Express & Star

Walsall legend Chris Marsh: Humble pie never tasted so good

I’m going to hold my hands up and eat a giant slice of humble pie.

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Keiron Morris celebrates

For those of you who read my column every week, you may remember I once said I couldn’t see Walsall winning three league games on the spin, writes Chris Marsh.

It was my honest opinion. But I’m absolutely delighted to say they have proven me wrong.

After overcoming Fleetwood and AFC Wimbledon, the Saddlers put in one of their best displays of the season to secure a 1-0 victory over Scunthorpe on Saturday.

Graham Alexander’s side arrived at the Banks’s Stadium sitting third in League One. But it was the Saddlers who went on to claim a thoroughly deserved three points.

I’m more than happy to eat my humble pie, I love Walsall to death and just want to see them doing well.

I’m just glad I didn’t say I would run down the street naked if they did win three in a row – especially with all the snow we have had!

What’s really interesting is that Walsall now have a kind run of fixtures heading into the busy festive period – which is so important.

Any footballer will tell you just how crucial the Christmas period is.

Games come thick and fast but wherever you sit in the table at the start of the New Year, that is normally where you will be competing in the second half of the campaign.

If you are near the bottom you will be battling relegation. If you are in mid-table it’s likely you will finish around there.

And if you are in or around the play-offs, you have a good chance of finishing in that top six.

Walsall get to enter this period full of confidence following their recent upturn in form.

And their next two games see them take on Northampton and Rochdale – two teams struggling at the wrong end of the table.

Northampton are also one of my former clubs but I’m not quite sure what is going on there.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink went in there as manager and looked to have steadied the ship.

But they were thumped 5-1 by Oldham last weekend and are now back in the relegation zone.

With the games coming up, Walsall can head into the New Year in a really healthy position in League One.

I have knocked them a lot in this column but when you do that you also have to give praise where it is a due.

And I think all the players and staff deserve credit for how the team has performed in securing these three wins. Long may it continue.

Meanwhile, like many football fans, I sat down on Sunday to watch the Manchester derby between United and City.

I love watching City play and I enjoyed seeing the pictures of the players celebrating at the end of the game. Why shouldn’t they celebrate?

Of course we now know Jose Mourinho wasn’t impressed with those celebrations and told the City players to pipe down.

Marsh recalls things being a bit worse than water and milk being thrown in his playing days - as was reported after the Manchester derby.

And that led to things being thrown in the tunnel with the United boss having water and milk hurled at him.

But milk and water is very different to how it was in my day.

I remember one game against Doncaster. I scored a late winner to nick the game 1-0 and all the lads were buzzing.

We were on the pitch clapping the fans as the Doncaster players trundled off to their dressing room.

But we then walked off and as we past them, Martin O’Connor banged on their door shouting “Have some of that!”

There was a bit of a delayed response though so Martin went and sat down.

Then all of a sudden, one of their players came out and saw a member of staff walk past in a Walsall tracksuit. He thought he was the one banging the door. So he lamped him. I then grabbed their player – not to fight him, just to hold him back.

But the Doncaster players saw what was going on and all of a sudden it was a free-for-all. There were arms and legs everywhere! It was a mass brawl.

It used to happen a lot in my day, but it was just the emotion of the game.

You were either on a high because you had won or devastated because you had lost and it was a man’s game. Money and livelihoods were at stake and often the emotion would get the better after you.

Within an hour of that game we were sat in the bar with some of the Doncaster players and we were all looking at each other saying ‘what was that about?’

We’d all got carried away but we then pointed out it was O’Connor who had hammered on the door, before he then watched it all unfold from our dressing room.

It was a good job he didn’t get involved though – he is one hard man Martin, you really don’t mess with him.

After that game Chris Nicholl got the players together and we all thought we were in big trouble. He sat us down and quite a lot of us had cuts and bruises.

“I love it lads,” he said. “That’s what I want to see, team spirit and that you’ve all got each other’s backs!”

I couldn’t believe it. I was thinking what a manager we have here!

Chris understood it was just the emotion we had for the game. And that’s why I think it’s ridiculous Mourinho was unhappy with the City players for celebrating.

Maybe though he was just angry because it had dawned on him City are now comfortably the best team in Manchester and could dominate for years to come.