Around 75 or so supporters were in attendance this evening as Chris Hutchings and Martin O'Connor gave their initial reactions to supporter questions at the Saddlers Club this evening. The evening began just after 8:00pm.
With a good attendance from Walsall-MAD members, I can exclusively bring you the answers straight from the management duo.
1. How are the responsibilities divided between the two of you?
CH: We share the roles, everything is done as a partnership.
2. Reaction to Mick Halsall staying on at the club?
MOC: It is a big boost to the club that we are keeping him here.
CH: One of the new innovations will be that a development group will be set up where myself, Martin and Mick will be working with a group of first and second year pros to aid their development up towards the reserves and first team squads. Mick is a key part of this development. He has brought through a lot of players, and we want to keep our best ones, but if an offer comes in and the price is right we will have to accept it.
3. What about the commercial side of the club?
CH: The training ground is a fantastic facility that brings players in itself. The nutrition is all done there, we have two pitches and areas for players to work. In order to build for the future, we have to get the foundations right. Money is tight.
4. How do you rate the importance of the youth development?
CH: I have worked with youth development previously, ranging from Under 9's to Under 16's. I know the development of youngsters is very important and I want to make sure that the Centre of Excellence is running properly.
MOC: Parents talk, and I want to be a visible presence up at the Centre of Excellence. If they see me there, it will raise the profile of the work going on.
5. What are your ambitions?
CH: Players need to give 100% every day, not just on Tuesday nights and Saturday afternoons. Leicester gave us a football lesson, but against Leeds we were excellent. All we ask is that the players give maximum effort and commitment.
MOC: Ambition is measured in different ways. We are realists. There are things we want to change, but everyone needs to pull in the same direction, players, management and supporters.
6. Should the fans expect entertainment?
CH: I'm never satisfied, and I don't expect my team to coast even when we are winning. It is all about winning. We have set high standards so far. There is no money to spend, so we have to work with squad we have. Would I rather win 1-0 or 4-3? Definitely 1-0. We need the supporters to get behind the team. I want to play exciting football, with attacking wide men who run at defenders. I like to get the ball in the box quickly. Against Colchester we rode our luck at times, it was a nitty-gritty game. At Northampton, we expect to win.
7. What is your preferred style of play, and can you achieve it with the current personnel?
CH: I prefer to play 4-4-2, with 2 wide men who are running at the opposition, but I am not afraid to change it if the match conditions dictate. I like having a big striker to get on the end of crosses.
MOC: The manager was appointed 2 days before the Hereford game. At that point he identified that Sofiene Zaaboub should play and he did that immediately. He has the ability to pick out players quickly. We try and have a calming influence on players, and sometimes the football may not be pretty, but we will do what we can to get a result.
CH: The players always eat after the game, this is an important part of the match day. We will possibly address this issue but with the recent sequence of games it has been impossible.
MOC: I have had some great times in the Saddlers Club! We want to get fans involved with the club as much as possible.
9. Why are contracts always left late to tie up?
CH: This is due to the financial situation, and we have to run a tight ship. If we can tie players up early, we will. If players want to move, we will look for better players.
10. Should there be wage caps in the game?
CH: You can't blame the players for taking the money that chairmen have been offering. There will probably be a wage cap sometime soon.
11. What's your budget for next season?
CH: We haven't got this one over yet! We still aim to reach the playoffs, and if the players give their all and we remain injury free, who knows. If not the playoffs, we want to finish as high up as possible.
MOC: We have to be more consistent, but our training methods are starting to come to fruition. One club always sneaks in through the back door every season, why couldn't it be us?
12. What effect is the scouting system having on the club?
CH: We are looking to make strides forward in youth development. One way is by adding a Skills Coach to the staff here soon. We have a big catchment area, and if boys are good enough, they will get their chance here.
MOC: When I was away from the club, I used to keep my eye on the youth development. Troy Deeney is doing well, but he is still not a finished article. Our aim is to unearth the rough diamonds, polish them up and sell them on. I do think that Sunday League football standards have declined in the last few years and the talent is best harnessed at a young age.
13. How do you rate the set up here at Walsall compared with other clubs?
CH: I was very surprised at the training ground. It is similar to the facilities I worked at when I was at Wigan Athletic.
14. How is your relationship with Jeff Bonser?
CH: We speak every day. It is the most important relationship at the club. We are spending his money, and it is a results business. He has had some negative press recently, but he does a lot that people don't know about. To get the players in, we need foundations like the training ground, which he has spent a lot of money on.
15. Which manager would you like to emulate?
CH: Alex Ferguson, he wins everything! I want to be successful.
MOC: I'm learning every day!
CH: When I was at Wigan, I would say that keeping us in the Premiership for the first season was better than promotion.
