Originally Posted by Westy2:
“I do hope they wont go overboard, as the guys will be nervous enough as it is!
Manys the time something has been promoted to death & its gone pear shaped as a result.
That Shrewsbury v Walsall match before Xmas was a good example.
Dont get me wrong, I want Walsall to do well, but no pressure.”
Originally Posted by
mark_townsend:
“I disagree they should play it up, it is probably one of the biggest games in Walsall's history!
Hello to everyone, this is my first post in here! 
”
First of all, welcome to the forum Mark. Unsurprisingly I'm with you on this one, I think BBC WM should make a really big effort with their Johnstone's Paint Trophy Final coverage.
I don't think going to town with their coverage will jinx it as it were and as much as I want us to win the final, I'm tempted to say that even if it did, it wouldn't be the end of the world. A major part of the reason why this is such a big deal is because Walsall are one of only four league clubs never to have played at Wembley, so this alone is worth talking up and I liked Mike Taylor's suggestion on the phone-in last night that between now and March 22nd they'll be plenty of opportunities for Saddlers fans to talk about their excitement about going to Wembley, personal histories supporting the club, pre-match superstitions and rituals etc.
Let's face it, it's relatively rare that WM are able to cover a showpiece final - in this region we've had Walsall, Birmingham and Wolves make Cardiff Play-Off Finals in successive seasons after the turn of the millennium, but since then we've only had West Brom's losing effort in the 2007 Championship Play-Off Final and Aston Villa and Birmingham City's League Cup Finals at the start of this decade. So I think they should capitalise on this opportunity and go all out, with things like pre-coverage shows from Wembley Way as they did before both of those League Cup Finals. It's worth pointing out that (one of) the last time(s) WM Sport won a Sony Award was for their coverage of the epic Walsall 3-2 Reading Division Two Play-Off Final in 2001, so from that point of view it's worth making an effort over.
Originally Posted by connor the judg:
“I think that he will be involved but I have a feeling it will be Rego & Franksy doing the commentary!”
I really hope that isn't the case - as WM's regular Saturday 3pm commentary team on mostly Premier League and Championship games, Paul Franks and to a lesser extent Mark Regan see very little of Walsall in league action over the course of the season and I feel it would be wrong to parachute them (certainly Franksy) in for the final; it would be much better to involve the WM commentators and reporters who watch them if not week in, week out, then at least a few times a month and so fairly regularly over the course of the season.
I know you keep a record of such things Connor so would be better positioned to comment, but haven't Rob Gurney and Mike Taylor been WM's commentary team for most of Walsall's JPT run? If so, then it would seem only right and proper that they'd be the commentary team for the final, perhaps with an ex-Saddler like David Kelly or Martin O'Connor involved in the punditry side, hopefully Mick Kearns too around his Saddlers Player co-commentary duties, with the likes of Richard Wilford, Tom Marlow, Steve Hermon and maybe even a return for Andrew Dawkins heard in a reporting capacity.
I've just checked the fixtures for the weekend of Sunday 22nd March and barring any late rescheduling there won't be a clash between Walsall's Trophy Final and WM's other four league clubs. It'll actually be a big weekend for WM with four/five commentaries, Wolves are hosting Derby on the Friday night, West Brom are at Manchester City in the early Saturday teatime PL game, then you have Aston Villa v Swansea and Cardiff v Birmingham on Saturday at 3pm. So there's no chance of any other game getting in the way of their JPT Final coverage.
