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Swindon Town- Sat 3rd Sept (h)

Reports and reaction from the 2005-06 season as Walsall finished 24th (R) in League 1
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Sun Sep 04, 2005 2:48 am

Winning is not enough we must dominate this division we must dominate Europe we must dominate the World....ahhhhhhhhhh......!

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sid swifty
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Sun Sep 04, 2005 3:33 am

KEEP SAYING "I DONT MIND AS LONG AS WE GET THE 3 POINTS" IF YOU WANT BUT HAVE YOU NOTICED HOW CLOSE WE ARE GETTING TO 4,000 GATES ? SO SOMEONE MUST BE MINDING HOW WE ARE PLAYING AND HOW WE ARE BEING MIS-MANAGED, SEE YOU ALL IN TWO WEEKS :wink:

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Geordiesaddler
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Sun Sep 04, 2005 7:18 am

Exile wrote:Stu, it's becoming clearer that there's no decent teams in this division. That, or we're one of the decent teams and have become overcritical, maybe?


Spot on. If the manager can have the confidence to pick the in form players in a simple formation they understand very few teams will hurt us in this league.

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Sun Sep 04, 2005 7:59 am

I agree with most of the above.

We didn't play well but where I disagree with the above is that Swindon played better than us. We won't face many worse sides than them (except maybe next Saturday).

A win is a win. I could see what Merson was trying to do with the formation - play 4-5-1 when we didn't have the ball, with himself and Leitao on the wings, and switch to 4-3-3 when we did have it, with those two moving forward. Unfortunately he wasn't fit enough and ended up drifting all over the place, though mostly standing with his hands on his hips.

Taylor wasn't very good but as others have said, he isn't a left back. I thought we missed his bite in midfield and would rather have seen Wrack at left back (it's difficult to think of anything we would miss if he wasn't in midfield, even though he had his best game of the season). The big positive was the rest of the defence. Pead was excellent, as were Gerrard and Westwood. Oakes didn't have much to do, but he did it well. Just in front of them, Osborn was again magnificent (and clear man of the match for me), and I doubt there's anyone else in the division (save Merson perhaps) with the ability to make that stunning pass he did, virtually the length of the pitch, right onto Fryatt's foot in the penalty area, but not for the first time Fryatt made the wrong decision and tried to run on with it instead of hitting it first time.

I was quite pleased by how we played yesterday given Fox's absence and our lack of any other left backs. Next week at Yeovil we're playing another poor team and so I hope we don't go defensive, but I daresay if Staunton is fit we'll be seeing his return.

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Sun Sep 04, 2005 8:12 am

I don't think it's true to say our attendances are dropping. While the most recent three gates have been plateauing out at around the 5,500 mark, the figures still compare well to recent seasons at this level. In fact it is only the Swindon gate which was down against the equivalent fixture from previous years and that's only because it was comparing a lunchtime kick-off on the day of an England game against two Bank Holiday fixtures and one first match of the season.
Here are your figures for comparison:

Average attendance this season: 6,672
Average attendance in previous seasons at this level: 6,108 (04/05) 5,631 (00/01), 5,456 (98/99), 4,061 (97/98 ), 3,890 (96/97)

Home gates this season:
Forest 8,703 compared to 7,321 (03/04), 5,096 (02/03), 6,754 (01/02) 8,027 (99/00)
Southend 5,569 compared to 3,304 (97/98 )
Swansea 5,745 compared to 5,227 (00/01)
Swindon 5,392 compared to 5,951 (04/05), 5,548 (00/01), 6,437 (99/00)

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Geordiesaddler
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Sun Sep 04, 2005 8:21 am

Merson admitted yesterday on WM that the switch to 3-5-2 at Bournemouth was to accommodate Staunton. I find it incredible that we seek to organise the team around the worst player from the previous match. This is our biggest barrier to success IMO. Ever since Lee signed Corica we have had managers trying to organise the team around certain favourite individuals, usually to the detriment of the team as a whole and the host of other players that have to be the square pegs in round holes.
Wrack should be in a straight fight for the right wing slot with Wright. Taylor should be wide left, Standing and Ozzy should be centre midfield. The only debate should be 4-5-1 or 4-4-2 dependant on the state of the game. Gerrard and Westwood have proved themselves completely as the best centre-half partnership, Staunton shouldn't get a sniff apart from as cover. Merson is simply not fit enough to play, and his pressence in the team nulifies Standing and completely ruins the shape of the team.

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Sun Sep 04, 2005 8:46 am

Yes.

