The club have announced that Joe Murphy will be staying until the end of the season, after West Bromwich Albion extended his loan until then. There had been fears that they may have recalled him, following the release of their fourth choice keeper, Simon Miotto, but they have now put in an official bid for Leeds youngster Scott Carson.

The only downside of this agreement is that he will still be subject to a 24 hour recall.

Walsall welcome Doncaster Rovers to Bescot Stadium on New Year’s Day, hoping to bounce back from the disappointment of two defeats so far over the Christmas period. They are one point and two places above The Saddlers, so it looks like a tough proposition – until you study their record. Like Hartlepool, they are in that position because of their home record and they do struggle away, with just two wins from 12 League games away from Belle Vue.

Paul Merson was talking in terms of making changes for this game, in light of the poor last 20 minutes against Tranmere, but his options seem limited. Three of the poorer performers on the day were Wrack, Standing and Aranalde, but there is no natural replacement at left back and two changes in midfield might be too many. The options up front are severely limited as well. Although the Saddlers may be welcoming back Matt Fryatt for the New Year matches, following him making better than expected progress from his knee ligament injury, a start would seem very unlikely and newly signed South African International striker, Toni Nhleko is still waiting for the necessary paperwork to be completed, so he is unlikely to figure until the 15th January.
Ian Roper’s injury hasn’t responded as well to treatment as Fryatt’s and he is still a couple of weeks off. Paul McShane was only taken off as a precaution against Tranmere, following the knock he got in the build up to their first goal, so will be available.
The two wide men. Herivelto and Daryl Taylor are both available, which may presage a move to 4 4 2, especially if Merson feels he cannot manage the four games in eight days.
Simon Osborn apparently broke his nose in training on Thursday, so Mark Kinsella is likely to be back (although Osborn can play).

Doncaster Rovers have a doubt over forward Gregg Blundell who has a thigh problem, but defenders Simon Marples and Jamie Price are available again following injuries.
Up front they have local boy (born in West Bromwich) Simon Johnson, on loan from Leeds United, who scored twice on Boxing Day. Big target man, Leo Fortune-West is out injured, but they have a possible ready made replacement in the not inconsiderable shape of Guy Ipoua. Former Walsall player Jermaine McSporran was sent off in their defeat at Hull City earlier this week, so he’s suspended.

So, a prediction? Rovers’ away record is:- Played 12, Won 2, Drawn 3, Lost 7, For 12 Against 24 Points 9, which means they have lost more away than we have, although the extra win means they’ve got 1 point more. This looks like a good opportunity to get back to winning ways against a team that struggles away from home, but I seem to remember saying something similar before the Brentford (and Tranmere) games! Still, 2 – 1 to the Saddlers.