Walsall's FA Cup exit was a new low

After something approaching four gruelling hours Walsall were knocked out of the F.A.Cup by Dagenham and Redbridge, statistically the worst team in the entire Football League, in front of less than 1800 home fans, writes Saddlers blogger Mark Jones.

Read that paragraph back and then try and think of a comparable low point.

No, me neither.

After putting in a fine shift against top of League 1 Charlton, it's hard to comprehend just how we could play so badly against the Daggers, especially when there was a place in the third round at stake.

The tactics were baffling, changing a system to what often amounted to 4-5-1 was mystifying, as was the astonishing lack of belief amongst the players. I couldn't work out what the two unenforced substitutions were meant to achieve either.

The mitigating circumstances of Manny Smith's sickening injury can't be used as an excuse.

For a start we are a team who've had plenty of practice at playing with ten men this season and Dagenham offered no more of a threat with the extra man so poor is their own form.

As for the penalties they were truly abysmal in themselves.

Cult figure Beevers saw the final one saved, but at least he can be safe in the knowledge that in two penalty shoot-outs this season there have been five worse spotkicks.

Saddlers fans are probably the only ones looking forward to Euro 2012 - even England's penalties can't be that bad.

Alex Nicholls seemed to curl his round an imaginary wall before hitting the advertising hoarding and I can't imagine Claude Gnapka's short run up/shuffle/backpass routine making any coaching manuals in the future.

I always try to avoid slagging off individuals but I cannot see why either player was even on the pitch.

Nicholls currently averages one good game in about fifteen and Gnapka has a frustrating habit of constantly being able to take the wrong option.

Of course he was a non-league player brought on a free transfer.

Neither player would have been anywhere near our first team 10 years ago.

Earlier in the week I reviewed the first half of 2011, while doing so I realised how much I actually enjoyed the second half of last season.

Sadly, Tuesday night showed that no corner has been turned, nothing has really changed.

We are into the third decade of the current regime, three of the club's directors have an association with the club of around a quarter of a century.

The decline and failure of our club is their legacy.

A mate of mine said recently that the board don't actually deserve the glory of a cup run. He was right.

As fans we deserved one, in an odd sort of way I think the players and manager do too, life's hardly a barrel of laughs for them either; but the board deserve nothing.

Nothing except our contempt.

Pathetic.