Football Season Review

Walsall were the League One club with the longest tenure in the division going into the season, but their stay in the third tier is over after 12 years. The warning signs had been there for all to see for a while, as the Saddlers seemed to get worse and worse each year for the last three seasons, and only managed to avoid the drop late in the previous campaign, having benefited from the new manager bounce after appointing Dean Keates late on. They were widely expected to battle the drop this time around but gave their fans reasons for hope after starting the season well ,and even found themselves inside the top six with a month-and-a-half of the season gone. However, things went downhill after that. The Saddlers were unable to maintain their early intensity and started to struggle in October. They had a few decent results after that, but were disappointing on most occasions and found themselves in the battle against the drop. Their board tried to repeat the trick from last season and tried to improve the side's fortunes by relieving Keates of his duties, but their fortunes failed to improve under caretaker Martin O'Connor and their relegation was confirmed on the last day of the season. The Saddlers have already confirmed former Bristol Rovers' boss Darrell Clarke as their new manager. With Clarke being highly rated at this level, they seem to have made a great first step towards a return to the third tier.

Player of the Season: Andy Cook