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Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Reports and reaction from the 2011-2012 season as Walsall finished 19th in League 1
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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sat Dec 03, 2011 8:06 pm

The performance today establishes the fact that we should be in league 2 and that we were VERY lucky to stay up last year.

Shocking performance. We were on top in the second half, but when we are playing 91st in the league that isnt an achievement. The players got what they deserved when coming off, one man saying "You should pay us for watching that ****"- Well said.

I moan at Beevers when he doesnt close his man down, but what he did today was so schoolboy that he should be fined a weeks wages. Good finish though.

Newcastle away please.

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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sat Dec 03, 2011 8:24 pm

longdogs wrote:Jarvis sent off.



Elbowed Mickey Spillane.....................they should hammer him.

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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sat Dec 03, 2011 8:34 pm

WFC_Rob wrote:Can't we just be glad we're in the hat for the third round draw?

It sounded like desperate stuff, but those who were at Slough a few years ago and Torquay last season to name two, know that we can't just expect to put sides to the sword away from home in the FA cup - no matter who they are.

Like everyone else, I'm hoping for one of the top 10 Premier League sides in tomorrow's draw. I'll then look forward to the club introducing a ticketing policy for the Dagenham replay which maximises gate receipts.


We're all glad Rob; no one who has witnessed the majority of our performances this season would expect anything more than what is served up week after week. Inconsistant performances, poor play and players, occasional glimpes of promise and the odd decent performance by more than a couple of players. I think that the manager is struggling with his job, he has now lost the element of 'new manager, new approach' and has appeared to settle into some sort of middle of the road muddle of tactics and mateyness with his squad. What impact or influence Richard O'Kelly will have remains to be seen. I had thought that Chris Nicholls input would mean that at least we could be well organised and for the early part of the season our defence, although struggling to impress at least remained fairly tight. Our goal difference was good despite the losses, however, I think there must be a problem with his motivation and relationship with the players, there aren't many who go out on the pitch fired up and it is always players like Walker, Butler and Macken who have any desire. We don't appear to have any real leaders on the pitch, no one tries to lift their team mates and it is left to the inadequte Taundrey to at least display a willingness to give his all.

More than a bit depressing but like all Walsall fans I live in hope of a miracle. :shock:

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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sat Dec 03, 2011 8:44 pm

Our first half performance was truly shocking; in contrast, the Daggers played some very good skillful football but only because we gave then the time and space to do so. Highlight was Nicholls' shot which was turned over by their keeper just before half time.
The second half was a little better but only occasionally did we get into gear. Great goal by Gnapka who, despite his many shortcomings, does do the best impersonation of a Centre-Forward at the club, when the mood takes him (and he gets the right service).

Their goal was a stunner and they deserved a replay at least.

Interesting that a club who got a crowd of 1200 today can afford a scoreboard. Not as good as Fleetwood's but a lot better than ours!

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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sat Dec 03, 2011 9:49 pm

I really hope we don't get the "Dagenham away was always going to be tough" and "the main thing is we are still in the draw" lines because that really was dreadful.
We were very lucky to go in level at half-time. D&R had way too much of the ball in the last third of the field. Our tactics seemed to be simply hitting long balls for Macken and Grigg to run on to (!) - is this because we have no confidence in our midfield?
Will Grigg is due a rocket from someone if he is to fulfill his potential, at present he gives the impression that he's just waiting for a big move somewhere. It ain't going to happen for him unless he shows more effort. Bowerman was far more mobile when he came on, he really looks like he could make something of himself. Macken I suspect is in his final season, he is a better player than the one we are currently seeing.
I thought there would be one goal in it so when Claude squeezed his header in (should their keeper have kept it out?) I thought we'd done enough to sneak a fortunate win. Fair play to D&R though, cracking goal to level things up. We looked better when the subs came on and I was left thinking that I would like to see Gnakpa and Bowerman up front. GK to win balls and GB to feed off him.
We ought to be favourites to win the replay but I am not confident. A lot depends on who is more tempted by the 3rd round opponents.
Decent turn out today from Saddlers. I do feel for D&R, as I was coming out of the station before the game there were lots of West Ham fans going the other way......

