LASTSEASON
LEAGUEONE22ndFACUPThirdRound
LEAGUECUPSecondRoundTOPSCORERAndyCook(18)LASTSEASON
LEAGUE TWO 13rd FA CUP Second Round
LEAGUE CUP First Round TOP SCORER Michael Doughty (14)FourFourTwo Season Preview 2019-20 85SWInDOn TOWn WALSALL
SEASOn PREVIEW
FFTVERDICT
6TH FFT VERDICT
12TH
After taking over from Phil Brown
last November, Richie Wellens
installed an eye-catching system
of high-press, fast-paced football
at the County Ground. Now he’s
putting together a squad with this
style in mind, they may surprise
quite a few people in 2019-20.Darrell Clarke achieved promotion
from this level at the first time of
asking with Bristol Rovers, but the
Saddlers’ squad requires a rebuild
on a budget. His teams are always
competitive, but – especially with
Andy Cook having left – will they
have enough potency in attack?This season will be different because
Richie Wellens’ new squad will, I hope,
sign up to his football ideologies. If
that happens, 2019-20 could be very
different to 2018-19 for much more
positive reasons.
I won’t be happy unless... uh, we’re
promoted? Expectations are pretty
low, to be honest. I’ll be satisfied as
long as we don’t do anything daft like
get relegated.
Save the date for Cheltenham away
on August 24 – we’ve still never won
there in seven visits.
The best away ground is Exeter’s.
The opposition player I secretly
admire is Adam Rooney, now playing
for Salford. We had him on our books
once. Sigh...
Our key player will be midfielder
Michael Doughty [below]. He should
be playing higher than League Two. If
he stays fit and remains enthusiastic,
then his form in the centre of Town’s
system will dictate how well we do.Look out for Cameron McGilp, the
Scottish-Australian with a cool name.
Our best celebrity fans are Guardian
cartoonist David Squires and comedian
Ivo Graham. They properly support the
club! So much so, we no longer require
Jamie Cullum’s laissez-faire effort. As
for our worst celebrity fan, I wonder
if [former club chairman and jockey]
Willie Carson still looks up Swindon’s
results? If he ever did...
The pantomime villain will be
Crewe manager David Artell, if he
has another hissy fit as he did at our
place back in April. I’d like to see that
happen again – it was funny, despite
Crewe winning the game 2-1 and his
grievances being perfectly valid.
Did you know that Swindon Town
have a Rolex clock – the only one of
its kind in any stadium in the world.
It’s currently broken.
The fans’ opinion of the gaffer is
that he’s a solid up-and-coming boss
with some decent ideas, but he really
needs to hit the ground running this
season. Personally, I don’t think I’ve
ever wanted a gaffer to succeed more
than Wellens.
We’ll finish 10th.The big talking point among the fans
is that bringing in Darrell Clarke pretty
soon after a dire campaign gave us
a reason to be slightly hopeful, if not
expectant, ahead of 2019-20. As for
Clarke’s early signings, Stuart Sinclair’s
beard is a talking point in itself!
I won’t be happy unless I see Walsall
play with a clear style. While I don’t
expect Clarke to be Jurgen Klopp, it’d
be nice to see 11 players who know
what they’re supposed to be doing.
Our most underrated player is Josh
Gordon [below], who showed some
promise last season, playing upfront
in a team that created very little.
The one recommendation for away
fans is to do your pre-match drinking
in Walsall town centre or Birmingham,
then get the train to Bescot Stadium
station for the game. Watering holes
close to the ground are non-existent.
The signature local dish is pork
scratchings – and they’re available in
club-branded packs at the ground.The best thing about the matchday
experience at Walsall is that we’re
a bit spoilt in the HomeServe Stand
behind the goal, with big screens,
a decent bar and a Q&A with a current
or former player before every game.
Away supporters shouldn’t expect too
much, I’m afraid, except a Balti pie
and an easy drive back onto the M6!
Look out for Kory Roberts. He was our
2017-18 Young Player of the Season
but spent all of last season injured. He
could nail down a regular centre-half
spot at the tender age of 21.
Our key player will be George Dobson- making him captain at 20 last year
put too much responsibility on his
shoulders, but he has the potential to
make us tick in the middle of the park.
The opposition player I secretly
admire is George Williams at Forest
Green. He should be at a higher level.
The best club social media account
is @saddlersstats.
The fans’ opinion of the gaffer is
that on our budget we must squeeze
every ounce of ability from the squad,
and Clarke did that for most of his
time at Bristol Rovers. He’s popular.
We’ll finish 10th.
FAn FILE
RICH PULLEN
@LoathedStrangerFAn FILE
ROB JONES
@RobJNumber13