# 2009–10 Walsall F.C. season

The 2009–10 season was the 122nd season and their 3rd consecutive season in League One played by Walsall F.C., a football club based in Walsall, West Midlands, England. Along with competing in League One, the club also participated in the FA Cup, League Cup and the Football League Trophy.

## Season summary

Walsall finished 13th in the previous season, with caretaker manager Jimmy Mullen being appointed permanently shortly after the end of the season. However, on 10 January 2009 Mullen was sacked as manager following a run of just four wins in sixteen games. On 20 January 2009, Chris Hutchins was appointed as Mullen's successor with Martin O'Connor appointed as his assistant. Walsall finished 10th at the end of the season.

## Competitions
### League One
#### Table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 8 | Colchester United | 46 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 64 | 52 | +12 | 72 |
| 9 | Brentford | 46 | 14 | 20 | 12 | 55 | 52 | +3 | 62 |
| 10 | Walsall | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 60 | 63 | −3 | 62 |
| 11 | Bristol Rovers | 46 | 19 | 5 | 22 | 59 | 70 | −11 | 62 |
| 12 | Milton Keynes Dons | 46 | 17 | 9 | 20 | 60 | 68 | −8 | 60 |

#### Results

League One match details :
| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 8 August 2009 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | W | 1–0 | Whing 30' o.g. | 6,504 |
| 15 August 2009 | Southend United | H | D | 2–2 | Jones 11', Parkin 90+2' pen. | 3,658 |
| 18 August 2009 | Leeds United | H | L | 1–2 | Parkin 79' pen. | 8,483 |
| 22 August 2009 | Charlton Athletic | A | L | 0–2 | | 15,306 |
| 29 August 2009 | Gillingham | H | D | 0–0 | | 3,331 |
| 5 September 2009 | Norwich City | A | D | 0–0 | | 23,041 |
| 12 September 2009 | Tranmere Rovers | A | W | 3–2 | Byfield 45', Deeney 47', 83' | 4,858 |
| 19 September 2009 | Swindon Town | H | D | 1–1 | Deeney 8' | 4,148 |
| 26 September 2009 | Hartlepool United | A | L | 0–3 | | 3,334 |
| 29 September 2009 | Huddersfield Town | H | W | 2–1 | Byfield 66' pen., Mattis 87' | 3,419 |
| 3 October 2009 | Carlisle United | H | D | 2–2 | Byfield 33', Jones 74' | 3,572 |
| 10 October 2009 | Milton Keynes Dons | A | L | 0–1 | | 8,919 |
| 17 October 2009 | Exeter City | H | W | 3–0 | Jones 29', 45+2', Deeney 70' | 4,063 |
| 24 October 2009 | Colchester United | A | L | 1–2 | Byfield 28' | 4,880 |
| 31 October 2009 | Wycombe Wanderers | A | W | 3–2 | Jones 55', Hughes 80', Nicholls 83' | 5,046 |
| 14 November 2009 | Stockport County | H | W | 2–0 | Richards 37', Byfield 56' | 4,143 |
| 21 November 2009 | Brentford | A | D | 1–1 | Jones 68' | 4,492 |
| 24 November 2009 | Oldham Athletic | H | W | 3–0 | Deeney 20', 80', Jones 45+1' | 3,191 |
| 1 December 2009 | Yeovil Town | A | W | 3–1 | Byfield 5', Jones 20', Parkin 89' | 3,508 |
| 5 December 2009 | Southampton | H | L | 1–3 | Byfield 66' | 5,681 |
| 12 December 2009 | Millwall | A | L | 1–2 | Smith 8' | 8,174 |
| 19 December 2009 | Leyton Orient | H | D | 2–2 | Deeney 46', 57' | 3,616 |
| 16 January 2010 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | L | 1–2 | Richards 26' | 3,450 |
| 26 January 2010 | Norwich City | H | L | 1–2 | Deeney 35' | 5,022 |
| 30 January 2010 | Gillingham | A | D | 0–0 | | 4,796 |
| 2 February 2010 | Charlton Athletic | H | D | 1–1 | Deeney 32' | 3,417 |
| 6 February 2010 | Bristol Rovers | H | D | 0–0 | | 3,886 |
| 9 February 2010 | Bristol Rovers | A | W | 1–0 | Taundry 32' | 5,919 |
| 13 February 2010 | Oldham Athletic | A | L | 0–1 | | 3,968 |
| 16 February 2010 | Leeds United | A | W | 2–1 | Mattis 46', McDonald 81' | 18,941 |
| 20 February 2010 | Brentford | H | W | 2–1 | Nicholls 35', Deeney 84' | 3,616 |
| 23 February 2010 | Yeovil Town | H | L | 0–1 | | 2,929 |
| 27 February 2010 | Southampton | A | L | 1–5 | Richards 3' | 20,461 |
| 6 March 2010 | Millwall | H | D | 2–2 | Nicholls 12', Taundry 27' | 3,835 |
| 13 March 2010 | Leyton Orient | A | L | 0–2 | | 3,685 |
| 20 March 2010 | Colchester United | H | W | 1–0 | Byfield 90+4' | 3,510 |
| 23 March 2010 | Southend United | A | L | 0–3 | | 6,432 |
| 27 March 2010 | Exeter City | A | L | 1–2 | Gray 62' | 5,887 |
| 3 April 2010 | Stockport County | A | D | 1–1 | Gray 47' | 3,580 |
| 5 April 2010 | Wycombe Wanderers | H | W | 2–1 | Smith 7', Gray 22' | 3,618 |
| 10 April 2010 | Tranmere Rovers | H | W | 2–1 | Smith 35', Byfield 70' | 3,841 |
| 13 April 2010 | Huddersfield Town | A | L | 3–4 | Deeney 63', 69', Nicholls 83' | 14,396 |
| 17 April 2010 | Swindon Town | A | D | 1–1 | Jones 44' | 8,467 |
| 24 April 2010 | Hartlepool United | H | W | 3–1 | Gray 7', Deeney 29', Taundry 76' | 3,457 |
| 1 May 2010 | Carlisle United | A | D | 1–1 | Byfield 2' | 5,114 |
| 8 May 2010 | Milton Keynes Dons | H | W | 2–1 | Richards 47', Smith 86' | 4,772 |