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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sat Dec 03, 2011 10:37 pm

Another away draw extends our unbeaten run on the road to four in all competitions, our longest unbeaten away run since March 2009, and we are in the hat for the third round. I've lost count how many times since we've been promoted back to League One that we have lost cup games against League Two opposition, and today we managed to avoid that potential banana skin. We do appear to be a lot better equipped for playing away from home, grinding out ugly results is something we are starting to do well and, if it weren't for the fact we were so shockingly bad at home, this would feel like decent away form.

Dagenham are currently situated 91st in the Football League and have lost their last eight league games, but flip the coin and they would see themselves as at home to a team who survived on the last day last season, are in the relegation zone again, and have only won one match in 90 minutes since August. So they are probably equally disappointed with the result. But as we all know and we all said before the game, league form can be thrown out of the window in the cup. Brentford lost at home to Wrexham, Yeovil were held by Fleetwood and Macclesfield were held by Chelmsford. So putting all things into perspective, I don't think a replay (as inconvenient as it is), warrants the level of negativity that it has generated.

The first half performance however did leave a lot to be desired. Their number 15, Scannell, ran rings round Sadler in the first half but I don't remember Wacka having too many saves to make. This was in the main down to another excellent performance from Manny Smith and an adequate one from Lancashire, who made one terrible cock up late in the first half that we should have really been punished for. We did manage two shots on target; one from Grigg that had all the power of a passback, and one from Nicholls which the keepers hand probably still stings from.

Second half we were the better team. If Grigg had thrown himself head first, rather than foot first, at a Halliday cross we'd have been one up even earlier. The goal itself was a very good header by Claude and you hoped at that point we'd go on and win it. The equaliser, for all the quality of the finish, was shocking from our point of view. Gnakpa made amends for his goal by failing to track back the man in posession who then passed it to Nurse. Beevers stood still and waved him past like a Road Safety Officer directing traffic, and he quite rightly punished us with the equaliser. On the balance of play, a draw was a fair result.

Team selection was again strange. I understand the logic of keeping the same back four as last week, but it did mean we had our best centre half (Butler), our best central midfielder IMO (Peterlin), our most dangerous player (Paterson) and our striker in form (Bowerman) all on the bench. Bowerman was the only one to come on, despite us using all three subs. Our other striker in form, Nicholls, was oddly playing left wing. I know after Bury Deano said that we needed reinforcements to replace the players who weren't performing. However, what he actually did was brought in Halliday (who is pap, btw) as a replacement for Paterson who had just signed a new two and half year contract!!! That is very strange and I'd love to hear the explanation for that. That said, the side put out there did manage to keep us in the hat for the next round, but we must approach the replay with the mentality of actually winning the game, as opposed to trying not to lose it, as at home at least this is our biggest downfall.

Walker - Didn't have a great deal to do, was helpless with the goal.
Beevers - Gave his man far too much space far too often, didn't close down anywhere near quickly enough.
Sadler - Was given a torrid time by Scannell in the first half but improved after the break.
Lancashire - I don't think he was as terrible as some coming out the ground suggested, but looked inferior next to Manny who dominated everything.
Smith - MOTM. Not even a close decision, can't think of anyone else who you could even suggest.
Chambers - Hardly noticed him
Taundry - Ditto. Needs resting for four or five months. Quite why he's in the team ahead of Peterlin is beyond me.
Nicholls - Felt sorry for him being stuck out on the left. Should have played upfront instead of Grigg with Paterson on the left.
Halliday - I just can't see why we signed him, offers nothing we don't already have and is no better that the players we've got.
Macken - Did seem to get on with the game more this week. Seems to be playing without confidence. Screwed his one half chance miles away from goal for the second week running.
Grigg - Frustrates the life out of me and an increasing number of our fans. Would have scored today had he been bothered to throw himself at it. Currently offers slightly less than Jarvis.

