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Tranmere (h) - League - 28th December 2004

Reports and reaction from the 2004-05 season as Walsall finished 14th in League 1
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geoffwhiting
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Tue Dec 28, 2004 8:17 pm

You're quite entitled to disagree with me sj, in fact as it happens, coincidentally, I disagree with you on this one. :lol:

In the first half it was pretty even, they were two very average sides.

In the second half Tranmere were made to look good by our inept performance, 2 crazy goals - one gift-wrapped - and after that, total inexcusable surrender and capitulation.

On that form, a good side would have killed us off completely, but we kept it to 2-0 and never looked capable of a goal - out-of-the-blue Jorge effort apart.

We can kiss good-bye to any chance of a play-off place. In fact, I've written that off tonight.

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Tue Dec 28, 2004 8:34 pm

murphy is a useless fat irishman, i dont know whether he and birch eat out together but it certainly looks like it. since murphy has been here he has managed to keep TWO TWO clean sheets. this is simply not good enough, until we get a quality EXPERIENCED goalie then we are going to be stuck in league 1 for along time to come

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Stu
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Tue Dec 28, 2004 8:38 pm

Very much a game of two halves... First half there was some superb football, intricate and really getting into good positions but as per usual, the final ball in was never good enough and when it was, we didn't take advantage.

Biggest concern was that we just didn't look like scoring today. Jorge hit the post, that was it, bar the keepers smothering save on Standing and two 35 yard efforts from Merse.

I said 3 weeks ago that I don't particularly rate Murphy and today convinced me of it, no wonder he isn't even 2nd choice at Albion. He is over-weight and not at all mobile and was at fault for both goals, although the defence can also be blamed for both goals.

You have to ask why the defence stood and let MacAteer shoot, yet it looked like Murphy's feet were glued to the floor. Poor. The 2nd was a joke, yet again a bloke runs across defenders for the umpteenth time, a pea roller of a shot and a fat whale that falls to the floor rather than dives. He just sort of flopped to the floor and hand hands made of paper by the looks of it.

I really don't see the justification in what we must be paying him, if Paston is fit, then get him in and spend the cash on two full backs.

I said last week that I felt these two matches would show whether we turned the corner, I think we've got the answer. True, neither Tranmere (3rd) or Sheff Wed (now 4th) were much better than us but they took advatange of our frailities. With all respect to them, Hartlepool, Tranmere, Stockport, Blackpool and even Bradford (missing two strikers and on 2 successive defeats) weren't good enough. But as soon we came up against a remotely useful side (not good, but useful), then I thought we'd be punished.

Two full backs and maybe even a centre half wanted in my books.

Glad to see Osborn have a very good game today, whilst I saw Robinson in the flesh for the first time and he was bleedin useless. How has he scored 4 goals in 3 appearances? Still, I'll give him one bad match anyway.

Mid-table beckons, we haven't got it in us to make a play off challenge, simply not good enough to do it.

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Tue Dec 28, 2004 8:50 pm

Aranalde was dreadful today- absolutly shocking, worst he has played in a while- rib injury or not, but he wasn't the worst there today- Darren Wrack played far worse than Zigor but isnt getting no where near as much abuse as Zigor is.

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Tue Dec 28, 2004 8:53 pm

Murphy - neither goal should have gone in - how many times are we going to hear that he's made a "rare mistake" before it becomes clear that he makes as many as Paston did?
McShane - not a full-back - no better than Wright, and considerably weaker in fact when going forward
Aranalde - words can't really describe how poor he was
Emblen - clear MOTM, did little wrong
Bennett - not great, not awful, but probably positioned slightly closer to the latter than the former
Standing - poor - wasted a brilliant chance first half and did nothing else
Wrack - poor - gave the ball away, never seemed able to spot the simple pass
Osborn - poor - typical that I come on here time and again and defend him to the hilt when everyone else slags him off but the one time I expect to come on and agree with people I find that they're actually saying he played well!
Merson - worst game of the season - nothing worked, he simply looked very poor - had a great chance to shoot but chose to pass instead, frequently had the ball on the byline in a great crossing position but, despite being probably the best crosser of the ball in the division, often opted to give it to Aranalde or McShane instead, neither of whom can cross - we desperately needed to take him off when we were chasing the game but just didn't have anyone to bring on who would have made any difference
Leitao - one flash of brilliance with his shot that hit the post, otherwise he was poor again
Robinson - did he even play?

