Oldham Athletic (a) - 21/08/12 - League 1

[ChopperWFC]

Couldn't make tonight ( bogged down with wedding plans :? ) so won't comment too much. Still backing Grof as he did some crucial work by the sounds of it before an error. Hope he has confidence in himself to thrash it out on the training ground. This is hopefully where Wacka plays his part. Glad to see Bowerman on the score sheet. He's our natural goal scorer IMHO and wouldn't be upset to see him start Saturday. Would have taken a point before kick off so onwards and upwards. County will be tough though.
Up the Saddlers. !!!!!!

[Whitters]

Very good point - it's difficult to get anything up there.
Well done lads!

[Whitters]

Makes me laugh reading that we are a poor poor side and they should have finished us off, if we were poor and they still couldnt win at home what does that make them? or are they just handicapped with a horrible bottomhole as a manager?

http://www.owtb.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=39288

Sounds like they are very upset tee hee.
Dickov actually said nice things about us and Dean Smith on the BBC preview (sorry no link as the preview has disappeared) despite the fact he can be spiky at times.

[Ancient Moaner]

Back from a really depressing display, yes we got a draw, and a point is usefull when you are bottom.
Grigg is utterly useless, fluffed three golden opportunities in the first half...ship him out to a conference side for clif-sake.
We CAN spread the ball about much better than last season, but the end result is ALWAYS the same...No end result. The goal was a gift..if Grigg had been given the opportunity he would have sliced it wide! Thankfully he had been replaced.
NOTE TO DEANO....WE NEED A STRIKER.. if we don't we are doomed to relegation...as Sheff would say FACT!
Why oh why do some fans have to be so protective of Griggsy? He's had his chance..he aint never gonna make it....Anyone watching tonight would be utterly certain of that.

[SWS1]

Makes me laugh reading that we are a poor poor side and they should have finished us off, if we were poor and they still couldnt win at home what does that make them? or are they just handicapped with a horrible bottomhole as a manager?

http://www.owtb.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=39288

Their board reads too much like UTS :shock:

[bangsection]

Draw was a fair result in the end. The fact that both teams only scored due to horrendous mistakes by the opposition says it all.

Positives:

1. Think we've found one of the four teams we need to finish below us. Oldham were pretty desperate - consistently misplacing passes, overhitting crosses and wasting possession.

2. Bowerman took his goal exceptionally well.

3. Adam Chambers had another excellent game. And his brother wasn't far behind.

Negatives:

1. We struggled to create chances all game. The two we created in the first half (both thanks to Grigg's movement - the best part of his game) were wasted when he failed to force the keeper to make a save both times.

2. Our set pieces were poor - we only threatened when the Oldham goalkeeper started trying to throw the ball into his own net and resorted to huge punts to Butler at the far post.

3. Grof's confidence looked shot after his mistake. The fact that Oldham failed to force him to make a save in the second half tells you everything you need to know about how poor they were.

Players

Grof: Started well with a good save from a freekick but started to look wobbly as the half wore on and was badly at fault for the goal. Looked like he tried to palm the ball away but only succeeded in knocking it straight down and then looked like it bounced off his body and underneath him. Not tested second half.

Purkiss: Shaky to begin with - a few misplaced headers and passes but got better as the game went on and I thought he had a pretty decent second half.

Holden: Early booking can't have helped but his lack of pace and athleticism compared to Manny worries me slightly. Too similar to Butler?

Butler: Reasonably good game but a horrendous Hollywood crossfield pass nearly cost a goal in the second half when it went straight to their player.

James Chambers: Pick of our back four. Solid in the tackle, good in the air and comfortable on the ball. Fact it's his 'wrong side' didn't seem an issue.

Adam Chambers: Box to box, excellent protection for the back four, some crucial interceptions. My MOTM.

Cuvelier: Disappointing. Couldn't influence the game and seemed disappointed with his own performance at the end. Taken aside by ROK in the warmdown and given a pep talk and a hug.

Featherstone: Started well but faded and contributed little in the second half.

