Player Ratings

We are officially halfway through the season interested to know your player ratings so far. Mine are below.

Owen Evans 7/10 - Pretty solid, Distribution needs working on.

Liam Gordon 6.5/10 - Since his return from injury hes shown glimpses of quality going forward defensively ok can see him improving the more games he gets under his belt.

Taylor Allen 5.5/10 - After an impressive start performances started to decline adequate back up to Gordon though defensively not good enough.

Manny Monthe 9/10 - Man Mountain player of the season so far for me.

Donervan Daniels 8.5/10 - Captain Fantastic, been solid great leader.

Oisin McEntee ? - Looked decent on his debut not played enough to rate him.

Hayden White 7/10 - Since being moved to CB his performances have improved looks better suited in that position pretty solid but has a mistake or 2 in him.

Liam Bennett 8.5/10 - Gutted to have lost him, very bright future for the lad gives 110% every game bags of talent full of energy.

Liam Kinsella 8/10 - Mr Walsall been his usual full blooded heart on sleeve type of guy, guaranteed to a 7/10 performance every game.

Brandon Comley 6/10 - Decent squad player does a job.

Jack Earing 5.5 /10 - Since his return had 1 or 2 decent games but overall been poor hopefully will improve with more game time.

Jacob Maddox 6/10 - Possibly our most technically gifted midfielder im sure a run of games will do him well been abit start stop for him.

Isaac Hutchinson 7/10 - had a few really good games were he was unplayable but looks to be very inconsistent player talented but needs to show it more.

Tom Knowles 8/10 - Very promising start to his Walsall career adjusted well to life in the football league always on the front foot got goals and assists in him can see him being very influential in the second part of the season, versatile has well good quality to have.

Danny Johnson 8.5/10 - The fox in the box he has done what he got brought into to do score goals will be hard to replace his goals if he goes.

Andy Williams 6/10 - Not been given much game time but looked ok at times when he has played but im sure his experience is good to have around the dressing room.

Douglas James-Taylor 6/10 - On the fence with this one looks like he could improve with age good pace definitely got a role to play after his performance against Mansfield.

Conor Wilkinson ? - Unfair to judge him really we know what he is capable of hopefully we can get him fully fit as soon as possible could be the difference between a top 7 finish or not.

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I am not into giving players scores out of ten but my player of the season so far is Daniels with Monthe not far behind.

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I agree.

Daniels and Hutchinson the stand outs for me so far (established and young player) - with Knowles, Monthe and DJ not far behind.

I think most of the first team have been about a 7 - with not too many disappointments.

I feel like Hutchinson has the potential to be a great player but it does seem like his brain is a second or 2 behind his feet at times but i guess thats why hes playing league 2 football.

Agree with those ratings mostly.
Would try and get rid of Taylor Allen out on loan possibly .Liability for me and send cashman back to free up wages for better players.

After seeing DJT at Swindon and against Stockport I would have sent him back as well. Redeemed himself more against Mansfield and hitting the back of the net.

Agreee with most but Knowles 8 is way to high . 7 at most
For an 8 his output has to be higher. Needs to increase his goals and assists massively for the strikers position if we rate him there as that’s where he has mainly played

Evans 7/10
Bennett 8/10
White 6.5/10
Daniels 8/10
Monthe 9/10 (Player of the season so far)
Clarke 6/10
Mcentee not enough gametime yet
Kinsella 7/10
Hutchinson 7.5/10
Comley 6/10
Earing 5/10
Maddox 6.5/10
Knowles 7.5/10
DJ 8/10
DJT 6/10
Abraham 4/10
Willaims 4/10
Wilkinson again not enough gametime
Just remembered Liam Gordon 7/10

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Evans 7/10
Bennett 8/10
White 6/10 way to mistake prone for me
Daniels 8/10
Monthe 9/10
Clarke 4/0
Kinsella 7/10
Hutchinson 8/10 the only true difference maker we have
Comley 5/10 imo truly awful
Earing 5/10 what’s happened to him this year? Injury knocked him hard
Maddox 7/10 really like him
Knowles 6.5/10 . 10 for effort 4 for output
DJ 7.5/10 been out of form recently and 3 of his goals in 1 game. Good player but needs to offer more when he doesn’t score a easy chance
DJT 5/10 not for me
Abraham 2/10 only a professional because of his brother
Willaims 4/10
Wilkinson not enough gametime
Liam Gordon 6/10 sometimes an 8 then next game gets torn apart eg stockport both times

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I think when you look at Walsall we are very much a case of the sum of the parts equaling more than the individuals…

As a mark out of 10 for the team in general over the season I’d go 6.5….based on current form were are very much a 7.5.

Owen Evans 7/10
We have a GK who imo has been over scrutinized. I’ve not seen much in the division that I’d swap him for. He’s pretty proficient at most aspects and his shot stopping recently has kept us in games. I’d be critical of his distribution but I think that’s mainly down to instruction rather than ability.

