As the curtain falls on another dismal season for the Saddlers, we're all set for a busy summer of change in our portion of the Black Country.With a managerial hot seat yet to be filled, along with a plethora of player contracts set to expire, there'll be plenty of movement over the coming days and weeks, and, after the last two disappointing campaigns, we're very much looking forward to it.
There's no denying the current squad is filled with both potential and already-realised ability, from the likes of Stan Straw, who is just making his way into the game, to Albert Adomah, who continues to defy the odds at the ripe old age of 38, but there has been no shortage of average displays.
A desire to break an opponent by allowing them to keep possession while the team prods and probes in search of potential openings is all well and good if the team is able to take chances when they arrive, but a lack of non-Daniel Kanu goals saw far too many points left on the table as games came and went.
But the overriding issue has been a lack of consistency. Starting strong, the team won eight of their opening fourteen games, and would grow further into the campaign, securing maximum points from four in five matches before managing to repeat the feat just twice in the next thirteen outings, as the wheels well and truly fell off.
Going into the season on the back of last year's Play-Off disappointment, we all hoped the team and its ownership group would be determined to right a few wrongs and make sure that the feat wasn't repeated this time around. And, while there was no fruitless visit to the national stadium, what came in its place was something far worse than even the most pessimistic fans could've foreseen.
Finishing in the bottom half of the table is not only massively frustrating, but it'll also have an impact on a wide variety of things that shape the team for next season. From recruitment to income streams, ticket sales to media engagement, a bottom-half finish is much tougher to sell to a prospective recruit than a Play-Off Final defeat.
And although we're all meant to be comforted by the fact that there are so, so many people behind the scenes already working on the upcoming rebuild, we're not exactly confident they know what they're doing, after all, too many cooks spoil the broth.
With Jenson Kilroy, Aden Flint, Priestley Farquharson, Evan Weir, Rico Browne, Elicha Ahui, Charlie Lakin, Brandon Comley, Alfie Chang, Jamie Jellis, Dylan Thomas, Jamille Matt, Josh Gordon, and Albert Adomah all reaching the end of their current contracts, there will be plenty for the recently-recruited Head of Football to be getting up to, but to use another food-related pun, the proof is in the pudding.
Next season will be one that could well decide the future of the club going forward. Rise up and at least make the Play-Offs and many fans will be able to forgive the last few seasons, but fail to show any fight, and the following campaign will likely be played in front of one man and his dog and a capless bottle of pop, as the ongoing cost of living crisis will see more and more fans opt to watch from their sofas, if at all. Over to you Trivela, et al.