Football Season Review

Walsall started the League One season that is now behind us hoping to improve on the campaign they had a year earlier, which saw them narrowly missing out on a play-off place. Dean Smith had a rather difficult task last summer, as he needed to try to replace Will Grigg, Jamie Paterson and Febian Brandy, who all left the club after scoring more than 40 goals between them in the 2012/13 season. With a limited budget at his disposal, Smith had no other than to dip into the loan market, with his striker of choice being Chelsea forward Milan Lalkovic. However, the Slovakian U21 international failed to live up to the expectations, as he turned out to be a decent players with good dribbling and ball playing skills, but was not the reliable scorer that the Saddlers desperately needed. As a consequence, Smith's men played some neat football throughout the campaign, but more often than not struggled to make the most of their scoring opportunities. Despite their lack of firepower, they managed to remain in the race for a play-off place going into the final third of the season, but the dreadful nine-game winless run they had in February and the first half of March realistically ended their hopes of finishing inside the top six. The Saddlers allowed eight players to leave them right after the season ended, with top scorer Craig Westcarr being among those who left the club, and it seems that a summer squad overhaul is imminent. The main concern of the Saddlers' fans during the summer will certainly be the future of skipper Andy Butler, whose future is uncertain following the expiry of his contract with the club.

Player of the Season: Sam Mantom