Scunthorpe United (Home) League 1 Saturday 16/8/08.

[AlexTheWalsallFan]

75 mins against 10 men

i no its looking glum isnt it :)

[Cheesebag]

:D

[Biggles]

Jabo scores 2-1 to the saddlers....

[AlexTheWalsallFan]

3 points looking likley

its all good

[AlexTheWalsallFan]

Game finished 1-1
in play offs postions aswell only 44 games to go. jabo and reich for us

[BathSaddler]

What a relief. A win is a win, but it took us an awfully long time to defeat ten men.

Well done, Jabo. You're certainly proving doubters like myself wrong.

[AlexTheWalsallFan]

Okay this is what ive managed to piece together from bbc and express and dingles live text

We started poor as we conceded an early goal,A cross from kevan hurst on the left and headed in by garry thompson. We then started the offensive with nicholls and zaaboub being caught offside, all this attacking saw some serious foul play from david mirfin who was subsqently sent off,from the resulting free kick marco reich hit a 20 yarder to eqaulise.

The saddlers then apparntly took control of the match for the rest of the game with several attacking throw ins and jabo having some decent shots. Half time came and went and within 5 mins the first yellow card of the match occurred, the honour going to antnee gerrard for unsporting behaviour.Cliff bryne and jabo the hutt both got booked for the same reason later on. nicholls replaced by demontagnac on 75 .Walsall's Winner finally came on 89 mins when jabo hit one from 12 yard , deeney supplied the pass .

All in All a good result but a long to get a goal against ten men ,roll on crewe

[Saddlers Man Dan]

Walsall 2 - 1 Scunthorpe

Ibhere and Reich

Spot on :)

[Saddlers Man Dan]

Amazing game to look back on.
But i was worryied it would finished 1-1.
"Jabo jabo jabo jabo" :lol:

[philthesaddler]

Poor performance in my view.

Very poor tactics from the very first minute it was clear that Reich wasn't getting in to the game, and our long ball tactics meant he was never near the ball. I said to my mate after 20 minutes we needed to move Reich in to midfield and get another striker on.

Manny Smith was at fault for the first goal, he shouldn't have let Hurst get the cross in.

Then, after a great free kick from Reich, we simply didn't dominate, even though we had an extra man, and the reason? Because we were playing with Reich not even touching the ball and Nicholls wasting it every time he got it. Scunthorpe played well, and stayed in the game, they deserved a point.

Jabos goal looked offside to me, so it'll be interesting to see that again.

Im not going to criticise Mullen, but to leave it until the 75th minute to make a change, and then to throw Ish upfront - a pointless move if you ask me, is a bit worrying. Did he not see that Reich was just not in the game? Did he not realise that Zaboob was being allowed a lot of space because when Scunthorpe shuffled the pack, they pushed their striker back to right wing, yet he kept pushing forward, leaving a gap on our left wing.

A note about the ref, who completely lost control of the game. He allowed Scunthorpe to waste time at every single oppurtunity for about 25 minutes, then, when we had 10 minutes to waste time, he books Palmer. Absolute disgrace.

Hopefully the result will kickstart the season, but to struggle so much against 10 men at home doesn't bode well.

[Registered Saddler]

Even Scunny thought we bossed it...
http://www.Scunthorpe.co.uk/footba ... hp?ID=3134
We're still improving, and have Mattis, Roberts and Ricketts to add to this XI. Note to the moaners: make sure you focus on the attendance, it will take the attention away from the win and the much-maligned Ibehre's second goal in three games.

[OldPenkSaddler]

Its all about the result at the end of the day so well done to the lads.

Shocking start with bad defending all round. Scunny looked like they would score on virtually every attack.

Perfect result when Jabo was brought down when clean through and defender sent off with Reich scoring from resultant free kick. Superb goal.

From then on we were pretty devoid of any ideas of how to score a goal against 10 men. Total lack of direction shown by Mullin and Schofield leaving substitutions far too late when we all knew Ishy should have been brought on much earlier.

Well worked winner and coolly taken by Jabo. Must apologise to him as perhaps he's not a donkey after all.

Completely stupid bookings for Gerrard and Palmer but not helped by a totally braindead referee.

3 points in the bag but we'll have to improve a lot defensively.

[Louise]

Just back from the match - good result but still a long way to go on performance.
Good points, Jabo was excellent - fully deserved his MOM award.
Reich looked good and took an excellent free kick for our first goal.

