The Summer Ahead

By singingshiver
May 12 2003

After another successful season some would say that the hardest challenge of all has now begun. The next couple of months promise to be very difficult for Colin Lee and his backroom staff as they look to balance the clubs finances and improve the playing staff at the same time

The only one certainty all Walsall fans can expect is that rumours will be flying about as to who will be leaving and who will be joining the club.

With 11 players out of contract this summer, not counting David Drillic who has left the club, Colin Lee will be looking to replace or keep between 8 and 10 of them in order to keep a reasonable squad depth and also cut the wage bill. The likely players to be shown the door are Gavin Ward, Tony Barras, Matt Carbon, Martin O’Connor, Fitzroy Simpson, Steve Corica, Gary Birch and Pedro Matias. Its is expected that Darren Bazeley, Danny Hay and Darren Wrack will be offered deals to stay at the club, but 12 months seems the longest deal they are likely to get. This could result in between 5 and 7 new faces at the club next season, but the type of players we can attract will be restricted as wage restrictions will be in place.

So just how is Colin Lee going to progress the club with a smaller squad and even tighter finances? Well there will be more players out of contract and looking for clubs than ever before, which will mean that players will be more willing to accept smaller wages and shorter contract lengths in order to guarantee getting fixed with a club for next season. I would also imagine that we would see a number of loan signings joining us throughout the season to cover injuries, much like we have seen in previous seasons. Added to this we have some promising youth players in the likes of Karl Hawley, Andy Bishop, Craig Stanley and Matty Fryatt. These will figure at some point during the pre season games in order to prepare them for first team action next season.

No matter what group of players we have for the start of the new campaign, the management team have to change the mental approach of the players and the fans. Nobody associated with the club should be aiming for us to only avoid relegation. Instead we should be looking to finish mid table or higher and gain extra revenue by having a good cup run. With higher expectations and real belief from the players, this should in turn encourage the fans to create more noise at home games at help enforce the name “Fortress Bescot”.

If all goes to plan then next season we will be well equipped to comfortably stay clear of relegation and firmly establish ourselves as a first division football club. If we struggle to get the quality of players required to improve the squad then a relegation dogfight is the best that any of us can expect.