Blog: 10 New Year's resolutions for Walsall

Their 2014 ended with a 4-1 home loss to Swindon and a 3-0 away win in milton keynes – two unpredictable results which just about summed up the year.

In classic Saddlers style we also kicked off 2015 with an unsatisfactory defeat to the decaying corpse of a football club that is Coventry before the pretty bloomin tremendous performance at Preston last night.

Most of the last 12 months have followed no pattern and contained no rhyme or reason, so here's 10 hopes for the new year

1 Consistency

We were unbeaten in January, then couldn't win for 10 games, won a couple, went another 12 league games either side of the close season without victory, were gloriously unpredictable in September and October, began getting our act together in November before reverting to type over Xmas. Clearly there needs to be a levelling out, the performances against mk scabs, Bristol City, PNE and others in the league show what we are capable of. We just need it more and often and more often.

2 Burying Teams

We usually have the majority of possession in games, we try to play the game the right way and while we have to accept we can't win every game 5-0 or 6-0, it would be nice once or twice (or three or four times) in a while. In fact as we sit in mid-table at more or less the halfway point of the season, our record against teams in each half of the table is odd to say the least. We've registered just two wins against teams in the bottom half but lost only twice to teams currently above us. If you count cup games we've recorded eight wins against teams in the top half and probably should have beaten 2 or 3 more (Bristol C, Posh, Vale). Bizarre.

3 Keep it Sexy

And the football! Seriously I know it doesn't always work and some get frustrating when we're not at our best, but I think we should be proud of our philosophy – I'd rather we were trying to be the Black Country Barca than just another over-physical, long ball team any day of the week

4 Sign him up

Super Tom has been a superb signing. Whatever deal he's on now, it needs to be bigger/ longer/thicker. And the same goes for Richard O'Donnell. And how about Michael Cain too? Come on Jeffrey, you know it makes sense.

5 Youth

As with the Sexy Football, sometimes there's inconsistency but I love seeing us blood the younger players. We've seen Liam, Reece and Rico make their debuts this season; Mal and Kieron have featured more often and there's plenty of lads out on loan. It is very much the way forward.

6 Elixir

On the other hand it wouldn't be a bad idea if we could somehow find an inexhaustible supply of the elixir of life and keep feeding it to the Chambers twins (and Andy Taylor too).

7 Atmosphere

Away from home our support is brilliant, how many have watched a re-run of Deepdale already? It was phenomenal. We need this replicating at home.

I've never been critical of people who have got out of the habit of attending the Banks's regularly and I like what the club does to try and attract younger fans and it has to be said that times are still hard (whatever the politicians try to tell us); but this side does deserve to attract higher numbers. I was impressed with the proactive step that the club have taken with the 'Come on Feel the Noise' survey (open on the official website until 31st January), especially the mention of safe standing.

8 Justice

Last season we won the Fair Pay Award, sadly no one had told any of the referees we seemed to get every other week last Spring.

As it stands Carl Boyeson's weak performance against Cov last week is a standout low point -luckily Romaine leg is still in one piece. (Although it was a nailed-on penalty last night). Fairness and consistency shouldn't be too much to ask for, should it?

9 Karma

Here's hoping that the footballing gods (the Church of St Ray) will wreak vengeance upon: the gesturing Ikeme, the pathetic Mac Carrey, the provocative Dicko, that goalkeeping coach bloke who couldn't speak to a steward a couple of metres away but could happily yak to his mates in the press box; Mr Potato Head, the mk scabs, the ever-charmless media darling and v-necked underachiever Karl Robinson, Shrewsbury Town and their turn up only when we feel like it fans, the increasingly irritating Coventry Wasps and their remaining fans, Steven Pressley (the obvious successor to the afore-mentioned Robinson); radio presenters who criticise us without checking their facts but think that it's ok to excuse senior people from other clubs who set extremely bad examples for 'showing passion' amongst others and, last but also least, Crewe.

10 The W-word

I've very deliberately avoided using it, we've done amazingly well so far and we are so close and yet we still have so much to do in the second leg. One professional ninety minutes is all it will take. I know we can do it … COME ON YOW SADDLERS!!