Rochdale (A) JP Trophy 2nd Round Tuesday 4/10/11.

[tinned]

Just like last season I am getting very frustrated by a succession of players talking on the E&S website about their determination to put things right and then come matchday repeat the same old tat that they do every week.

SHUT UP WITH THE EASY WORDS AND PUT YOUR EFFORTS ONTO THE PITCH!!!

You forgot to say that we should always take the positives , so calm down chaps , lets have no more of this 'no wins in 7 games' negativity.

It's actually only 1 defeat in 4 games over 90 mins- and that was only down to a penalty that shouldn't have been.

See, it's easy when you try :roll:

You're right. As long as we're playing well the results will come eh?

Hope the sand doesn't sting your eyes.

[BEIRLYND]

A loss at Wycombe and I believe we will be worse-off then last season after 12 games and out of two cups again

[Bernie]

A loss at Wycombe and I believe we will be worse-off then last season after 12 games and out of two cups again

After 11 league games last season we had 10 points and were out of two cups. In contrast after 11 league games this season we have 10 points and are out of two cups.

[tinned]

Can we officially say that Smith's policy of buying players that had chequered pasts, but should have a point to prove has totally and utterly failed? They only point they have proved is why they had chequered pasts in the first place.

I know we haven't got the resources to buy perfection but we should've bought players that haven't got a track record of utter failure.


I want to hear from the board this week re. what they intend to do to arrest this slide. I still think Deano could have what it takes but we need some realistic investment to have any chance. Hopefully with some investement Deano can learn from his mistakes and secure players that aren't born losers.

[SheffieldSaddler]

Can we officially say that Smith's policy of buying players that had chequered pasts, but should have a point to prove has totally and utterly failed? They only point they have proved is why they had chequered pasts in the first place.

I know we haven't got the resources to buy perfection but we should've bought players that haven't got a track record of utter failure.


I want to hear from the board this week re. what they intend to do to arrest this slide. I still think Deano could have what it takes but we need some realistic investment to have any chance. Hopefully with some investement Deano can learn from his mistakes and secure players that aren't born losers.

Worrying he secured these players in first place though dont you think?

[belgiansaddler]

Well our longest cup run in years comes to an end. Was a pretty boring game between 2 sides with little creativity. We played some half decent stuff in a few short spells at end of first half and then again for a spell in the second half. Apart from that we resorted to hoofing it upfield which invariably resulted in it coming straight back as nothing stuck upfromt as usual. Was probably slight improvement on recent dross. Thought Manny Smith played pretty well, Walker made a couple of decent saves, midfield created very little, Martin showed a couple of pieces of skill but flattered to deceive.

Nicholls was quite lively without actually doing much useful and missed a couple of good chances. Grigg was non existant, we livened up a bit when Jarvis came on but only a bit. Probably created more than we have in recent weeks but no end product. Still Nicholls has only had 188 (please correct me Bernie) opportunities to show what he can do so he probably just needs a bit more time.

Thanks the lord we could bring Taundry on for the penalties :D Penalties were a joke though their keeper did make decent saves from the first two and I think the one from Jarvis is expected to come back into orbit about February 2014. Their penalties were really good, nowt Whakka could have done.

Decent and pretty noisy turn out. Highlight of the night was probably Stubbsy going beserk at some random Bury fan in our end and getting him chucked out :D An a couple of choruses of 'Evo is our leader' :D

No pies, no chips no beer. It was like being at a home game. A couple of dozen Dale fans spent most of the second half doing the Poznan, think someone should tell them they're supposed to do it when they score :D

[stig231]

Just like last season I am getting very frustrated by a succession of players talking on the E&S website about their determination to put things right and then come matchday repeat the same old tat that they do every week.

SHUT UP WITH THE EASY WORDS AND PUT YOUR EFFORTS ONTO THE PITCH!!!

You forgot to say that we should always take the positives , so calm down chaps , lets have no more of this 'no wins in 7 games' negativity.

It's actually only 1 defeat in 4 games over 90 mins- and that was only down to a penalty that shouldn't have been.

See, it's easy when you try :roll:

You're right. As long as we're playing well the results will come eh?

Hope the sand doesn't sting your eyes.

Have I been whooshed or did the sarcasm as if I was posting as one of "the succession of players talking on the E&S website" not come across? as thats the sort of rubbish they and the respective managers have been coming out with for the majority of the past 2 weeks/2months/2 years

[tinned]

Just like last season I am getting very frustrated by a succession of players talking on the E&S website about their determination to put things right and then come matchday repeat the same old tat that they do every week.