16. Who is the joker in the dressing room?
MOC: There isn't a particular one! They are quite a quiet bunch, but we are slowly getting more from them. We try and have a laugh and a joke now and then on the training ground.
17. When will Sean Geddes be ready for first team action?
CH: There are lots of young players who need to show their potential for a sustained period of time. When they get their chance, they need to be ready. The first half of the reserves game against Sheffield United was excellent.
MOC: We beat a senior Macclesfield team away, and it is tribute to the work done by Mick Halsall that they are a good team. They have a first class attitude, and they are full of energy. The likes of Josh Craddock, Will Grigg and Sean Geddes are all excellent prospects.
18. Why do we suffer a lot of strain and pull injuries? Where do we need to strengthen?
CH: When we arrived, four key players (Ricketts, Hughes, Roberts and Weston) were all out injured. We are looking for thoroughbred players, but even the thoroughbreds pick up niggles now and then. The rehab that players do with Jon Whitney is hard work to prepare them for first team action. We need to strengthen the squad all over. We are currently looking for loan signings, and a central defender is a priority. Manny Smith did well, and his performance will be a confidence boost.
19. What is the situation with Sam Williams?
CH: He provides us a good option off the bench. Troy and Jabo have been great, and Williams was brought in when Ricketts was injured. Troy's goals have been superb too. Williams has injured his hip flexor, and has gone back to Villa to see whether he needs a scan on it.
20. When will Clayton Ince be signed on a new contract?
CH: I am still assessing all players. Ince has done OK, but so has Rene. I still haven't decided on my number 1 keeper as yet.
21. Will Alex Nicholls be tried as a striker?
CH: He has played well on the right hand side. We could play Taundry or Palmer there, but we have stuck with him. He has given 100% every time he plays. He would probably play at right back if asked. We have no automatic picked players in our squad.
MOC: Nicholls would probably say he wants to play centre forward, but he gives us good balance. Zaaboub gives us trickery on the left, and Alex has been involved in lots of our good attacking play.
22. What players are you looking to bring in?
CH: We need a central defender. Roberts is out for weeks, not days, with a disc problem in his back. We have had one or two knockbacks, clubs don't want to release players, but we are looking at Championship and Premiership loan options, hopefully we will have something sorted by next week.
23. How many players are out of contract in the summer?
CH: 8 or 9 senior pro's are out of contract this summer.
24. What is your ideal squad size?
CH: I would like to have ideally 2 players for each position, couple with 2 or 3 utility players which are essential at our level. Any new players coming in will depend on whether the existing players sign the contracts offered to them or not.
25. Who is the best player at the club? (The question was bounced back to the person asking, who replied Gerrard)
MOC: Yeah he thinks that too!
CH: He's not a shy lad! He has had a lot of interest in the January transfer window, but he needs to show consistency if he is going to make the step up to the Championship.
26. Will Gerrard come off the transfer list?
CH: It's his prerogative. We can't stop speculation about our players.
27. Will there be a chance to tour the training ground?
CH: We don't want people finding out our plans for upcoming games!
MOC: We would consider opening occasional sessions up for viewing if the manager was happy, but it would probably be on the Astroturf instead.
28. What are your career highlights?
CH: Playing for Chelsea, in the Quarter Final of the Cup against Spurs, and in coaching, helping to achieve 5 promotions.
MOC: Scoring my first career goal for Walsall away at Darlington, leading Birmingham City out in a Cup Final, and getting the job here as a coach.
29. How did Zaaboub's transformation come about?
CH: Giving him responsibility, for free kicks and corners, giving him lots of encouragement, and making our instructions for him simple. We need to spell out our expectations for every player on the park.
30. What is the situation with Paul Taylor?
CH: He is taking a bit more of a back seat, but he is still involved, dealing with agents. If we look at foreign players, they have to be right for the club, we don't want to bring in anyone who is a 'bad egg'.
31. What can you do to raise the atmosphere inside the ground?
CH: The players have to give the crowd something to shout about. The current financial climate is an issue with regards to attendances, but I believe that if the players give 100% effort and we continue winning games, the crowds will return.
32. What about the fact that the Chairman doesn't put money into the playing budget? This is why some fans are staying away.
CH: He has put money into other things. The training ground might not be what the fans want to see, but as the manager, it is ideal for me.
The evening closed at 9:20pm with a warm round of applause for the duo. All in all, a very interesting evening, with neither of the two giving too much information away. They did however speak very positively about the club, and they focused in on things that they could influence, and tended to avoid the questions about things that were not within their remit, which is understandable.
It was certainly insightful, and we all hope it will become a fairly regular feature throughout Hutchings and O'Connor's time at the helm.