OLDHAM (H)- 26TH March 2005

[YGA Saddler]

OK, we dont want PM managing our club anymore. Protests will never catch on. So what should we do to make the club realise our frustration at the way the clubs being run, without trouble?
Heres an idea.

1) On behalf of the old chap saturday. We all wear old Walsall shirts over/under whatever we wear on saturday. If we lose EVERYONE throws that Walsall shirt onto the pitch. The club can then send our shirts to the Africa kids like they did a few months back. Its harmless, no abuse, no-one gets hurt and at the same time we are doing something for a good cause.

I dont want trouble and dont want any abuse thrown I just want to support my club AND THEN show that the current structure is a shambles.


1-0 to oldham

[Stu]

My away top got dyed a pale shade of pink by accident last week, however if you think I'm throwing £40 on to the pitch then your living in a dream land.

I hope I'll be clapping us off, but I doubt it as we'll lose 2-3.

[Rob_Walsall_]

i would like to say we r gonna win but i have a feeling that we will get ripped apart as oldham have got a good manager and will have them playing decent football

[YGA Saddler]

My away top got dyed a pale shade of pink by accident last week, however if you think I'm throwing £40 on to the pitch then your living in a dream land.

I hope I'll be clapping us off, but I doubt it as we'll lose 2-3.

if youve still got it throw your pink shirt on the pitch, surely you have got a top from the last 50 years to throw whether its a football shirt or a casual one with the saddlers logo on.

[MrC]

I would never throw a Saddler's shirt away, not even as a joke.

I am proud of this club even if we are doing sh!t, and whoever does do that, and whoever the old bloke was on Saturday, you are nothing but an IDIOT. And you might as well stop supporting the club. You aren't a real fan. I understand the message behind throwing your shirt away, but it is pathetic.

We will win 2-1 on Saturday.

[geoffwhiting]

I was thinking this Oldham game is a defeat in the making, but having just about recovered from Saturday's debacle, I've maybe changed my mind. This may be a win after all.

Every time Merse has been stuck there with his back to the wall, the team has produced out-of-the-blue the kind of will, pride, passion and fight that we're entitled to expect from them every week of the season. If they can find it again on Saturday, we'll go behind but come back to win - like the 4-3 vs. Huddersfield.

I think I almost expect it to happen, and prolong the agony of Merson's reign as Manager. If it happens, we'll see everyone cheering like mad at the end and all will be forgiven, until the inevitable next time after the slump has set in again.

Talk about a roller-coaster, this guy should be designing fairground rides for Alton Towers and Drayton Manor Park! :D

[Ace]

2-0 to Oldham, with Oakes preventing it being 5-0 Oldham.

[Neil Ravenscroft]

I just don't know. Geoff's right, every time the axe has looked like falling, the players have pulled him out of the mire with a performance and a half. The trouble now is, has he alienated some or all of them with his post match criticisms on Saturday and comments yesterday on WM?

[WarsawPact]

Please don't throw your old shirts at the pitch.

I sit near the front of the Purple Upper, and I really dont want to be engulfed in a pile of sweaty old football shirts. :(

[derbysaddler]

Talk about a roller-coaster, this guy should be designing fairground rides for Alton Towers and Drayton Manor Park! :D[/quote]

You wouldn't catch me going on a roller coaster designed by Merson, f**king death wish.

[geoffwhiting]

Fair comment DS, really can't disagree with you. :D

[Geordiesaddler]

I'm very much with Geoff on this one. I reckon after the obligatory 6 or 7 cr^p results we are overdue for an hour's worth af hands on hips, masters football from Merse, and that will be too much for Oldham.
2-0 to the swashbuckling Saddlers for me, and a significant random lurch towards safety.
Celebrations will include much post match radio hyperbole ("how Portugal can pick Ronaldo infront of Jorge is beyond me, different clarse.. etc etc").

Six days off all round as well, we'll just send the kids to tackle Barnsley as after all Barnsley is only an away game, and as we all know home games score double points in the all important "One Paul Merson/Merson Out" popularity game show that has replaced what used to be a great football club... temporarily of course.

[PerStener]

team for saturday?

Oakes

Wright Emblen Roper/Gerrard Perpetuini

Pead Standing Kinsella Wrack

Joachim Fryatt

[Neil Ravenscroft]

Not a chance - he'll play.

