Port Vale (H) League One - Saturday 8th September, 1pm KO

[King Crimson]

Encouraging in many areas today. The players worked hard I felt, and applied themselves fully to the cause.

I found a couple of the substitutions bewildering, and felt they weakened the side. In the last ten minutes, it felt like we were holding on, whereas first half I thought we were excellent.

Although they did try to keep the game moving, some of the decisions by the officials - most notably the blatant handball - were very, very poor. Still, hardly a newsflash for The Banks's, is it? :roll:

[loop]

I thought we played well today, just was unlucky not to score however, we should have had a penalty in the first half and if the correct decision had been made we would have gone on to score a couple more in my mind. Just goes to show you don't always have the rub of the green when you're down the bottom.

Overall a much improved performance and we have doubled our points for the season :lol:


UTS

[Registered Saddler]

Overall a much improved performance and we have doubled our points for the season :lol:

:D ...and that's reason enough to crack open the beer and Pringles. Come on Englands.

[Gaz the Train]

Overall a much improved performance and we have doubled our points for the season :lol:

:D ...and that's reason enough to crack open the beer and Pringles. Come on Englands.

and get a big bag of orange chips from the majoor in Bilston doin a setour on the way home.

Plenty of effort today but lacking that bit of quality, which, most clubs in this division, are hard working, but have that one or two players who are a cut above.

Talking of goalscoring and vale, what ever happened to the dingle druggy Chris Cornes, he scored goals for fun from midfield when he was at vale on loan, then got banned for drugs, whatever happened to him, is he still banned, just thinking, goalscoring midfielder and if hes off the rails a bit, who better than dd to straighten him out

[Burnside]

We applied ourself well. I would'nt put it down to strikers finishing though as it was players from other positions who had the best of the chances. fox, ropes, gerrard.

[Fray Bentos is God!]

Thought we did well and created plenty of chances today, fust time ive been able to get back straight from a game to a computer so ill stick my oar in.

Ince - One dodgy moment of hesitation but overall comfortable

Weston - Good tackling, decent distribution.

Boertinen - See Weston but seems to be afraid to cross sometimes.

Dann/Roper - Did well, got their heads to most things and tackles were executed decently

Wrack - Better than Gillingham, passing seems to be improving aswell. Shouldve scored

Sonner - MOTM if the game was just the first half, faded until his substitution however

Gerrard - Surprised me by having a good game but disjointed the midfield sometimes with his lack of midfield positional nous

Fox - Its scary but I thought he had a good game! distribution was fine and come through with a couple of decent runs. Shouldve scored

Butler - Liked it, seems to have ejected the thumb from his backside of late and linked well with Hall. Also shouldve scored

Hall - Tired in the 2nd half but linked well with Butler, ball sticks to him nicely in a Sam kind of way.

Refs - I thought they had a great game apart from that crazy decision not to give the penalty, it was amazing it wasnt given, bloody amazing!

Overall a good performance but were in dire need of a finisher and Ince to get his nuts back, his hesitancy is slightly worrying now

[NeechezTheSaddler]

We did well today. Weston finally put in a half decent performance for us. I can't help but feel though that it was a case of Port Vale being poor rather than us being great, and it seemed they have a similar problem as us - not being able to put the ball in the net and I'm worried that against more other teams in this division they would have put one away, especially the amount of headed chances they had.

Ishmel didn't have his normal impact but still looked worth a starting place, McDermott looked good and Nicholls did nothing in the short time he was on.

[Jolly Johnny]

Overall a much improved performance and we have doubled our points for the season :lol:

:D ...and that's reason enough to crack open the beer and Pringles. Come on Englands.

Damn it RS, did you have to go and mention that! I've got to out some shoes on now, dig out the car keys and nip down the shops! :wink:

[priestley_saddler]

Cannot believe how we failed to win this one. We were the better team for much of the game, created more than enough chances, but if we'd have played a 2nd game straight after, that would have finished 0-0 as well. We were pretty solid defensively and that's an encouraging sign. My only gripe was that we stood off them too much, especially when they had the ball on the edge of our box. The ref gave us a free-kick 5 yards outside the box for hand ball in the first half, a few minutes later an identical incident 5 yards inside the box he ignored. Was a blatant penalty, although in fairness we'd have probably missed it, so we can't say it cost us the game. Second half there was a mad scramble in their box which seemed to last forever, somehow we still managed to put it wide. Overall, a game we deserved to win. Had we got a winner though, it wouldn't have papered over the cracks that we really need a striker.

