Saddlers v. the Dirty Dingles - 21/7/09

[Pedagogue]

...Sam Parkin ... looked a lot slimmer than I imagined he would.

Gaz - you don't want to believe the scurrilous campaign by that Exile character, you know! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

[stefano123]

First half unimpressive, second half much better, some intricate play at times, but as always little craft or creativity in the final third.

No one really stood out head and shoulders to be fair... But no one was awful either. Sansara and Manny Smith where the ones who i thought looked out of their depth, certainly not good enough to be anything but backups this year IF tonights performances are anything to go on.

From tonight i think we need at least one more striker, a left/right winger (possibly Till, who was much better on the right but is certainly not a world beater...) and a left back as a bear minimum.

ARE YOU BEING SERIOUS ABOUT MANNY SMITH!!!

He was solid tonight and didn't put a foot wrong!!

I think your a bit mixed up mate

You mean the same Many Smith that hoofed the ball aimlessly in the air which lead to their goal... the same Manny Smith that is incapable of being accurate with his long balls or short passes for that matter... the same many Smith who spent most of the night flashing the ball off his head in all directions after miss judging its flight...

Granted he is a ball winner but the modern game demands more than that. At the moment IMHO he does not have the technique or physical stature to be anything more than a very fit Ian Roper type player (which is not the worst thing in the world by the way). He is sporadic (sometimes great, sometimes not so great) which is not a verb i would wish to attach to a description of a centre half. Maybe with the recent eminence of Gerard and Dann we have been spoilt for quality centre halfs and that distorts my judgement?

I'm not saying we should sell him release him or anything like that, as some idiots on hear will interpret my comments to mean, but i think if we rely on Smith for long periods this season we will come unstuck very quickly. As always i would more than happily eat humble pie if he proves me wrong.

It's funny that your the only person to really have this veiw of him :roll:

You haven't really defended your position there scott, you have merely pointed out, incorrectly i may add, that i am the only person with this view. But please excuse my ignorance, afterall, UTS is the epicenter of all that is orthodox and factual in the world of Walsall FC.

I'm quiet interested in the opinions of others and objective debate, however, childish eye rolling and subjective 'one liners' do not constitute a sufficient falsification of my views IMO. My attempt to offer a balanced opinion was obviously lost on you...

[We-ARE-Walsall]

Stefano.

Give Manny a chance. It seems to me it does take him time to settle. Anyone who remembers Ian Roper when he first came in to the Walsall side will remember how shaky he looked. He was always known for making a slow start, and taking time to settle in to the side. We were spoiled with Scott Dann. He slotted in with no effort at all. The reason being he is streets ahead in terms of a ability, and was always quite clearly going to play at a higher level. Manny doesn't have to be that good to be a success at Walsall.

[matt-thesaddler]

Manny has got alot to learn but i for one will give him a chance. He is still young and as blazing said he has got big boots to fill. The end of last season he was class. Give him time and he will improve. But i still think we need an expirienced center back for Smith and Hughes to learn off becuase Hughes is still only 22 and will learn.

Manny and Grigg are players for the future IMO.

[Exile]

...Sam Parkin ... looked a lot slimmer than I imagined he would.

Gaz - you don't want to believe the scurrilous campaign by that Exile character, you know! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Scurrilous? Moi?

[scott_powell]

Stefano I will eyeroll all I want :roll:

As for my "position", Why do you think sylvan ebanks blanks didn't have a sniff? Smith thats why. Blake tried to turn smith on so many occacians but Smith was a rock and didn't let him past once! .... As for there dodgy headers? I remember two ... And both went about 40 foot in the air meaning players had time to position themselves and defend easily.

For me Smith was great Tuesday! As he was last season, and will be this season.

I honestly can't see any reason for people to not rate his performance on tuesday.

Didn't you see Smith last season? He was superb! .... To only base a player on a pre season friendly (even though he played well) is a bit daft really.

:roll:

[King Crimson]

Why do you think sylvan ebanks blanks didn't have a sniff? Smith thats why. Blake tried to turn smith on so many occacians but Smith was a rock and didn't let him past once!

Ebanks-Blake missed three open goals on Tuesday. These were clear chances that in a few weeks time, after a few training sessions and games, he'd have put away.

Smith didn't do too bad, but you're re-writing history there, scott.

[scott_powell]

Why do you think sylvan ebanks blanks didn't have a sniff? Smith thats why. Blake tried to turn smith on so many occacians but Smith was a rock and didn't let him past once!

Ebanks-Blake missed three open goals on Tuesday. These were clear chances that in a few weeks time, after a few training sessions and games, he'd have put away.

Smith didn't do too bad, but you're re-writing history there, scott.

3 open goals? Did i miss something?

There was one and that was because hughes didn't track him!

[stefano123]

Stefano.

Give Manny a chance. It seems to me it does take him time to settle. Anyone who remembers Ian Roper when he first came in to the Walsall side will remember how shaky he looked. He was always known for making a slow start, and taking time to settle in to the side. We were spoiled with Scott Dann. He slotted in with no effort at all. The reason being he is streets ahead in terms of a ability, and was always quite clearly going to play at a higher level. Manny doesn't have to be that good to be a success at Walsall.

I'm not writing anyone off, as my previous posts explicitly state. I felt he had a bad game against Wolves, and have not been overly impressed with him in the past either.

The essence of my posts explain that we should not be relying on Smith as first reserve when either Hughes or Roberts get injured.

He is one for the future, possibly, but not one i foresee being able to step in confidently at this point in his career.

Again i reiterate, i hope he proves me wrong. The fact CH is still looking to bolster the defense implies he has similar concerns about the strength in depth of that department.

[King Crimson]

3 open goals? Did i miss something?

Yes.

I don't think anyone's suggesting Smith had a nightmare, but claims about him being 'a rock' and that he 'didn't put a foot wrong' (both your words) suggest either you are:

a) Manny Smith
b) His Mom
c) Blind
d) Not understanding of what quality defending really looks like.

My money's on (d), but (b) would be the most excusable. :D

[stefano123]

Stefano I will eyeroll all I want :roll:

As for my "position", Why do you think sylvan ebanks blanks didn't have a sniff? Smith thats why. Blake tried to turn smith on so many occacians but Smith was a rock and didn't let him past once! .... As for there dodgy headers? I remember two ... And both went about 40 foot in the air meaning players had time to position themselves and defend easily.

For me Smith was great Tuesday! As he was last season, and will be this season.

I honestly can't see any reason for people to not rate his performance on tuesday.

Didn't you see Smith last season? He was superb! .... To only base a player on a pre season friendly (even though he played well) is a bit daft really.

:roll:

Fair enough, i respect your opinion and i agree that he gives 100% and is an very good ball winner. I have seen him on many occasions and his defending per se, like i said, is also good (where the ball goes after he has won it is a different question); however, his technical and tactical play on the other hand are at times terrible. He will do a job for us this season, and in the future, no doubt.

What I'm trying to get across is that IF the opportunity arises to sign a more accomplished centre half i think we should take it. Not to the determent of Smith but to give him time to mature and for the good of the team.

[stefano123]

3 open goals? Did i miss something?

Yes.

I don't think anyone's suggesting Smith had a nightmare, but claims about him being 'a rock' and that he 'didn't put a foot wrong' (both your words) suggest either you are:

a) Manny Smith
b) His Mom
c) Blind
d) Not understanding of what quality defending really looks like.

My money's on (d), but (b) would be the most excusable. :D

My point exactly.

[scott_powell]

Some people haven't got a clue !

Trust me I understand what defending is all about .... I used to always play in defence myself until I became less of a fatty and got a bit of pace :D