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Sun Sep 04, 2005 9:37 am

gates throughout the whole division are significantly down on last year. Why play the game vs Swindon on the Saturday? Clubs that played Friday night all enjoyed relatively good attendances.

http://stats.football365.com/dom/ENG/D2/attend.html

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Sun Sep 04, 2005 11:31 am

There's lots of good analysis here, THE feature of UTS that sets it apart from other message boards.

I'm particularly in agreement with Geordie's comments in his last post, although I'd add that Merson's influence upsets not only Standing's role, but also Osborn's. Too many of our players try to look for Merson ( the playmaker? ) continually, he is so distracting and it's SO annoying. Both Standing and Ozzie perform far more effectively when we don't have this distraction in the side.

Absolutely agree about Gerrard and Westwood as the central defensive partnership, with Pead and Fox as automatic first choice either side of them (though I'll get no prizes for that view I guess). No-one else should be poking their way in there, unless it's forced on us by injuries, suspensions, or drastic loss of form. With this settled line-up at the back, and a good understanding developed between these guys and Andy Oakes, we'll be hard to break down.

Settled side Merse, settled side, it's key.

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shrewsbury saddler
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Sun Sep 04, 2005 11:44 am

just looked at a Swindon site where someone claims they hit the woodwork 3 times!did I miss something yesterday?it was a terrible site by the way.

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Sun Sep 04, 2005 11:53 am

I don't think you missed anything Shrewsbury, or at least if you did, so did I !

I recall a couple of efforts, both at the Floors-2-Go end, one shot that Oakes made sure of by helping it over the top - that one certainly looked destined for the top of the crossbar, and another weak looping header that Oakes again helped behind, looked like it might drop onto the crossbar. I'm absolutely certain that neither would have gone in, but Oakes was just doing some "safety-first" stuff.

Nothing apart from those, so the Swindon fan is totally wrong. Otherwise, the only woodwork they ever hit was the advertising hoardings, and I don't think that usually counts does it? :D
Last edited by geoffwhiting on Sun Sep 04, 2005 11:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Sun Sep 04, 2005 11:53 am

Some say that it is a sign of a good side when a team plays badly and wins, but with Walsall I don't think it's the case.

Everybody takes solice in this old addage, " we won, but we played crap, oh well "

We want to do well.
We wont do well whilst we are playing badly.

I thought our first half performance yesterday was a lazy one. The whole team seems to have to attitude of Merson - unfit, individuality above team work, and fancy flicks etc.

Wrack seems unfit, leitao for all his hard work couldn't score in a brothel, standing imo was poor yesterday, merson just was a hinderance.

Yes, we are 6th, but we are no different from last season - we will be found out. Our lazy ways will be exposed.

People accept poor performances as long as we win, but ask yourself, should we be playing this poorly with a team full of quality?

And larossa? Why doesn't he ever get on? At one point Merson was upfront, Leitao on the right wing, and larossa on the bench. Pre-season people were talking about him as a decent player - well he can't even get a game.

So what progress did we make in the summer break in terms of midfield and upfront? Nothing. Smith came in and looks too old and slow, larossa can't get a game, we still didn't sign a winger, we missed out on surman and joachim. Why? God knows. We haven't used the loan system either.

At the moment fryatts goals are carrying this team. Wrack looks disinterested, osborne has been the pick of all the midfielders we used this season, wrighty was awful yesterday - will someone tell him he's not a ghost and cant simply run through people. The amount of times that lad failed to beat the nearest man is incredible. On average we'll get one maybe two decent crosses out of him on a good day - and even then, the team is unbalanced because we have no body on the left, so we're predictable as WWF.

Great to Gerrard back - it's no coincidence that the three games this season that hes played in have only seen one goal conceded. Westwood is improving after some early jitters, but he seems to be picked because he's captain. I thought it stupid to give him the club captaincy based on good reports from hartlepool - I believe a player should earn his stripes, prove he's invaluable to the team, and then be made captain. At the moment, I'm prefer bennett to westwood. I just think Gerrard and Bennett would make a formidable back line. Gerrard's organisation and strength and the maturity of this pair of teenagers would make them my first choice - but it will never happen because of westwood being captain.

Pead had a great game yesterday, and fox is quality.

In midfield we are piss poor though. I sat next to two pretty much neutral chaps yesterday and they both said the midfield is lazy. Standing and Wrack jog back to cover, and don't get forward enough.

I was always taught that to be a midfielder you need to be fit as a butchers dog because you have to cover at the back, and get forward to support - yet in our midfield, we have some of the most unfit/lazy players at the club - Smith, Merson, Wrack, Standing.

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King Crimson
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Sun Sep 04, 2005 2:15 pm

geoffwhiting wrote:There's lots of good analysis here, THE feature of UTS that sets it apart from other message boards.