Ince - Handled well, made one top save in the 2nd half. Kicking was average. Had one of his moments when he thought of coming out, then changed his mind, then changed it again, then changed it again, earning himself a rollicking off Dann, Gerrard and Sonner.
Weston - His best game for the club. Few good tackles, supported the forward play well. Contender for man of the match.
Boertein - Sponsors MOTM but there were a few contenders. Played well, complimented Fox on the left and overall defended solidly.
Roper - Solid again, much improved performance. Got caught out once, was rescued by Ince's save. Even made a few long passes that went to our own players :shock:
Dann - Playing in the reserves looks to have been a DD masterstroke as he played with a lot more confidence than we've seen so far this season. Any of the back four could have taken MOTM.
Wrack - Showed why Graydon, Lee, Merson, Broadhurst and Money's decision to play him all these years. Should have scored when he rounded the keeper. Covered every blade of grass and his experience was vital near the end as we finished the game with a very young midfield.
Fox - Justified his selection, had one 30 yarder that flew inches wide and was denied by brave goalkeeping a few minutes later. Before the game I'd have put him in the centre as I don't think he's a winger, but did his job well. Unlucky to be brought off.
Sonner - His best game since returning to the club, and still wasn't really good enough. Spends more time on his backside than on his feet. Tries to be clever, if his ability matched his brain he'd be a good player.
Gerrard - Is about as much a central midfielder as Fox is a winger. Wasn't disgraced though, made one run behind the strikers to get through on goal when he should have done better.
Hall - About as much a striker as Gerrard is a midfielder. Worked hard, saw a lot of the ball, but never looked like scoring.
Butler - Worked hard but didn't do a lot. Looks low on confidence.

Subs

Ishmel - Helped justify Fox's selection. We didn't get the ball to him often enough, and on the occasions we did get it to him was too wasteful with his delivery.
McDermott - First time I've seen him play, and was impressed. Looks as though he wants to play for the club, picked up a knock and hobbled through the last ten minutes.
Nicholls - Came on for the last 10 minutes but didn't see enough of the ball to make an impact.

[geoffwhiting]

In the Express & Star Richard Money says that he hopes to be able to play Sonner, Dobson and Mooney. "I'm not sure whether this is a game for young players. I think in the main you need old heads."

So it seems that if they are all fit the team could be:
Ince
Weston Gerrard Roper Boertien
Hall Dobson Sonner Wrack
Mooney Butler

A lot of old heads, but also a lot of old legs. :(

Perhaps DD is just having a laugh: he wouldn't really send out a team like that, would he?

We spoke to Mooney in the Bonser Suite at half-time, and he told us his injury (a calf-muscle tear) broke down again on Wednesday, so who's trying to kid whom about him being fit for today?

He said the pain isn't too bad and he doesn't think he'll be out much longer, but even so, it's a bit annoying to go along looking forward to seeing Mooney up front alongside Butler, only to be disappointed once more.

Can't believe we didn't win that game today, but if we carry on with finishing quality like that, against a team that rarely did anything after the first 20 minutes, we all know where we'll be going. :evil:

[colcfa]

Overall a far better performance than the result shows.
We had at least 4 good chances.
Fox chickened out when he might have headed the ball and the delay gave their goalie time to get to him and block his effort.
Wrack had a chance to hit an early shot but the extra touch gave their goalie time to get to down at his feet.
Oh ansd there was the blatant 'penalty' which both linesman and ref failed to spot however 4000 others did.

So although it's another draw, I think the team played as well as they could, given their limitations.
Ishy came on and looked dangerous for a while until he toe-ended a block tackle and went down as though he had broken his Ferrari keys :) . he wasn't really in the game after that.
Mcdermott came on and looked reasonable playing wide but he suffered a clash of heads and that slowed him down but we are not sharp enough in front of goal,Mooney will make a difference when he's back.

