Contrasting fortunes for quartet

Walsall blogger Mark Jones weighs up the contrasting fortunes of four very different people over the last week in football.

Stephen Roberts

I took a few cheap shots myself but its never ever nice to see players forced to pack their career in, so I was genuinely sorry to see that Stephen had retired from the professional game.

It must have been an incredibly heavy decision to make after an adult life spent in football, one that was probably only taken after one hell of a lot of soul searching.

Especially given that Roberts has a young family and that as a nation we are about to embark on a new age of misery sometime next year.

The fine chaps at the PFA will be there for him, and it would be nice to think that Walsall could help out in some small way too

We never got to see much of Stephen Roberts the player and it was frustrating when he was continually out of the side, but nobody had a crystal ball when he signed for us – anyone can be wise after the event.

Sadly these things happen, but I wish the guy all the very best for the future.

Darren Byfield

As the match fitness has returned, Darren has arguably become our most effective and creative player. So it was predictable that Saturday's match saw the two most presentable chances fall to, and get missed, by Byfield.

As was him hitting the post with a much more difficult one in the second half. Not that you'd have thought so watching the highlights - presumably edited by a Mr Winkleman of Milton Keynes - on the BBC website.

Put one of those chances away and we'd have got something from the game with the over-rated and unlikeable Dons - a team very much made in the image of their manager.

He hasn't troubled the division's goalscoring charts yet, but I still think it's good to have Daza back. Of course some of us would never have bombed him out in the first place!

Mark Bradley

Being called up to full Welsh squad for the first time when you're not playing particularly well should be a massive confidence booster for our Mark.

Given that being around the present Wales team is hardly likely to turn him into some big-time, bling-dripping, WAG-roasting, Charlie-worshipping Charlie - not on the money we pay anyway - then this should be just the motivation 'Bradders' needs to kick start his season and possibly his whole career.

It's your call mate.

John Barnes

'I'll give you a 1000 goes and you'll never guess who the new Tranmere manager is' read the text from my mate in the summer.

It was a ridiculous appointment in the first place, was there anyone outside of the incestuous world of media pundits who didn't realise that Barnes wasn't up to it?

Predictably only Graham Failure has really come to his defence, and he would know all about being a useless boss wouldn't he? Perhaps he'd recommend Andy Sinton, Carlton Palmer or Geoff Thomas - but not Peter Beardsley obviously - as a replacement.

As someone who had the misfortune of seeing Barnes's pathetically lacklustre performances in Euro 1988 – the only time I've ever followed England away from home - I'm glad the mighty Saddlers played some part in his downfall with our victory there last month.

Good riddance slacker.