Blog: This is the biggest test yet for Walsall
Ten games in and the visit of early season pace-setters Bristol City easily represents the biggest game of the season so far for Walsall.
The West Country outfit are expected to bring a large following, which is not actually anything unusual for them, and all I can say is good because I flipping love big games,
Of course a few short weeks ago I might not have been looking forward quite to the upcoming challenge quite as much. However a second successive comfortable home win has raised spirits a little.
Putting to one side just how poor Doncaster were last week (the weakest Donny team since the days of the legendary Gary Brabin?), the Saddlers were pretty impressive on Saturday.
Strong and organised at the back (did Richard O'Donnell have a proper save to make?), creative in the middle and with a cutting edge up front this was vintage 'Ginger Mourinho Walsall.'
Yes, you read it correctly, we had a cutting edge. Tom Bradshaw is already making a huge difference up front, there's talk of him hitting a target of 15 goals, personally I think he should be looking at 20 and upwards.
To me it's no coincidence that we look a completely different side when Romaine Sawyers and James Baxendale are at their best.
They are our two most creative players, but in many ways they are the 2014 equivalent of an old-fashioned winger, devastating when things are going well and every little trick is coming off but often infuriating in equal measures.
On Saturday they were bang on form, more of the same please lads.
Another positive was the strength of our bench and beyond. Last year I talked about how most weeks our subs would have given a Hutchings XI the run around.
Now we seem to have gone further, in addition to the (slightly worryingly) still-injured Mantom, we had Morris, Bakayoko and Kinsella all missing out on the 18 against Donny. Whilst we might be a still developing young squad, there's no doubting the quality's there.
Bristol City will be a big chance to gauge ourselves, I'm looking forward to it, I hope the team embrace it too.
