Bescot Banter: Walsall right to be irked by decisions

Last weekend, after opening the new year with a defeat to Carlisle United, the Saddlers secured their first point of 2021 as they and Oldham Athletic played out a one-all draw in WS1.

Despite entering a much-improved performance during the opening 45, capped off by Zak Jules' second goal of the season, Walsall were ultimately pegged back in the second-half and had to settle for a point.

Fast forward to Tuesday and the Saddlers made the trip North to the former Globe Arena where they faced Morecambe on a wet and windy evening in Lancashire.

Much like the weather, the match was a stormy affair headlined by the match officials who denied both sides probable penalties, the Saddlers' shout clearly seeing substitute Cameron Norman felled inside the area before a free-kick was awarded, with the two teams also having to settle for a point.

Whilst in football you make your own luck, it would be nice to see a little consistency from the match officials when it comes to penalty decisions. We're not advocating for the introduction of VAR, but those with the whistles and flags can't be allowed to become an even bigger influence in games than the goals, or the opportunities they deny.

Be it leaning on their assistants a little more or simply being fit enough to keep up with the occasionally fast-paced play, the very future of clubs can so very easily come down to a point or two, and we can't have that decided by a poorly placed, or just downright incorrect official.

Back to the midweek match and the Saddlers opened the scoring via Josh Gordon, the former Leicester City man making his tenth first-team appearance since returning from injury in early December, and looking sharper as the games go on.

Whilst a Carlos Mendes Gomes goal condemned the Reds to just a point when three may have been up for grabs, most fans will happily take a point on the road and, given our recent festive form, it could provide a platform to build upon as we continue to navigate the early stages of the second half of the season.

Looking to matters off the field and the Saddlers have been able to add to their ranks over recent days with Birmingham City striker Jayden Reid and AFC Bournemouth midfielder Frank Vincent joining Aston Villa winger Tyreik Wright in arriving at Fortress Bescot.

And whilst we welcome the potential competition amongst the matchday squad, we can't help but be a little concerned for the immediate futures of some of our home-grown starlets.

None of the new arrivals are established players and have plenty of work ahead of them if they are to make it into the manager's starting selection making their recruitment a little concerning as the club already possesses several untapped prospects who are now even further from the first-team.

Clearly the manager isn't looking to stunt the growth of his club's youth players, and he would probably point out the pedigree of some of his new arrivals, but we hope that he will be able to offer more minutes to some of our up and comers as they continue to be the lifeblood of the team and must be allowed to prove their worth.