Player Of The Season Contenders

It’s that time of the year once more (yes time does fly when you are having fun) where the little red boxes and emergency pens come out in force as Walsall fans decide who deserves the player of the season gong.

It hasn’t been the most enjoyable of seasons but we look at a few possible candidates for player of the season.

Don’t complain at some recommendations but we had to choose five!

Luke Leahy
I know it will come as a shock to see his name mentioned given defensive displays but as we said we needed to choose five and he tops the assists table for a defender. Leahy has struggled to come to terms defending in English football since moving from Falkirk in the summer but a lot can be put down to the gung-ho tactics by previous boss Jon Whitney. According to a stats site, Leahy has nine assists this season and three goals. If he can sort out his defensive capabilities under new manager Dean Keates then we will have a decent player.

Adam Chambers
Years gone by he would be a shoe-in for player of the season, however, this season it feels that is one year too many for the club stalwart. Chambers has had to protect a frail and inconstant back line which wouldn’t have helped but he does seem off the pace and does seem to slow our gameplay down. He has more good games than bad games though and will probably be in the top three when the results come out.

Joe Edwards
Edwards would be most people’s pick for POTS however his injury in February will put his chances in jeopardy but he is still our pick. Edwards is a 7/10 kind of guy, pretty much like Adam Chambers in his earlier Walsall days but Edwards also chips in with goals which Chambers didn’t. You get to realise how important a player is when he’s not around the team and since his injury our form has been poor. Whether he stays next season remains to be seen but a Walsall team without Joe Edwards is worse than a team with him.

Erhun Oztumer
The little magician is leaving this summer but you cannot forget what he has done during his time here. Oztumer has managed to score forty-one goals in two seasons in a struggling side and it would be crazy to think what he may have done with a better team around him. The perfect opportunity to see it would be next season but unfortunately, he’s not going to be here. His departure might sway people away from voting for him although most players who have recently picked up the gong have gone on to leave that summer.

Liam Roberts
We had to pick five and out of the remaining few Robbo was picked purely on pedigree and glimpses of what we have seen this season so far. He has had moments which you would expect in an inexperienced keeper with a dodgy makeshift defence but on the whole, he has done well. Some of the saves he has pulled off have been breathtaking and with another year behind him you would envisage him to get even better.

Normally it’s hard to make a shortlist of just five, however, there’s our five picks.

Dobson and Guthrie were two other possibilities but didn’t feel they gave as much from a goa/assist perspective compared to our most controversial choice.