Walsall Blog: Here we go again

Here we go again!

As the start of the new season beckons, there are some questions I've been asking myself about the mighty Saddlers: -

Is the squad strong enough? Are we asking too much of our young players? What if someone does too well? One year contracts - why? If the youth policy is the lifeblood of the club, what the devil went on with Mick Halsall this summer? Why has the club reneged on its Customer charter? What can be the highpoint of next season?

And of course - given that we still have the same old stalemate in terms of club and land ownership, how do we break the cycle?

We'll certainly get to find out the answers to questions one and two sooner or later, but given the current hierarchy, becoming enlightened about four to eight will probably prove to be a bit trickier.

So is the squad strong enough and are we asking too much of our young players?

Since my last blog seven new players have arrived and we may even get to see long-forgotten defender Stephen Roberts at Brighton. By my reckoning that gives us a squad of at least 23, which is probably as good as it gets for a club of our size.

I have no intention of judging the new players before they've had time to settle but there are a couple of arrivals who have something to prove. I hope it works out well for all of them, with fingers especially crossed for Steve Jones and his family.

As for the kids, it was good to see the likes of Sam Adkins and Sean Geddes getting a run out in the friendlies and there should be enough scope within the squad to rest some of the younger lads, should any of them need it.

That way some of the more idiotic message board contributors may stay off their backs. But then again.

In my mind, the £5.5million summer sales of Scott Dann to Birmingham and Danny Fox to Celtic showed up what a desperately bad bit of business we did in January 2008.

Have they both improved by over 300 per cent thanks to a season and a half in a mid-table Championship side? Or would we have been better off going all out for a play-off place and then seeing who would be bidding for the two Scousers?

The Coventry Evening Telegraph might disagree, but I think regular readers of these blogs know the answers to those particular questions.

My worry is that if a player excels this season, the first time another team comes along waving a cheque book, the club will give due consideration to the long-term implications for all of about three seconds. And you know the rest.

When the spanking new training ground was opened last year, one of the benefits was supposed to be that it could help attract better players.

But surely offering one year contracts to the bulk of the squad counteracts this? As things stand, next summer will be just the same as this one, the last one and the one before etc.

Likewise you have to worry when the club loses someone of the calibre of former head of youth Mick Halsall, especially as he has gone from running the whole set-up here to merely being someone else's assistant over at Wolves.

With goalkeeping Eric McManus gone as well it's one hell of a baptism for new old boy and replacement head if youth Dean Smith I wish him well.

Also, was I the only one who detected a bit of a dig at the owner in Halsall's parting statement? I wish him no luck at all in his new role.

And apparently us fans will no longer be given the chance to attend the Focus Group Meetings at the Saddlers Club. Originally they were meant to be held four times a season, although they were often infrequent and poorly publicised.

To my knowledge, none have been arranged by the club since early February 2008. E-mailing 'Saddlers Insight', as I did last season, has been touted as an alternative - or I suppose you could bang your head repeatedly against a brick wall.

Last season I used the phrase disillusionment - as opposed to apathy - to describe the feeling amongst Saddlers fans, especially when thinking about the flat atmosphere at many home matches.

There were high points, like Brighton and Milton Keynes Dons away, Leeds at home and to some extent the 2-2 draw at Leicester, but they were the exception rather than the rule.

This season we all yearn for a bit more substance.

I have a lot of faith in manager Chris Hutchings and assistant Martin O'Connor, but virtually none in those 'above' them.

How the club breaks the downward cycle of missed opportunity after missed opportunity is very much in their court.

But you know what? Despite everything, I can't wait to get down to the Withdean.

COME ON YOU SADDLERS!