Absolutely, Geoff. Thinking about the programme notes (and the other thread in response to them) on independent websites, the post mortems, and pre-match speculation on here put that found on all other Walsall sites to shame.

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Sun Sep 04, 2005 2:27 pm

I agree.

Why is Merson playing himself? The game slows down to a crawl when he's in the team, Osborn and Standing become pedestrians and totally lose their creativity.

Hang it up, Paul. You're too slow and unfit, just like your buddies, Smith and Staunton!
We CAN play 4-4-2 and more often than not, should.

Oakes

Pead Gerrard Westwood Fox

Wright Osborn Standing K.Taylor

Jorge Matty

Play this side, and formation, consistently ( barring injuries, bookings etc) and I'm confident that we'll see the results that match expectations.
If he keeps messing around, changing formations and personnel, and including his slow and unfit friends, we'll see a Swansea type performance more and more often.

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Sun Sep 04, 2005 5:22 pm

Its fantastic that we've had two clean sheets on the trot but I can't help thinking that as soon as Staunton is fit he'll be back in the team, probably at the expense of Gerrard.

Agree with those about Fox. Taylor was excellent yesterday although his passing was sometimes below par but you can see he's not comfortable there and he said last season he doesn't enjoy playing there so he doesn't deserve the stick he's getting. Pead was deserved man of the match, I just wish he had a bit more pace and strength to be able to get past his man going forward. You can see him trying, he just can't make it. Still I'd rather have the full backs being good at defending, we learnt from that last year.

I also agree about the Merson comments, just like last year he upsets the balance of the team when he plays. I'd much prefer him to come on for the last 20/30 mins when we're chasing a game. Luckily himself or Staunton realised that we needed to go 4-4-2 towards the end when Swindon were pressing and our midfield (streched by the prescence of Merson) were getting stretched just like we were last season when he played in the 4-3-1-2.

Jorge keeps proving that he does seem to have rediscovered his form. I think it was unfair of Merson to say that Fryatt is the only to look like scoring. Jorge had some good chances to scores yesterday, a couple he created himself but he should have been more selfish instead of laying off passes.

I wish that Wrack header had sneaked in yesterday. He looked a bit refreshed after being dropped last week but needs a goal to raise his confidence.

One thing I was pissed off with yesterday was all the booing at half time? I really think some of our fans expect far too much. Swindon weren't brilliant but we had controlled the first half and created some good chances, even if it wasn't the best game to watch. Booing when the team don't deserve it is only going to have the wrong effect.

Another clean sheet next week with Gerrard in the team would be welcome so Merson can't recall Staunton. I also hope Fox is fit as I think we look far stronger at the back with him in.

Sid - As guest explains excellently above I don't know why yo think the gates are dropping towards the 4,000 mark and how sacking Merson would affect that anyway. Please explain yourself or at least use valid points as to why you want Merson gone.

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Sun Sep 04, 2005 6:55 pm

Merson says Fryatt was the only one who looked like scoring, apart from Gerrard who should have bust the net, Wrack who hit the post when it was easier to score, Gurney and Shakes who both should have scored for them... I think its fair to say having listened to him for over 2 years now that whether you love him or hate him PM talks absolute, unadulterated bollox. He also said "I can't remember the last time we kept 2 consecutive clean sheets, never during my time as manager anyway", for pity's sake - we did it twice last season, the latter as recently as April.

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Sun Sep 04, 2005 8:10 pm

I think a few posters are being a bit over-critical of the performance yesterday.I sort of agree with Geoff that while noboby had an outstanding game , nobody had a stinker either but I thought we deserved the win.

Maybe a few peoples expectations were too high after the run at the end of last season (which turned a relegation threatened side into a mid-table side) :) this team is now better than it was before the transfer deadline week signings in March.

If you had been offered 12 points from the first 7 games and to be only 2 points behind the league leaders before the season started would you have taken that? I would.

We will probably be due a Swansea-like calamity every now and then but we pretty much did the same to Forest by beating them in a 15 minute spell.OK we were lucky with the winner at Rotherham but you could argue that for Southend's last minute equaliser we could be level at the top.

Just trying to look at the season so far as a half full glass rather than a half empty glass.

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Stu
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Sun Sep 04, 2005 8:23 pm

Geordie, must disagree when you say Gurney and Shakes should have scored. We could still be playing now and Swindon wouldn't have scored.

I can't remember them creating any real 'hand on heart he missed a sitter' chance.

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Sun Sep 04, 2005 8:26 pm

I sort of agree Stu but those two saves from Oakes just shown on Football League Extra on Sky were excellent, but then thats what he's there for.

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