By 7inchyouknowho
May 11 2003

Part one of the Radio WM Saddlers special, which was broadcasted on the 23rd April 2003.

On the 23rd of May Neil Ravenscroft, a publisher on the site and Ian Hemmings who has also been involved with the site took the chance to feature in a Radio WM special summing up the Saddlers season. 

Part 1 of WM recording 23/04/03

 

Richard Wilford:   Matthew Gutteridge, first of all the junior member of our panel in age that’s for sure. How long a Walsall supporter?

Matthew:                About three years now.

RW:                        Right a new one and I happen to know you in live in South Birmingham not a million miles away from where I do so why a Walsall fan?

Matthew:                 I decided to go for like the smaller family sort of club compared to the bigger clubs around Birmingham, I wanted to go for something more friendlier feeling and appealing.

RW:                         Right, it’s an interesting reason, it’s a valid reason actually I’m almost giving away one of the questions we might have as to why the club was chosen. Sometimes it’s the club that chooses you. I don’t know we might get that answer. In the middle we have Neil Ravenscroft. Good Evening, a few more years than three I suspect a saddlers fan?

Neil:                          40

RW:                          Right so man and boy.

Neil:                          1962/1963 for me.

RW:                          And you wear it pretty well! Most of you have had a pretty good week though with the Easter weekend.

Neil:                           Something like that, Monday certainly helped.

RW:                           Yeah, so you spent most of what the subsequent day sobering up?

Neil:                           No I had to go to work unfortunately, but it was something of a daze.

RW:                           And you’re involved with one of the websites?

Neil:                           I am indeed, the plug, the only plug, the saddlersfc.tk. I’m one of the writers for the website and have been since last September.

RW:                           TK where on earth has that been pulled from?

Neil:                           It’s some south sea island or the other chosen because it’s memorable, I think more than anything?

RW:                           Fantastic. And the third and equally erudite member of our panel is Ian Hemmings, evening to you Ian.

Ian:                            Evening.   

RW:                           And your duration as a saddlers fan?

Ian:                            17years now.

RW:                           Right that’s not bad going, the last 17 years is almost from the lowest recess of Walsall’s recent history up to the current heights.

Ian:                             Yeah, been there from the old ground to the new one and the redevelopment so it’s been an interesting ride.

RW:                            So maybe its you that’s the lucky mascot, because we’ve been wondering that.

In a few moments time we’ll start choosing some subjects for the guys and also hear some highlights of the season so far. Just looking at one or two text messages, we have a vote for Daren Wrack as player of the season; he’s played in more positions than you find in your dodgy manual if you see what I mean. Paul and Sarah from Bescot say Swifty needs a girlfriend. Thanks for price reduction our player of the season is Darren Bazeley, so another vote for Bazeley. A girlfriend for Swifty, I dunno fellas I’m not a big prematch entertainment fan, Are we happy with Swifty? 

Neil:                          I’ve seen a lot worse, erm what was that horrible saddle thing?

Ian:                           Billy Bescot.

Neil:                         Yeah Billy Bescot right.

RW:                          Right, Were you at Grimsby on Monday, did they have their Mariner going round making a fool of himself?

Ian:                           It looked more like the Pillsbury dough man.

RW:                          It’s not a thing that’s very impressive that’s for sure. Now although the Bescot pitch was in a real state approaching the turn of the year, the saddlers did make their home ground a bit of a fortress in November and December. RECORDING OF MATCHES.

 

BBC WM a Walsall sportsnight special for a Wednesday evening and in the studio my first panel of guests, Matthew, Neil and Ian.

 

RW:                         I’m gonna start throwing them some googlies if you like with some of the topics we’re gonna debate after the travel bulletin, but as Player of the Season has been the debating point so far this evening, we’re taking your votes throughout the course of the evening, I’d better let the three of you have your say. I’ll go right to left this time if you like, Ian who will you be voting for this evening?

Ian:                         For me its gotta be Ian Roper, just down to the pure consistency of him all through the season.

RW:                        Ok and Neil?

Neil:                        I hate to say this but I’m gonna have to agree completely, Ian Roper every time. I think he’s the most improved player on the books and has been for, he just looks a completely different from he did 5 or 6 years ago when he first came into the team.

RW:                        Also it’s the different look of the team when he’s playing compared to when he isn’t isn’t it?

Neil:                        There’s a lot more solidarity then, he still needs a leader alongside him and plays a lot better when he’s got the experience of Hay or Carbon there but he’s just a wonderful stopper, no more than a stopper but a wonderful stopper.

RW:                        And then Matthew?