[Registered Saddler]

In all this talk about needing a striker, I don't know if anyone noticed how McGoldrick played up front for them. He is on loan from Southampton and loads of clubs were interested in taking him - along with Vale, Forest, Swindon and Yeovil were for definite. According to someone on the Vale forum, he's costing them £3,000 a week in wages. That shows how much you have to pay to get someone of his quality.

[latviancheese]

Ishy didnt look bothered today, Fox was better. Should of put ishy in upfront.

Nicholls is turd, i dont care if he's young, that doesnt disguise this fact he is rubbish.

Defence was great today, played the offside trap superbly, couple of mistakes but you cant be perfect for 90 mins.

First half we should of wrapped the game up, Port Vale got wise in the second and defended deep.

Paul Hall is great at holding it up, but then does nothing with it. He isnt a striker.

Gerrard was an improvement on Dobson, but he is also paceless.

Despite playing well in the first half, im very dishearened today, because we need to beat teams like port vale at home.

[Whitti Steve]

Good game - lacking only in goals. I thought PV were awful though and there for the taking if only we had the rub of the green. I too thought the ref had a great game apart from 1 missing decision - the most important one of the game. I can't remember a more blatant one for a long time. Thought Gerrard did OK, in fact the whole midfield seemed a lot better than of late. Bright future for Macdermott (sp?) he looked lively when he came on. Butler and Hall on another day could have had a hatfull.

Still - a clean sheet, lets hope that helps confidence levels.

UTS

[Dave Gittins]

In fairness to Ishy, a couple of minutes after he came on he went down in a tackle and his immediate reaction showed he was in pain. Until about 10 minutes from time I felt he was concerned about his possible injury. Once he had his confidence he had a couple of decent runs.

Overall, not a bad match that we were unlucky not to win. The penalty was absolutely nailed on, I don't know how the ref and linesman both managed too miss it. If we had been given that and scored it we would have won by about 3 or 4.

More reasons to be optimistic than pessimistic at the moment

[ws3]

In all this talk about needing a striker, I don't know if anyone noticed how McGoldrick played up front for them. He is on loan from Southampton and loads of clubs were interested in taking him - along with Vale, Forest, Swindon and Yeovil were for definite. According to someone on the Vale forum, he's costing them £3,000 a week in wages. That shows how much you have to pay to get someone of his quality.

And he couldn't score against the most demorralised, nervous defence in league 1.

[King Crimson]

Ishmel - Helped justify Fox's selection. We didn't get the ball to him often enough, and on the occasions we did get it to him was too wasteful with his delivery.

Spot on.

Agree 100% with Gary Ellison's appraisal player-for-player.

[Fray Bentos is God!]

Ishmel - Helped justify Fox's selection. We didn't get the ball to him often enough, and on the occasions we did get it to him was too wasteful with his delivery.

Spot on.

Agree 100% with Gary Ellison's appraisal player-for-player.

despite the obvious flaw of being a bindipping sympathiser, you are a smart man, maybe you have a moustache like Gary Neville

[King Crimson]

despite the obvious flaw of being a bindipping sympathiser, you are a smart man, maybe you have a moustache like Gary Neville

Does Gary Neville have a moustache?

:D

[Fray Bentos is God!]

Are you stupid, hes literally Tom Selleck

[Salop Saddler]

One point and no goals against that heap of tat??? Am I being too hard to please or something? Three goals in 630 minutes of football ain't good. Two points from five games (three at home) ain't good either.

[Exile]

One point and no goals against that heap of tat??? Am I being too hard to please or something? Three goals in 630 minutes of football ain't good. Two points from five games (three at home) ain't good either.

Think we've already established we're toilet at the moment, so a point while marking time is a result. I'd have preferred three, but we actually played like we should have had three, so I'll take that for now.

[Salop Saddler]

One point and no goals against that heap of tat??? Am I being too hard to please or something? Three goals in 630 minutes of football ain't good. Two points from five games (three at home) ain't good either.