[ToeJoe Jnr]

And so he should.

[WednesburyRoad]

I have a sence of optimism now following these signings and can see a high scoring game which we will just edge.

3-2 to the Saddlers

Joachim will score :D

[derbysaddler]

the new signings are encouraging, but will they settle in the team on saturday, I think Pead will do well , dont think Joachim will be match fit to be honest, Gerrard? havent a clue, never heard of him.
One new thing to worry about though, Facey and Beckett lining up against us. They both score against us........................oh cack.

[McNugget]

I thought someone said that facey can't play.

[WarsawPact]

Facey was signed too late to play (as a permanant signing).

J-Jo played and scored in a reserve game this week.

[Neil Ravenscroft]

Match preview now on line. I've gone for a 3 - 1 to us, as I think Beckett is bound to score! Thank God Facey is unavailable.

[WSOne]

J-Jo played and scored in a reserve game this week.

J-Jo? It's JJ Warsaw! :)

I'll go 4-2 to us. Debut hat-trick for Joachim and one from our ever-popular manager!

[PerStener]

today linup.

WALSALL: Andy Oakes, Anthony Gerrard, David Perpetuini, Simon Osborn, Ian Roper, Craig Pead, Paul Merson, Darren Wrack, Matty Fryatt, Kris Taylor, Julian Joachim.

Subs: Michael Standing, Jorge Leitao, Mark Wright, Andrew Surman, Dean Coleman.

[Shad]

Mick Kearns sounds like the yeti today :)

[Surrey Saddler]

Will it be gloom again, just 8 minutes to go?

[Surrey Saddler]

Yes it is gloom. Plenty of reaction on this thread tonight, I expect. What hope for us now?

[YGA Saddler]

We needed to win today, even a draw wouldnt have been too bad but to LOSE it is hard to swallow considering we didnt play too bad. The new fellas didnt look too bad, perpatuini backed off a little too much but passed the ball about well. JJ was man of the match, just a little observation considering JJ is 2ft 3 why did Merse & Wrack continue to stick it in the air?! Same old same old were the problem Merse,wracky and ozzie were pretty bad today. I think merse and wracky should be dropped monday and bring surman and mark wright in and play 4 4 f-in 2!

This is too much like last season.

[Walsall Supporter]

From where I was sitting (Banks family stand) certainly looked a huge mistake by Oakes for their goal. Then he was given MOTM ??? Oh well
Enjoyed the first half, even though we both looked poor with the finishing, it was end to end stuff. Fizzled out in the second half. Newbies all seemed to play ok. But this was a must win game, lets hear what the excuses are today from Merson.

PS Nice to meet you AC Loyalist, sorry I had no money on me to buy a ticket perhaps next time!!

[Dave Gittins]

Can anyone explain the second half substitution when Kris Taylor was taken off? Osborn was telling the bench that he was knackered and wanted to come off but was kept on the field to limp through the rest of the match. Both Osborn and Taylor had decent games but unless Taylor was injured then the wrong man was taken off.

The new signings showed promise, Pead and Perpetuini were an improvement on Wright and Aranalde, mind you Geoff Whiting did say after the game that I would have been an improvement on Wright even with two crutches! Gerrard had a solid game in the centre of defence and Joachim showed enough to indicate that with a couple of games under his belt he will do a good job - he has obvious talent.

The goal itself came about as a result of 2 dubious decisions, firstly Osborn went shoulder to shoulder with an Oldham player and the ball ran out for an obvious Walsall throw but was given to Oldham. From the throw in the ref game an eqally questionable free kick - from my viewpoint I couldn't see anything wrong. The free kick was curled into the box and the movement in the box distracted Oakes who had been playing well and the ball finished in the back of the net.

One thing I have to say is to show my disgust at the Oldham number 11 Jermaine Johnson. He was warming up just before the Oldham goal and stood on the touchline in front of the H L Fellows stand. He was asked politely by someone just a few seats away from me to move down a bit as his lad who was about 7 or 8 couldn't see because he was blocking his view. The reaction to this request was "why don't you go and f**k off". This was totally unacceptable behaviour and deserves reporting.

[Dave Gittins]

Just to add to my other post, nice to meet AC Loyalist and Zippyzip today.

[YGA Saddler]

We are going down say we are going down