Analysis: Abject Walsall really must pay attention to home truths

Boss Michael Flynn detailed after this despicable defeat at Rochdale how an unnamed player stood up and told his team-mates ‘not enough of you care’.

Well done to that player for being so honest and saying it as it is.

The Saddlers, remarkably, keep managing to find ways to reach new lows.

Just as you think it cannot get any worse, they somehow manage to let supporters down even further.

They have often lacked quality and character – crumbling under pressure on countless occasions over the course of the season.

Here, a lot of them did not look bothered.

It must be said, some of the body language shown at Spotland was extremely poor.

The bare minimum fans expect is a bit of pride and fight to be shown for the club, and failing that, surely a little personal pride kicks in? Apparently not.

To say this performance was a case of many being on the beach would be putting it lightly.

It was an insult to the fans and players should feel ashamed.

There is a way to lose, and this certainly was not it.

Rochdale did not have to work for this 1-0 victory and, truthfully, a more ruthless team would have scored even more.

We should hardly be too surprised as the campaign, on the whole, has very much been one to forget.

One boss got sacked and the current one, having thankfully got the points needed to pretty much seal safety, has now seen a lot of his players put their feet up.

You did at least feel, though, after a sorry loss at home to Leyton Orient, there would be a sense of urgency to try to avoid a third straight defeat.

Sadly, that was not to be. The travelling supporters, who have followed in strong numbers up and down the country throughout 2021/22, had nothing to cheer.

The day was not helped by injuries to three important players.

Carl Rushworth jarred his shoulder in the warm-up and had to be replaced in goal by Jack Rose, who can come out of this holding his head high after a solid performance.

Liam Kinsella then did his hamstring in the first half and could well miss the rest of the season, before Conor Wilkinson also limped off in the closing stages of the clash.

But that disruption was still no excuse for the refusal to work hard and battle.

That is not negotiable. It should be a given but with this current crop at Walsall, unfortunately, it is not.

Again, that is why Flynn will have to oversee a major overhaul during the summer. He has no other choice.

After Conor Grant’s goal for the hosts sealed the win, the Saddlers were booed off the pitch and deserved to be.

Just before the end, meanwhile, supporters voiced their displeasure and Emmanuel Osadebe got into a disagreement with a fan.

Those who have paid their money to be subjected to abject performances on a consistent basis have understandably had enough.

Where do Walsall go from here? Well, there are still five games to go and looking at all the evidence, they are not likely to be enjoyable to watch.

The season cannot end soon enough, but there is still the matter of mathematically guaranteeing survival – currently sitting 10 points clear of the drop zone.

This defeat puts them down to 18th, having offered very little in a dull first half.

The Saddlers did not improve in the second either and were finally punished as Grant – after both the defence and midfield went AWOL – slotted the ball home.

Flynn cut an exasperated figure throughout, as did assistant Wayne Hatswell, and you cannot blame them. Basic things like closing down and tracking runs were just being ignored.

This group of players, let’s be fair, have put in a few top-drawer performances.

Flynn’s first game at Forest Green Rovers was pretty much the perfect away day.

So, they can do it, but they have not done it anywhere near enough.

In this one, too, unforgivably, they chose not to apply themselves in the correct manner.

Walsall have an Easter double-header coming up as they welcome Carlisle to the Banks’s Stadium on Friday before they head down to Crawley on Monday.

You might say the only way is up for those games, but it would be naive to do so given how they followed up the Orient loss with this truly terrible outing.

To be even worse than Saturday would be something. Roll on the summer.