By Neil Ravenscroft
September 25 2004

Walsall slipped today into the relegation zone of Division One with barely a whimper and the Manager's future must be in question. Paul Merson's tenure as Walsall manager must be under threat tonight as his team surrendered it's undefeated home record to a very ordinary Brentford side, slipping into the relegation zone in the process.

From the moment the defence stopped waiting for a whistle, when the linesman was clearly flagging for a foul against the Saddlers and the referee gave the advantage, leaving Isiah Rankine to be brought down in the area by Darren Wrack, there was only ever going to be one result to this game. John Salako converted the spot kick and the game was as good as over, with Walsall only managing one shot on target late in the second half.

Don't get the wrong impression here. Brentford had only gained one point from their previous 4 away games, scoring 4 goals and conceeding12 in the process and looked very ordinary indeed. Against this team, Walsall could have played all night and would have been unlikely to score.

Paul Merson picked a strange line up for his change to 4 4 2, with Wright at right back and Wrack at left back, but with Kris Taylor brought into central midfield and the right footed Standing on the left wing.

Daryl Taylor was on the right wing and spent most of the first half as a spectator, as no one seemed to want to pass the ball to him. He did get the ball more in the second, but, like the other youngsters, Fryatt and Wright, looked lightweight and ineffective.

The central midfield was, frankly, awful and the substitutions bewildering, but it's difficult to see what difference anyone could have made, we were so bad.

The sponsor's man of the match was Bennett, who, with Paston, did the least wrong.