I always remember before every season Dean Smith used to say his ambition was to win the League as we would go into every game trying to win it. Obviously, it was unrealistic but it helped create a culture that clearly translated into the way we played, especially in 15/16.
I agree, there’s absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t be aiming for the play-offs, otherwise what’s the point?
I remember the open training session before the play offs season, the pitch side commentator asked him questions on the microphone with one being “Where are we going to finish this season?” Smith replied “1st” and everyone burst out laughing.
Pretty sure we were top of the league for the majority of that season 
The incremental progress is fine for improving things in all areas at the football club. However, it is unlikely to work on the football side of things.
Dean Smith was an exception and did build a team over several years, but the reality is we have a 2 year window max to put a team together to get promotion.
2 years time 10 or more of the players we have now won’t be with us for one reason or another and it is start all over again. That is if we are lucky as it seems to be a yearly thing at the moment. If we want it we have to go for it at some point or another or we will be stuck here forever, or worse.
It’s probably just about a mid table side (mainly due to DJ signing) but as we saw last season what happens when injuries happen?
Last season pretty much collapsed when DJ and Bennett were recalled mid season so at least that’s less likely but I always thought Earing getting injured over the xmas period was a big blow as he was a part of some decent wins around the time and midfield always seemed to function much better.
Daniels picking up an injury would be a blow although I accept you can’t just have endless CBs warming the bench.
Upfront does feel short if Matt dosen’t score a few early or look threatening.
Squad is only marginally better than last year on paper, which is progress, but not enough if we are to challenge the playoff births. I am hopeful of saw more coming in on loan & permanently that could make the difference, but then this is Walsall.
0 top ten finishes in 7 seasons
& only 3 in 16
Not sure those stats are in serious threat, as it stands. Let’s hope I’m wrong
A phrase i find MYSELF using more often than not 
I think we are still 4-5 QUALITY players short of a top 6 finish, i just hope that they are in the pipeline, but this late in the season i don’t hold out any,.
The thing is, i would start attending again with my wife if i could see more commitment from the club, but like i have said on another thread, it just seems like we are going around in circles
Lets see where we are in nine months time?
I remember Merson saying that as well!
I think your right.
Why cant we be one of the clubs that has 5 top class loan players that get us promoted then we can poach them into the side once they see what an excellent club we are. Many do it, and DJ is our own example.
Lets get those young talented league one level (across the UK and abroad) players in for a year with no recalls. Left and Right wing backs and a creative forward player and a pacy striker.
I see what you did there. 
Oh ye 
Still 2 quality additions short of threatening the top 7 especially this season.
RWB and a more attacking midfielder . Which would give us an option to play Knowles in a more attacking position. No more centre backs or defensive midfielders please 
It’s obvious isn’t it ?
I don’t think we are far off - we just seem to always fall short of recruiting properly in the attacking third.
I don’t think we are a bad side, and we won’t struggle, I just think anything less than 10th in this league is a failure.
That’s a really good post. I remember going to Rochdale in 2006 on the opening day. lets be honest it was a crap game won 1-0, a near 1000 away gate and loads of positivity. It was like a set of ingedients on a kitchen bench in need of a competent cook. Dickie Dosh was that man, aided and abeted by the likes of others who knew the magnitude of the “buy in” to the finished pie, by which time the away gate was 3000 plus. Its not an easy task, but its one you have to embrace and in doing so plug the correct wires in to the correct sockets of the speakers that other clubs at this level simply don’t have. If you don’t “get” that you’re not the right man for Walsall FC in division 4. Sadler’s got a wonderful opportunity here, especially with some decent personel the utter jewel in the crown of which is DJ. I hope he has the minimal required nouse and guile to recognise that, the instinct to dig into his experiences as a senior pro, and maybe forget a bit of the fancy fluff he was introduced to on the latter days of his pro-licence course.
Pies and speakers? Who should we have appointed as the management team then Dave - Gordon Ramsay and @funk_hits_the_fan? 
What’s the point, then? If all we can aspire to is mid-table in Division 4, then I think we will just gradually fizzle out as a club and end up in the National Leagues. I think we have been going through an existential crisis over the last 7 seasons - our Number 1 fan’s asset stripping has left us unable to compete at a level that has historically been “our level” - Division 3.
We need a big push to get us back to that level, but it will be difficult this season given the resources of the teams coming up, a couple of those coming down and a few clubs already in League 2. Perhaps we need some patience this year but too many more seasons in Division 4 and I think we will eventually get relegated.
It could happen it happened to Notts County Wrexham Chesterfield Rochdale Oldham to name a few all clubs we have competed against at different levels over the years look at Scunthorpe!! we need a big push soon to get out of this division penny pinching on the playing budget wont do it these days like it may have in the past unless we are very lucky.
No one expected Stevenage to go up
I could say the same about Steve Evans’ trackie bottoms…
The big question now, is ‘Can they stay up?’
There will definitely be more pressure on them next season.
This is how I see us at the moment,
I assume we are going for the Target Man/Poacher combo, and thought it would be Matt/Draper with DJ/DJT. I really want DJT to succeed, but after seeing Draper play Friday, he seems like he will make an impact where ever he is, DJT just doesn’t seem to have the same presence. Have a feeling it won’t work for him and maybe MS has realised Matt isn’t the same player he was 2 years ago and, need more depth. Maybe the Oteh Rumour has legs.
We need another Hutch, someone with the spark to score from midfield, maybe Knowles could do this job? I think McEntee has all the creativity and makes some decent passes but I think he will play box to box in competition with Riley, then Stirk/Comley behind.
I’m unsure about RWB, as I’ve said on other posts, this formation requires really attacking wingbacks, Knowles is that man, he had a good season from the wing at yoevil in the league below, I’m hoping he can find that final touch. Still I think we need competition in the form of someone who will play as high and have the same impact as Allen and Gordon who are both obviously there to get forward. I like that we are playing Foukles, and let’s give him a chance but if he is a defensive RB he just doesn’t fit the system, unfortunate but we can’t try push him into the first team because we want to promote youth.
1 more CB, probs a loan but we can’t play 3 at the back and have 1 other CB at the club, it will take Mayo until Jan to find any kind of form.
I actually think we are really close, 2/3 players of challenging, I also think MS has the right ideas, there was a spell in the second half against Rochdale where we could have score 3/4 goals, if DJ was in the team half of then would have gone in.
