Adam Virgo
BRIGHTON LEGEND AND TV PUNDIT
NOT so long ago, it looked a matter of time before Walsall won the League Two title. Now, they might not even get automatic promotion.
It’s been an incredible collapse and, for me, it can all be traced back to when Stoke recalled Nathan Lowe in January.
The 19-year-old striker scored 15 goals in 22 league games in the first half of the season. Pre-weekend, Walsall had scored 24 times in total and won just three of their 17 matches since he left.
Say what you want about pressure, and I’d be the first to say that it’s a lot harder to win games in April than it is in August. But those stats tell the story.
I watched Lowe against Oxford in one of his first games back at Stoke and he very much looked like a Championship player.
I remember thinking then ‘Where are they going to replace a player like that in January?’.
They had no chance. It was impossible, unless they got very lucky.
For me, the majority of teams in League One and Two are only ever a decent striker away from challenging for promotion. Unfortunately, it works the other way too -but all is not lost.
When you’ve been so close to automatic promotion, it hurts to see it slipping away.
But would Walsall players and fans have taken a play-off spot before the season started? Absolutely, and after losing such an important player it would be no disgrace to end up there.
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