# 2010–11 Walsall F.C. season

The 2010–11 season was the 123rd season of competitive association football and the 4th consecutive season in League One played by Walsall Football Club, a professional association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands, England. The team reached the second round of the FA Cup, losing to Torquay United. There was a change of manager in January.

## Season summary

Having finished 10th in the previous season, Walsall started the season poorly, losing six of their first eight league games.
On 4 January 2011, manager Chris Hutchins was sacked with the club bottom of the league and having recorded just 5 league wins. On 21 January 2011, Dean Smith was appointed as manager after a successful spell as caretaker manager following the dismissal of Chris Hutchins. The saddlers finished the season in 20th place, 1 point above the relegation zone.

## First-team squad

    Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Jonny Brain |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Darryl Westlake |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Aaron Lescott |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Clayton McDonald |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Olly Lancashire |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Manny Smith |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Matt Richards |
| 9 | FW | JAM | Darren Byfield |
| 10 | FW | IRL | Jon Macken |
| 11 | FW | ENG | Alex Nicholls |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Paul Marshall |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Richard Taundry |
| 15 | FW | ENG | Jamie Paterson |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Alex Hickman |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | FW | ENG | George Bowerman |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Julian Gray |
| 19 | FW | ENG | Will Grigg |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Sean Geddes |
| 21 | GK | IRL | David Bevan |
| 23 | MF | FRA | Marco Gbarssin (on loan from Carlisle United) |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Aaron Forde |
| 26 | MF | SCO | Marc Laird (on loan from Millwall) |
| 27 | MF | ENG | Jordan Cook (on loan from Sunderland) |
| 28 | DF | CYP | Tom Williams |
| 29 | GK | ENG | Jimmy Walker |
| 30 | MF | ARG | Emmanuel Ledesma |
| 32 | DF | ENG | Andy Butler |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 7 | FW | NIR | Steve Jones (on loan to Motherwell) |
| 22 | FW | ENG | Reuben Reid (on loan from West Bromwich Albion) |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Matthew Gill (on loan from Norwich City) |
| 23 | DF | NIR | Ryan McGivern (on loan from Manchester City) |
| 23 | FW | WAL | Jason Price (on loan from Carlisle United) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 26 | MF | ENG | David Davis (on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers) |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Andrew Davies (on loan from Stoke City) |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Martin Devaney (on loan from Barnsley) |
| 30 | FW | ENG | Liam Dickinson (on loan from Barnsley) |

## Competitions

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 18 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 15 | 11 | 20 | 53 | 60 | −7 | 56 | |
| 19 | Notts County | 46 | 14 | 8 | 24 | 46 | 60 | −14 | 50 | |
| 20 | Walsall | 46 | 12 | 12 | 22 | 56 | 75 | −19 | 48 | |
| 21 | Dagenham & Redbridge (R) | 46 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 52 | 70 | −18 | 47 | Relegation to Football League Two |
| 22 | Bristol Rovers (R) | 46 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 48 | 82 | −34 | 45 | Relegation to Football League Two |

