The Light at the End of the Tunnel Extinguished

By Neil Ravenscroft
October 2 2004

The home game against Brentford seemed to be the day Merson lost the fans. Today might be the day he lost the owner, and with it his job.

Walsall's late rally this afternoon was never going to be enough to enable them to pull back from the 3 - 0 deficit their abject opening had led them to.

Huddersfield scored two goals in the space of a minute to set them on their way, with Pawel Abbott breaking the deadlock before Junior Mendes grabbed his first league goal for the club on the half hour.

Abbott scored a second in the 68th minute, taking the ball round goalkeeper Mark Paston after beating Walsall's off-side trap.

The Saddlers pulled back a goal later on, courtesy of Huddersfield's Nathan Clarke and finished with a flourish as the Town keeper made two or three good saves. It was far too little, far too late, however.

The Saddlers did not slip any further into the relegation zone, but, with Blackpool and Torquay both drawing, another defeat could leave the team bottom but one, in a season that should have promised so much.

Player Manager Paul Merson's future looks very, very bleak tonight.