SHUT UP WITH THE EASY WORDS AND PUT YOUR EFFORTS ONTO THE PITCH!!!

You forgot to say that we should always take the positives , so calm down chaps , lets have no more of this 'no wins in 7 games' negativity.

It's actually only 1 defeat in 4 games over 90 mins- and that was only down to a penalty that shouldn't have been.

See, it's easy when you try :roll:

You're right. As long as we're playing well the results will come eh?

Hope the sand doesn't sting your eyes.

Have I been whooshed or did the sarcasm as if I was posting as one of "the succession of players talking on the E&S website" not come across? as thats the sort of rubbish they and the respective managers have been coming out with for the majority of the past 2 weeks/2months/2 years

Sorry mate, totally misread your post then. Must be getting too late :oops: :wink:

Thought you were an early season happy clapper totally denying anything was the slightest bit wrong.


Carry on as you were ........... :oops:

[bangsection]

Utter and complete disgrace, 3 out of 4 penalties wasted, we are a joke and an embarrassment. The club should refund the gate money for all Saddlers' fans who travelled, and then deduct it from the players' wages! Maybe if they were hit in the pocket, they might start to reflect on their performances and show greater respect for the paying fans who spend so much making the effort to follow the team. Not allowed by FL rules, no doubt, but that's how I feel tonight - angry and EMBARRASSED! :evil:

I'm inclined to agree with others though, what went on at Accrington overshadows anything else tonight, football-wise. :?

Nice to see you getting to an away game Geoff. How did we play?

[stig231]

Well our longest cup run in years comes to an end.

Apparantly before beating Shrewsbury in the JPT we had lost our last 9 cup games against League opposition - a shocking record, even for a low League One side.

[SWS1]

Anyone else this is our only chance of any success the season .

Dale in the cups to date.

Carling Cup 1st round - Chesterfield- home - won 3-2
Carling Cup 2nd round - Q P R - away - won 2-0
Carling Cup 3rd round - Aldershot - away - lost 1-2

Our hosts have yet to play in this seasons JP Trophy

Full league home record.

2 wins - 2 draws - 2 defeats -8 goals for - 9 against.

Prediction 1-1 , we'll win on pens.

You got it exactly right, except for one small difference... :evil:

[Exile]

Story on the front page. Thanks to belge for the report!

http://upthesaddlers.com/wp/archives/20 ... t-tragedy/

[priestley_saddler]

A poor game between two poor sides which, if it were a boxing match, we'd have won narrowly on points. The biggest worry for me currently is Deano appears to be panicking in his team selections. He knows its not good enough, and I don't think he's entirely convinced these players will turn it around, such is the reason we have a huge number of changes every game. This results in no continuity within the team as Deano doesn't know his best XI. He needs to decide on his first choice back four, and stick with them until he has sufficient reason to change it. Right now, I don't know why he feels the need to keep shuffling it. They say when a new team is put together it needs time to gel, but how can it when its being chopped and changed every week? Decide who is the best partner for Butler; Olly or Manny, and then stick by it. The same with Westlake and Beevers.

For weeks I've been calling for the Chambers - Taundry central midfield combo to be broken up, and tonight it was. But for me it made no difference at all. If there was an improvement it was on the wings, Martin had the best game a left winger has had for us this season and was my MOTM, and Gnakpa looked hungry on the right but did flatter to deceive.

An ideal opportunity to see what Bowerman could do over 90 minutes, following his sub appearance at the weekend and brace for the reserves last week, was spectacularly missed by Nicholls being paired upfront with Grigg. Young George not even making the bench. Nicholls was assigned the central role and Grigg was the designated worker of the strikeforce, but neither did the role particularly well.

We did knock the ball around well at times in the first half but the shots on target count was still 0-0 going into the 44th minute when we mustered two in a matter of seconds. Firstly with Nicholls dallying and wondering what he was supposed to do when playing as a striker with the ball at his feet infront of the goal, and once he'd remembered their keeper made a comfortable save. Then right on half time Martin forced their keeper into a smart stop from probably our best move of the match. The second half was as dull as the first, but we did pick up after Jarvis and Hurst came on, Hurst playing on the right and looking better there. At 1-1 it did look like we would be the team to win it if either, until the last five minutes when it looked like being them. To rate the performance I'd put it on a par with Saturday. If I was being an eternal optimist I would say we've drew 3 of our last 4 and only lost the other through a dodgy penalty. We do look reasonably hard to beat, but a lot harder to win with. The shackles need taking off or we're going to bore ourselves into a relegation scrap.

