Bescot Banter: Time for Walsall fans to help their club
Following a weekend without football, Walsall's midweek EFL Trophy group clash with Chelsea Under-21s presented the gaffer with an opportunity to partially rotate his squad as he handed starting spots to a few of his lesser-utilised players, although it was far from a full rotation.
Despite a busy first-half, the game's only in-play goals came over sixteen second-half minutes as Wes McDonald gave Walsall the lead before young Blues defender Dynel Simeu levelled the scores, ultimately taking the game to a bonus point shoot-out.
Although they failed to claim the extra point, Cameron Norman seeing his opening spot-kick saved as Chelsea made no mistake with theirs, the Saddlers were able to create several promising goal-scoring opportunities and assistant manager Brian Dutton was rightly disappointed not to have tested the visitors' teenage stopper Lucas Bergström a little more often when he spoke to the press after the match.
Despite lacking that all-important killer instinct, the performance of Saddlers striker Elijah Adebayo was a particular highlight as he tormented the Blues' backline on several occasions, giving the manager something to think about heading into this weekend's clash with Forest Green Rovers.
On to the increasingly worrying financial crisis and reaction to the club's recently confirmed 2020/21 Season Ticket compensation packages is yet another reflection of just how far we have come over the last year or so.
Whilst clubs up and down the leagues will be offering their fans incentives to forgo their refunds, the Walsall of just a few short years ago wouldn't have received anything resembling the almost universal praise this current incarnation has.
With most fans seemingly happy to allow the club to keep hold of their money as officials look to navigate the various pitfalls of behind-closed- doors football, we really are entering a new era as Walsall FC - led by chairman Leigh Pomlett - continue to bridge the once cavernous gap between itself and its supporters.
Staying with club coffers, we'd like to give a quick mention to Saddlers supporter Rob Harvey who has organised a JustGiving campaign aimed at raising some much-needed funds to help the club through the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.
Rob, a regular fundraiser who has secured thousands of pounds in donations for good causes including Acorns Children's Hospice, is hoping to raise an initial £5,000 to help the club pay its way over the coming days, weeks and months.
If you'd like to make a donation, or require further information on Rob's campaign, you can visit his JustGiving page, here; https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/WalsallFCCovid19
