Jonny Drury and George Bennett discuss Tom Knowles' departure from Walsall - and whether it came as a surprise.
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00:00Tom Knowles was one of the main departures. We had the release and retain list and there
00:12were players that were always going to leave the club at the end of their contract. But
00:14Tom Knowles, somebody who's left, has he gone to Forest Green? Newly, sort of freshly relegated
00:19Forest Green in the National League next season. Was that something of a surprise to you when
00:26the news sort of filtered in a couple of weeks ago?
00:29Possibly. I mean, obviously he was not necessarily an ever-present because of injuries and suspensions,
00:37but he was someone that had regular game time under Matt Sadler last season, playing in
00:42an unfamiliar position really for himself in that right wing back slot in his first
00:47season. He's playing much further forward, scored five goals. And last season, I think
00:53it was two goals in all competitions, but none in the league. But he was always a threat
00:58down that right hand side. And I think one thing that, you know, Walsall fans really
01:02liked about him was the fact that his work ethic is something that you could never dispute.
01:08And also his connection with the fans. He was going to away games when he was injured
01:12and it's worth remembering that he'd really picked up quite a strong spell of form when
01:17Walsall had gone on that five match winning streak in February and the start of March
01:21and his injury against Forest Green, all teams actually, where it kind of really cut an end
01:27to his season because he only featured right towards the tail end of the campaign after
01:32that. And that kind of coincided with Walsall's slump in form. So that could possibly suggest
01:38that he was an important player there, but there were probably flaws to his game. You
01:43know, there was question marks over his final ball and he should have probably been more
01:47productive in the final third. Walsall sometimes struggled to defend from wide areas and that
01:53was just the final game of the season when they lost 5-1 against Wimbledon, was maybe
01:57culpable for that. So, you know, if you were looking to strengthen, then the right wing
02:01back area would have been an area you'd have looked to strengthen. And unfortunately for
02:05Tom Knowles, who I believe has probably found a good club there in Forest Green, where although
02:12they might be in the National League and he's dropped out of the Football League, they're
02:15going to be a club with the investment they made that would be looking to get back there.
02:19So, you know, I feel like probably the right decision, but Walsall had to be ruthless there
02:27really. And, you know, that's the direction they've looked to go by improving that right
02:32wing back slot with the arrival of Conor Barrett.