Subs

Gnakpa - Had one moment where he actually ran past his man, but had forgotten to take the ball with him. Scored a good goal and was then partly at fault for the equaliser.
Bowerman - The only player who really looked motivated.
Jarvis - I can't decide whether he deliberately threw an elbow or caught him by accident. No complaints with the red card though, our 6th of the season.
Last edited by priestley_saddler on Sun Dec 04, 2011 12:33 am, edited 2 times in total.

Dr David Kelly
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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sat Dec 03, 2011 11:51 pm

The undefeated run continues........

Can anyone beat the mighty Saddlers?

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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sun Dec 04, 2011 12:11 am

For my money, it's just another nail in Dean Smith's managerial coffin. I don't see any improvement in the performances of individuals or the organisation of the team as a whole (correction: Nicholls is having his most consistent run of form, but even he plays in about 8 different positions a match). These players train every day and yet it seems nothing gets fixed from match to match. The front two never link up because they have zero understanding of how to play together, the midfield is non existent, every player hides at a throw in so they don't have to receive the ball, whenever we try to pass it it just ends up with poor old Manny Smith who is left with no option but to lump it forward. Same old mistakes, match after match - they aren't individual errors as such, they are organisational errors. Their goal was a case in point - why didn't Gnakpa close the full back down? Why did Beevers dive in on the tackle? Clearly they have no appreciation of how to close out a match - which is why we've thrown away so many winning positions under Smith. It would never have happened under Money or Graydon.

I agree that Smith was MOTM (which in a way just goes to demonstrate that he is a good League Two stopper). Nicholls was bright, as was Bowerman when he came on. Macken needs to be put out to pasture and Grigg flits in and out way too much - although he was just getting into the game and seeing more of the ball when Smith bafflingly took him off rather than Macken. I also agree that Bowerman and Gnakpa would be our most dangerous front two currently, with Paterson and Nicholls on the wings.

Lastly, let's get to the subject of Taundry. His performance was one of soul-crushing ineptitude. Someone said recently that he's actually a hindrance when he's in the team, and that was true again today. We would have been better with 10. First piece of evidence: Lancashire has the ball under no pressure just inside our own half. Rather than coming to receive it, Taundry - apropos of nothing - dashes forward to stand within touching distance of Macken. Not only does that rule out the short option, it also means Lancashire can't play a longer ball forward in to Macken. This means he ends up having to try a Hollywood ball out to the flanks which obviously goes straight out of play. Second piece of evidence: Taundry in space on the edge of the box with room for a snapshot. Instead he does his stupid turn back on himself without bothering to check who was behind him (namely, two Dagenham defenders) instantly gives the ball away and Daggers launch a counter attack. He is playing so badly that he's making Chambers look half-decent, and that's saying something.

Oh for a midfielder. And not even a legend like O'Connor. Just a Larusson or a Bennett would do.

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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sun Dec 04, 2011 12:24 am

Seems im being proven right. Grigg is just a cack mans afro, Chambers is taking the club for a fudge mug, and Smith is far better than Lancashire.

Put it behind us and win 17-0 next week,.

UTS

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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sun Dec 04, 2011 12:34 am

latviancheese wrote:Seems im being proven right. Grigg is just a guano mans afro, Chambers is taking the club for a jolly well mug, and Smith is far better than Lancashire.

Put it behind us and win 17-0 next week,.

UTS


I'd love to read your posts without the swear filter :D

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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sun Dec 04, 2011 1:00 am

Tek it off then, I have and I laughed at LC's post.

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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sun Dec 04, 2011 1:21 am

Dind't know you could, and anyway it is possibly more entertaining to let my imagination run away with me :D

Latvians posts rule a. because they are heart felt b. because they are funny as .......... now where did i put that swear filter :D

Not had the pleasure to meet you yet Latvian but I find it hard to imagine you in real life calling anyone a 'jolly well mug'! :mrgreen:
Last edited by belgiansaddler on Sun Dec 04, 2011 1:23 am, edited 1 time in total.

latviancheese
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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sun Dec 04, 2011 1:23 am

