Chris Marsh: Walsall simply have to stop the rot

To put it simply, it’s about time Walsall got going.

OK, we have already kept four clean sheets and are looking organised at the back – brilliant.

But we don’t look like scoring goals, there is a big problem with creativity.

One goal in six games is dreadful.

But you could put Alan Shearer and Ian Wright in this side at the minute and they still wouldn’t find the target.

The problem is in midfield, the players in there are good players – but they are stronger defensively than they are going forward.

And now it’s up to Darrell Clarke to start changing things because the performance at Colchester wasn’t good enough.

If Walsall had started the season by winning games, you’d accept a dire 0-0 on the road.

But for the fans who have sat through the five previous games and not seen their team score, that is a long way to go.

Speaking post-match, even Clarke admitted he was bored during the game.

We all admire that honesty. And not everyone can be Manchester City – we can’t all have squads filled with players that get you off your seat.

But Clarke arrived with a reputation for being an attacking manager.

Yet at the minute, Walsall aren’t winning games or playing exciting football.

That needs to change, even if it’s just the results to begin with. It’s about winning at the end of the day and as a club we need that winning mentality back.

If that means going long, so be it.

But something has to be done to help those strikers.

They are like bears screaming to be fed, they are desperate to be given the ball. And it’s Clarke’s job to get them scoring.

Finally this week, I just want to say how much I have enjoyed working with Joe Masi when writing this column.

I’ve done columns over the years and have always got on with the reporters.

But I think the reason why I’ve got on so well with Joe is because he is so passionate about Walsall.

I work for Coventry, but I am a Saddler – fact. And Joe is a Saddler as well.

We both have Walsall’s best interests at heart. It has been a pleasure, I wish him the best of luck covering Albion.