Former Walsall defender Paul Downing remembers defining spell at Bescot

Walsall had agonisingly missed out on automatic promotion from League One by a single point. They then collapsed in the play-offs, losing 6-1 against Barnsley over two legs in the semi-finals.

The squad was decimated over the course of the summer, with Jason Demetriou, Andy Taylor, Rico Henry, Anthony Forde, Sam Mantom, Milan Lalkovic, Romaine Sawyers, Jordan Crook and Tom Bradshaw all opting for pastures new. 

As Downing pointed out, it was indeed the end of a cycle, and the end of an era. 

"It felt I just needed a change," Downing explains. "Dean (Smith) had left that season and it felt like the club was transitioning again. 

"I did four years, which when you've seen how long I've spent at clubs since, is quite a long time. It just felt like the right time to leave and pursue other opportunities."

Downing, who spent his formative years in West Brom's academy, first arrived at Walsall in 2012. 

Manager Dean Smith was carefully filling his squad with a nice blend of experience and youth, but fans had to patient, and Downing did too.

"I had to bide my time," he says. 

"We had two experienced centre-halves, Andy Butler and Dean Holden, and I was still a young lad learning my way. 

"It took until about Christmas for me to play regularly, but once I did, I never really looked back." 

Downing would become a key member of the back-line, making 183 appearances during his four years with the Saddlers. 

He played in every round as Walsall reached the EFL Trophy final in 2015, losing 2-0 against Bristol City in their only ever appearance at Wembley.

But Walsall were improving each year under Smith and Downing felt it was only a matter of time until they were competing at the top end of League One. 

"We were sometimes flirting with relegation but Dean was always slowing building in the background," the centre-back notes. 

"Each year, he made improvements and tied players down to long-term deals. We created stability and we grew together, and each year we felt as if we were building towards being ready to challenge at the top of League One." 

That moment arrived in 2015. Walsall had topped League One in the October and were still in a strong position (fourth-place) when Smith departed for Brentford at the end of November. 

His exit knocked Walsall off their stride somewhat, although they remained in the mix despite having no fewer than four different managers in the dugout over the course of the campaign.

"It was an opportunity that Dean couldn't turn down but it ended up being very messy with the changes that followed," he acknowledges. 

"I think we should've won promotion. It was a lot to deal with and maybe we dropped one or two points which cost us in the end. 

"It was disappointing that we didn't finish that cycle of three or four years of building by winning promotion." 

Downing went on to play for the likes of Portsmouth and Blackburn Rovers, earning promotion to the Championship with the latter. 

Nonetheless, he still regards Walsall as the most enjoyable spell of his career.

"Walsall ranks right at the very top," he concludes. "I probably played for bigger clubs with bigger fan bases such as Blackburn and Portsmouth, but I always measure it on how much I enjoyed it and the friends I made. 

"I still bump into people like the Chambers twins at different events. Just really good people and it felt like a family at Walsall. 

"It was a good grounding for me as a young centre-back and I left a much better player."