Wrexham (h) League- Saturday 28/04/07

[Biggles]

Barker sent of for pool, Rochdale 2 up......

[dornansog]

Two sent off for Hartlepool in their 2-0 defeat.

Bet they wish they hadnt changed the ref now :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Dave Gittins]

I'm not going to say much negative as we are top of the league

I will just say though that Bedau is not a right back

Ishy played very well today, it's a pleasure to see a winger running at his man and putting a cross over. He didn't always beat his man but was prepared to try. Took his goal very well. I can't help wondering if DD toook him off in case he lost his temper and saw red (literally) - he was taking a lot of punishment.

Mark Wright - looked lightweight again but managed a great run which led to the goal. He is an enigma, has talent but lacks belief in himself at times.

The important thing from today though is

We are top of the league

[philthesaddler]

Good result, we made very hard work of it against a poor side. Ish was my man of the match, it's unbelievable thats his first start this season!

We're top of the league and Im glad because it gives us something to play for / achieve on the last day of the season.

Thought the ref was very poor, their right back [no14] commited around 4 yellow card-able offences, yet didn't even get a talking to.

Mark Wright I thought was very very good in the second half, he's much better player with a bit of confidence, his crossing was still very poor, but he managed to actually knock it past players so I was pleased with him, and of course, he got his first assist since November!

Shame Deeney didn't get a look in again, looks like he'll have to wait for next season now, and I'm just afraid that, just like with Alex Nicholls, we've wasted a really good talent, favouring instead to play a knackered Butler and cumbersome Benjamin.

Gerrard was excellent, so was Westwood, Fox was poor as usual, Beadeau poor also, I really don't know why Bedeau started if Pead was fit - that just didn't make sense to me.

Next week I guess the line-up will be:

Ince,
Pead, Gerrard, Westwood, Fox
Wright, Dobson, Keates, Wrack
Benjamin, Butler

I think he'll drop Ish...but lets just go down there, avenge the home defeat by Swindon and win the league!

[Zece_WFC]

Fab day today, top of the league, with it to play for next saturday!!!!

But even if we don't get top spot, I won't be moaning at all!!!!


TOP OF THE LEAGUE, WE'VE GOT IT BACK!

[Whitti Steve]

Good result, we made very hard work of it against a poor side. Ish was my man of the match, it's unbelievable thats his first start this season!

We're top of the league and Im glad because it gives us something to play for / achieve on the last day of the season.

Thought the ref was very poor, their right back [no14] commited around 4 yellow card-able offences, yet didn't even get a talking to.

Mark Wright I thought was very very good in the second half, he's much better player with a bit of confidence, his crossing was still very poor, but he managed to actually knock it past players so I was pleased with him, and of course, he got his first assist since November!

Shame Deeney didn't get a look in again, looks like he'll have to wait for next season now, and I'm just afraid that, just like with Alex Nicholls, we've wasted a really good talent, favouring instead to play a knackered Butler and cumbersome Benjamin.

Gerrard was excellent, so was Westwood, Fox was poor as usual, Beadeau poor also, I really don't know why Bedeau started if Pead was fit - that just didn't make sense to me.

Next week I guess the line-up will be:

Ince,
Pead, Gerrard, Westwood, Fox
Wright, Dobson, Keates, Wrack
Benjamin, Butler

I think he'll drop Ish...but lets just go down there, avenge the home defeat by Swindon and win the league!

Pretty much agree with you (for a change :wink: )

Better second half - even butler looked livelier than of late. Sam did well when he came on (apart from the glaring miss). Thought Ishy and Wright did OK - Bedeau was truly awful and Fox as frustrating as ever - if ever there was a competition to see how many times you can smash the ball against the opponents @rse - he would win it easily!

Great set up for next week - watch the ticket sales now - glad I have mine!

[Purple Toucan Saddler]

Don't you think the Sam miss was reminiscent of the Butler miss when we played Rotherham.

The Wrexham fans will be speaking about it for years to come.

Also, got my Swindon ticket today. They only had the £18 tickets on sales, and as I got mine, they said they only had 20 left, but a further 600 of the £15 tickets would be available in the week.

I wasn't going to go, but with the chance of going up as champions, how could I miss it.

Come on me babbies

[sj]

With thr right manager Mark Wright could play in the Premiership. :wink:

Wright had a very good game today, if he could play like that every week he would destroy some defences. You could see him growing in confidence as the game progressed.

Foxy the little pest played well too.

[Whitti Steve]

Don't you think the Sam miss was reminiscent of the Butler miss when we played Rotherham.
The Wrexham fans will be speaking about it for years to come.