HEART MEANS EVERYTHING

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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sun Dec 04, 2011 1:27 am

latviancheese wrote:HEART MEANS EVERYTHING


I wish someone would tell that to Gnakka. Hopefully his goal today might see him on a role. He has done nowt until today. Play him upfront with Nicholls, Bowerman or Macken. If he does nowt, get rid. I just have a feeling there is something there and it would be a pity to lose it. But unless he does it soon.............. a chance upfront would be his last chance as far as I am concerned

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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sun Dec 04, 2011 1:41 am

belgiansaddler wrote:
latviancheese wrote:HEART MEANS EVERYTHING


I wish someone would tell that to Gnakka. Hopefully his goal today might see him on a role. He has done nowt until today. Play him upfront with Nicholls, Bowerman or Macken. If he does nowt, get rid. I just have a feeling there is something there and it would be a pity to lose it. But unless he does it soon.............. a chance upfront would be his last chance as far as I am concerned


At least half the squad havent a clue.

Gnakpa is a disgrace, so is Jarvis, Hurst and Chambers too. Sack em tomorow i would.

You can mock Taundry, Nicholls etc. They dont have the skill and will eventually drop down, but they want to be footballers for football not an easy wage.

Butler has settled into his cushty " we love you" role, Lancashire has settled into Grimbsy mode, and the WFC fans have setlled into "Manny Smith wouldnt last in Barcelona" mode.

Walker is fat and slow, yet still better than Grof, a mouse who can fly.

The rest will all "retire" in 4 years.

Yet somehow i will still pay to watch these people, its called being a fan. Not a gutless frog.

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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sun Dec 04, 2011 2:01 am

latviancheese wrote:
belgiansaddler wrote:
latviancheese wrote:HEART MEANS EVERYTHING


I wish someone would tell that to Gnakka. Hopefully his goal today might see him on a role. He has done nowt until today. Play him upfront with Nicholls, Bowerman or Macken. If he does nowt, get rid. I just have a feeling there is something there and it would be a pity to lose it. But unless he does it soon.............. a chance upfront would be his last chance as far as I am concerned


At least half the squad havent a clue.

Gnakpa is a disgrace, so is Jarvis, Hurst and Chambers too. Sack em tomorow i would.

You can mock Taundry, Nicholls etc. They dont have the skill and will eventually drop down, but they want to be footballers for football not an easy wage.

Butler has settled into his cushty " we love you" role, Lancashire has settled into Grimbsy mode, and the WFC fans have setlled into "Manny Smith wouldnt last in Barcelona" mode.

Walker is fat and slow, yet still better than Grof, a mouse who can fly.

The rest will all "retire" in 4 years.

Yet somehow i will still pay to watch these people, its called being a fan. Not a gutless frog.


Gnakka I agree, Jarvis I agree, Hurst should be played in centre midfield as he does not have the pace to be a winger but has some quality compared to the rest of our options. Chambers, massive dissapointment so far. Taundry started the season promising but is limited and I agree with other people who say he has been a liability for most of this season (I could run around alot and achieve nowt), Nicholls has had his best season yet, but still needs to convince me. He has pace and potential but needs to do it more often, he has had countless chances. Agree Butler is not as inspriring as he was, Lancashire I quite like, Manny will do a job. Wakka is fat but still one of the best keepers in the division, Grof is a good understudy with potential to become a good number 1. The 'rest' ? can't they retire sooner?

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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sun Dec 04, 2011 10:15 am

Dean Smith go now.That was shocking yesterday but sadly no surprise. Smith is stil learning won't wash any more. Its the same mistakes every week. Taundry and Chambers ahead of Peterlin? The list goes on but most points have been very well put. Dont wait to watch video of Jarvis red card Smith it was a clear elbow, stupid.. Nice to hear Ian Dury "Reasons to be cheerful" on the way out, wish i could think of one for our team.

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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sun Dec 04, 2011 10:41 am

It's the FA Cup league form and status means absolutely nothing ask Brentford fans.

Reasonable pleased with the draw job half done .

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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sun Dec 04, 2011 11:30 am

Omg we were awful first half.

Taundry and chambers are getting a lot of stick on here but for me a bit harsh . They are what they are , average, tackling midfielders with zero flair. Only place for one of them in the team for sure.