Points of concern, I still think we need another centrehalf.Mannie Smith was at fault for their goal and i think we need cover there.Be glad when Mattis returns, we need a playmaker in the middle of the park.
Taundry i think is struggling and Deeney just never looks like he will score.

Finally as pleased as I am with the result I do think our winner was offside!
Still onwards and upwards, 4 points out of 6 a good start but we still need to strengthen the squad.

[Deano_Saddler]

Just got back. Wasn't the best of games imo. The 2nd half was stop and start because of awful referring.
I think performance wise we made it very difficult for ourselves but there were some very good signs for the week to come.

Ince - Don't think he had to do anything all game. No chance with the goal.

Palmer - Steady, didn't give the opposition any time on the ball but played to many hoof balls for me when there were better options on 7/10

Smith - I have always said that this guy wasn't going to be good enough and from today's performance i was proved right. Still young but his positional play was very poor and every time he got the ball i was left feeling very nervous 5/10

Gerrard - Same old Gerrard but was a bit dodgy sometime. 7/10

Boertien - Great to have him back in the squad, didn't do a lot wrong at all. 7/10

Nicholls - Another player that i'm not very fond of. He battles and fights and makes good runs but when he gets the ball he does nothing with it. 6/10

Hughes - Steady on the ball, hardly ever misses his target, still not match fit but promising signs 7/10

Reich - Smashing goal and a few very good passes, sometimes drifted out of the game but presumably because he isn't quite match fit. 7/10

Taundry - I thought he was one of our best players in the 2nd half, always wanted the ball and when he got it, it never wasted it. Made some cracking runs for people to pick him out. 8/10

Zaaboub - To be honest i didn't think a lot of him in pre season but i thought he did quite a good job. 6/10

Ibehre - Star player by a while. Bossed defenders of the ball. Big strong, holded the ball up superbly, ran his socks of and got his reward. 9/10

subs

Deeney - Wasn't given a lot of time to make any sort of impact. 5/10

Ishmel - Came on. set up the goal well and showed a few signs of the ishy we know and miss 6/10

[BathSaddler]

Even Scunny thought we bossed it...
http://www.Scunthorpe.co.uk/footba ... hp?ID=3134
We're still improving, and have Mattis, Roberts and Ricketts to add to this XI. Note to the moaners: make sure you focus on the attendance, it will take the attention away from the win and the much-maligned Ibehre's second goal in three games.

The attendance was dreadful. The lowest league gate at this level since 98/99 season, and for an opening home Saturday league match. I estimate around 700-800 Saddlers decided not to attend [3,720, plus 442 Sunny], a worrying proportion of our overall average support for so early in the season. Seems like Geordie, Mr Whiting et al are not alone in how they feel.

[Nortoncanesred]

For the first time when a Walsall player stood over a free kick I actually believed he would score and he delivered 8)

4 Points, got to be happy with that.

[geoff skillet]

"Jabo was excellent - fully deserved his MOM award"

totally agree. there will never be a clearer man of the match.

i thought smith was better than suggested. needs to learn, but was ok on the ball and i think he'll turn out to be a good player.

nicholls did well, but he's never a wide-right player in a million years.

demontagnac wasnt given long enough to make a huge impact, but was still involved in the goal.

[geoff skillet]

"For the first time when a Walsall player stood over a free kick I actually believed he would score and he delivered"

woudlnt quite go that far, but he's certainly a good striker of the ball and that gives us an extra dimension.

[WFC_Rob]

Well, we certainly made much harder work of that than necessary, but Scunthorpe aren't a bad side and were well organised even when they went down to 10 men.

I agree with those saying we need another centre half - Smith worries me whenever he's the last defender as he really doesn't look comfortable under any sort of pressure whatsoever. I hope he gets shown the video of their goal to show how poorly he defended to allow the cross to come in. A few people pointed the finger at Boertein, but it's a lot easier to stop the cross coming in than beating an attacking player to the ball once it's in the air. On the subject of defending, what's with Palmer's unwillingness to head the ball? Any teams who do their homework on us over the next few weeks will be mad not to target him in the air.

I thought we should have done better in midfield when we had the man advantage. Taundry spends far too much time ball-watching which is one of the reasons why we can't play the ball through midfield. We need to get someone in there who will get on the ball more - how Bradley didn't get a game again, I just don't know.

