00:00Hi folks, just jumping on it to take you through some of what will probably be some of the final quotes for my in-depth interview with Matt Sadler.
00:08Last week we've spoken a lot about the new season and new players and opportunities for those replacing departed players such as Evan Weir
00:18in the wake of Taylor Allen's exit to Wiccan Wanderers.
00:24But I did think it would also be a great chance to just touch on probably, like I say, the final word really on the disappointment of last season and missing out on promotion.
00:37Obviously, Walsall were in a commanding position in January, as we all know.
00:4112 points clear at the top of the table, 15 clear in fourth place in mid-January and obviously missed out on the final day.
00:48Then to lose at Wembley in the playoff final and last week when I caught up with Matt Sadler, it was the first time and first opportunity I had to do so
00:57since the disappointment of full-time at Wembley and yeah, his sort of comments on it now after having an opportunity to really sit back and think about it
01:07was that obviously it was a tough ending. He said not just the final but the running in general.
01:13His words were also, you know, last season probably wasn't our time and we're not victims with that.
01:18But he also went on to say that it's time to move on and that he and his staff and his players will try the best to put things back together
01:25and have another competitive season.
01:29And he also felt that, you know, there's clearly been signs of their success this summer with the fact that a number of their players have been courted.
01:36We obviously just spoke then about Taylor Allen's departure, but Liam Gordon and Ryan Sturk have also left the club.
01:43And yeah, just said that a lot of things didn't go their way.
01:45There were also things that they could have done better with and he in particular alluded to January where, you know,
01:51Walsall lost Nathan Lowe and never really replaced him.
01:57And yeah, January was kind of a major catalyst in what was to follow in the second half of the season.
02:03And he wanted to offer some perspective as well, said, you know, the season's 1-46 and in the end they ended up finishing as a fourth best team in the division,
02:14albeit in the route that, you know, they wouldn't have anticipated and clearly wouldn't have wanted.
02:19And yeah, you know, kind of pointed out a few more of the positives.
02:26I can't remember the last time they'd won 21 games in a season or scored 75 goals in a single campaign.
02:32And yeah, finished up really with if he was to take a step back, you can see how he and his management
02:38and the owners have moved the club on, brought it forward and stabilised it.
02:44So yeah, I feel like, you know, the tone coming from the club, especially from the comments from the likes of Ben Boycott,
02:49Ben Sadler and Lee Pomlett, I mean Lee Pomlett finished with these exact words at the fans forum last week,
02:54is that, you know, it's time to move on now.
02:57Can't kind of keep hanging on to the past despite the disappointment.
03:00And, you know, rightly so.
03:02There was a lot of anger and frustration in the way the season unfolded.
03:05And I think supporters have every right to feel like that.
03:08But clearly, you know, the message from the club on this situation now is that, you know, it's a new season,
03:13a fresh start and there's a lot of players there who wouldn't have been involved in the collapse of the second half of last season.
03:20So yeah, I feel like this would be the final word from Matt Sadler now for some time.
03:24And full focus will clearly be on the 2025 and 26 campaign.