Paterson: Very disappointing. Consistently made the wrong decision and rarely beat his man.

Hemmings: Impressive. Good link up play with Grigg but you'd like him to be more direct at times. They were terrified of his pace but too often he stopped and played a square ball rather than driving on into the box.

Grigg: As mentioned above, makes intelligent runs but must make more of his opportunities in front of goal. Failed to win a header or hold the ball up effectively but that's not his strength. Wingers never really got to the byline all night which didn't help.

Subs: Bowerman: Excellent goal when played clean through by a horrendous Oldham backpass. Actually played quite well with his back to goal too which is encouraging.

Williams: Didn't remember seeing much of him after he came on but that means he didn't make any glaring mistakes either!

Important that we got something tonight - the longer we'd have gone without getting a point on the board the more it would have nagged at the players (and the fans). Still clear that we need a different option up front. Not a 6 foot 8 target man but someone like Macken with strength and the nouse to hold the ball up and bring others in to play.

[cookyskid]

As a very infrequent attender (due to geography and posession of a life) I guess my views on tonight are freer from prejudice/infomed insight (delete as you see fit!) -but here goes.

Felt we bossed first 15 and last 10 minutes with the rest of the game equally split between spells where Oldham were on top. and spells where both teams' ineptitude meant it was just a mess. The pick of the Saddlers team for me were the two Chambers brothers and Hemmings, who created a great chance for Grigg in the first half where he should have at least hit the target. Grigg was very busy & made good runs, but missed 3 reasonable to good chances and was too easily muscled off the ball - didn't help when so many balls were played in the air to him. I've not seen him enough times to say whether the pro- or anti-Gregg faction is right, but on the evidence of tonight he isn't capable of playing as a lone striker.

Others who disappointed were Featherstone, who gave the ball away in dangerous positions in defence, and Patterson who failed to retain the ball leading to a number of promising attacks breaking down.

Oidham's goal was a combination of sloppy defending by (I think) Featherstone (may be wrong on this) and definitely inept goalkeeping by Grof whose confidence must be pretty low following last Saturday. Fortunately Oldham decided to return the gift for our goal, which Bowerman took well.

Overall not a great performance by either side - if they continue to play like they did tonight they both looked like relegation candidates to me - BUT that's just based on one game and hopefully we can build on the positives and improve on this. We certainly need to.

[Graydon48]

A good point in the end - happy with that. Concerns me that Grof committed another howler for their goal, but sounds like he kept us in it on a number of occasions, so it was probably Grof 4 Critics (including me) 1 or thereabouts in this game! :D

Comments on Alex Nicholls are irrelevant - he may have found his level in League 2, hopefully anyway.

Thought you'd know by now Geoff any time an ex Saddler scores it has to be anounced on a match thread .Its the law and enforced by the UTS.

[Banksy]

dont know where people got the idea from Grof was keeping us in it before another howler. saved a free kick that wasnt that far away from him and then a few minutes later managed to punch a straight forward shot off his own head by the looks of it and into the net. Bring back Jimmy for christ sake!
Gifted an equaliser, its going to be a long season unless we sign a decent striker, nothing against Grigg who i feel genuinely sorry for when 99% of the time hes expected to win headers against centre halves who tower over him

[Willenhall Saddler]

1-1 all over

160 Saddlers saw it

169 to be precise!

[Willenhall Saddler]

Talksport or Portsmouth? :lol:

Both for me

[Whitters]

Makes me laugh reading that we are a poor poor side and they should have finished us off, if we were poor and they still couldnt win at home what does that make them? or are they just handicapped with a horrible bottomhole as a manager?

http://www.owtb.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=39288

Their board reads too much like UTS :shock:

Just what I thought!
It's uncanny.

