With Oakes out for another six weeks and on loan keeper Joe Murphy not given permission by Sunderland to play in the fixture this leaves Walsall with only under 19 goalkeepers Rene Gilmartin and Luke Tilt able to play. Rene Gilmartin has only played one first team game and Luke Tilt has yet to start a first team fixture.
Merson has given up on the loan market to resolve our problem as with it being the first round clubs want their keepers not cup tied as they may have the same problem as us, later on in the competition. Merson has now decided to look for unattached experierenced keepers.
Unfortunately Seaman was not able to join as he took out an insurance policy which prevents him from playing again. This is similar to the one that Mike Marsh took out when dropping out of league football. He had to leave Kidderminster when they got promoted from the conference, otherwise he would of had to pay all the money back.