Walsall

The club

Walsall were founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, from the merger of Walsall Town and Walsall Swifts. They have played at the Bescot Stadium in Walsall, in the West Midlands, since 1990, having moved from Fellows Park; capacity is 11,300. They are the Saddlers, after the town's leather trade, and play in red, black and white.

Recent seasons

Walsall have been a League Two club for eight seasons. They were 12th in 2019/20 on the points-per-game calculation used when the season was curtailed, 19th in 2020/21 with 53 points, 16th in 2021/22 with 54, 16th again in 2022/23 with 55, and 11th in 2023/24 with 65. The 2024/25 season was the best of the run and the most painful: fourth with 77 points from 46 games, 21 wins, 14 draws and 11 defeats, 75 goals scored and 54 conceded, then defeat in the play-off final, 1-0 to AFC Wimbledon at Wembley. In 2025/26 the club fell back to 13th with 65 points from 46 games, 18 wins, 11 draws and 17 defeats, and an exactly level goal difference, 56 scored and 56 conceded. Wikipedia's Walsall season article gives that finish as ninth, which cannot be right, since ninth in the division was Swindon Town on 75 points; the division table is the figure to use. Daniel Kanu was top scorer with 13 league goals and 16 in all competitions. Mat Sadler was sacked on 11 March 2026 after almost three years and 161 matches in charge, with Darren Byfield taking over as head coach for the rest of the season.

Honours and landmarks

Walsall have never played in the top flight and have never won a major trophy. They were Fourth Division champions in 1959/60 and Third Division runners-up in 1960/61, which took them into the second tier, and were League Two champions in 2006/07. They were Second Division runners-up again in 1998/99 and reached the Football League Trophy final in 2014/15, losing it. Before the 1960 title the club had spent 37 consecutive seasons in the third tier.

The single most famous result in the club's history is the 2-0 win over Arsenal in the FA Cup third round in January 1933, Arsenal then being the strongest side in the country; it is routinely listed among the biggest upsets the competition has produced.

Record attendance figures are unusual for Walsall because of a ground-share. Their highest "home" crowd was 74,646 for a 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa in 1930, played at Villa Park. The Fellows Park record was 25,453 against Newcastle United in August 1961. The Bescot Stadium record is 11,049, set in the 2003/04 season. Gilbert Alsop is the club's most celebrated scorer, with 169 goals between 1931 and 1935; a stand at the Bescot is named after him. No all-time record win, record defeat, appearance record or record transfer fee was established: Wikipedia's Walsall article carries a club records section that was not retrievable, there is no separate records article, and the club's own site blocked automated fetching.

Notable scorelines

Not established beyond the Arsenal cup tie of 1933 and the 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa in 1930 that produced the record crowd. Record win and record defeat could not be sourced.

Head-to-head notes

Walsall do not publish accessible all-time head-to-head records and none was established for any 2026/27 opponent. The EFL Cup first round is away at Bristol City, who finished 12th in the Championship in 2025/26 with 62 points; the tie was moved from 7 to 6 August to avoid clashing with the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta. The league opens away at Gillingham, who finished 17th in League Two in 2025/26 with 53 points, 12 behind Walsall. There is a live connection to Wigan Athletic, who signed right-back Connor Barrett from Walsall on 15 June 2026, though the two clubs are in different divisions this season.

Right now (2026/27)

Lee Grant was appointed head coach on 14 May 2026 on a three-year deal, taking over from Darren Byfield, who had run the team since Mat Sadler's dismissal in March.

Recruitment has been broad. Midfielder Sven Sprangler joined from St Johnstone on 27 June. Centre-back James Connolly signed from Crewe Alexandra on a free transfer on 1 July, and forward Andrew Dallas arrived from Barnsley the same day. Goalkeeper Jed Ward joined from Bristol Rovers on 10 July and winger Reece Smith from Harrogate Town on 28 July. Two loans were added: Isaac Moore from Coventry City and Declan Skura from Wycombe Wanderers.

The one significant sale was right-back Connor Barrett to Wigan Athletic on 15 June for an undisclosed fee. Josh Gordon, Evan Weir and Jamille Matt were among those released at the end of their contracts.

Pre-season did not go well. Walsall drew 0-0 at Leamington on 11 July and beat Nottingham Forest under-21s 4-2 on 18 July, then lost 5-0 at home to Aston Villa on 21 July, lost 1-0 at AFC Telford United on 25 July and lost 5-0 at Luton Town on 29 July. Three defeats in the last three, two of them by five goals, one of them to a non-league side.

The season starts with the EFL Cup first round away at Bristol City at Ashton Gate on Thursday 6 August 2026 at 7.45pm. The League Two campaign opens away at Gillingham on Saturday 15 August 2026 at 3pm.

Sources

Researched and written for not4quarters. Where a fact could not be established from the sources read, this page says so rather than guessing.