Despite all the negatives we could and should have been in the lead at half time - blatant penalty which wasn't given, Standing missed a howler, Rankine should have been sent off (the ref went to book him for blocking the free kick and then he pushed Osborn which was worthy of a second booking) - but Tranmere played very well in the second half and only one team deserved anything from the game

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Tue Dec 28, 2004 8:54 pm

Whilst I accept that Aranalde had an extremely poor game, it's interesting to note that he has become the fall guy for a poor team. Whilst criticising Aranalde for not closing down attackers, let's wonder where Wrack was at the time (he plays on the left side of midfield), where Standing had disappeared to again and why Merson was standing on the halfway line with his hands on his hips when the 2nd goal was scored.

Merson's after-match comments gave the game away - he said he pays defenders good money to defend. Listen to any decent manager who knows the game and he'll tell you that you defend as a TEAM. Defending is not down to 4 men at the back - it also involves midfielders marking and making tackles and even lazy 36 year old attacking midfielders getting their lazy arses into gear and making an attempt at challenging.

Final word on Aranalde - why is it that one minute he backs off a challenge from an attacker and looks scared and then the next minute can go in for the hardest, most brutal 50/50 challenge I've seen at the Bescot for quite some time (and win it!). He's not a bad player, I'd suggest that the problems are more mental than physical. He is capable of performing to a much better level and doing a good job for us.

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Tue Dec 28, 2004 9:06 pm

Interesting to see the different ways everyone saw todays game - for the record here a re mine;

Firstly - overall I agree with sj - beaten by the better team (who wanted it more)

Murphy - Should have got both - but lets face it, we wouldn't have won anyway unless we scored (which we never really looked like doing)

Zigor - Poor - for me he is a Jeckal & Hyde player - has good and bad moments - would be a hell of a player if he remained consistent

Emblen - Deserved MOM

Bennett - poor towards the end, but didn't do much wrong

McShane - I thought did well - a couple of bad passes when he rushed his clearances

Standing - Went from good to poor during the game - but never gave up

Wrack - I'm a big fan usually, but certainly not his best today

Osbourn - I thought was the most effective today - did very little wrong, and was more positive than usual

Merson - Apart from a couple of "moments" he was too quiet - looked tired, should have come off.

Jorge - Not much service, but didn't look like creating it either (granted he he the post)

Robinson - see Jorge

Sub

Wright - Still don't think he can defend, not really sure about his ability to play on the wing either though.

Other Subs - Sadly lacking!

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Surrey Saddler
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Tue Dec 28, 2004 9:23 pm

In many ways we were unlucky today. We should have had a pen., we were certainly on top in the first half and played some good stuff. As for murphy, well I have never rated him. He should have made a better job of their first goal and the second was a give away. What chance do you have when that happens, and then jorge hits the post. I do agree, however, that we let our heads drop and that is unforgivable. As for Osbournes performance, it was OK, but only OK, nothing more

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Neil Ravenscroft
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Tue Dec 28, 2004 9:26 pm

ShropsSaddler wrote:Merson's after-match comments gave the game away - he said he pays defenders good money to defend. Listen to any decent manager who knows the game and he'll tell you that you defend as a TEAM. Defending is not down to 4 men at the back - it also involves midfielders marking and making tackles and even lazy 36 year old attacking midfielders getting their lazy arses into gear and making an attempt at challenging.


