The transfer window is open from today, June 14, and Mat Sadler will have a tough summer to bring in players. We all want Walsall to be active early on. The question is, will we be lively right from the start? I have a feeling we won’t.
Besides the open letter from Boycott and the release of the new match kit, there has been a low news flow from the club in the last month.
The new match kit
Last Friday, the club finally released the match kit that will be used next season. Overall I think they look alright. They probably look better close up than in a photo.
The home shirt is the one looking best. The away shirt is growing on me every time I look at it. The green third shirt feels somewhat dull or anonymous in a way.
What will arrive first, players or staff?
Here is one question I’ve asked myself lately. Will the coaching staff arrive first to help Sadler help prepare for the pre-season? Or will we see players getting through the gates first?
The recruitment will be done via a computer program. The same strategy Brentford has used to build their Premier League team. The method is called Moneyball.
Data-driven recruitment
You take data and put it through a computer program, and when it is finished, it prints out a suitable player that fits the attributes you have chosen. That is a short explanation.
If used right, I believe it could be a good approach. It might even find cheap gems you wouldn’t find by going and watching games live. Hopefully, Mat Sadler and his staff have analysts who are good at finding the right players, just as Brentford have done.
What we have to understand and take into consideration is that every player we sign will not be an instant hit. As always, there will be players who won’t fit in even if the attributes are a match.
Some will take longer to gel and fit into the team and club. It is vital to give those players time and not get on their backs.
Tactical approach
Mat Sadler has said he wants his team to play on the front foot. For me, that would be keeping the ball on the ground, playing the ball forward and using pace to take advantage of a disorganised defence to create chances.
A high tempo in your ball movement forward will also utilise the players with less pace if they can use fewer touches to get the ball moving.
You don’t necessarily need pacy players in every position to play a high-tempo, attacking football on the front foot if you can move the ball around quickly with few touches.
Last season we saw glimpses of this type of football, but they were few. It usually ends with a player who isn’t confident enough to put the ball forward, and they turn to pass sideways or backwards.
It has been frustrating to watch since you can see passing options to players further up the pitch making runs, but they never get the ball.
Show more attacking confidence
This season we have to show more confidence to make those passes and utilise the runs our attacking players make off the ball.
There is a limit on how many runs the players will make without getting the ball until they are fed up and stop making them.
When they stop making those runs of the ball, our play becomes static, and we turn to hoofing the ball and losing possession.
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