Taylor Allen Departs

[Pascal]

3 of 11 remain: Dave , JJ & Matt

8 gone:
simkin
asimwe
williams
allen
gordon
stirk
chang
hall

[SuperGabor]

When did Williams leave?

[Thanatos]

Deadline has passed I thought? Or at least it’s a few days from him being out of contract.

[kshammer]

Another summer of the throw enough shit against the wall approach.

Hopefully it’s a particularly sticky batch this year.

[Cowsheddek]

@matt_saddlesore

Unfortunately I can’t see us getting up this season or the next and quite possibly into the 2030s. If that sounds unlikely, who would have thought we’d be going into 2026 still in L2 after being relegated at Shrewsbury. I walked out of that game feeling not too unhappy as I’d witnessed us through the early 90s build and the Money season. Even Hibbitt got into the play-offs. At no time did I ever feel that we wouldn’t get up sooner or later. I get a sense we could easily stagnate in this division now.
Hope I’m wrong.

None of which stops us giving it “a right good go “

[Saddlertd]

@matt_saddlesore

We would have had the momentum, a core of good players who took the piss out of L2 for long periods of the season

What “momentum”? One win in 21 games, which was relegation from League 2 form! We definitely needed to freshen the team up - we need players with bigger balls than Liam Gordon and Ryan Stirk, nice guys, but are they really winners? I really believe that if we had gone up with the team that finished last season, we would have come straight back down and been in a worse situation than we were at the end of this season. I hope we can get promotion this season, but the side is shaping up to be better than the one that finished last season. If we can add a quality centre-half, CDM and keeper, we won’t be far away! UTS

[Saddlertd]

@Belphegor

FWIW, I didn’t think that we were set up to be a hoofball team, just direct and high press. It worked very well up until January. We just couldn’t maintain it for a full season, and as the confidence dropped and the players became fatigued, we became more and more one dimensional.

And of course, we didn’t adequately replace Lowe.

Exactly this, Belph. I think the players started to hoof it when they lost confidence and ran out of ideas. I don’t believe for one minute that Mat told them just to hoof it in the first half at Wembley, I believe the opposite is true because we came out second half and started to pass the ball around more - this coincided with our best spell of the game when we should have scored. The players weren’t brave enough to get on the ball and pass it around. Ryan Stirk tried it in the first half, lost possession 25 yards from our goal and the Dons nearly scored - he didn’t try it again till late in the second half when we were really chasing the game.

[Walsall_Casual]

The players stopped listening to Sadler weeks before the Wembley no show.

[FPSad]

I might not be around then.

[Saddlertd]

So, were the two play-off wins against a good Chesterfield side just flukes then? Did Mat Sadler’s tactics have nothing to do with us winning? If you are going to blame him when things go wrong, surely you must give him credit for when things go right!!

[Walsall_Casual]

Last season, things went wrong. The end.

Sadler Out.

[matt_saddlesore]

The momentum of getting promoted.
The euphoria.

Even if we had slithered over the line by a singular point, or scraped through the playoffs by default of Wimbledon spannering all their spot kicks high and wide, and shuffled painfully into L1, the months of poor form would be irrelevant.

Close season reset and a few additions, think we’d be in the 10-16th zone personally.
You may beg to differ, but couldn’t see us being nailed on relegation certs.

[Sondek]

Losing Taylor Allen is something I’ve actually found to be quite sad. I know players come and go and i certainly don’t begrudge the young man the opportunity but it just feels like the final kick in the teeth.
Had we have been promoted would he have stayed ? Who knows.
Normally once the fixtures are released I’m itching for the season to start but I looked at the games and I couldn’t muster any enthusiasm at all. I have absolutely no interest in the pre season games. I hope it’s just a passing phase.

[Laundryman]

In a way, much as I admired TA, it is a positive that we are producing players that other teams want. Taylor came to us more or less as his last chance. Few supporters wanted him when we renewed his contract but hen turned into a good player. It’s been some years since that was the norm. Adebayo was the most recent but they have been few and far between in recent years.

[JoaquinErnesto]

@Belphegor

Cook was injured, If they did though, and were more successful

@Belphegor

Had Cook stayed fit, the manager would have carried on as per.

Think that would be interpreted s forced into change and stumbling upon a successful system if Sadler did that.

[Scooby2167]

@Thanatos

Support the club - but think Sadler is a clown?

That’s what I’m doing.

[Saddlerone1]

A lot of credit should be given to Sadler for the way he helped develop TA along with several other younger players.
It’s not that long ago that if you had said TA would be our best player and would be sold for a sizeable fee you would have been laughed at.
Obviously some of this is down to the player but they have to be given the opportunity and confidence to show it.

[Cowsheddek]

@Laundryman

but then turned into a good player.

I personally don’t think you just turn into a good player especially someone like Allen at this level and we’re he’s played previously .football is a sport like many others that form and many other factors to many to list have a enormous effect players have good seasons bad and average.all you can look for is improvement which is usually gradual and consistency.I personally think some get carried away with there assessment of a player far to quickly and the reverse he’s crap type comments.He is going to a level far beyond anything he’s played at before it will be a massive step up for him hope he’s a late developer and can make it, I really do .if we got 500 grand for him that’s fantastic money.Pity it want be spent on buying we the calibre of players to get us out of this league pronto .more like 20 or 30 grand here and there on another who might make Trivela a few bob .trying to turn ourselves into the Peterborough of the 4th division.Best advice I can give to Taylor is don’t know we’re you live but even if it is Walsall I’d stay and commute because High Wycombe has become one big sh*thole .

[Saddlertd]

@Sondek

I have absolutely no interest in the pre season games. I hope it’s just a passing phase.

I hope it is Dek - we need as many down the Bescot as possible. From a selfish point of view, I want those wonderful atmospheres we had against Vale and Chesterfield back, not some boring 4,500 souls barely mustering a cheer!

[Natalie-Drest]

If MS gets credit for making Taylor Allen a better player he should also be criticised for making the other 20 odd players worse since Christmas.