Also, got my Swindon ticket today. They only had the £18 tickets on sales, and as I got mine, they said they only had 20 left, but a further 600 of the £15 tickets would be available in the week.

I wasn't going to go, but with the chance of going up as champions, how could I miss it.

Come on me babbies

Did cross my mind... but lets face it, we have seen him do it before :lol:

[Whitti Steve]

With thr right manager Mark Wright could play in the Premiership. :wink:

Wright had a very good game today, if he could play like that every week he would destroy some defences. You could see him growing in confidence as the game progressed.

Foxy the little pest played well too.

WHAT ? Are you trying to be controversial on a match thread too now :roll: :lol:

[Dave Gittins]

Great set up for next week - watch the ticket sales now - glad I have mine!

That makes two of us. :)

[handsworth saddler]

Great to see us top of the league again. Roll on next week!! :D

[Fray Bentos is God!]

Well I dont do this often so ill give my view player by player (I usually leave it to you less articulate ones)

Ince - Day have much to do so he was ok, nice somersault

Bedeau - Solid I thought but distribution was poor

Fox - Look above, hes not a bad defender but overall K.Taylor is the man at LB

Westwood and Gerrard - Solid, helped each other out by not being square and between them didnt let the ball bounce too much which, for these, is a major achievement.

Wright - See what he can do with a bit of confidence, attacked his man and covered Pead/Bedeau well imo some good crosses put in unfortunately Trev, Butts and Sam didnt get onto them.

Dobson - Played well and simply.

Keates - Did what hes been doing for the last 2 months

Ish - Scared his marker out of his pants, cool temper when hacked at but sometimes seemed to take the ball half a yard further than he should (sometimes this wasnt his fault though

Trev and Butler - Did ok, chased down but was anonymous in spells

Pead - Linked well with Mighty Wright

Sam - Didnt stick to him as well as normal and shouldve scored

One more win and we get to win something for the first time in my life!

[WFC_Rob]

I thought we raise our game to win the points today, as we have done at home many times this season.

The way we started off, I didn't think we ever looked like causing them problems. Our right flank was a nightmare - Bedeau made some decent challenges to win the ball, before making repeated unforced errors to give it away again. Wright barely touched the ball until about 10 minutes from the end of the half when he cut inside and switched the ball well a couple of times. As King Crimson said to me at half time, Westwood was man of the match on the premise that he was the only one not to have put a foot wrong. Gerrard also impressed me alongside Westwood. Ishmel was being marked by 2 players every time he got the ball, but coped well at times and put a couple of very good balls over.

Second half saw more of the same, but with a big more willingness from the likes of Keates, Dobson and Wright. I don't understand why Pead rarely starts. It's fair enough to say that Westwood is our first choice right back, but with him moving across, I think Pead has shown he is perfectly capable of doing a job. He came on and supplied the ball to Wright a number of times, allowing him to carry the ball forward. Wright had a good game today (yes, I just said Wright had a good game). He did well to make the goal and had a couple of other runs down the channel. I just wish he'd look up before he crossed the ball.

Ishmel really started to run them ragged after he got his goal, and it was a very sensible move to take him off. I'm convinced he would have retaliated to one of the challenges if Keates and Butler hadn't taken him away. Not only did the substitution of Ishmel prevent a possible red card, it also allowed Wrack to come on and steady the ship. I thought he was terrific when he came on. He slowed the game down, put his foot on the ball, and picked out a number of quality passes. You can always find room for a player like him in your side.

We contiunued to defend very well in the second half too. Gerrard had as good a game as he's had all season, and Westwood was his usual commanding self. One challenge he made late on to block a shot really was a different class :wink: .
I can't understand the continuation of the Fox negativity. OK, he isn't a fullback who sprints up and down the wing with the ball, but he is very good defensively. I also thought his distribution was a lot better at times today, even when Ishmel decided to hide rather than showing for the ball down the line. It's always difficult for a fullback to pick a pass when they have no option down the line. Today proved to me that Money decides to play with a narrow midfield, whoever he selects. I see Ishmel as an out and out winger, but he was often playing alongside Keates and Dobson in the first half, when we were playing the ball in our half. We need to make the most of him and get him hogging the touchline where he'll do more damage.

Overall a typical Walsall performance against a side who were solid without threatening. Ince never had a save to make.

[SaigonSaddler]

How good was that goal! GET IN!!!

UTS

[Saddler4Life]

Well taken goal by Isshy, except i was a little nervous as i thought it was going to go over, just like the one he had the other end!

[PT]

Very typical of the season but with a sprinkling of Ishy which always makes things a bit more interesting. Solid, organised and deserving of the win.