The less said about the penalties the better. The first two we missed were identical. Jarvis penalty hit the moon [EDIT: It probably missed that as well].

Walker - Didn't really have a lot to do but made one fine save from a one on one in the 89th minute to ensure we only lost on penalties as opposed to in normal time.
Westlake - Looked rusty having missed a few games and took his time to get up to speed with the pedestrian paced game. Looks half the player with Smith next to him, but that's probably Darryl's fault more than Manny's.
Sadler - Steady and solid, a regular Sadler performance.
Smith - Another who produced a regulation performance. Steady and solid against a limited Rochdale attack.
Butler - At one point joined the rest of us in thinking "NICHOLLS, HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU WANT???" as he squandered another opportunity. But almost got caught out as a result as they immediately hit us on the break. Recovered well and was his only mistake. Another solid performance.
Peterlin - Big chance tonight and in my opinion squandered it. I hardly noticed him all game except when he gave the ball away.
Chambers - Looked a little bit better than usual with Peterlin alongside him, but the Americans lacklusture performance will probably see Taundry back on Saturday.
Martin - MOTM. If he plays like that every game he may be worth a second month, not sure when his loan ends.
Gnakpa - Spent much of the first ten minutes trying to win free kicks, and when this failed went about his business but faded out of the game as it wore on. His first game back but did appear to tire quickly.
Grigg - I've argued with a friend that Grigg's apparent lazyness is him just playing to orders, and that he holds centrally while his strike partner does the work. This was proven tonight by Grigg doing the work while Nicholls played centrally. Unfortunately Grigg isn't good at that part of the game and it showed, no surprise when he was replaced.
Nicholls - If I was writing about any other striker (and I mean ANY other striker), I'd be saying "On another night he'd have had two goals from that game", but with Nicholls I don't think he would. I think he'd squander those chances 9 times out of 10 just as he did tonight by taking too long to decide what he was supposed to do. Is arguably not a winger but is even less of a striker than I am. Did score his penalty though.

Subs

Jarvis - Looked lively when he came on for Grigg, but his penalty is still rising.
Hurst - Played on the right and looked better for it. His goal (I believe our first from inside the penalty area from open play all season) will hopefully do his confidence good and he can kick on.
Taundry - Came on specifically to take a penalty, and then missed it. I've only just realised it was our three subs that missed pens, not that it means much, just a quirky FACT!

A word on the support which was brilliant tonight, certainly can't complain about the lack of backing as we were noisy throughout. Now if only we could replicate that at home.

However, its all highly insignificant when compared with the news filtering through from Accrington. Wishing Tom Bender a full and speedy recovery.

[Exile]

Wish I'd waited ten minutes. That's so much better than belge's drunken ramblings. :mrgreen:

[Lone Striker]

Frustrating night, out of another cup competition when in all honesty Rochdale were there for the taking, truth is we were not good enough to win the game.

At last we changed central midfield and even though not completely dominant a much improved performance than previous weeks, Peterlin got around the pitch and complimented Chambers who had his best game for quite a few weeks. The two interchanged passes in midfield, kept possession better than recently and it was noticeable how both were happy to drop deep to receive the ball from the centre backs which in turn improved the distribution from the back, particularly reducing the times Manny Smith lumped long balls to the front two.

Martin looked good in spells and definitely has more about him than I have seen from Hirst, he has the ability to get crosses into the box and if we can get him one on one with the fullback could be a threat.

Up front after that showing partnering Grigg with Nicholls just will not work. Nicholls did nothing for the first 30 minutes and Grigg is not the type of player who can hold the ball up, result was no threat at all for much of the first half. Both players were happy to be marked by centre halves not once coming off their marker to receive the ball, on more than one occasion midfield players looking for a forward option but nothing available. Jarvis has his critics but his arrival coincided with our best spell and he gave their centre halves more to think about, his link up play was also noticeable and if Macken is not available he has to play to allow us to keep the ball better in the forward positions.

Less said about the penalties the better, strange decision for a substitute who has not even touched the ball to take the first penalty, not really suprised that their keeper saved the first two as they were in the best place for him to get to.