Beevers will get stick for a moment of madness which is fair enough, but to be fair to him, until then he had again been pretty solid. I agree Smith was MOTM by a distance for his pure defensive work. Walker also had a good game.

For me, the most frustrating thing was the attack. Grigg and Macken looked so promising together towards the end of last season but looked unbelievably poor both this weekend and at Stevenage. Not holding it up enough, not hungry enough, missing chances, no pace, not enough of a nuisance, no linking with each other. Very very poor. Bowerman and Gnapka both made mistakes when they came on but at least they were busy and showed URGENCY. Start with them .

I am normally positive but I just can't see us staying up unless we show some teeth up front. Nicholls did ok , will exempt him from criticism even though it's always almost but not quite . Good effort first half though.

Decent turn out and backing was there given that the most excitement we were given for an hour was the "Tea Bar" .

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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sun Dec 04, 2011 1:47 pm

The only positive I can think of following that game yesterday is that we are still in the FA cup and hoping for the kind of draw that can excite supporters as only the FA cup can.

I travelled in the hope that we may be able to impose our game against a team that lie 91st in the football pyramid, however, at the end of 90 minutes any neutral (and there wont have been many in a 1200 attendance) would not have been able to tell which was the league one team and which team were bottom of division two. We have a lack of quality in all areas of the pitch, particularly in midfield and up front. I am tired of talking about Taundry as a midfield player, he produced nothing yesterday and has the ability to make us worse as a team when he plays, we have known all season that Taundry and Chambers does not work in central midfield, arguably Peterlin is better than both and at least does try and get on the ball and pass to a team mate keeping the game simple when necessary. Not once did either of our midfield two attempt to receive a pass from any of the back four, the result is long hopeful punts down the middle of the pitch that results in us losing possession and looking a really poor team. The centre halves do get criticised for poor distribution, however, our style of play and lack of ability in central areas is the real problem. We never build anything from the back with Walker kicking everything down the centre and with our current strikers the end result is normally a winning header for opposition centre half.

Up front the time has got to be now for Bowerman to start. He reminds me of a young Matt Fryatt, not the quickest, however, has the ability to get into the correct areas on the pitch to cause opposition defences a problem, something that Grigg has not got and suspect never will have. Even in the 25 minutes he played yesterday he looked more of a threat than Grigg and because he gets into better areas on the pitch our ability to keep the ball in more threatening positions improves, he has also shown that he can finish if the opportunity arises.

Happy to still be in the cup that is what it is all about, however, long term the warning signs are there for all to see.

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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sun Dec 04, 2011 7:17 pm

This is all sooo depressing, it looks like we looked a poor second against a team virtually bottom of the Fourth Division.
Deano continues to pick the wrong players....why can HE not see what the rest of us can?
It is also obvious that certain players should be put out to grass ASAP, Macken..past it, Grigg useless, Jarvis..well enough said, Taundry, a tryer but talentless. etc etc.
We are relegation certainties on current form, and I for one don't relish away days at Barnet or Macclesfield etc.
The background 'staff' now appear to almost outnumber the players, yet we still can't turn out a team that ain't an easy meat, relegation fodder, three pointer for ANY opposition. The bookies were right to have us as relegation favourites, (that's why they are all rich) I cannot see a last gasp one point saving us this time round, unless we get a completely new team, and, I'm sad to admit, a new manager.

But hey! I'm a Walsall fan, this is nothing new to us after all........UTS!!! :D :D :D

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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sun Dec 04, 2011 8:09 pm

Graydon48 wrote:Dean Smith go now.That was shocking yesterday but sadly no surprise. Smith is stil learning won't wash any more. Its the same mistakes every week.


He's 19 league games into his first full season at the start of his managerial career. Do you expect him to be a master already? Give him a break for goodness sake. If we got rid of every manager 19 games into their first full season, how will we ever know if they're any good? I remember people talking of Deeney in the same vain in his first 30/40 games "he'll be nothing more than a conference player" I seem to remember someone saying. No patience at all.

