Saddlers Legends

Kevin Wilson is never ranked in Walsall great lists alongside the Buckleys and the Kellys but the service provided by the former Northern Ireland international deserves far more credit than it receives.

Wilson was a true old-fashioned forward who much preferred a simple two foot tap-in to a 35 yard screamer. He arrived at Bescot in 1994 and during his 3 years at the club he bagged 50 goals at an average of 1 in 3 games.

He had previously spent much of his career hopping from club to club with spells at Chelsea and Derby in that mix.

When he arrived in Walsall he joined Kyle Lightbourne and formed a partnership that helped us to promotion in May 1995.

When Jan Sorensen took over in 1997 however Wilson had less and less first team football and it became clear that at 36 there wasn't much of a place in the side alongside Roger Boli and some of the younger forwards.

He had hoped to be considered for the manager's post having served as player-coach for the majority of his time at Walsall but Sorensen was considered the better option.

When he left Bescot, Wilson moved to Northampton to be assistant-coach there. He quickly got his chance to be manager and he proved his worth by helping The Cobblers gain promotion.

Have you got any memories of Kevin Wilson, let us know on our forum.

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