For Saturday Chambers and Peterlin should start in central midfield, Martin on the left, the back 4 probably picks itself, although Beevers may come in for Westlake. Who starts on the right and up front alongside Jarvis a bit more difficult to predict.

[StudentSaddler]

Started of rather dreary, both sides lumping it up and down the field, Rochdale had greater possession, but weren't a threat. Walsall started to pick their game up in the last 5-10 minutes of the first half, with a couple of close (ish) chances. Second half started pretty poor and lead to Rochdale scoring, missed the goal due, after watching the chants between the Walsall lot and the Rochdale nursery in the stand closest to us. Gnakpa and Grigg came off for Jarvis and Hurst to try and liven things up, and after a few minutes, Hurst slotted home after some good build up play. Walsall started challenging a lot more, creating chances, and played a more passing game at quicker tempo. Nicholls squandered 3 good opportunities, Taundry came on with two minutes to go when it was evident penalties were taking place. Walsall took the first penalty with their keeper making a fine save. Rochdale scored, Hurst then had his shot saved as well, before Rochdale scored yet again. Nicholls stepped up and slotted home, Rochdale scored (Again ) before Jarvis sky'd high... :roll:

Walker: Made some good saves one on one, and met all of Rochdale's crosses. Good game, standard Jimmy. 8

Sadler: Solid at the back, good link up play with Martin, used the flanks well. League 1's answer to Ashley Cole (Minus the off field problems) 8

Smith: Couple of good headed clearances, but tended to hoof when in doubt, mainly in the first half though. 6

Butler: Couple of mistakes which almost lead to Rochdale scoring, apart from that had a fair game, but no where near the Butler we all know and love from last season. 7

Westlake: Couple of slips, but over all had a good game, look fairly comfortable, and progressing well from last year, linked up well when Hurst came on. 7

Gnakpa: All mouth and no action, all that nonsense in the express and star earlier about wanting to progress in the JPT, yet looked un-interested, even when the opposition had the ball around 5 yards away, he left it for someone else to deal with. When he did get the ball, he'd concede possession due to his non existent stability. About as useful as a dandelion. 4

Peiterlin: Wasn't awful, wasn't amazing, caught out a few times, and absent in other spells, some good passing at times, but not much else from today. 6

Chambers: Lost possession on numerous occasions, broke down our attack on more than one occasion, and had a couple of trips which lead to Rochdale attacks, rather sloppy today, couple of good spells, but a poor game in general from him. 5

Martin: Groaned a bit when I saw his name instead of Paterson's in the starting line up, but really impressed at times, his link up play with Sadler was probably some of the best I've seen so far this season. Beat his man on several occasions, and knew when to release the ball, probably my joint MOM with Sadler. 8

Grigg: Had one chance late in the first half, didn't do much, and was often out of place on the rare occasion that we crossed into the box in the first half. Didn't contribute much, but had little service. 6

Nicholls: Played in a strikers role today. Didn't do much in the first half, but tracked to defence on more than one occasion to get the ball, had a few good runs, but with poor end result. Should of scored 3 times in the second half. 6

--------------------------------------------------
Jarvis: Had better service than Grigg, but didn't have any real shots. Some good passing play in the second half, but not much else. Penalty was awful, second time he's missed a penalty this year. 6.5

Hurst: Looked like Messi in comparison to Gnakpa. Linked up well with Westlake, decent all round game, and took his goal well. 7/8

Taundry: Only had 2 Minutes of normal time, in which I don't think he got a touch of the ball, shot his penalty at the keeper. Can't write much else given his lack of action.

Played some good football at times, but should be winning against teams like Rochdale. Can't understand what's happened since the first few games. My Promotion hopes seem tad premature now . As much as I like Smith, I think he's more of a Ginger Moyes than Mouriniho at the moment. (Small budget, etc... )

UTS!

[Exile]

More from Accrington

Accrington chief executive Rob Heys told BBC Sport: "It was a three-way collision between Tom, Ian Dunbavin and the Tranmere player.

"It's difficult at this time to say what the injury is but our club doctor and physio ran immediatly to his assistance.

"Both sets of players were shaken up by the incident hence why we took the decision to call the game off - it's only natural reaction when you see a player stay down for so long.

"He was starting to show signs of coming around as he left the ground."

