‘s stadium for sponsorship purposes, [ 47 ] is the home grate of Walsall Football Club. It was built in 1989–90 at a cost of £4.5m, replacing the golf club ‘s previous ground, Fellows Park, which was located a draw of a sea mile away. The ground was opened by Sir Stanley Matthews. Upon Jeff Bonser stepping down from his character at the cabaret, Leigh Pomlett agreed an choice to reunite the Saddlers with their stadium freehold “ in due time ” .

Players [edit ]

current squad [edit ]

As of 23 October 2021[48]

note : Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality .

Out on lend [edit ]

note : Flags indicate home team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality .

Reserves and Youth [edit ]

management, Staff and Directors [edit ]

Information correct as of 18 May 2021. [ 49 ]

former players and managers [edit ]

Players of the year [edit ]

As voted for by Walsall supporters at the end of each season. current players in boldface .

top goalscorers [edit ]

Includes league goals entirely. stream players in boldface. [ 66 ]

International Saddlers [edit ]

list of players who have earned full moon international caps while at Walsall. [ 1 ] : 251

Players with 300 or more appearances [edit ]

Includes competitive appearances only. current players in bold. [ 1 ] : 257

Players with 50 or more goals [edit ]

Includes competitive appearances only. current players in bold. [ 1 ] : 257

celebrated managers [edit ]

The follow managers have all made celebrated achievements for Walsall. Each has led the club to at least one of the following while in consign : win promotion, reaching the final examination of a cup contest or recording the cabaret ‘s best result in a league season or cup competition. [ 90 ] [ 1 ] : 74–87

Honours and achievements [edit ]

league [edit ]

Football League Third Division / League One ( 3rd tier )
Football League Fourth Division / League Two ( 4th tier )

cup [edit ]

Football League Trophy

• Runners-up (1): 2015

Third Division North Cup

• Runners-up (1): 1935

Third Division South Cup

• Runners-up (1): 1946

Birmingham Senior Cup

• Winners (4): 1880–81, 1896–97, 1897–98, 1993–94
• Runners-up (6): 1883–84, 1884–85, 1885–86, 1907–08, 1999–00, 2006–07

Staffordshire Senior Cup

• Winners (6): 1881–82, 1884–85, 1922–23, 1926–27, 1928–29, 1967–68
• Runners-up (15): 1880–81, 1881–82, 1886–87, 1889–90, 1892–93, 1898–99, 1910–11, 1913–14, 1920–21, 1921–22, 1930–31, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1952–53, 1965–66

Walsall Senior Cup

• Winners (3): 1888–89, 2014–15, 2016–17
• Runners-up (1): 2012–13

club records [edit ]

Competitions
Scores

• League Win: 10–0 v. Darwen. Second Division, 4 March 1899
• League Defeat: 0–12 v. Small Heath. Second Division, 17 December 1892
• Cup Win: 12–0 v. Warmley. FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round, 27 September 1890
• Cup Defeat: 0–7 v. Worcester City. FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round, 11 October 1913

Sequences

• Most Games Won in a Row (7): 1959, 2005
• Most Games Lost in a Row (15): 1988–89
• Most Games without Defeat (21): 1979–80
• Most Games without Victory (18): 1988–89

Attendances
Players

Notes [edit ]

1. ^ Lightbourne and Wilson joint crown scorers in 1995–96
2. ^ Nicholls and Macken articulation top scorers in 2011–12
3. ^ Alf Jones earned both England caps while playing for Walsall Swifts but late went on to play for Walsall Town Swifts .
4. ^ Kyle Lightbourne is listed as having achieved external caps while at the club in The Complete Record of Walsall Football Club but no number is given to how many .
5. ^ Carl Robinson on loanword from Portsmouth when he earned his crown .
6. ^ Chris Baird on loanword from Southampton when he earned his cap .
7. ^ G. Hughes served as secretary-manager .
8. ^ Alan Buckley ‘s totals include short-circuit enchantment as joint-manager with Neil Martin .

References [edit ]

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