2024-09-01 14:45:00 - Pär Stener
2023-11-11 15:20:15 - Pär Stener
2023-11-10 18:26:21 - Pär Stener
Walsalls ordförande Ben Boycott har skrivit ett öppet brev till supportrarna som blev publicerat på klubbens officiella hemsida tidigare under eftermiddagen.
Som bekant är alla missnöjda med hur den nyligen avslutade säsongen slutade. Fansen har krävt någon typ av uttalande från klubben där dom förklarar sig och i dag släppte klubben ett uttalande från Ben Boycott som skrev ett öppet brev som publicerades på hemsidan.
Detta är det första öppna brevet som handlar mer om den sportsliga delen. Det kommer ytterligare ett uttalande längre fram där han ska gå mer på djupet och skriva om klubbens vision och framtid, som dom ser den.
Han öppnade brevet med att tacka alla dom 7100+ som sökt sig till Poundland Bescot Stadium för att se den sista matchen. Han är nöjd med att avsluta med en vinst och få med sig en mer positiv känsla till nästa säsong.
Han går sedan vidare med att skriva om vart han vill att klubben ska vara. Kortfattat säger han att han vill att alla jobbar hårt varje dag och bygger klubbens framgångar för att göra kliv framåt och avancera till League One. Uppflyttning har varit Trivelas (dom nuvarande ägarna till klubben) ambition sedan dom tog över ägandeskapet förra året.
There could be many thoughts on the strategy needed to achieve that, but suffice to say that myself and my partners are highly competitive people, and this is a club with a tremendous history and legacy – and what we can all agree on is that we want to advance the club out of this league. There is so much good here and so much potential here, and we will all be aligned to press on together.
We all enjoyed a very special moment together hosting Leicester City, with a great deal of brightness and enthusiasm around the club. Sadly, the reality since then has been a very disappointing downturn, and we’ve been forced to rely on the positive results from October, November, and December simply to be comfortably safe in our league status.
We did have poor luck with injuries, poor luck with decisions and bounces in individual matches, and poor luck in the loan market, as two players were unavoidably lost in January, both of whom ended up being very key for us. We combatted these losses with aggression and ambition in the January window, but the results after that simply did not come, as we all know.
Blaming poor luck, however, is cheap and weak. The poor luck turned into a losing habit, which was allowed to snowball into the demise of a once-promising season. Obviously this has been immensely frustrating for everybody at the football club. While I remain hugely optimistic about our potential, I am as frustrated as anyone about the outcome of this past season on the pitch.
The Club's board plays an important role in the day to day operating of the club, and in advising on major decisions. At the same time, as Trivela Group is the 90% owner of the club, these difficult decisions are now held by Trivela Group. The decision to part ways with Michael and Wayne was my decision, and it was a necessary but very difficult one. Michael is a good coach, and I deeply respect his contribution to Walsall FC, and believe he will be very successful in his career, which I will be following with great interest. I wish him and Wayne all the best at Swindon Town.
The “easy way out” would be for me to simply say that management was the problem, that managerial change was needed, hire a new manager, present to you all the potential of this new manager, give him the keys, and move forward without evaluating additional changes. That is not what will be happening. A change was needed, but the needed change runs deeper. It starts with me personally looking in the mirror, asking what has been going on at the club, asking what mistakes I myself have made and what mistakes the club has made, and asking how it is going to be different going forward.
Including short term caretakers, the club has had eight managers in the past eight years, and suffered a relegation in the process. We need to understand why and make strategic changes as we make this critical next decision in the club’s history.
Prior to Trivela’s arrival, the club’s leadership has done an outstanding job in building a steady, sustainable, well-run football club. Massive credit is due to them for building a very strong foundation for us to build on, and I am honoured to carry this forward with them, and build upon their work.
in our view, upon reflecting, we have had a process in these past many years that was overly manager-centric. As is very common, we have had a process of looking to identify the singular individual who is the right fit for that moment, and empower them to implement their process, their style of play, their staff, and their playing squad to get the formula just right. When that hasn’t worked in one situation or another, we’ve terminated the manager, hired a new one, and gone again.
We’ll be working with a fresh plan and a fresh vision from here on. I believe in building a structure, a system, and a culture where a manager can come in if (and only if) they fit that strategy, and be a part of our building process. Said another way, we need to build a crystal clear football strategy, and identify the correct manager to fit into that picture, and create the best possible environment for that manager to succeed. We have been building this for the past several months, with Trivela’s VP of Global Football playing a leading role, with his extensive experience in the game informing the work.
This is the vision – a clear strategy that defines how we want to play, who we want to be, how we’re going to operate. The next manager will be a key player in executing this plan. We are currently running a very detailed and exhaustive process to identify the right manager for WFC, who will buy into this plan and make it a reality.
Thank you all for the roles that you play at the club. These past few months have been difficult and dark days – no way around it. That said, my ambition and belief for what we can accomplish together remains sky-high. Our best days lie ahead of us, as we press on together to make Walsall Football Club all that it can be once more.
A change was needed, but the needed change runs deeper