Another ref that needs to have a word with himself. Very early on they identifed Ishy as a danger man and continually fouled him, sometimes dangerously. No yellow card. Ishy scores, steps over the whitewash in his celebrations and out comes the yellow. Thereafter they go after him harder, still avoiding yellow cards until money pulls him off fearing a reaction and a red. So the crowd are robbed of the most exciting and skillful player on view because the ref wouldn't protect him and yet punished him for showing passion when he scored.

Top of the league. Glad the tickets are in the bag for next week.

[Cheesebag]

First half boed me sh!tless, I spent more time on UTS than watching the match....2nd half was MUCH better and the atmosphere was good too.

If there are ANY tickets left for next week, and you aye bought one yet, I suggest you get down to the ticket office on Monday and make it a day to remember

[deanonev69]

Very typical of the season but with a sprinkling of Ishy which always makes things a bit more interesting. Solid, organised and deserving of the win.

Another ref that needs to have a word with himself. Very early on they identifed Ishy as a danger man and continually fouled him, sometimes dangerously. No yellow card. Ishy scores, steps over the whitewash in his celebrations and out comes the yellow. Thereafter they go after him harder, still avoiding yellow cards until money pulls him off fearing a reaction and a red. So the crowd are robbed of the most exciting and skillful player on view because the ref wouldn't protect him and yet punished him for showing passion when he scored.

Top of the league. Glad the tickets are in the bag for next week.

Top post-they kicked Ish up in the air twice in the first ten, both of which deserved yellows and yet nothing. He was going to blow though before Deano stopped him.

Not the best of games but who cares-i believe!!!

[Chomper]

Woo-Hoo - We are top of the league.

Pretty much agree with what has already been said. Overall and fairly nervy first half, but Deano and Dobbo took the game by the scruff and we played much better second half.

Though Wrighty played well, especially when he had a decent right back behind him for the second half. Not sure where this leaves Bedeau, but he must be close to being out the door in the summer.

I wasn't as impresseed with Gerrard as some have mentioned. I thought he looked uncomfortable and his passing was poor. Why does he always look for the Stevie G pass, rather than the simple one? Anyway, he played okay and i don't want to be critical of anyone today, we got the job done, nuff said.

Bring on Swindon,can't wait......






To see everyones fancy dress :D :D :D

Oh, and Dobbo lifting the Championship. :D

[redsaddler]

Great result today and very similar to the Accrington/Torquay/Hereford/Notts County matches when we weren't at our best, but we managed to grind out a result. However, in the first half we weren't at the races. We were always second to the ball, 50/50 balls weren't going our way and for the second week in a row there was very little creativity.

What a contrast in the second half though! We looked solid defensively, the midfield were more creative, and the pace of Ishy and the trickery of Wrighty were causing their wing-backs all sorts of problems. The winning goal fittingly involved both Ishy and Wrighty as Ishy angled the ball into the top corner after Wrighty's shot was partially saved. Overall, not the best performance, but another three points in the bag, coupled with Hartlepool's defeat means that the title is now pretty much in our hands!

Here are my thoughts on today's performances:

Incey: Very little to do, otherwise handled and kicked well. 7.

Beadau: Out of position at right-back and didn't look at all comfortable. Lost the ball all too often. 3.

Westie: Organised the back four well, especially in the second half. Won his fair share of headers. 8.

Gezza: Much better than last week both in the air and on the ground. Still a little slow at times though. 6.

Foxy: Distribution was, as ever, awful, but otherwise defended resolutely, especially after the break. 6.

Wrighty: Average first half. Much more creative in the second, as his trickery led to him 'setting up' the winner. 7.

Dobbo: Had a fairly quiet game in the middle of the park. Didn't create much, but kept possession well. 6.

Deano: Worked tirelessly as he drove us forward in the second half after a slightly weak opening 45 minutes. 7.

Ishy: His pace caused their defence problems, even if his final ball was so-so. Scored what could prove to be a title-winning goal. 8.

Butler: For the umpteenth time this season, he worked his socks off but to little effect. Needs a good rest in the Summer! 6.

Benjy: Didn't really get into the game at all. However, he nearly scored with an angled drive in the first half. 6.

Subs:

Peady: Looked solid defensively and broke forward a couple of times to aid Wrighty. 7.

Sam: Missed a sitter towards the end, firing wide with just the keeper to beat. 6.

Wracky: Had very little influence in a very quiet run-out. 5.

Dragons' star man?

Michael Proctor as he caused our defence some problems in the first half. His height and pace was a threat.

So, we just need to match Hartlepool's result next Saturday for us to be champions. I'm hoping to get my ticket for the Swindon game during the week (if they have any left!). Let's roar the players on to the title!

Up The Saddlers!