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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sun Dec 04, 2011 10:11 pm

At the end of the day were still in the cup , I would have taken a draw before Saturday , no one has a divine right to win against anyone , no matter who they are. Personally the moaning has just got to much today, yes we are not the best , but heres a bit of news , WE NEVER HAVE BEEN.

Even when I was growing up and we had the days at Highbury, Anfield and Vicarage Rd , great cups ties when we played great football we had shocking days as well , we had shocking seasons when the football was beyond tat, when abuse reigned down from all around fellows park, but there was an acceptance then that good days would follow or it seemed that way to a naive teen catching the train back home, always with a smile on his face. Reading the match threads is just depressing , it seems there is an expectation for every forward to be David Kelly or the Buck, every midfield player to be Craig Shakespeare or David Preece, every defender to be Scott Dann (or in my case Phil Hawker), every goalie to be Jimmy Walker (at his prime) or Freddie Barber. When did it become like this.

When did we term phrases like 'little old Walsall' and 'punching above our weight' , I never heard them before ten years or so ago. We were what we were , we played in Division three (most of the time) , went on cup runs, threatened promotion every three or so seasons , but every Saturday we had a laugh, the terraces were a place of banter , even when there was violence in the air , we could still laugh and we didn't need to chant to bait anyone , we just chanted to support WFC.

Perhaps its the internet , 30 years ago Dagenham 1 v Walsall 1 - would not have been discussed in the detail it is now , if the internet did not exist I would have had a chat on the phone across the water to hear about the game , maybe had the Pink sheet sent over and read about it two weeks later , even if I was living in the UK , after the game it would have been fairly quickly forgotten , not much of a post game discussion, a chat in the office on Monday morning , banter with a Blue nose or baggies or dingles fan in the office but no depressing discussion of how god damn awful we were. At the end of the day I suppose I am answering my own rant , its what internet message boards are for , I understand far more about the way we played but I just long for a bit more perspective that we never going to be the greatest.

Our own expectations were increased by the second spell in the Championship (Division One as it was) , this gave all Walsall fans the belief that we could be more but in a way it turned some of us into mini Dingles expecting more , this is not why I follow WFC. WFC was to me about belonging and hoping not necessarily about winning , it was my community that I was a part of for two plus decades on a Saturday afternoon, I may not have known many by name but I belonged. How I wish we could get back to that and get away from this culture of always expecting to win. Did the same happen at Crewe and Grimsby, did success spoil us all, Perhaps we should all go back to basic proper football lessons and then the atmosphere would return.

Anyway - were still in the cup - the wembelee dream is alive

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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Sun Dec 04, 2011 10:27 pm

Fantastic post right there.

fensaddler
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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Mon Dec 05, 2011 2:29 am

Please forgive the distant perspective from Australia, but its the cup. Form, motivation and home/away count for far more than league position. So we are both in poor form, D&R are better motivated whilst we have everything to lose, and they are at home. Sounds like it was a poor game, and we have the usual tat playing for us, but in the end, an away draw and in the hat for the third round isn't the worst outcome. Third round draw is awful for us, potentially awful for the Met Police, and great for D&R - so again, on the basis of the above, they will have the advantage of motivation, whilst we will at least be at home. Its still going to be tight.

And regarding Mr Canadian's post - if you began watching in the 80s or the early 2000s, which by definition is about two-thirds of the new intake over the last thirty years, where we are now feels like we are slumming it. But compared to the 90s, or much of the club's history, we are where we always were, and about where, in all honesty, we can probably expect to be, on average. Most of us have probably been spoiled by two recent purple patches, which we erroneously took for improvement, rather than statistical variation above the established mean.

Mal
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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Mon Dec 05, 2011 11:33 am

canadiansaddler wrote:At the end of the day were still in the cup , I would have taken a draw before Saturday , no one has a divine right to win against anyone , no matter who they are. Personally the moaning has just got to much today, yes we are not the best , but heres a bit of news , WE NEVER HAVE BEEN.