Think we've already established we're toilet at the moment, so a point while marking time is a result. I'd have preferred three, but we actually played like we should have had three, so I'll take that for now.

We shouldn't be marking time though, should we? How long do we do that for, ten games? Twenty games? A benchmark was supposed to be set during our last two league games, Gillingham and Port Vale. They were meant to be a fair indication of what we were supposed to be about this season. Well if the last 180 minutes of league football is a yardstick for what is to come then there are problems which need to be addressed with immediate effect. We haven't got time to mark time, because if we mess about doing that we'll find ourselves proping up the rest of the league for much of the remainder of the season.

[Bernie]

There were some good aspects today, for example I thought all our defence played well.

The problems with the team must be obvious to everyone - strikers and central midfield. The other seven positions are fairly well covered - but we are lacking in quality in the middle and up front.

Looking at the league table the question I ask is: Which are the four teams in League One that are going to be below us at the end of the season?

The other teams who have had poor starts are: Gillingham, Oldham, Forest, Millwall, Doncaster, Bournemouth, Cheltenham, Swansea, Port Vale and Northampton. How confident can we be that Walsall are better than at least four of those teams? My nightmare is that the team we have at present might not be better than any of them.

[Registered Saddler]

In all this talk about needing a striker, I don't know if anyone noticed how McGoldrick played up front for them. He is on loan from Southampton and loads of clubs were interested in taking him - along with Vale, Forest, Swindon and Yeovil were for definite. According to someone on the Vale forum, he's costing them £3,000 a week in wages. That shows how much you have to pay to get someone of his quality.

And he couldn't score against the most demorralised, nervous defence in league 1.

Well, quite. While we're on about player prices, Swindon wanted Jermaine Easter before the deadline and were quoted a price of £650,000. No wonder we don't bother looking in this country.

[PT]

Story of our league season so far. Played well, created chances, bit of bad luck, didn't win.

I enjoyed the game and so far all three home games have been of much superior quality and entertainment than last season. We just can't get the win our performances have deserved.

Support was rubbish numbers wise but great quality wise.

It'll come.

[stig231]

Looking at the league table the question I ask is: Which are the four teams in League One that are going to be below us at the end of the season?

The other teams who have had poor starts are: Gillingham, Oldham, Forest, Millwall, Doncaster, Bournemouth, Cheltenham, Swansea, Port Vale and Northampton. How confident can we be that Walsall are better than at least four of those teams? My nightmare is that the team we have at present might not be better than any of them.

The really worrying thing is we have played 5 games against teams you list there Bernie and have one 0-0 draw to show for it.

After watching that match today I'd say both teams will struggle to stay up , thought that over the 90 mins it was a poor advert for League One.

The last 20 minutes seemed to be played at pre-season pace , altough that could have been two very nervous teams scared of losing rather than one of them having the ambition or the quality in box to get a winner.

There was the odd positive , thought Boertien , Roper, Sonner had decent games and Fox probably had his best game in that position.

[latviancheese]

McGoldrick wasnt that good, he just had some pace. He missed a one on one with our goalkeeper even if he was offside, and should of scored a tap in but tried a silly overhead kick.

[ToeJoe Jnr]

I am watching a completley different match to everyone else, I must be. There was nothing to excite me about today, okay we created a 3/4 chances but again we didn't take them! The whole match just had a pedestrian feel to me, painfully slow build up with absolutley no energy.

Port Fail were rubbish and they will stuggle, but I don't care whether this was the first, middle or last game of the season we HAVE to win these matches. There are going to be teams with bags more quality coming to the Bank's over the season and that is going to put us in a position that I am unsure at present whether this squad will have the qualities to get out of.

I have read with interest comments over recent weeks about so called "doom mongers" and "happy clappers", and I am not interested in which catergory I fall into as I am quite happy to sit between the two, but I feel a slight twinge of doubt crossing my mind today about the preperations the club put in place for this season. Frustration with events is setting in. :?

[latviancheese]

I agree we need more urgency with our attacks but we can take positives out of it.