Blog: Take a long hard look at yourselves

You are 16th in the table, averaging less than a goal a game across the season and, as a result of Tuesday night's showing, now have a free weekend at the start of December.

Take a long hard look at yourselves and ask is this good enough?

In the last two league matches against Notts County and Peterborough, teams in and around the top six, we have picked up four points.

In both games, we were the better side, so we should have no inferiority complex at our level.

As for the dismal FA Cup exit at Shrewsbury Town, what exactly was the problem?

Over the course of three hours, our lower league opponents showed they were functional but limited and one dimensional, too. There should have been nothing to get worried about.

The annoying thing is they didn't have to work hard for their victory. Their goal was down to a failure to keep possession and a defensive error.

But that doesn't explain why we failed to exert any real pressure or create enough realistic chances in either game.

Make no mistake, this defeat was not the travesty of two years ago in that televised clash at the Greenhous Meadow.

There were no Chris Weale-style heroics on display this time and, sadly, there didn't need to be.

Exempting a largely-untroubled Richard O'Donnell, who had no chance with the goal, the two centre-halves and Adam Chambers, the team performance was unacceptable.

The nature of Adam's tackle which led to his red card gave Mr Ward, a weak referee, the opportunity to be, well cowardly.

However, the question the captain could well be asking is why none of his team mates were showing the same amount of commitment and desire.

If they had done then, maybe, they wouldn't have been facing three matches without him until his red card was rescinded.

The most successful Saddlers sides have always had goals from outside of the main forwards.

There's been the wide men (Marsh, Houghton, Wrack, Hall, Matias), the midfield generals (O'Connor and Keates) and who could forget Adrian Viveash, our most prolific centre-half ever?

This season, we have had a paltry two goals when Tom Bradshaw has been absent, which has to be one of the most disturbing stats ever.

We have needed goals from wide areas and from midfield, but we have three players with one each.

While goalscoring is not the defence's primary role, Paul Downing's solitary effort this season is a pretty poor return.

At this point, I have to also point the finger at the manager, Dean Smith, too. This is not something I enjoy doing.

I'm a big fan of Dean's and I certainly wasn't happy with the stick he was receiving in some quarters a month or so ago.

But we've just played three games in six days, four in 10, and the man in charge has made no unenforced changes.

Against Peterborough he only used two substitutes, and this with probably the biggest Walsall squad in living memory.

This would explain, but not excuse, the nature of our lacklustre cup exit. Take a long hard look at yourselves boys, because it isn't good enough.