Looking like a very heavy concussion rather than a broken neck, which is a bit better news. Put up a quick 'best wishes' on the front page.

http://upthesaddlers.com/wp/archives/20 ... st-wishes/

[Darth Vader]

Started of rather dreary, both sides lumping it up and down the field, Rochdale had greater possession, but weren't a threat. Walsall started to pick their game up in the last 5-10 minutes of the first half, with a couple of close (ish) chances. Second half started pretty poor and lead to Rochdale scoring, missed the goal due, after watching the chants between the Walsall lot and the Rochdale nursery in the stand closest to us. Gnakpa and Grigg came off for Jarvis and Hurst to try and liven things up, and after a few minutes, Hurst slotted home after some good build up play. Walsall started challenging a lot more, creating chances, and played a more passing game at quicker tempo. Nicholls squandered 3 good opportunities, Taundry came on with two minutes to go when it was evident penalties were taking place. Walsall took the first penalty with their keeper making a fine save. Rochdale scored, Hurst then had his shot saved as well, before Rochdale scored yet again. Nicholls stepped up and slotted home, Rochdale scored (Again ) before Jarvis sky'd high... :roll:

Walker: Made some good saves one on one, and met all of Rochdale's crosses. Good game, standard Jimmy. 8

Sadler: Solid at the back, good link up play with Martin, used the flanks well. League 1's answer to Ashley Cole (Minus the off field problems) 8

Smith: Couple of good headed clearances, but tended to hoof when in doubt, mainly in the first half though. 6

Butler: Couple of mistakes which almost lead to Rochdale scoring, apart from that had a fair game, but no where near the Butler we all know and love from last season. 7

Westlake: Couple of slips, but over all had a good game, look fairly comfortable, and progressing well from last year, linked up well when Hurst came on. 7

Gnakpa: All mouth and no action, all that nonsense in the express and star earlier about wanting to progress in the JPT, yet looked un-interested, even when the opposition had the ball around 5 yards away, he left it for someone else to deal with. When he did get the ball, he'd concede possession due to his non existent stability. About as useful as a dandelion. 4

Peiterlin: Wasn't awful, wasn't amazing, caught out a few times, and absent in other spells, some good passing at times, but not much else from today. 6

Chambers: Lost possession on numerous occasions, broke down our attack on more than one occasion, and had a couple of trips which lead to Rochdale attacks, rather sloppy today, couple of good spells, but a poor game in general from him. 5

Martin: Groaned a bit when I saw his name instead of Paterson's in the starting line up, but really impressed at times, his link up play with Sadler was probably some of the best I've seen so far this season. Beat his man on several occasions, and knew when to release the ball, probably my joint MOM with Sadler. 8

Grigg: Had one chance late in the first half, didn't do much, and was often out of place on the rare occasion that we crossed into the box in the first half. Didn't contribute much, but had little service. 6

Nicholls: Played in a strikers role today. Didn't do much in the first half, but tracked to defence on more than one occasion to get the ball, had a few good runs, but with poor end result. Should of scored 3 times in the second half. 6

--------------------------------------------------
Jarvis: Had better service than Grigg, but didn't have any real shots. Some good passing play in the second half, but not much else. Penalty was awful, second time he's missed a penalty this year. 6.5

Hurst: Looked like Messi in comparison to Gnakpa. Linked up well with Westlake, decent all round game, and took his goal well. 7/8

Taundry: Only had 2 Minutes of normal time, in which I don't think he got a touch of the ball, shot his penalty at the keeper. Can't write much else given his lack of action.

Played some good football at times, but should be winning against teams like Rochdale. Can't understand what's happened since the first few games. My Promotion hopes seem tad premature now . As much as I like Smith, I think he's more of a Ginger Moyes than Mouriniho at the moment. (Small budget, etc... )

UTS!

Promotion hopes?! Yow soft in the 'ed lad?

[StudentSaddler]

If they put their heads together (On the end of a cross hopefully) I reckon we can still nick the play offs :wink:

[priestley_saddler]

If they put their heads together (On the end of a cross hopefully) I reckon we can still nick the play offs :wink:

The second funniest thing I've read on this board in a while :lol:

[Kiansmom]

Wish I'd waited ten minutes. That's so much better than belge's drunken ramblings. :mrgreen:

I love priestly's reports :mrgreen: always sensible and well written

[geoffwhiting]

Utter and complete disgrace, 3 out of 4 penalties wasted, we are a joke and an embarrassment. The club should refund the gate money for all Saddlers' fans who travelled, and then deduct it from the players' wages! Maybe if they were hit in the pocket, they might start to reflect on their performances and show greater respect for the paying fans who spend so much making the effort to follow the team. Not allowed by FL rules, no doubt, but that's how I feel tonight - angry and EMBARRASSED! :evil:

I'm inclined to agree with others though, what went on at Accrington overshadows anything else tonight, football-wise. :?