Even when I was growing up and we had the days at Highbury, Anfield and Vicarage Rd , great cups ties when we played great football we had shocking days as well , we had shocking seasons when the football was beyond tat, when abuse reigned down from all around fellows park, but there was an acceptance then that good days would follow or it seemed that way to a naive teen catching the train back home, always with a smile on his face. Reading the match threads is just depressing , it seems there is an expectation for every forward to be David Kelly or the Buck, every midfield player to be Craig Shakespeare or David Preece, every defender to be Scott Dann (or in my case Phil Hawker), every goalie to be Jimmy Walker (at his prime) or Freddie Barber. When did it become like this.

When did we term phrases like 'little old Walsall' and 'punching above our weight' , I never heard them before ten years or so ago. We were what we were , we played in Division three (most of the time) , went on cup runs, threatened promotion every three or so seasons , but every Saturday we had a laugh, the terraces were a place of banter , even when there was violence in the air , we could still laugh and we didn't need to chant to bait anyone , we just chanted to support WFC.

Perhaps its the internet , 30 years ago Dagenham 1 v Walsall 1 - would not have been discussed in the detail it is now , if the internet did not exist I would have had a chat on the phone across the water to hear about the game , maybe had the Pink sheet sent over and read about it two weeks later , even if I was living in the UK , after the game it would have been fairly quickly forgotten , not much of a post game discussion, a chat in the office on Monday morning , banter with a Blue nose or baggies or dingles fan in the office but no depressing discussion of how god damn awful we were. At the end of the day I suppose I am answering my own rant , its what internet message boards are for , I understand far more about the way we played but I just long for a bit more perspective that we never going to be the greatest.

Our own expectations were increased by the second spell in the Championship (Division One as it was) , this gave all Walsall fans the belief that we could be more but in a way it turned some of us into mini Dingles expecting more , this is not why I follow WFC. WFC was to me about belonging and hoping not necessarily about winning , it was my community that I was a part of for two plus decades on a Saturday afternoon, I may not have known many by name but I belonged. How I wish we could get back to that and get away from this culture of always expecting to win. Did the same happen at Crewe and Grimsby, did success spoil us all, Perhaps we should all go back to basic proper football lessons and then the atmosphere would return.

Anyway - were still in the cup - the wembelee dream is alive


Spot on! whose for a win against Charlton! UTS

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brummie saddler
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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Mon Dec 05, 2011 12:17 pm

Mal wrote:
canadiansaddler wrote:At the end of the day were still in the cup , I would have taken a draw before Saturday , no one has a divine right to win against anyone , no matter who they are. Personally the moaning has just got to much today, yes we are not the best , but heres a bit of news , WE NEVER HAVE BEEN.

Even when I was growing up and we had the days at Highbury, Anfield and Vicarage Rd , great cups ties when we played great football we had shocking days as well , we had shocking seasons when the football was beyond tat, when abuse reigned down from all around fellows park, but there was an acceptance then that good days would follow or it seemed that way to a naive teen catching the train back home, always with a smile on his face. Reading the match threads is just depressing , it seems there is an expectation for every forward to be David Kelly or the Buck, every midfield player to be Craig Shakespeare or David Preece, every defender to be Scott Dann (or in my case Phil Hawker), every goalie to be Jimmy Walker (at his prime) or Freddie Barber. When did it become like this.

When did we term phrases like 'little old Walsall' and 'punching above our weight' , I never heard them before ten years or so ago. We were what we were , we played in Division three (most of the time) , went on cup runs, threatened promotion every three or so seasons , but every Saturday we had a laugh, the terraces were a place of banter , even when there was violence in the air , we could still laugh and we didn't need to chant to bait anyone , we just chanted to support WFC.

Perhaps its the internet , 30 years ago Dagenham 1 v Walsall 1 - would not have been discussed in the detail it is now , if the internet did not exist I would have had a chat on the phone across the water to hear about the game , maybe had the Pink sheet sent over and read about it two weeks later , even if I was living in the UK , after the game it would have been fairly quickly forgotten , not much of a post game discussion, a chat in the office on Monday morning , banter with a Blue nose or baggies or dingles fan in the office but no depressing discussion of how god damn awful we were. At the end of the day I suppose I am answering my own rant , its what internet message boards are for , I understand far more about the way we played but I just long for a bit more perspective that we never going to be the greatest.