Too bloody true. Let's start playing a proper 4 4 2 or 4 4 1 1 with two banks of four, everyone knowing their job going forward or defending and sticking to that job, instead of trying to play a sophisticated system with players who are either not good enough or too bloody old.

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Todays Performance

Tue Dec 28, 2004 10:20 pm

Merson and Barlow appear frozen like rabbits in headlights. We play the diamond formation and if it does not work we still play the diamond formation. How about some creative management that changes something when games are clearly not going to plan? Changes were needed at Sheffield on Sunday and today and someone bottled those decisions!

Merson is the creator on the pitch when all goes well, but when it does not, who has the courage to step forward and make things happen? Clearly no one. In the formation we are playing, clearly Merson is the playmaker, but I would like to see Wrack and Standing providing an alternative.

They should not be trying to pass the ball about if the midfield is too crowded, but could try some old fashioned wing play, running hard and forcing the opposition to reorganise. There seems to be a monkey on Wracks shoulder telling him to stop running, turn around and pass backwards or sideways. Both Wrack and Standing must be under orders not to run as I am sure it is a big part of their game.

It was also so obvious today that Tranmere had so much more passion and energy. When they attacked, they went directly to our penalty box and caused as much chaos as possible. In contrast, Jorge and Robinson barely had a decent pass all afternoon.

The whole thing needs a drastic overhaul. Merson or Barlow need to start being a bit more nasty. If Chris Nicol had been manager on Sunday, he would have run on the pitch and murdered Wright on the spot for his pathetic header that gifted the first goal, but many others need reminding of their responsibilities that once completed justify their inflated salaries, by the standards of most fans.

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Tue Dec 28, 2004 11:29 pm

Im not going to use Aranalde as a scapegoat for this pitifull performance, he isn't worthy. This guy Zigor Aranalde though is not a footballer, he is just a man playing football very badly. If Merson has a brain cell he will never play this useless sack of crap again. How is this guy Aranalde classed as a pro footballer? He is just cack, period.

Not that any of the other toss pots playing can escape criticism either. Marvin Robinson for example. It's the first time ive seen this guy play and to be fair he has scored goals since he has been here but i tell you now he has nothing else in his game. I will just give the guy the benefit of the doubt that he has an eye for goal.

I take my seat and have a look at him and im thinking, 6ft, muscular black lad, young = speed merchant. How wrong was i. Jan Molby would run back to Kiddiminster faster than this guy. Like i say, just hope he has a canny knack of scoring.

The kid from Man U is not a fullback. His distribution was poor and he can't link well going forward. He looks tidy enough on the ball and has a good header = centre half potential.

Emblen done ok considering he usually struggles against smaller forwards. Merson showed good touches and link play. The rest were cack. The midfield in particular need to understand that it's not just about playing pretty triangles to one another but being for forward thinking in thier passes. Someone also tell them to tackle. The closing down of the Tranmere midfield was simply pathetic.

Not using substitutes was simply unbeleivable considering we had a wippet like Taylor on the bench. Then again it's Paul Merson the manager we are talking about here. I said id give him till the new year. I said that if they wasn't at least half way by then, he has to go. So it's official = pi55 off Paul.

coxanddrummie (the real deal)

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Tue Dec 28, 2004 11:32 pm

But why was Taylor on the bench anyway? Herivelto should have been there, even if not for Taylor then for Broad or Kinsella who are similar players.

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Stu
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Wed Dec 29, 2004 12:02 am

Wonder what the odds are on not seeing him again this season...I was surprised he didn't get a run out at Wednesday when we were losing.

Maybe Merse knows he won't be any good in such cold weather, so we won't see him till April.

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addo
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Wed Dec 29, 2004 7:26 am

I fully agree with Neil R., that it is time to look at the formation. We are far too narrow and too ineffective on the flanks to play this way.

To switch to a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 we need a decent left sided mifielder which we currently do not posess.

