Birch's Blog: The Young Saddlers

It's been the same old story at Walsall this season, the campaign ending in a damp squib with the Saddlers mid-table - much like the season before.

Manager Chris Hutchings, given the job in January after owner Jeff Bonser decided that appointing Jimmy Mullen in the summer was not such a good after all, was probably as pleased as anyone.

Any boss joining the ship in January awaits that first summer, the first chance to bring in 'his' players and rid the club of the dead wood that had spelled the end for his predecessor, because someone had been daft enough to sign them up.

There will always be casualties of any regime, so it was with some intrigue when the increasingly-traditional 'retained' list was published - with the dust barely settled on the season.

As always, eyes immediately glanced to who was out.

It read Michael Ricketts, Stephen Hughes, Paul Boertien and Hassan Bacchus - no, I can't remember him either.

A former England international, a Premier League winning midfielder - Walsall's captain no less - and a highly experienced full-back.

Some eyebrows were raised but with actions Hutchings had sent out a clear message of what direction the club will take under him.

Emphasis will mostly be placed on youth and - when that is not the case - players with real pride in the shirt.

Ricketts had blotted his copybook once too many for Hutchings, a five-match ban for three red cards over the course of the season probably made up his mind.

Who knows where his nomadic path will take him now.

The cases of Hughes and Boertien were more interesting, two 'no trouble' pro's who had done no worse than anyone else in a Walsall shirt.

Boertien is a natural choice at left-back, allowing Chris Palmer to go back to his preferred right side - on his preferred right foot as well.

That 'Boats' was deemed surplus to requirements, when rookie left-back Netan Sansara was kept on, indicates that the manager is looking to the youngster as a future fixture.

Hughes - skipper for so long this season - was let go after spending the last stage of the season jostling with Mark Bradley for a spot in the centre of the park.

The amount of games Dwayne Mattis, who is still only 27, has started indicate that Hutchings sees him as the anchorman, the remaining spot is for creativiity.

Hughes has that in his locker but is more likely to sit and play, while Bradley made his name as a box-to-box nuisance always looking to get forward.

He is a good decade younger as well, so there you have it - the evolution is complete.

But will the Hutchings factor work?

He clearly thinks the future of the team revolves around the likes of Bradley, Sansara, Jabo Ibehre, Troy Deeney, to a lesser extent Richard Davies and whoever else Mick Halsall can trot out of the youth system.

Don't discount Halsall's contribution in all this, the bridge between him and the manager could pay real dividends if they are all singing from the same hymn sheet.

What Hutchings doesn't want is the journeymen, the players who come down the leagues with their careers on the slide - and their will be plenty of them around this summer.

Even his two loan signings - Birmingham's Robin Shroot and Villa's Sam Williams - have been young, unproven with bags of potential.

That's the blueprint of the new era, time will tell if it can be done.