Nice to see you getting to an away game Geoff. How did we play?

Saddlers World and reports sent to me from the ground kept me adequately informed, thanks. I don't think it takes me to be there, or rocket science, to know that the team is under-performing and needs a massive kick up the backside - and withholding some of their wages might make some of them sit up and take notice. Shame we can't do it! :?

[SheffieldSaddler]

Utter and complete disgrace, 3 out of 4 penalties wasted, we are a joke and an embarrassment. The club should refund the gate money for all Saddlers' fans who travelled, and then deduct it from the players' wages! Maybe if they were hit in the pocket, they might start to reflect on their performances and show greater respect for the paying fans who spend so much making the effort to follow the team. Not allowed by FL rules, no doubt, but that's how I feel tonight - angry and EMBARRASSED! :evil:

I'm inclined to agree with others though, what went on at Accrington overshadows anything else tonight, football-wise. :?

Nice to see you getting to an away game Geoff. How did we play?

Saddlers World and reports sent to me from the ground kept me adequately informed, thanks. I don't think it takes me to be there, or rocket science, to know that the team is under-performing and needs a massive kick up the backside - and withholding some of their wages might make some of them sit up and take notice. Shame we can't do it! :?

Didn't you see disclaimer Geoff when you came onto the site?
You MUST, I repeat MUST, go to matches to post on this site?
Either that or have rose tinted specs on when entering! :mrgreen:

[ShropsSaddler]

I'm not sure how either striker could be given a 6 after their abject performances. They didn't offer themselves for the pass, rarely made intelligent runs and, in the case of nicholls, contrived to fluff the decent chances which we did create.

I'm not sure I can agree about butler either. He epitomises the.difference between this season and last I think. I'd go as far as to say smith was the better centre half on the night.

As for motm, I'd not seen Martin play and had read and heard dire reports. What a surprise i had! The one player with true quality and some urgency. Always asking for the ball, talking to his teammates and willing to run at his man. And yet the stupidity of a minority of fans was evident.as usual, as they gave him abuse for losing possession a couple of times. If we can get macken back.and if we can keep Martin, there is some hope of turning this slump around.

[fatboyslim]

I'm not sure how either striker could be given a 6 after their abject performances. They didn't offer themselves for the pass, rarely made intelligent runs and, in the case of nicholls, contrived to fluff the decent chances which we did create.

I'm not sure I can agree about butler either. He epitomises the.difference between this season and last I think. I'd go as far as to say smith was the better centre half on the night.

As for motm, I'd not seen Martin play and had read and heard dire reports. What a surprise i had! The one player with true quality and some urgency. Always asking for the ball, talking to his teammates and willing to run at his man. And yet the stupidity of a minority of fans was evident.as usual, as they gave him abuse for losing possession a couple of times. If we can get macken back.and if we can keep Martin, there is some hope of turning this slump around.

So Martin has turned into a world beater after 1 game??? Some of the comments on this board really do beggar belief!!! He has been pathetic in his first few performance so it will take another few more good ones before we can say that he is the answer to our season. :roll:

Not sure 90 mins in a mid-week cup game against a team with a weakened side out is the best bar to set!

[PT]

We played alright. No better, no worse.

Their goalie was awarded their man of the match (before the pens) which tells a story. Jimmy was possibly ours, which tells another.

I agree with others about Martin, I was standing with Ancient Moaner when the teams were announced and we collectively groaned when his name was read out. But he played quite well and made the goal. Actually apologised to us (the fans) after one mis-placed pass which is fairy unusual.

Decent night out, average game that could be viewed anyway you like depending upon the mood you're in, awful penalties. It's quite hard to make a penalty shoot-out not very entertaining but we managed it really well.

[ShropsSaddler]

So Martin has turned into a world beater after 1 game??? Some of the comments on this board really do beggar belief!!! He has been pathetic in his first few performance so it will take another few more good ones before we can say that he is the answer to our season. :roll:

Not sure 90 mins in a mid-week cup game against a team with a weakened side out is the best bar to set!