## Results
### League One

| Game | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Goalscorers | Attendance |
| 1 | 7 August | Milton Keynes Dons | H | L | 1–2 | Smith 48' | 4,034 |
| 2 | 14 August | Brentford | A | W | 2–1 | Nicholls 12', Gray 54' | 4,544 |
| 3 | 21 August | Plymouth Argyle | H | W | 2–1 | Marshall 53', Reid 69' | 3,966 |
| 4 | 28 August | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | L | 1–2 | Macken 90' | 8,737 |
| 5 | 4 September | Colchester United | H | L | 0–1 | – | 3,416 |
| 6 | 11 September | Rochdale | A | L | 2–3 | Macken 4', Byfield 45' | 3,174 |
| 7 | 18 September | Swindon Town | H | L | 1–2 | Reid 70' | 4,580 |
| 8 | 25 September | Hartlepool United | A | L | 1–2 | Gray 9' | 2,552 |
| 9 | 28 September | Leyton Orient | A | D | 0–0 | – | 2,963 |
| 10 | 2 October | Yeovil Town | H | L | 0–1 | – | 3,172 |
| 11 | 9 October | Exeter City | H | W | 2–1 | Reid 32', Richards 43' | 3,776 |
| 12 | 16 October | Dagenham & Redbridge | A | D | 1–1 | Devaney 50' | 2,666 |
| 13 | 23 October | Tranmere Rovers | H | L | 1–4 | Macken 65' | 3,362 |
| 14 | 30 October | Huddersfield Town | A | L | 0–1 | – | 13,062 |
| 15 | 2 November | Peterborough United | H | L | 1–3 | Gray 53' | 3,294 |
| 16 | 13 November | Bournemouth | A | L | 0–3 | – | 5,601 |
| 17 | 20 November | Carlisle United | H | W | 2–1 | Richards 37', 53' | 4,256 |
| 18 | 23 November | Sheffield Wednesday | A | L | 0–3 | – | 15,228 |
| 19 | 12 December | Charlton Athletic | A | W | 1–0 | Richards 69' | 14,938 |
| 20 | 1 January | Notts County | H | L | 0–3 | – | 4,131 |
| 21 | 3 January | Peterborough United | A | L | 1–4 | Nicholls 10' | 5,517 |
| 22 | 8 January | Tranmere Rovers | A | D | 3–3 | Richards 32', Macken 85', Butler 90' | 4,602 |
| 23 | 11 January | Bristol Rovers | A | D | 2–2 | Grigg 5', Lescott 83' | 5,369 |
| 24 | 15 January | Huddersfield Town | H | L | 2–4 | Nicholls 14', Richards 47' | 3,827 |
| 25 | 22 January | Exeter City | A | L | 1–2 | Gray 85' | 4,853 |
| 26 | 25 January | Oldham Athletic | H | D | 1–1 | Westlake 61' | 3,247 |
| 27 | 29 January | Bristol Rovers | H | W | 6–1 | Butler 17', 73', Gill 34', Gray 45', Richards 50', Nicholls 69' | 4,023 |
| 28 | 2 February | Notts County | A | D | 1–1 | Nicholls 88' | |
| 29 | 5 February | Carlisle United | A | W | 3–1 | Gill 37', Gray 59', 73' | 4,332 |
| 30 | 12 February | Bournemouth | H | L | 0–1 | – | 4,103 |
| 31 | 15 February | Dagenham and Redbridge | H | W | 1–0 | Grigg 81' | 3,174 |
| 32 | 19 February | Colchester United | A | L | 0–2 | – | 3,439 |
| 33 | 26 February | Rochdale | H | D | 0–0 | – | 3,830 |
| 34 | 1 March | Southampton | H | W | 1–0 | Macken 69' | 4,684 |
| 35 | 5 March | Swindon | A | D | 0–0 | – | 10,489 |
| 36 | 8 March | Leyton Orient | H | L | 0–2 | – | 3,019 |
| 37 | 12 March | Yeovil | A | D | 1–1 | Macken 18' | 3,737 |
| 38 | 19 March | Hartlepool | H | W | 5–2 | Grigg 59', Byfield 64', Gray 77', Smith 83', Ledesma 90' | 4,234 |
| 39 | 25 March | MK Dons | A | D | 1–1 | Richards 29' | 8,923 |
| 40 | 9 April | Plymouth Argyle | A | L | 0–2 | – | 7,995 |
| 41 | 12 April | Brentford | H | W | 3–2 | Macken 40', 64', Cook 57' | 3,154 |
| 42 | 16 April | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | L | 1–3 | Butler 11' | 6,015 |
| 43 | 23 April | Sheffield Wednesday | H | D | 1–1 | Macken 10' | 2,072 |
| 44 | 25 April | Oldham Athletic | A | D | 1–1 | Lowe 88' | 3,463 |
| 45 | 30 April | Charlton Athletic | H | W | 2–0 | Grigg 34', Gray 78' | 5,088 |
| 46 | 7 May | Southampton | A | L | 1–3 | Gray 45' | 31,653 |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Goalscorers | Attendance |
| First | 6 Nov | Fleetwood Town | A | D | 1–1 | Richards 4' | 2,319 |
| First Replay | 16 Nov | Fleetwood Town | H | W | 2–0 | Reid 58', 90' | 2,056 |
| Second | 27 Nov | Torquay United | A | L | 0–1 | – | 2,334 |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Goalscorers | Attendance |
| First | 10 Aug | Tranmere Rovers | H | L | 0–1 | – | 2,253 |

### Football League Trophy

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Goalscorers | Attendance |
| First | 31 Aug | Chesterfield | H | L | 1–2 | Reid 19' | 1,793 |