Walsall blogger Mark Jones looks back at would life would be like if something else had happened in the last week of January.

Just imagine – it’s the last week of January 2008 in a parallel universe far, far away and discussions are going on in a parallel boardroom between a parallel Football Consultant and a parallel chairman.

The consultant says: “I’ve heard a whisper through my extensive list of contacts, that Coventry are about to come in with a last-minute bid of over £1million for Scott Dann.”

The chairman replies: “Well, if they’re prepared to offer that much now, then we can probably get more than that in the summer, especially if we get anyone else interested.

“Anyway he’s an important player for us and they’ve got Foxy for a good price, so we can’t afford to lose anyone else. Tell them no way.”

The consultant says: “Sure Mr. Chairman, we’ll sit him down and explain our position to him, but in a way that lets him know he’s a valued member of the squad.”

The chairman says: “OK, more importantly we’ve got that £300,000 plus for Fox that we haven’t budgeted for and a great chance of making the play-offs. Make sure manager Richard Money gets whatever he needs – within reason of course.’

The consultant replies: “Ha ha of course! Yes I’m close to a deal for a decent striker because it doesn’t look like Michael Ricketts will be fit for the run in. I’ve been offered Kevin Betsy and some bloke called N’Dour but Dicky deserves better quality than that.

“As for Stefan Moore he needs to understand we can give him a trial but he’s got a lot of work to do.”

So Coventry’s January 31 offer was politely declined, the squad was strengthened in other areas and we prepared for the run in.

We go into parallel February 2008 boosted by the strengthened side, the Saddlers get a hard earned point away at rivals Carlisle but bounce back to beat Yeovil. The unbeaten run goes in a 1-0 defeat at classy champions-elect Swansea, before a fine 3-0 win at Swindon.

Confidence is high going into March and parallel Walsall kick off with a win at doomed Luton, before picking up a healthy four points from tough home games against Northampton and Brighton.

We pick up the obligatory point at Forest and then travel to Leeds for a massive six-pointer, live on TV and everything.

Despite being outplayed for long periods with Jermaine Beckford running us ragged, the spirit and determination of DD’s side means we are only a goal down with 10 minutes to play.

A fantastic last ditch tackle from Scott Dann- fresh from his England under-21 call up – denies Beckford a second and then deep into injury time substitute Tommy Mooney pops up with a stunning equaliser.

In his post-match interview, parallel manager Money highlights the importance of being able to leave the veteran striker out of the team, so as not to wear him out for the final run-in.

Buoyed by the morale boosting result at Elland Road, Crewe are taken apart in a very satisfying manner on Easter Monday, in front of a healthy 6,000 plus crowd. With Earlybird Season Ticket sales going really well, there is a sense of optimism and real belief around the Banks’s Stadium

Despite a close defeat at Southend, the Saddlers bounce back with battling victories over Tranmere and Cheltenham at the beginning of April, so it’s neck and neck with the ex-giants.

Into the parallel home straight and on a night when Leeds drop points, a narrow but hard-fought home win over Bristol Rovers puts the play-offs in sight. Four days later and we’re almost there with a routine win over Bournemouth.

The parallel afternoon of Tuesday April 22 brings a major announcement on manager Richard Money’s future – he agrees to sign a contract extension after receiving assurances that the board’s ambitions match his own.

There is a strong rumour that Scott Dann will leave in the summer, but that the move will be used to finance team building whatever parallel division we’re in.

This news is greeted with a massive thumbs up, as a huge travelling army of Saddlers fans heads to Huddersfield to see the boys clinch the points needed for a top six finish.

Considering the start to the season, it’s a phenomenal achievement for Dicky Dosh’s team and parallels with the great Ray Graydon sides are clear.

The final home league game is played out in one big, relaxed atmosphere as we hang on to a lead (as if we’d concede a late goal) before saying a proper farewell to Saddlers legends Darren Wrack and Ian Roper.

The parallel home campaign ends as it began at home to Carlisle, this time in a play-off semi-final. In front of a near capacity crowd the Saddlers are narrowly beaten 2-1 by the Cumbrians.

But many fans are still prepared to make the long midweek trek to the end of the M6, because they know the boys will give their all – no matter what.

What a fantastic decision that turns out to be. In one of the most famous matches in the parallel Saddlers 120 year history, John Ward’s team predictably bottle it and are swept aside in a 2-0 triumph.

Scott Dann notches the first from a corner early on and, with extra time looming, boyhood Walsall fan Richard Taundry sends his team to a long-overdue Wembley debut with his first senior goal. You just couldn’t make it up!

Every moment of the build-up to the final is savoured and Wembley proves to be as memorable a day as the Millennium Stadium was seven years previously.

Sadly it turns out to be a Roy of the (wrong) Rovers ending, as Doncaster prove to be too strong on the day and the brave Walsall boys succumb to a 1-0 defeat. But there’s so much optimism for the parallel 08/09 season amongst the thousands of Saddlers fans, because we had truly got our Walsall back.

Sure enough the new parallel season sees Walsall challenging for the play-offs with healthy crowds, thanks partly to a sensible pricing policy for the current economic climate.

It’s the last week of January 2009 in a parallel universe far, far away and discussions are going on in a parallel boardroom between a parallel football consultant and a parallel chairman.

The chairman says: “What a year, can you imagine how things would have turned out, if we’d have just snapped Coventry’s hand off at the last minute without thinking things through?”