P.S. I forgot to make any comments about the Bury game last week. Still, even if I had, they would have all been negative ones!

[loop]

fab result today, played alot better second half, thought wrighty had a decent game todayand Ishy played very well.. Great atmosphere today for a home game, roll on next week!!!

Saddlers to be champions!!!! :D

[Exile]

Good three points, combined with the monkey hangers' mess-up (shame about that ref, eh?). One thing amused me - TWO onto Ishy every time he was near the ball, yet this is only his second start of the year? Sounds like we've got a great little winger on our hands. Hopefully he'll have a bit more space and respect in League One, rather than get tonked by the cloggers and carthorses down here.

[philthesaddler]

Good three points, combined with the monkey hangers' mess-up (shame about that ref, eh?). One thing amused me - TWO onto Ishy every time he was near the ball, yet this is only his second start of the year? Sounds like we've got a great little winger on our hands. Hopefully he'll have a bit more space and respect in League One, rather than get tonked by the cloggers and carthorses down here.

Yeh it's funny aint it... two games in a row he's been the best performer, but he's only played around 100 minutes in 2007. What a waste

[Stu]

Good three points, combined with the monkey hangers' mess-up (shame about that ref, eh?). One thing amused me - TWO onto Ishy every time he was near the ball, yet this is only his second start of the year? Sounds like we've got a great little winger on our hands. Hopefully he'll have a bit more space and respect in League One, rather than get tonked by the cloggers and carthorses down here.

Yeh it's funny aint it... two games in a row he's been the best performer, but he's only played around 100 minutes in 2007. What a waste

Aye, his lack of playing time is nearly as disappointing as the decision to take him off today. For a team, who at that time were top of the league, to make such a defensive substitution against a team so poor really was quite disappointing. I bet the Wrexham fans and management were thanking their lucky stars when they saw Ishmel coming off.

And before anyone rambles on about discipline, he held his discipline superbly. He may have reacted to the Ref after that disgraceful late boot, but he did what any player would have done in that position.

I know we won, I know we're top, but that decision summed up exactly why I hate the tactics we've used this season, far too defensive.

[sj]

phil-- but if Issy had played all those games we would still be in Div. TWO :P

[sj]

Stu-- hate , when we are TOP :shock:

[WFC_Rob]

And before anyone rambles on about discipline, he held his discipline superbly. He may have reacted to the Ref after that disgraceful late boot, but he did what any player would have done in that position.

I'm not so sure, Stu. To me, it looked like Ishmel would have throttled their player had it not been for Keates' intervention. With referees at this level so inconsistent, anything could have happened as he was already on a yellow.

[Registered Saddler]

I know we won, I know we're top, but that decision summed up exactly why I hate the tactics we've used this season, far too defensive.

And DD would just point you straight back to the league table. I'm as keen as anyone to see our young players used - and to see us employ more attacking tactics where we can. But DD's prime target is promotion. If we finish top of the league, then I think he deserves some leeway that his tactics are right. I'm more worried about making sure our talented youngsters aren't hindered in their development - and the fact that Ishy has played a big part in our last two games means I'm more encouraged on that count than I was a fortnight ago.

[Stu]

I know we won, I know we're top, but that decision summed up exactly why I hate the tactics we've used this season, far too defensive.

And DD would just point you straight back to the league table. I'm as keen as anyone to see our young players used - and to see us employ more attacking tactics where we can. But DD's prime target is promotion. If we finish top of the league, then I think he deserves some leeway that his tactics are right. I'm more worried about making sure our talented youngsters aren't hindered in their development - and the fact that Ishy has played a big part in our last two games means I'm more encouraged on that count than I was a fortnight ago.

Yes, and as I said, we are top of the league so fair play to him. As I, and many others have said plenty of times, I'll 'put up with it' whilst we're challenging for promotion.

I'll 'put up with it' next season if we're challenging for promotion, which I highly doubt, but if we're muddling around the bottom half of the table, which I expect, then I certainly don't want to be watching boring defensive awful football at the same time.

Folk wonder why he prefers Fox to Taylor, why he prefers anyone to Ishmel, why he prefers Benjamin to Sam. It because he prefers ugly players with a work ethic, to prettier players. As I say, I hope thats because of the division we're in, not because its his favoured style.

I said it in the fanzine today. Am I happy to be promoted, yes I am. Have I been entertained? No... Has it been value for money? Not an easy question to answer, I can argue quite strongly on both sides.

Now we have a 5/6 month wait to see what he style/tactics he'd really like. Because anyone who thinks League 1 is a pretty play football league is sadly mistaken, they're a few more teams who do, but also a large number that are just 'good League 2' sides.