Saddle up... we're off to League One

Last updated : 09 June 2007 By Paul Smith

Final position: 1st

Top goalscorer: Dean Keates (13)

Keates... top goalscorer and player of the season

Player of the season: As ever in a promotion winning side there are plenty of candidates.

Clayton Ince, Craig Pead and Chris Westwood all made the League Two team of the year, as did the man NCM feel just shaded the award - Keates.

Scoring thirteen from midfield is a great return, and the diminutive man didn't just do that creating plenty in abundance.

A tireless worker, Keates scores, makes and prevents many attacks and was the key man in Walsall's championship win.

Against Notts: A double win for the Saddlers, although on both occasions it could be fiercely argued that Notts were deserving of six points, or at least two draws.

Hector Sam - Notts' recent signing from Walsall - has said that if Notts learn to grind out results as the Saddlers did they will have a chance, and they certainly ground results out against the Magpies.

At the end of November Tommy Wright - who should have been dismissed for two awful challenges on Kevin Pilkington before his goal - opened the scoring before Keates hit a long free-kick that went straight in.

Ian Ross scored his only Notts goal from a free-kick with twenty minutes left but Notts missed a few chances as Walsall survived to take the points.

At Meadow Lane the sides met with four games of the season to go. A win for Walsall would guarantee promotion while a win for Notts would have them right back in the Playoff race after four successive wins.

Despite a spirited Notts showing Walsall managed to win after goals by Kevin Harper and Trevor Benjamin either side of Lawrie Dudfield's volley.

In the Money... boss Richard
Defining moment:
Walsall's only poor spell came in the month of February as they lost three and drew one of their five fixtures.

This is their defining moment as they rose out of a troubling spell to defy any nerves and continue their march to promotion.

Doing this showed their credentials and they lost just once in their next twelve games to see out the season as title winners.

Highlight: Beating Hartlepool to the winners trophy.

Promotion was good but this was the icing on the cake for Richard Money's men, especially after Hartlepools amazing unbeaten run had them top for a long time and seemingly dead certainties for the league title.

However, as Bristol Rovers defeated the Pool on the last day of the season, Walsall picked up a vital point at Swindon to see them over the line.

Lowlight: Came after the season had finished when two of their star men - Westwood and Keates - decided to stay in League Two by moving to Peterborough United, a clear case of getting more money with the Posh splashing the cash under new millionaire owners.

The Mad verdict: Where you finish is ultimately where you deserve to finish and so nobody can complain that Walsall do not deserve their title.

Westwood... departed for Peterborough

However, they were hardly the most entertaining side, and managed to scrape results out rather than hammer sides.

It shows Notts what is needed as they combined a superb defensive record with goals from all areas of the park - unreliant on one man to hit twenty plus goals.

What's next? League One football is back at the Bescot Stadium at the first time of asking.

Losing Keates and Westwood is a blow and another of their better players last season - Sam - was surprisingly allowed to depart.

Bringing men in is vital to stay up with such a small squad now severely weakened.