In the next of his weekly column’s, Harley from Saddlers News takes a look at a few key areas where Walsall need to improve on to begin competing at the other end of the table:
Since Walsall FC were relegated in the 2018/19 season, they haven’t been able to really compete in League Two. The same issues have plagued the Saddlers for the past few seasons and are most likely the reason why, unlike other clubs, Walsall haven’t been unable to bounce back.
Here are four key areas where Walsall can improve in order to get promoted back into League One.
Defending
Under Matt Taylor, Walsall have played some attractive football, which is a stark contrast to the past few seasons. Walsall are still struggling however, and this is largely down to Walsall’s defence. Conceding 15 goals in 10 games is grim reading for any Walsall fan, but worse than that is the fact the Saddlers have only managed one clean sheet in those 10 games, despite Carl Rushworth’s heroics in goal.
Taylor needs to work on his tactics when defending set pieces, Walsall have made it far too easy for the opposition to nick a goal from a dead ball situation, an example of this being the defeat to Bristol Rovers where a goal from a set piece completely changed the complexion of the game and inspired Bristol Rovers to an unlikely comeback. In addition to this, individual errors have cost the Saddlers this season by giving needless penalties and free kicks away.
The issue with the defence isn’t inherent and with time and focus in training these issues can be ironed out. It may be that Walsall need to look at the coaching staff they have and see if it needs some fresh blood as Walsall have for a few seasons looked shaky at the back.
Fitness and conditioning
Another area that the club needs to look at is the conditioning of the players. We have seen Rory Holden, Conor Wilkinson, and Liam Kinsella spend time on the side-lines this season. It’s clear to see the team struggle towards to the end of games with fitness levels often conceding late goals, as well as some players pulling up or having to be taken off at critical times. The resilience to come back twice against Exeter was pleasing to see, and will be the base for the team from now.
There’s a combination of issues at play here. First and foremost, the lack of squad depth means Taylor has less options during matches which is needed, especially when the players are tiring in the latter stages.
The other factor is the training sessions, although we can’t know the type of training session Walsall employ, there are ways to improve match fitness in training. After 10 games, Walsall still have fitness issues, so either Taylor is focusing on other areas, or his sessions aren’t having the desired effect.
If Taylor wants to continue with this style of play then he needs to take a look at the type of sessions he and his staff are running and find a way to improve the match fitness, it may be worth Fullerton bringing in a specialist to help out Taylor. The other option here is bringing in reinforcements, Taylor confirmed that whilst Walsall don’t at the time of writing have any trialists they are looking at the free agent market.
Recruitment
The recruitment in recent seasons has left much to the imagination for Walsall. In the past, recruitment has fallen solely on the manager, although times are different now with Walsall employing a director of Football to help with the process. Fullerton has helped improve recruitment bringing in the likes of Carl Rushworth and Jack Earing however Matt Taylor has mostly had his say on the squad. Usually, managers bring in players they have worked with before or try and bring in players that are proven quality at that level.
Modern football is evolving and recruiting players is changing and Walsall need to move with the times. Brentford and Barnsley have adopted a ‘Moneyball’ approach by recruiting players based on statistics. This is something Walsall should begin looking into. Walsall tend to take chances on players with Stephen Ward being a prime example. Ward is an experienced player who has played at a high level, however he’s been largely disappointed this season. A ‘Moneyball’ approach would see Walsall take a deep dive into what Taylor wants from each particular player, and instead of taking a gamble on a big name or a talked up loanee, he would bring in someone who meets the statistical criteria even if it means looking to leagues outside of England.
Youth
Youth is a massive part of any club. Having a youth set up is tremendously valuable in the modern game. Lately however, Walsall’s youth sides have been very disappointing.
Miguel Llera’s under 18’s side sits bottom in their respective league losing all seven of their opening games. These players are supposed to be the next generation of first team players and it’s clear to see something is very wrong here. As Director of Football, Jamie Fullarton is in charge of everything football related at the club, so this failure along with Llera falls on his head and needs to be addressed soon.
Walsall need quality players coming through the academy, not only so the first team manager has extra options available, but also financially too. Walsall can sell any youth players wanting to move away and add in clauses to the contracts. This is a strong source of income, however right now there aren’t any players breaking into the first team and no clubs are looking at our youth to our knowledge. This will have a knock-on effect. Just like other clubs, we will be watching youth players from other clubs, and to attract those players we need to offer them an academy where they can learn and improve and at the moment, we aren’t doing that.
Fullerton is known for his ability to run a successful academy, he started his own in Spain that produces players that go on to play on to play in La Liga, he has his work cut out for him but this is exactly what he was employed to do.
