Express & Star

Walsall fan survey results 2018/19 - Darrell Clarke is the right man

More than 94 per cent of Walsall fans believe the club deserved to be relegated from League One last season – but a huge majority back new boss Darrell Clarke to revive their fortunes.

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The Saddlers saw their 12-year stay in English football’s third tier come crashing to an end back in May when they were relegated on the final day of the campaign.

And figures obtained from the Express & Star’s end of season survey show a huge 94.7 per cent of supporters believe the team deserved to go down.

But while last season ended on a sour note, a staggering 91.8 per cent of those polled believe new manager Darrell Clarke is the man to turn the club’s fortunes around.

The 41-year-old was appointed last month having previously guided Bristol Rovers to back-to-back promotions from the National League into League One.

And fans are now optimistic he can bring the good times back to the Banks’s Stadium.

Almost 31 per cent of fans believe it will take Clarke just one year to restore the Saddlers to League One, while 57.1 per cent believe it will take him two or three seasons.

Interestingly, the majority of fans believe owner Jeff Bonser and the Walsall board are the people most to blame for club’s relegation.

When asked who was most at fault they took 42.1 per cent of vote, with the players close behind on 38.9 per cent.

The coaching staff – including the sacked Dean Keates – took 19 per cent of the blame.

Despite that result, a substantial 80.7 per cent of those surveyed felt Keates should have relieved of his duties earlier in the season.

The 40-year-old, who won three promotions with the Saddlers as a player, left the club in April with Martin O’Connor taking over on an interim basis until the end of the campaign.

While Walsall were relegated, striker Andy Cook still managed to score 18 goals in all competitions.

And that was enough to see him crowned player of the year in the Express & Star’s poll.

The striker gained 37.3 per cent of the vote.

But he was closely followed by midfielder Liam Kinsella, who was the choice of 34 per cent of those who took part. Defender Nicky Devlin came third.

Elsewhere, the survey looked at how happy the fans are with the Banks’s Stadium following complaints last season.

A total of 79.8 per cent of fans answered ‘no’ when asked if the stadium’s maintenance is up to scratch. Almost three-quarters of supporters would also like to see the club introduce safe standing at the Banks’s.

In terms of ticket pricing, almost 40 per cent of fans are happy with Walsall’s pricing structure.

However, 61 per cent of those polled believe attendances would increase if tickets were made cheaper. A total of 50 per cent of fans will attend the same amount of games as they did last season – while only 21.5 per cent will attend less.