2014–15 Walsall F.C. season

Having received a bye to the Northern section second round, Walsall started their Football League Trophy campaign with a trip to Rochdale. Despite having been beaten 4-0 in the corresponding league fixture a few weeks earlier, the Saddlers won 1-0 with a goal from French striker Mathieu Manset, his only goal for the club.

The quarter finals saw Sheffield United defeated by the same scoreline courtesy of a Romaine Sawyers goal. Travelling to Tranmere for the semi-final, the Saddlers trailed 2-0 before hitting back to draw 2-2 and win on penalties.

That set up a Northern section final with Preston North End. An inspired goalkeeping performance from Richard O'Donnell and late goals from Anthony Forde and Tom Bradshaw secured a 2-0 away win in the first leg. A goalless draw back at the Bescot was enough to confirm Walsall’s first appearance at Wembley in the club’s 127-year history, prompting wild celebrations from fans and players alike.

The Saddlers would face runaway League One leaders Bristol City in the final, with the clash generating major excitement in the town. More than 30,000 Walsall fans made the trip to London, forming part of a crowd over 72,000 strong. However, the Saddlers were comfortably beaten on the day suffering a 2-0 defeat.

Major moves in the summer transfer market saw the departure of captain and fan favourite Andy Butler who left for Sheffield United, while top scorer Craig Westcarr was surprisingly released. Incomings included defender James O’Connor and attackers Tom Bradshaw and Jordan Cook.

The season got off to a poor start with the club failing to win any of its first six league fixtures. A first three points of the season was finally achieved with a 3-1 win over Preston, with Butler surprisingly returning to the club on a one-month loan deal to cover a defensive injury crisis.

However, the Saddlers continued to struggle with a 1-0 defeat to Crawley in October meaning the club had won just four of its last 32 league fixtures stretching back to January 2014. Despite this poor form, the club stuck with manager Dean Smith, who followed the Crawley loss with a seven game unbeaten run and progress in the Football League Trophy.

The form of Bradshaw was a major plus-point, with the young striker hitting 15 goals in his first 22 games for the club. Otherwise, Walsall struggled for goals and a run of just one win in 12 games between January and March left the Saddlers two points above the relegation zone with six games left to play.

However, three wins in the next five games ensured survival was achieved comfortably. Importantly, Bradshaw regained his early season form, hitting four goals after enduring a seven-game drought.

The season ended on a sour note with an 8-2 thrashing away at champions Bristol City. That left the Saddlers in 14th, ten points off the playoffs and nine clear of relegation. It was a low scoring season for the club, managing only 50 goals in 46 league games.

Source:[13][14]

Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute.

Players with squad numbers struck through and marked left the club during the playing season.

Players with names in italics and marked * were on loan from another club for the whole of their season with Walsall.

Players listed with no appearances have been in the matchday squad but only as unused substitutes.

Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
				League		FA Cup		League Cup		FL Trophy		Total		Discipline
1	GK	ENG	Richard O'Donnell	44	0	2	0	2	0	6	0	54	0	2	0
2	DF	ENG	Ben Purkiss	31 (1)	0	2	0	0	0	4 (1)	0	37 (2)	0	4	0
3	DF	ENG	Andy Taylor	37 (2)	1	2	0	2	0	5	0	46 (2)	1	5	0
4	DF	ENG	James O'Connor	30 (2)	1	0	0	1	0	2	0	33 (2)	1	3	0
5	DF	ENG	Dean Holden	2 (2)	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3 (2)	0	0	0
6	DF	ENG	Paul Downing	33 (2)	1	2	0	2	0	6	0	43 (2)	1	6	0
7	MF	ENG	Adam Chambers	45	0	2	0	2	0	6	0	55	0	9	1
8	MF	ENG	Sam Mantom	6 (6)	0	0 (1)	0	0	0	1 (1)	0	7 (8)	0	0	0
9	FW	WAL	Tom Bradshaw	29	17	1	2	2	0	5	1	37	20	3	0
10	MF	SKN	Romaine Sawyers	37 (5)	4	2	0	2	0	5	1	46 (5)	5	3	0
11	MF	ENG	James Baxendale	17 (11)	1	1 (1)	0	1 (1)	0	2 (3)	0	21 (16)	1	3	0
12	MF	ENG	Michael Cain *	28 (4)	2	2	0	0	0	4	1	34 (4)	3	2	0
13	GK	ENG	Craig MacGillivray	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
14	DF	ENG	Malvind Benning	11 (9)	0	0 (1)	0	1 (1)	1	1	0	13 (11)	1	1	0
15	DF	ENG	James Chambers	31	0	2	0	1	0	6	0	40	0	1	0
16	DF	ENG	Matt Preston	0 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	0	0
17	MF	ENG	Reece Flanagan	9 (7)	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	0 (1)	0	9 (9)	0	0	0
18	MF	ENG	Kieron Morris	9 (5)	2	0	0	0 (1)	1	0	0	9 (6)	3	0	0
20	FW	SLE	Amadou Bakayoko	0 (7)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0 (7)	0	1	0
21	FW	ENG	Jordan Cook	27 (5)	5	1	0	0	0	5 (1)	0	33 (6)	5	4	0
22	MF	IRL	Liam Kinsella	4	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	5	0	1	0
24	FW	ENG	Ashley Grimes	11 (16)	2	0 (2)	0	2	0	1 (4)	0	14 (22)	2	4	0
25	DF	ENG	Rico Henry	4 (5)	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	5 (5)	0	0	0
26	MF	ENG	Billy Clifford	7 (6)	0	0	0	1 (1)	0	1	0	9 (7)	0	1	0
27	MF	IRL	Anthony Forde	24 (13)	3	2	0	1	0	4 (2)	2	31 (15)	5	1	0
28	DF	ENG	Kyle Rowley	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
29	FW	ENG	Jordan Murphy	0 (2)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0 (2)	0	0	0
30	FW	ENG	Jordy Hiwula *	17 (2)	9	0	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	17 (3)	9	2	0
37	FW	FRA	Mathieu Manset	4 (15)	0	1 (1)	0	0	0	1 (2)	1	6 (18)	1	2	0
44	DF	ENG	Andy Butler *	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	2	0

Players not included in matchday squads

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name
19	MF	ENG	Jake Heath
23	GK	ENG	Liam Roberts