Individually for the back three I’d go :-
White 6.5/10
Monthe 7.5/10
Daniels 7.5/10

But as a unit they’re an 8/10 all day long. Pacy, strong, physical and dominant. Id prefer them to play into midfield more but I also recognize they’re defenders in league 2 at the end of the day and their jobs are to prevent goals!

Bennet 6.5/10 I won’t go to town, my thoughts are well documented! Hard working, great attitude, great engine, excellent in the air. Positionally defending he struggled but he’s just a kid. Attacking I thought he was pretty poor with poor decisions and poor end product.

Gordon 6.5/10 Still struggling for consistency but that’s to be expected. Has pace, strength and ability to beat a player. I think he’s been a good signing and would he higher if he’d played more games.

Allen 6/10 Solid without being outstanding. He got some unfair criticism recently once Gordon came back in but until then he’d been consistent and gave us avoid shape. A but like Bennet my criticism would be his end product, crossing and decision on when to shoot in particular.

Kinsella 7.5/10 Does everything it says on the tin and does everything other players we have don’t do. He (or his type) is a necessity in any team at any level. Energy levels, work rate, ground covered all excellent and he’s content to pass it simple to give it to more technically gifted players.

Comley 7/10 When he’s played he’s done what is asked of him. I dont buy into the Comley/Kinsella doesn’t work argument. It has worked and they’ve been in the side for some of our best performances. He’s at his best winning the ball and passing it to a team mate. If you’re expecting more you’ll be disappointed.

Earing 6/10 He’s done ok but missing pre season and getting injured not long after his return and give. Him a problem. For me he needs to have a better understanding of his role. I don’t see him as an attacking midfielder and I’m not sure Flynn does either. I’d prefer to see him play as the pivot player passing forwards more often than he does and helping us utilize our attacking players better. But he’s a little slow in possession and I think still sees himself as someone who plays higher up the pitch.

Hutchinson 7.5/10 With 3 goals and 8 assists he’s our most creative player. He’s in the top 10 for the division for chances created and chances created per game. Needs to be involved more but that’s not been helped by a large chunk of our season where we played badly and resorted to aimless punts upfield. Has affected the game when played higher and also (like last week) when he’s played deeper. He’s actually been pretty solid but his type of player often means perception of his performances is always determined by score lines.

Knowles 7.5/10 As an attacking threat due to his speed, energy levels and general tenacity he has always looked dangerous. He’s direct which always panics defenders and he’s always keen to get his shots away. I think his decision making can be a bit ropey and he often takes the wrong option in the final third which can be overlooked because it’s usually a shot which draws some ooohs and aaaahs from the crowd! His best position is out wide but our system hasn’t really allowed that and he’s done ok up front stretching the game for us. I maintain as I did from the start that he’s not a 10 but he has proved effective as an attacker.

Maddox 7/10 I like the look of Maddox. Technically excellent and has worked hard and looked a goal threat. I’d like to see him play more with Hutchinson as I think they’re on the same wavelength and I think they’d force us to play more football which could propel us onto greater things as the season progresses. If by any chance we went up he, along with Hutch and Earing would be better suited to league 1.

DJ 8/10 You can knock any part of his game all you like but he does the hardest job in football better than anyone else in our squad! I’ll always argue that we may do better with a different front pairing as I think it’s hard for a player like DJ to play as a 2 as he only really has one interest and that’s himself scoring but at the same time all the time he does that you can’t grumble!

Williams 6/10 He’s done ok but I think we’d all have expected a greater input than he’s had in terms of finishing and in terms of creating for others with his link up play. A half decent sub to come on and help out aerially at both ends and always offers a high level of work rate.

DJT 6/10 I think he could have a decent second half of the season to be honest and I’d be surprised if his 6 isn’t a 7 or higher by May. He can finish and he clearly has a great attitude and wants to improve. His movement is good and the run for the goal v Carlisle was one he’d made several times in other games but not had the sharpness to take advantage of (one v West Ham springs to mind)

Cashman 4/10 Not really his fault but he’s just not had a great loan spell. Personally I think he’s stuck in a “where’s his best position” situation. Technically he’s very good and maybe with a little bit of luck he’d have hit the ground running and it would’ve been very different for him. IMO he is good enough but hasn’t grabbed his limited opportunities - as harsh as that may be that’s what needs to happen at this level.

RAM 5/10 Should’ve gone on loan in August but our numbers didn’t allow it. I don’t think he’s ready for first team football yet and even in his early games I felt the same. Lots of talent but lots to learn and I don’t think Conference North/South would be too low a level for him and he’d learn loads just from regular minutes with adults in a first team environment. It may even be that to get decent minutes he’d need to go on loan in Northerm Prem or Southern Prem Central. Rushall would be perfect for him to play every minute of every game.

McEntee Not seen enough but looks promising

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Good assessment although i think Williams and Douglas James Taylor are no more than 5s

Yes they have had a couple of cameos but overall no where near good enough

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Actually agree.