### FA Cup

FA Cup match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Ref. |
| First round | 7 November 2009 | Stourbridge | A | W | 1–0 | Jones 34' | 2,014 | |
| Second round | 28 November 2009 | Brentford | A | L | 0–1 | | 2,611 | |

### Football League Cup

Football League Cup match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Ref. |
| First round | 11 August 2009 | Accrington Stanley | A | L | 1–2 | Nicholls 9' | 1,041 | |

### Football League Trophy

Football League Trophy match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Ref. |
| First round | 1 September 2009 | Bury | H | D | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–5 p) | | 2,314 | |

## Squad

| No. | Name | Nat | Date of birth | Place of Birth | Signed from | Note |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| 1 | Clayton Ince | TRI | 12 July 1972 | Arima | Coventry City | |
| 21 | Rene Gilmartin | IRE | 31 May 1987 | Dublin | none | |
| 26 | Tim Cooney | ENG | 6 April 1992 | Birmingham | none | |
| 31 | Mark Oxley | ENG | 28 September 1990 | Sheffield | Hull City | on loan from Hull City |
| Defenders |||||||
| 2 | Rhys Weston | WAL | 27 October 1980 | Kingston upon Thames | Port Vale | |
| 3 | Netan Sansara | ENG | 3 August 1989 | Darlaston | none | |
| 5 | Mark Hughes | ENG | 9 December 1986 | Kirkby | Northampton Town | |
| 6 | Manny Smith | ENG | 8 November 1988 | Birmingham | none | |
| 14 | Richard Taundry | ENG | 15 February 1989 | Walsall | none | |
| 16 | Darryl Westlake | ENG | 1 March 1991 | Sutton Coldfield | none | |
| 19 | Jamie Vincent | ENG | 18 June 1975 | Wimbledon | Swindon Town | |
| 28 | Clayton McDonald | ENG | 6 December 1988 | Liverpool | Manchester City | |
| Midfielders |||||||
| 4 | Stephen Roberts | WAL | 24 February 1980 | Wrexham | Doncaster Rovers | retired in October 2009 |
| 8 | Dwayne Mattis | IRL | 31 July 1981 | Huddersfield | Barnsley | |
| 12 | Mark Bradley | WAL | 14 January 1988 | Wordsley | none | |
| 15 | Josh O'Keefe | IRL | 22 December 1988 | Whalley | Blackburn Rovers | |
| 17 | Richard Davies | ENG | 15 May 1990 | Willenhall | none | |
| 18 | Peter Till | ENG | 7 September 1985 | Walsall | Grimsby Town | |
| 20 | Matt Richards | ENG | 26 December 1984 | Harlow | Ipswich Town | |
| 23 | Sam Adkins | ENG | 3 December 1991 | Birmingham | none | |
| 24 | Julian Gray | ENG | 21 September 1979 | Lewisham | Barnsley | signed in February 2010 |
| 25 | Sean Geddes | ENG | 13 February 1992 | Sandwell | none | |
| Forwards |||||||
| 7 | Steve Jones | NIR | 25 October 1976 | Derry | Burnley | |
| 9 | Sam Parkin | SCO | 14 March 1981 | Roehampton | Luton Town | |
| 10 | Troy Deeney | ENG | 29 June 1988 | Birmingham | none | |
| 11 | Alex Nicholls | ENG | 9 December 1987 | Stourbridge | none | |
| 22 | Will Grigg | NIR | 3 July 1991 | Solihull | Stratford Town | |
| 27 | Darren Byfield | JAM | 29 September 1976 | Sutton Coldfield | Oldham Athletic | |