Walsall are back in action on Saturday afternoon as they welcome Play-Off hopefuls Sutton United to WS1 for their thirty-ninth League Two outing of what has to go down as a disappointing campaign.Winning just once in their last fifteen league outings, the Saddlers have their early season form to thank for their fairly comfortable margin over the relegation zone but should take no pride in the fact that they're likely to retain their place in the fourth tier for at least another season.
With many of their immediate futures in serious doubt, it's time for the players to stand up and be counted. Far too many of them have already checked out and this just can't be tolerated.
After enduring month after month of drab displays, the club and more importantly its supporters simply deserve better. And that begins with the manager, or in our case, the Head Coach.
Michael Flynn has to make better use of the options available to him. His team selections are almost copy and paste-able each week, with often just one or two minor tweaks, which lead to little change in fortune.
After earning just their second win of 2023 in the shape of a 2-0 triumph over Gillingham in the middle of the month, the gaffer called upon his players to express themselves as they had been given the freedom to play.
Fast forward two matchdays and the Reds have scored one goal, suffered one defeat, and added yet another draw to an already frustrating list.
Along with the results came two underwhelming performances, which, given their new-found freedom leads us to believe that some of the current crop simply don't have it in them, either that or they've already begun to prepare for their summer holidays.
Returning to match selection and, with the likes of Ronan Maher, who continues to carry the Under-18s when called upon, pushed to the back of the line we're beginning to wonder what the gaffer is really trying to achieve on any given matchday.
As the team continues to show little in the way of energy in the final third, we're somewhat confused by his constant selection of either aged or recently injured players in attack while our brightest prospect sits in the stands.
Clearly, Flynn knows much more about his players, and will obviously have reasons for his selection policy, however, given the season has gone off the rails, surely now is the time for some of the fringe players to be given their time to shine?
Whatever the outcome of this weekend's meeting with Sutton United, or the season as a whole for that matter, there are plenty of issues for the powers that be to get their teeth into, not least showing some of the underperforming players that their positions are far from secure.