I thought we played some decent stuff at times. Zaaboub's crossing always looks a threat and Jabo was monumental again. I can see Jabo working well up front on his own once the likes of Mattis and Bradley are in the team - he leads the line as well as anyone I've seen in a Walsall shirt for years and will get goals if he's given support from midfield.

A word on the manager now. I feel inclined to suggest that had we not scored that last minute goal, he'd deserve a shedload of criticism. I'll let him off as we won the game and Ishmel's touch made the goal, but I just couldn't understand why his substitutions took so long. At home to a side who were down to 10 men, I felt the game was crying out for Ishmel to be brought on after about 55-60 minutes. Just as we didn't throw caution to the wind and go for it once we went behind in Tuesday's cup game, Mullen seemed reluctant to go for it today, even though Scunthorpe were desperately clinging onto a point.

[bigste]

For the first time when a Walsall player stood over a free kick I actually believed he would score and he delivered

4 Points, got to be happy with that.


I thought the same, as soon as he went to hit hit I said it was going in !!

Not the best performance by a mile, but things can only Improve, it will not hurt team morale either !

UP THE SADDLERS

[Manchester Saddler]

Great win today. I'm not surprised Jabo scored actually - as I said before I was impressed with his performance against Darlington. Reich seems to be a good acquisition also.

Well done lads

:D

[King Crimson]

Agree with WFC Rob's report. Good win, but we're a lttle short of where I think we can be, performance-wise.

I always love to see goalies take an age over their kicks when they're happy to wind the clock down, then race to get the ball back in play when they're behind. Lovely! :D

[Nortoncanesred]

Even Scunny thought we bossed it...
http://www.Scunthorpe.co.uk/footba ... hp?ID=3134
We're still improving, and have Mattis, Roberts and Ricketts to add to this XI. Note to the moaners: make sure you focus on the attendance, it will take the attention away from the win and the much-maligned Ibehre's second goal in three games.

The attendance was dreadful. The lowest league gate at this level since 98/99 season, and for an opening home Saturday league match. I estimate around 700-800 Saddlers decided not to attend [3,720, plus 442 Sunny], a worrying proportion of our overall average support for so early in the season. Seems like Geordie, Mr Whiting et al are not alone in how they feel.

Looks like a clear message to Mr Bonser to me, they must be budgeting for more than that and hopefully the win may change a few peoples minds, otherwise somebody is going to get sold or the team wont be strengthend. Mr Bonser still collected his £1000+ today regardless :x

[pp_wfc]

how Bradley didn't get a game again, I just don't know.

Is Bradley recovering from an injury or just being overlooked?

I thought last season at times he was our best player by far and now he doesn't seem to be getting a look in, granted we're only a few games in but until Mattis is fit again i think i'd definetly prefer to see him ahead of Taundry.

[Duke]

We can take a few positives from the game and areas where we need to improve.
Jabo was immense thoroughly deserved his man of the match award and the winning goal , great to see Boertien back in the team. Reich , and Hughes both clearly not 100% fit very promising faded as the game wore on.
My main concerns are at the back Smith very shaky , Gerrard not at his best and the substitutions which i feel were correct but should have been made 15 minutes earlier .
we will get better , Weston , Mattis , Roberts and Ricketts will make a difference . very disappointed we failed to dominate against 10 men full marks to Scunthorpe the knew every trick in the book and used them well.
.

[Codsall Saddler]

First view of the new signings and felt that there is some promise. Hughes looked OK but unfit as did Reich. Palmer looks good on the ball on the ball but is worrying given his size - teams will load big forwards on him. Zaboub was patchy and there is hopefully more to come. Brings me on to Jabo, who was absolutely superb. Yes, he chases everything but there is more to him than that. He is a proper target man who can bring people into the game. He will need 4 chances to score a goal, but will create most of them himself. He needs someone up there with him though and a fit, motivated Ricketts could be perfect.

When we get Mattis, Ricketts and Weston back, plus some others match fit - I think that we could play some good stuff.

Agree about the subs being on too late and we could have put more pressure on them with Ishmel and Deeney on earlier.

What does strike me is that we have perfect personnel for 4-5-1.

[retired]

I did manage to go to the game today and I do wonder about the future , the substitutes should have happened earlier.

I thought Taundry played well and if he can succeed on wanting to win then he will, still do not think he is a midfielder his distribution is not that good but boy he has the desire so good luck .