[saddlerJP]

Happy with the point but an horrific performance, if they didn't give us a goal we still wouldn't have scored if we were playing now. If we finish below Oldham, we'll have come bottom - two, poor sides

grof 5 - couple of good saves, but was at fault for the goal, kicking was rubbish as well (would still stick with him though)
J Chambers 8 - sign him up, good solid right back (and he's playing at left back), got stuck in, won most things in the air and played the ball simple
Butler 6 - good saving tackle after feathertone mistake, one ridiculous pass across his goal which should of cost us
Holden 6 - did ok, booked early on
Purkiss 5 - not a fan, did ok defensivly, doesn't look comfortable on the ball and just hoofs it up the line
Patterson 4 - kids got talent, but is selfish and gives the ball away ALMOST EVERYTIME - no end product (most fans seem to think he's brilliant for some reason)
Feathsertsone 3 - didn't contribute anything, game passed him by
Flo - 5 - poor game from flo (been brought down to our level ?)
A Chambers 8 - thank god he was in the midfield, put him self about and carried the midfield
Hemmings - 6 - had the beating of Oldham early on but faded
Grigg - 5 - ran his socks off, missed 3 good chances - system doesn't suit his play but wouldn't be in my 11 even with 4-4-2

[Duke]

Positives
First point and goal of the season , I seldom agree with Paul Franks but when he says Bowerman should be starting he's spot on .
Wouldn't be at all surprised to see Super Jim back on Saturday

[Wyrley_saddler]

A match competed by two poor sides. We gifted them a goal and they later returned the favour. Grof was at fault for the goal and really should have saved it. I feel we neeed to back him and keep him in goal for County.

We never really got going during the game and it showed. Our passing was poor and looked very rushed at times which lead to numerous of occasions that we just lumped the ball up to our international striker Will Grigg. Who, for the record, cannot hit a barn door with a banjo. He had atleast three chances in the first half, dragged two wide and skied the other. I'd echo the calls for Bowerman to start at County, if we don't get another striker in (which is unlikely).

Hemmings was quality for us once again and always looked a threat. However, I felt having him on the right hand side nullified him in a way as he kept cutting inside and running into a crowd of Oldham players. My MOTM though was Adam Chambers. He was here, there and everywhere! Someone seems to have shoved a rocket up his backside over pre-season.

Overall, I think a draw was a fair result in what was a pretty poor game.

[gerryhatrick]

1-1 all over

160 Saddlers saw it

169 to be precise!

Maybe nine couldn't bear to watch.

[Willenhall Saddler]

I know i couldn't at times that's for sure!

[Darth Vader]

Those 169 must have felt lost in that massive away end. Sub 200 followings are never good.

[bangsection]

Those 169 must have felt lost in that massive away end. Sub 200 followings are never good.

They put the Boundary Park Ultras in half of it now, Darth.

So it was epic bantz with forty schoolkids for 90 minutes.

[Darth Vader]

Yeah it was split when I went, bunch of freaks to the right, still a massive end though, sumat like 4K, single tiered.

[bangsection]

Whoever said people would be saving their money for County were right. Just the hardest of the hardcore and Northern monkeys like me there last night.

Oldham's loss will presumably be the Hooters Corporation's gain.

[latviancheese]

Makes me laugh reading that we are a poor poor side and they should have finished us off, if we were poor and they still couldnt win at home what does that make them? or are they just handicapped with a horrible bottomhole as a manager?

http://www.owtb.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=39288

Their board reads too much like UTS :shock:

Just what I thought!
It's uncanny.

Safe to say they dont rate us :mrgreen:

[latviancheese]

Grof should be taken out for a game or two in my opinion, if his confidence is gone then it will only get worse.

[crodonilson]

1-1 all over

160 Saddlers saw it

169 to be precise!

Sounded like a lot more than that there, the roof nearly came off when we got our equaliser, great support.

[geoffwhiting]

Grof should be taken out for a game or two in my opinion, if his confidence is gone then it will only get worse.

Not to mention the confidence of those around him, who must be getting windy about him, or soon will be!

Confidence is the key to a good start to the season - even an average squad is lifted by decent results, and that's what we need. If that means putting back Jimmy's experience and guidance from the back, then that's what we should do, and let Grof rebuild his confidence with a few reserve games.