They do indeed "beggar belief"!!

As I said, I've not seen him previously, so this allowed me to view his performance objectively and in comparison with other players. Gnapka was poor and lacked motivation and commitment, Grigg looked like he couldn't really be bothered, Nicholls spent most of the match making sure he was unavailable for a pass, Peterlin flattered to deceive. And then there was Martin, who put in plenty of effort, called for the pass, moved into intelligent positions and showed a fair bit of skill. Personally, I don't care what he's done in previous games - on the night, he was worthy of praise and not abuse.

Last night was surely a chance for players to come in and impress the manager so he has to think about picking them for the next game. Nicholls, Gnakpa, Peterlin and, to some extent, Westlake did nothing to trouble the manager's thoughts. Martin did.

Ironically, the other player who really made an impression was another "fans' favourite", Jarvis. In the short time he was on the pitch, the difference between him and both Nicholls and Grigg was so noticeable and wasn't rocket science. He moved into good positions, asked for the ball, played the pass and then moved again.

[WFC_Rob]

I'm surprised by some of the criticism of our midfield last night. I'm not going to go as far as saying things are now spot-on in there, but I thought things were much improved with Peterlin and Chambers as opposed to Chambers and Taundry. The fact that they wanted the ball and played it simple really helped us sustain a bit of pressure on Rochdale in the second half and, believe it or not, we kept aimless long balls from the back to a minimum. We might not make the top half with that combination in midfield - we might not even stay up - but I've got no doubt that it's the best we have at the moment.

If Macken is injured, Jarvis MUST play. It's as simple as that. The opposition centre halves last night couldn't have imagined an easier game when Nicholls and Grigg just stood still for 45 minutes. Jarvis came on, found spoace between the midfield and back four, and even ran the channels a couple of times to good effect. Speaking of running the channels, isn't this what Alex 'I'm a striker, don't you know' Nicholls should be doing?

Last night's performance was far from impressive, but it should at least give Smith food for thought in terms of his team selection for Saturday and beyond.

[ShropsSaddler]

On reflection, I do tend to agree with you Rob. ALthough I wasn't overly impressed by Peterlin, he did offer himself for the pass plenty of times and he did go and pick it up off the centre halves so that they didn't have to hoof it.

Quite agree about Nicholls and his lack of running the channels. I thought Grigg's performance was very frustrating last night but, to be fair, he did make one or two intelligent runs. To Nicholls, however, intelligent is a dirty word! And I'll tolerate the odd sub-standard performance from a player having his first real season in the first team, but not from someone who has now apparently had 188 games to show what he can do.

There was some decent passing football played by both sides at times, without it actually going anywhere on the majority of occasions!

[bangsection]

Utter and complete disgrace, 3 out of 4 penalties wasted, we are a joke and an embarrassment. The club should refund the gate money for all Saddlers' fans who travelled, and then deduct it from the players' wages! Maybe if they were hit in the pocket, they might start to reflect on their performances and show greater respect for the paying fans who spend so much making the effort to follow the team. Not allowed by FL rules, no doubt, but that's how I feel tonight - angry and EMBARRASSED! :evil:

I'm inclined to agree with others though, what went on at Accrington overshadows anything else tonight, football-wise. :?

Nice to see you getting to an away game Geoff. How did we play?

Saddlers World and reports sent to me from the ground kept me adequately informed, thanks. I don't think it takes me to be there, or rocket science, to know that the team is under-performing and needs a massive kick up the backside - and withholding some of their wages might make some of them sit up and take notice. Shame we can't do it! :?

My mistake. I just assumed that to describe a performance as an "utter and complete disgrace" a "joke" and an "embarrassment" then you must have been there to see something above and beyond drawing 1-1 away from home to a League One side and then losing a penalty shoot out.

Jarvis sauntering up to take a penalty with a fag in his hand, perhaps? Or Richard Taundry looking delighted that the keeper had saved his effort, thereby keeping his Tuesday nights free for a bit of Christmas shopping?

This is the realm of the Daily Mail comments section where everything is automatically a "DISGRACE" and an "EMBARRASSMENT" and someone (anyone) "SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES".

Interested as ever to read the balanced reporting of people like Priestley and PT, unhappy that we lost but seeking to at least take some positives from what sounds like an average performance in keeping with our current poor run but not exactly an "utter and complete disgrace".