It just goes from bad to worse

Whoopee, Walsall F.C. made a £5000 profit in the trading period to 31st. May 2010. That was a real comfort to me as I sulked my way through the Third Round draw on Sunday,

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As expected we went out of the F.A.Cup with barely a whimper – again. Torquay becoming the sixth successive League Two side to defeat us in cup competitions in the last three seasons. Not good enough really is it?

In fact it's the kind of record that leads you to question yourself as to why you've ever bothered to devote so much time, love and money to the club over so many years.

On closer inspection the fifth successive surplus isn't exactly the chink of light that the club so badly needs right now either. It has been reported the accounts showed up a staggering £546,642 loan from Mr. Bonser himself. When you also factor in the sale of Antony Gerrard and the add-ons from Dann and Fox deals which occurred in the summer of 2009, the numbers make grim reading indeed.

And just remember that gate receipts are likely to be even lower when next year's figures come out, which means it's unlikely that we'll be paying off any big chunks of our seven figure debt anytime soon.

Oh yeah and we now pay approximately £1100 a day in rent.

Crowds have become embarrassingly low now. Fans are voting with their feet and, as the accounts show yet again, the club really needs to keep people coming through the turnstiles somehow. This has always been the case but I think some people (former Chief Executives for instance) may have lost sight of that.

So what are the solutions? Is there anything that can be done to get the club out of what could now be accurately labelled 'a bit of a crisis'?

The short term solution is brutally simple – sack Chris Hutchings. The manager's record this season has been appalling and I have seen nothing to suggest he is capable of turning it round. The long shot we have of getting out of trouble this season rests on the boost that a new boss might bring (unless it turns out to be Ian Atkins) and there's a slim chance a few people might start turning up again.

In the medium term, there needs to be a great deal of thought given to Hutchings' successor. Last time we were relegated we were extremely lucky to get a manager of Richard Money's calibre. Someone capable of turning things round quickly, getting the team organised, motivated and competing again isn't necessarily going to be easy to find. Losing to Fourth Division teams in the cups is a bad habit, you don't want to start doing it in the league too.

Long term there has to be a massive improvement in the club's finances. I know it's a hell of a lot easier said (or written) than done but it is an issue which must be faced up to and addressed.

For reasons that have been articulated continually and consistently over the past two decades, we can't keep on paying out huge amounts of rent with no end in sight. To me it is just dead money and the perceived lack of action and desire to try and rectify this is one of the major reasons why fans stay away.

We can't keep on relying on directors' loans either, this just smacks of crisis management. Are we really that profitable an organisation if individuals have to keep plugging the gaps every year? Wouldn't it be better to find fresh investment? Or has the search already begun? And what message does the state we find ourselves in both on and off the pitch send out about our club and the direction it's going in?

January's AGM and the promised fans' Focus Group meeting would be good places for discussing these issues.

I strongly believe that there are still plenty of people out there who may have questioned why they've ever bothered to devote so much time, love and money to the club but who still care enough.

And we're all waiting for some good news