I know Grof is regarded as the future, and Jimmy the past, and that's fair enough, but the greater experience and know-how is what we need for the present if we're to get this season onto the right track.

[Exile]

Grof should be taken out for a game or two in my opinion, if his confidence is gone then it will only get worse.

Not to mention the confidence of those around him, who must be getting windy about him, or soon will be!

Confidence is the key to a good start to the season - even an average squad is lifted by decent results, and that's what we need. If that means putting back Jimmy's experience and guidance from the back, then that's what we should do, and let Grof rebuild his confidence with a few reserve games.

I know Grof is regarded as the future, and Jimmy the past, and that's fair enough, but the greater experience and know-how is what we need for the present if we're to get this season onto the right track.

...alternatively the squad, who train together daily, and play together at least weekly, can sit in the training/changing room at a glorious, world class facility in Essington and actually talk to each other instead of reading this board, then work out how they can pick themselves up. One defeat against a league titan, followed by a draw away is not the end of the world, nor should it mean that the keeper needs a rest to stop him crying on the goal line.

I back Deano, Mick and jimmy to sit Grof down, if they even need to, and reinforce him. I back the back four to sit down with Grof, if they need to, to chat about tightening things up. I back Deano to sit down Grof and the back four, if he needs to, to instill some confidence to a new unit. Talk about dropping him and bringing back Jimmy from his line painting duties is premature, destructive and counter-intuitive.

In my humble opinion.

Disclosure: I have not seen a game this season and all opinions expressed are my own, with no FACT-based observation to back them up. They are written in haste but to the best of my knowledge express my current state of mind surrounding the selection and/or retention of the Walsall goalkeeper and the defence in front of him based on current squad ability and budgetary constraints

[Exile]

Match report on the front page. Thanks to BS.
http://upthesaddlers.com/wp/archives/20 ... ng-equals/

[We-ARE-Walsall]

Grof should be taken out for a game or two in my opinion, if his confidence is gone then it will only get worse.

Not to mention the confidence of those around him, who must be getting windy about him, or soon will be!

Confidence is the key to a good start to the season - even an average squad is lifted by decent results, and that's what we need. If that means putting back Jimmy's experience and guidance from the back, then that's what we should do, and let Grof rebuild his confidence with a few reserve games.

I know Grof is regarded as the future, and Jimmy the past, and that's fair enough, but the greater experience and know-how is what we need for the present if we're to get this season onto the right track.

...alternatively the squad, who train together daily, and play together at least weekly, can sit in the training/changing room at a glorious, world class facility in Essington and actually talk to each other instead of reading this board, then work out how they can pick themselves up. One defeat against a league titan, followed by a draw away is not the end of the world, nor should it mean that the keeper needs a rest to stop him crying on the goal line.

I back Deano, Mick and jimmy to sit Grof down, if they even need to, and reinforce him. I back the back four to sit down with Grof, if they need to, to chat about tightening things up. I back Deano to sit down Grof and the back four, if he needs to, to instill some confidence to a new unit. Talk about dropping him and bringing back Jimmy from his line painting duties is premature, destructive and counter-intuitive.

In my humble opinion.

Disclosure: I have not seen a game this season and all opinions expressed are my own, with no FACT-based observation to back them up. They are written in haste but to the best of my knowledge express my current state of mind surrounding the selection and/or retention of the Walsall goalkeeper and the defence in front of him based on current squad ability and budgetary constraints

Mick Kearns can tell him. Time and time again.

[bangsection]

Highlights now available online.

http://www.skysports.com/video/inline/0 ... 48,00.html

[Ancient Moaner]

Highlights now available online.

http://www.skysports.com/video/inline/0 ... 48,00.html

Highlights? ......a surprisingly good pint of strongbow, and the stewards being given the run-around by a black kitten, before the debacle on the pitch ruined a reasonable night out.......bottom after defeat at Notts County on Saturday...then where do we go without a striker on board? I can see some tough defeats on the horizon, with an ever increasing goal difference problem...and my £100 going down the pan!