To me , it is obvious , switch to 3-5-2 or 3-4-1-2, this will allow us to push Wright & Aranalde further forward & at the same time give them more protection, whilst also allowing cover for Merson.

I presume that Nhelko is a target man, so midfield players need to be able to make forward runs, as at the moment they seem to have to need written permission to be further forward than Merson.

Permits allowing, how about the following for Donnie game,-

Paston
McShane - Emblen - Bennett
Wright - Kinsella/Osborn - Wrack/Standing - Aranalde
Merson
Nhelko/Robinson - Herrivelto

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addo
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Wed Dec 29, 2004 8:00 am

Aranalde seems to be getting a bit of a pounding after yesterdays game.

Following his performance at Wednesday where I thought he was total t*ss, to be fair to the bloke I thought he did a lot better yesterday, until the midfield went AWOL second half & left him exposed to the forward runs of the Tranmere right wing back.

I have also said on here before that I think Murphy has sloth like reactions and is no better than what we already have.
He must have cost us 4-5 points so far.
It's time for him to return.

If Paston is fit he has to play against Donny.

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Wed Dec 29, 2004 9:11 am

I'll repeat what I said in the match report, the writing was on the wall at half time that changes were needed, as we were struggling with their width and neither Aranalde or McShane looked comfortable. Sorry, a tactically aware management set up would have done something about it.

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Geordiesaddler
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Wed Dec 29, 2004 9:55 am

As the Undertones once sang, "nothing good lasts for ever.... and sometimes nothing starts".

Our game plan revolves around Merson 100 percent. If he fails we fail, and he was always going to get found out by 4 games in 8 days, He said that himself. Unfortunately he didn't do anything about it!

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geoffwhiting
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Wed Dec 29, 2004 10:27 am

If you're right Geordie - and I've no reason to argue otherwise - we're already in the sh*t after 2 point-less games in 3 days, so God knows what'll happen when we come to games 3 and 4 !

Could we end up with a totally point-less Xmas/New Year? Even now it looks like the best we can hope for is 3 points from 4 games - 3 from the Donny game that is - and judging by yesterday's capitulation I wouldn't even waste a quid betting on that !

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Wed Dec 29, 2004 11:10 am

If Walsall FC were a book, we would probably be "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde".
Yesterday's performance contained the usual 20- 25 minutes of thoughtful,incisive & creative play,(this time in the first half for a change), before turning,frankly,into a rather soggy capitulation to a team which were well organised & tidy,but no more than that in my opinion. Inconsistency of performance yet again.

As I see it,the major problems we have to contend with are as follows:

i) Lack of an agressive,ball winning box to box midfield player,who is prepared to go in wher it hurts- think Martin O'connor in his heyday. Our midfield has too many lightweights who get muscled out at phases of the game,& lack a driving sense of aggression towards the opposition goal.We seem too often to seek a safe,sideways pass,when a long range shot or forward through ball is needed.

ii) Painful over-reliance on Merson to create everything.Stifle Merson,& you stop Walsall.He is in his mid thirties &, however brilliant,cannot be expected to carry our creative threat alone for the rest of the season.

iii)No real specialist full back strength. Aranalde & Wright simply do not convince as full backs, & they have to play as there are no other capable specialist full backs at the club.
Oh for a Colin Harrison,Frank Gregg,Tony Macken or, (more up too date) Jamie Vincent or a fit Chris Baird !
I agree that our formation can expose our fullbacks,but if we had specialist,proper backs in position,we would not suffer as much as we are at the moment.

iv) Reluctance to make changes when either tactics are not working, or players are not performing.We have players now on the bench,who can bring something fresh when we need it,(Taylor's speed,Herivelto's creativity,Fryatt/New striker ). Use them,& give them 30 minutes to do something,not 3 minutes.

v) Lack of movement when we have the ball in a potentially attacking position. We rarely break incisively when we are moving the ball from defence or, (not often enough), win it in midfield. Too often, a lack of up-front space creation through effective movement leads to our man in possession having to turn in or backwards & play a meaningless short ball which loses momentum.

vi) With players such as Merson, we can deliver dangerous balls in at set pieces,& with Robinson,Emblen etc have the guys available to attack the ball.Why do we often waste many free kick opportunities by playing a quick free kick,which usually ends up with us passing the ball in circles & ending up back where we started.