Manny was to blame for the first goal but hopefully he will see where he went wrong.

Do wonder what is going on with Bradley as last year he was very good for us

With some of the more senior pros missing perhaps the best is rest to come, also what has happened to the two davies boys and harris are they still with the club

[Plastic Hawk]

Good result, but we were woefully undercooked for what was the third game of the season and the early sending off saved us from inevitable defeat (quite possibly a heavy one). However, there's not much that can be done about that at this stage and I saw enough today to suggest that we'll be much closer to the right end of the table than the relegation zone.

Defence was ropy, but given that neither Smith or Boertien got enough games under their belts in pre-season (and both were much better in the second half as they adjusted). The problem won't get better quickly as when Weston comes back in with no pre-season behind him (as he surely will, since Palmer isn't a League 1 player in a million years) he'll take a game or two to settle. Admittedly there's little to be done about Boertien and Weston, but Smith wasn't given enough game time in the friendlies against proper sides (and alongside Gerrard or Roberts) so that's entirely self-inflicted. Also, Gerrard didn't look bothered. He needs to accept that while he's a very good League 1 player, no Championship side is going to pay a fee for him (they might take him on a Bosman but I can't see them paying cash), so he needs to accept that he's stuck here and knuckle down to play properly for the duration of his contract in order to ensure he's still marketable when he is out of contract.

Midfield was poor too, partly because Hughes is also under-prepared but largely because Taundry and Nicholls are being played out of position. Nicholls doesn't know where to stand or run as a winger, so consequently it's difficult to get the ball to him in dangerous positions. Since Reich (a winger) was playing up front the problem could have been solved by swapping them around. Taundry's still nowhere near mobile enough to be a central midfielder and also doesn't know how to look for space to receive the ball in such a congested area of the pitch - so he only had about ten touches all game. The movement's not really his fault: he's a full back. However, his weight is. It was forgivable as a first year pro breaking through last season, but as a more established player he ought to have been working in the gym all summer to get himself back in the right shape for a professional footballer. What worries me most, however, is that the manager thinks that Taundry is a better option than Bradley. That makes no sense to me at all.

Up front Ibehre was the clear man of the match. An absolute revelation. He looks like he'll need a lot of chances to score a single goal, but he's so awkward and worked so hard chasing things down that he'll never have to wait long for another chance. He'll score his share of goals this season and make plenty of chances for his partner. Which brings me to another problem with our tactics today: he didn't have a partner. Reich seemed to be playing much deeper - and was lost as he didn't get anywhere near enough of the ball there. Whether that was down to him or to his team mates not being used to looking there I don't know, but either way it wasn't working and should have been changed - especially after the sending off. Playing 75 minutes against ten men with only one out-and-out striker was ludicrous.

Once our players get match fit (and the four key players who were out today - Roberts, Weston, Mattis, Ricketts - return) then I can see us doing very well - assuming that the manager shows a bit more tactical awareness. Most of our problems today were self-inflicted (out of position players, not playing two up top against ten men, not preparing properly in pre-season, letting the game drift by not making subs early enough) but if we can avoid harming ourselves then there really should be enough quality in that side to compete with anyone in this division.

[Bernie]

It was hard to believe our tactics today.

We continued with 451 after Scunthorpe had a man sent off but, despite only having one forward with a packed midfield our one and only tactic remained the same - pass the ball to one of the back four for him to hoof it up the pitch. The three in the middle of midfield must have get neck-ache watching the ball fly over their heads all match long.

Why only one man up front for most of the match? Presumably because we actually only have two forwards, Jabo and Ricketts, who can actually play up front at this level with any degree of competence. What would have happened if Jabo (who was excellent) had picked up an injury in that match - or if he goes lame in the near future? - We would then need two new forwards before the transfer deadline.

This was the fifth time that Jimmy Mullen has been in charge of a Walsall team, and it was the fifth time that he has made a mess of the substitutions. I like Jimmy, and think he has many fine qualities - not least bringing some good players to the club in close season - but someone needs to get him to think again about his use of substitutes.

[retired]

I am pleased that pedantogue agrees with me about Taundry not being a midfielder and would like to say that I do enjoy his match reports.

Shame he cant go in as assistant coach because he seems to know a lot about the players plus's and minus's that the coaching staff do not

Where is Bradley??? has he upset someone at the club

If he is injured why are they not saying and if Jimmy does not think he is good enough then he is daft.