Football Season Review

After battling against the drop in the previous three seasons, Walsall gave their fans hope that they could make the step up in the early stages of their this season's campaign, as they played some decent football and hovered around the top six until early October. However, everything went wrong for them in October, November and the majority of December, as they went on a 15 game winless run in all competitions, with the horrid run of form dragging them into the relegation fight and making the majority of fans call for Dean Smith's head. During his side's winless run, Smith maintained the stance that the Saddlers are playing good football and that they just needed one decent result to get some confidence. He was proved right, as his men broke their duck against Colchester at home on December 22. They went on to go on a stunning run of form that saw them lose only three of their final 23 games of the season. But the run of draws they had late in the season left them without a Play-off spot, as they drew six of the seven games played between the 39th and the 45th round, with Swindon eventually securing their Play-off spot with one game of the season to go. Smith ended the season heaped with praise from media and fans alike, as he got his side playing an attractive and attacking brand of football, but his side's hopes of making a step up and winning promotion next season mostly depend on their ability to retain the services of Will Grigg - the Northern Irish international has been scoring freely and gave the Saddlers a constant source of goals that they've been crying out for for years. However, the Saddlers face an uphill task in their bid to keep him, with even Aston Villa reportedly being interested.

Player of the Season: Will Grigg