No doubt,you guys can all come with other examples of where we are going wrong,in a more erudite way than me,but these things have been, for me, a consistent feature of this season of under-achievement,as I truly believe that this group of players should be in the Top 10 threatening a Play Off position.

In my opinion, the above factors are contributing to that immensely frustrating inconsistency which is condemning us to a season of mid table mediocrity.

Any comments?

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Wed Dec 29, 2004 11:17 am

"Any comments?" - well not a lot really Hampton Saddler - excellent post - you've said most of what needs to be said (and needs to be addressed).

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Wed Dec 29, 2004 11:50 am

Two games, two defeats, given our home record I'm starting to wonder if it is worth me making the trip from north of the border at all.

I thought Tranmere looked average in the first half but did enough to win the game overall. Although Murphy was at fault for the second goal (and possibly the first) he did make a couple of great saves which don't appear to have been mentioned above. Emblem was my pick but I thought McShane looked good albeit played out of position, he was unlucky with a header in the first half. Slagging Aranalde is valid up to a point but he was hardly afforded much midfield cover which meant he was constantly on the back foot.

Going into Christmas we were looking good for the top ten but we have got dragged back down into the mid table masses.

I'm heading over Hadrian's Wall today and will return for the Chesterfield game on Jan 15. Hopefully it'll be third time lucky.

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Wed Dec 29, 2004 1:11 pm

We were out muscled all over the park, as simple as that really.

I've never seen Rankine play so well as he did yesterday, and McAteer musn't have broken into a sweat, he got no bother out of Merson, Standing or Wrack, and Ozzie was left with the impossible task of trying to marshall three central midfielders.
I can see how Tranmere are so high up in the league. They do they job. They had obviously had us scouted in depth. They knew every type of play we had in our locker. They cut out everything to Robinson and Leitao. Rankine and McAteer mopped up everything between the midfield and the strikers.

Jorge Leitao is finished. He had one good touch yesterday, literally, just the one good touch for the effort that struck the post. However, that goes in, and he has had a good game. That's football I guess. Jorge won't be at the club next season, he is the weaklink in our strike force. Overweight, poor touch, and doesn't look like he can score. He is too knackered to even keep his work rate up!

Osborn played well, but whenever he gets the ball it kills the move. He did his job, which is to hold the ball up in the midfield and wait for Merson, Standing or Wrack to make their move. Effectively, to do what Vinny Samways did for the side. However, Osborn is not Samways. However, although still being asked to do a job which is not his forte by any stretch of the imagination, he turned in his best performance for a couple of months, the pick of our midfield.

McShane is not a right back. A cracking centre back, but will Merse rest Bennett? Emblen is due a rest because of his neck, but we just can't do without his influence at the back. Without Embo, we have no presense.

Zigor only survived in our First Division side because of having Pedro in front of him. But since Pedro left last season, Zigor has been exposed for what he trully is, a very poor defender, as opposed to an average defender who links brilliantly with out left winger.

A poor performance, reminiscent of Lee and Graydon's tactics at times, but until we find some natural strength in the centre of midfielder with the ability to carry the ball for twenty yards, we will have no chance against the well organised sides like Tranmere.
If Emblen was 100% fit, I'd rather have him in the holding role in midfield, which might allow Kinsella or Osborn to do their job, instead of trying to be something they aren't and have never been.

However, lets not be too fickle. 4 points over the next 2 games should be the minimum aim, and it is within our reach.

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Thu Dec 30, 2004 12:08 pm

We weren't the greatest, we lacked the 3 C's

Cohesion
Competitiveness
Courage

without these no one can achieve anything.

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