Walsall Season Preview: reliance on youth

Look at previous League One tables and last season’s 14th place finish looks in line with Walsall’s previous form. Speak to a lot of Saddlers fans however and there is some disgruntlement at the failure to build on the promotion push of 15/16. Did results flatter performances last year? Were expectations raised? And is the current regime capable of meeting them? The Football Lab discusses all these things and more with Bescot Banter (@BescotBanter) ahead of the new season.

As the Saddlers’ current stay in League One enters its 11th campaign, you’d be hard pressed to find a supporter who would accept performance over position. Whilst we all love exciting, free flowing football, most supporters would gladly accept a series of drab and dreary one-nil wins if it meant the team was making some progress towards securing promotion.

The biggest frustration continues to be the board’s perceived lack of ambition. Whilst prudent financial planning is extremely welcome, it often appears as if the powers that be have very little desire to see the club truly progress into anything greater than its current state.

Recent record-breaking transfers aside, the club continues to struggle to attract so-called ‘marquee’ signings, with managers past and present forced to look further afield for hidden, often unproven prospects, less likely to be on the radar of our often wealthier opponents.

Last season Saddlers fans were not backward in coming forward when expressing their disappointment at both the performance and the overall finishing position. Early indications show that the frustration is ever increasing as the 2017/18 campaign edges ever closer.

Understandably, expectations increased after the impressive 15/16 campaign. To what extent was Jon Whitney given the tools to meet them?

The squad which ended the 2015/16 campaign in the Play-Off places was a strong one, but manager Jon Whitney was never going to be able to make any use of it.

A campaign which saw several of the Saddlers’ first-team shine was followed up by a summer of high-profile departures, as regulars, including the likes of Jason Demetriou, Rico Henry, Romaine Sawyers and Tom Bradshaw, decided to move on, forcing the gaffer into an all-too-familiar rebuild.

The rebuilt squad briefly flirted with the Play-Offs but, despite the emergence of Amadou Bakayoko, the sheer brilliance of Erhun Oztumer and the displays of loanees Jason McCarthy, Scott Laird and (briefly) Eoghan O’Connell, we never seemed to be able to get into a solid run of form.

Had the class of 2015/16 stayed together, with a few key additions, we may well have been looking ahead to a Championship campaign this season, rather than yet another slog in Sky Bet League One.

You can’t help but feel that if the playing budget was increased the manager may have been able to convince at least some of the departing players to stay at the club.

You relied heavily last term on the form of Neil Etheridge, who has left for Cardiff on a free. With Neil Cutler’s coaching, can Mark Gillespie replace him?

When compared to Neil Etheridge, Mark Gillespie arrives at the club with a very different mindset. Unlike Ethers, and Richard O’Donnell before him, Gillespie has racked up one-hundred and eighty first-team appearances and arrives at the club with plenty of experience, something that should hold him in good stead for the busy League One schedule.

Mark will no-doubt benefit from Cutler’s coaching – something he himself has said attracted him to the club – but he should be able to slot in to the first-team role with plenty of confidence heading into the new season.

Wing-back Luke Leahy arrives with good reviews from Falkirk, though Crewe fans are divided on Jon Guthrie. Do those two signings suggest you’ll stick with three-at-the-back?

It’s a little too early to pin down a formation, especially given the remaining gaps in the squad, but the signs certainly seem to point at a continuation of the three-at-the-back set-up.

A back three of James O’Connor, on-loan Blade James Wilson and Jon Guthrie is clearly an option that the manager will consider. Especially as Luke Leahy and Nicky Devlin are both comfortable in attack.

If so, could there be opportunities for 19-year-old Kory Roberts? He had a good game against Port Vale in April…

Kory had an impressive 2016/17. Along with making four first-team appearances, he captained the development side to the league title and seemed to really make a big leap in his growth as a player.

We expect the Birmingham-born defender to feature in the first-team during the season but could benefit from a loan spell where he would gain plenty of invaluable experience as the more experienced players tend to hold on to starting roles.

You’ve had two good right-backs/RWBs in the last two years. Do the comments on Ayr United’s Devlin imply that he could be another?

Absolutely. Nicky appears to be similar to Jason Demetriou, keen to get forward and comfortable on the ball. His experience in other positions should help him develop into the player we saw Jason McCarthy become during his loan spell last season.

George Dobson remains at West Ham after his loan spell last season. Do you expect Adam Chambers to partner Joe Edwards in midfield?

As George Dobson has now joined Sparta Rotterdam, and with Liam Kinsella set to concentrate his efforts on the right-back role, we expect the manager to operate a similar tactic to last season, with Adam Chambers sitting in front of the backline offering plenty of stability as the wing-backs advance up the field.

Along with Florent Cuvelier and Joe Edwards, the Saddlers have several central midfielders in and around the first-team, with Reece Flanagan, Jordon Sangha and Kacy Milan Butterfield all doing well for the development squad, the manager has some – admittedly untested – options up his sleeve.

Oztumer had an impressive campaign last year. If he leaves, will you need a direct replacement, or could Maziar Kouhyar be a wildcard?

Should Oztumer depart for pastures new, we would expect the club to seek a replacement in the form of a new signing, as it may be a little soon to expect Maz to carry the team forward on his own.

However if the Wizard of Oz does stay at the club we’d like Kouhyar to get some first-team football elsewhere, a loan move would allow him to continue to progress as a footballer, rather than stagnate on the bench.

Bakayoko has raw pace and power but his critics say he can be too selfless at times. Are you surprised a goalscorer hasn’t been brought in?

A little surprised, especially given the recent departure of Andreas Makris, but, following his recent recruitment drive, the manager appears to be struggling to secure any more transfer funds, and may be forced to stick with what he has for the time being. Hopefully both Baka and Simeon Jackson can improve on their tally from last season.

It is clear that Bakayoko is only going to get better, he has all of the tools to succeed, and, if his 2016/17 campaign is anything to go by, he could be in for a strong season once again.

What are your thoughts ahead of the League One season as a whole? Any potential dark horses for you?

There is potential for the 2017/18 campaign to be a good one. There are several sides looking to get back into the Championship at the first time of asking whilst teams such as Bury, Fleetwood Town and MK Dons are also seeking to challenge at the top.

Blackburn Rovers appear to be the early favourites to win the league, but Bury have put so much on the line to get up to the second tier, they could be set for a make or break campaign.

It’s difficult to pick out a ‘dark horse’ as there is potential in all teams, who knows, maybe even the Saddlers could compete for top spot!

Where will you finish?

The recent visit to Cassius Camps has massively boosted team morale, giving each and every one of them an insight into their own desire and ability, showing them that they can push themselves further than they ever thought possible. However, given the number of teams spending ‘big’ money this summer, and despite the above optimism, unless a few more key positions are addressed, it could difficult for the Saddlers to compete this season.

It’s a bit too soon to be picking out a finishing position, but as you’ve asked so nicely, we’ll likely be fighting it out in mid table once again so anywhere from 8th to 18th…

The Football Lab’s Verdict

Walsall were dealt an early blow with the exit of keeper Etheridge and right-back McCarthy, their key performers last year. The latter should be replaced well by Devlin, while left-back Leahy’s arrival means Edwards’ energy could be deployed in midfield. Nobody has joined an attack that scored just 51 last year though, so the Saddlers once again bank on the unknown quantity of youth. 20th