Matthew:                Oh a surprise, Gotta be Ian Roper again, I mean he does an essential   job at the back, he hasn’t got the flair of other players but he does such a solid job that you can’t fault him.

RW:                        This is looking alarmingly like a landslide at the moment coz Ian Roper is , well, it will be interesting to see who gets the minor places shall we say. In fact Steve in Heath Hayes has sent in, voting almost inevitably for Ian Roper as well so between the phone votes and the text votes and now our three studio votes, Ian Roper has what we’ll call a healthy lead at this point and if this was Eurovision Terry Wogan would be finding it very difficult to maintain our interest in the event at this particular point, but if you want to have a vote for somebody else 0121 432 2000 you can still vote for Ian Roper of course and on the text 07786202956. It’s BBC WM, it’s a Walsall sportsnight special through to 10 oclock. ( Break for traffic information and general information)

RW:                      And actually hearing the voice of John Platt there reminds me of one other item of business, there’s a special event tomorrow evening for Bob Taylor’s testimonial year at the Throstle club at Halford’s lane opposite the baggies ground, Malcolm Boydon and John Platt are going to be playing bowls against Bob Taylor and Ally Brown. Now there’s an event for you. You don’t get that every night of the week do you. It’s gonna start on the bowling green at 7.30 and after that there will be a forum featuring Bob Taylor himself, so Malcolm |Boydon, John Platt against Bob Taylor and Ally Brown, it’s a grudge match at the Throstle club tomorrow evening in aid of Bob Taylor’s testimonial fund so go along and have a bit of fun tomorrow evening.

RW:                     Now we are gonna have a bit of fun with the three guests in the studio, this is where the business gets under way. Matthew, Neil and Ian in my little file here, I have a bunch of topics to discuss, some of them are frivolous, some of them serious. My handwriting will test all of your eyesight to be perfectly honest so maybe you chose them and I’ll read them out to out coz it might be the easiest way of doing it. But if you cross my boredom threshold and if I get fed up of the debate in mid sentence you’ll hear this (bell ringing) and that means time for another topic. It’s as simple as that.

Sounds reasonable.

Neil:                      RW:                      It’s stupid but I enjoy it. It amuses me, Matthew if you draw out the first subject.

Neil:                      I knew I should have brought my glasses!

RW:                      Let’s see what we’ve got there- Players I never rated is our first subject-fantastic, Ian get us underway, players you never rated who played for Walsall.

Ian:                        Probably Ian Roper to start off with again from when he first came on and everyone turned round and said that bloke cant trap a bag of cement let alone a football, and how he’s progressed now and put virtually every one in the ground with egg on their face.

RW:                      You rate him now?

Ian:                        I think he’s the best centre half we got down there really now as long as he’s got someone with a bit of experience alongside him.

Neil:                      After 40 years you’re really gonna ask me?

RW:                       40 years players you never rated, are they to numerous to mention?

Neil:                      Dale Banton, Dave Bamber, No I could go on and on for hours, No I’d better not, no I’d better leave it oh Bica, oh God Bica oh dear..

RW:                       Did you have a chance to rate Bica? Did you see him?

Neil:                       No not really I suppose but you know..

RW:                       I saw him train which was funny enough.

Neil:                      We’ve had some shockers over the years I must admit.

Ian:                        Although he looked good when he played for Sunderland against us!

Neil:                      Everybody looked good when they played for Sunderland against us that night!

Matthew:               Going back to the point about Roper, when I first saw him coz I’m a relative new fan I did think, mind the pun, he looked a bit ropey! But the main player that I first saw especially last season was Zigor, his defending capabilities were quite poor last season. I remember a cup game against Fulham where there first goal came from a stupid mistake from Zigor on the left side and I really do think he’s a player I really don’t rate.

RW:                        Quite good in the air defensively actually Zigor, that’s the one paradox as a Spanish player he does win a lot on the back post.

Neil:                        It’s funny enough, I was talking to Ian outside before the game about it. I think he’s a very intelligent defender because he has lapses of concentration but a lot do, the number of times he actually picks up the run from somebody coming from the inside and actually gets the header in first, I think he’s a lot better a defender than people think he is.

RW:                        Although as foreign players, Zigor and Pedro have done you pretty well haven’t they Ian?

Ian:                         Yeah, the two Spaniards out on the left wing have been terrific at times.  

Neil:                       Especially together!

RW:                        I know Neil there are names there you are itching to get off your chest.

Neil:                       Oh no, I’d like to have not thought much of Ken Armstrong, but there’s going back a bit, the man who never played for us after we paid £100,000 for him, erm, oh dear, no no its too painful to think about.