Who could be leaving?

In an interview with the club released this week, Darrell Clarke announced that he has been holding off from publishing the retained/released list, until the season has officially been curtailed. In the interview on the clubs various social media pages, Darrell said that there was a good core of the squad still with us, ready for next season, and that there won’t be big changes to the squad. So who could be on that list that we may see next week?

The first of the players I think is a certain to be leaving us is Gary Liddle. Gary has had a very unsuccessful spell with us, and after being shipped out on loan in January, I think all the signs are there that he will be off. It just didn’t work did it. Gary was brought in to be a holding midfielder that could also play in defence if required. I do struggle to see where his ‘best position’ was, however it does highlight a gap in the team that I think we need to fill. We do need a physical presence in the middle of the park, to allow the rest of the midfield to push forward.

Next, I think we will be saying goodbye to James Hardy. Hardy was always going to be a case of ‘can he adapt to league football’ and Clarke did not feel that has been the case, with a distinct lack of playing time. Hardy only featured in one squad, against Salford in January, in 2020, and in that game he remained on the bench. I feel that Hardy would have been on the list regardless of the covid-19 situation, however with clubs trimming teams down, I think it is the final nail in the coffin of Hardy’s Walsall career.

The final player that I think will be on the list is Mitch Candlin. Mitch has been a strange case. He has gone from being a hot prospect who we feared we would lose to Blackburn, to struggling to get matches at Alvechurch this season. Something has happened behind the scenes that we do not know about, however I cannot see Candlin remaining a Walsall player much longer. He only made the bench once this season, and with younger players than Mitch, being the ones that Clarke has favoured, I think he will have been pushed out of the squad,

There is only one other that I feel may be on the list, however I am doubtful. Kory Roberts has struggled for any game time this season, and with 5 Centre Backs at the club, he could be one to make way in trimming down the team. We know that Kory’s contract is up this summer, as his extension and details were announced during the Keates era. I really want Kory to be a Walsall success, a local lad rising through the youth and overcoming injury is a fairytale, but with how little he has featured, I worry it is time up.

Let me know your thoughts, no doubt we will all have opinions when the list is announced, and there will surely be some faces on there that spark debate.