Our own expectations were increased by the second spell in the Championship (Division One as it was) , this gave all Walsall fans the belief that we could be more but in a way it turned some of us into mini Dingles expecting more , this is not why I follow WFC. WFC was to me about belonging and hoping not necessarily about winning , it was my community that I was a part of for two plus decades on a Saturday afternoon, I may not have known many by name but I belonged. How I wish we could get back to that and get away from this culture of always expecting to win. Did the same happen at Crewe and Grimsby, did success spoil us all, Perhaps we should all go back to basic proper football lessons and then the atmosphere would return.

Anyway - were still in the cup - the wembelee dream is alive


Spot on! whose for a win against Charlton! UTS


Jorge Leitao is :)

brackley
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Re: Dagenham & Redbridge (A) F A Cup Rd 2 Saturday 3/12/11.

Mon Dec 05, 2011 10:59 pm

canadiansaddler wrote:At the end of the day were still in the cup , I would have taken a draw before Saturday , no one has a divine right to win against anyone , no matter who they are. Personally the moaning has just got to much today, yes we are not the best , but heres a bit of news , WE NEVER HAVE BEEN.

Even when I was growing up and we had the days at Highbury, Anfield and Vicarage Rd , great cups ties when we played great football we had shocking days as well , we had shocking seasons when the football was beyond tat, when abuse reigned down from all around fellows park, but there was an acceptance then that good days would follow or it seemed that way to a naive teen catching the train back home, always with a smile on his face. Reading the match threads is just depressing , it seems there is an expectation for every forward to be David Kelly or the Buck, every midfield player to be Craig Shakespeare or David Preece, every defender to be Scott Dann (or in my case Phil Hawker), every goalie to be Jimmy Walker (at his prime) or Freddie Barber. When did it become like this.

When did we term phrases like 'little old Walsall' and 'punching above our weight' , I never heard them before ten years or so ago. We were what we were , we played in Division three (most of the time) , went on cup runs, threatened promotion every three or so seasons , but every Saturday we had a laugh, the terraces were a place of banter , even when there was violence in the air , we could still laugh and we didn't need to chant to bait anyone , we just chanted to support WFC.

Perhaps its the internet , 30 years ago Dagenham 1 v Walsall 1 - would not have been discussed in the detail it is now , if the internet did not exist I would have had a chat on the phone across the water to hear about the game , maybe had the Pink sheet sent over and read about it two weeks later , even if I was living in the UK , after the game it would have been fairly quickly forgotten , not much of a post game discussion, a chat in the office on Monday morning , banter with a Blue nose or baggies or dingles fan in the office but no depressing discussion of how god damn awful we were. At the end of the day I suppose I am answering my own rant , its what internet message boards are for , I understand far more about the way we played but I just long for a bit more perspective that we never going to be the greatest.

Our own expectations were increased by the second spell in the Championship (Division One as it was) , this gave all Walsall fans the belief that we could be more but in a way it turned some of us into mini Dingles expecting more , this is not why I follow WFC. WFC was to me about belonging and hoping not necessarily about winning , it was my community that I was a part of for two plus decades on a Saturday afternoon, I may not have known many by name but I belonged. How I wish we could get back to that and get away from this culture of always expecting to win. Did the same happen at Crewe and Grimsby, did success spoil us all, Perhaps we should all go back to basic proper football lessons and then the atmosphere would return.

Anyway - were still in the cup - the wembelee dream is alive


mate.........ive been longing to read something that echoes my own sentiments. My first game was in 1977, we have had plenty of downs but weve also had some really good times and as you say on occassions punched above our weight.

I can actually say that i played against a Tottenham side (in a friendly) that included Samways and when he pulled on a Saddlers shirt i almost fell over in total shock!! Who would have ever thought Samways would play for us

We have always been a third tier football club, always have been always will be - agreed. Just wish everyone would show the passion you have from thousands of miles away............

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