Scunthorpe United (H) League 1 Tuesday 6/11/12.

[Happydays2122]

What's going on....... ? It's simple really. The players who left were replaced by players far far worse. How many times was this stated on this message board during the pre season !

[WFC_Rob]

I've given the players and manager the benefit of the doubt up to now, but after that, it's up to them to win my respect back.

I think we're all in agreement that there's no point reporting on the ins and outs of the match. We didn't compete for a single minute of that game and got exactly what we deserved. I actually said before the game that I felt the team and system were spot-on given the personnel available to Smith, but what followed was an empty shell of a performance.

I stuck up for Grof when we brought Darlow in on loan, but tonight showed that Smith was probably right to bring him in. Two of the goals were headers won in the six yard box from corners (scored by the same defender both times, no less) and another was scored after he palmed a save right into the middle of the goal for an easy tap-in. I take no pleasure in saying it, but I sense tonight marked the end of his Walsall career.

The likes of Taundry and the Chambers brothers played like 45 year old pub league players. I would say they should know better, but seeing the likes of Richard "he's one of our own" Taundry kick aimless balls anywhere other than to a red shirt is something I've now come to expect.

What hurt the most as I sat there watching 90 minutes of complete dross, was the way in which we didn't even try to play the football that served us well just a month ago. The fullbacks never offered themselves for the short ball from Grof, and Chambers and Featherstone, who I thought was our best player a matter of weeks ago, hid away in the rare event the back four had the ball at their feet. The true embarassment was when Grof lined up to take a goal kick and rather than dropping short to receive the ball, Taundry spirnted into the opposition half and waved for the long ball. If we're going to go back to playing the long ball, as we did last season, we might as well call it quits now - we've barely got a player in the side who can win a header.

To compound things further, they actually did their best to let us back into the game. Despite our woeful performance, Prutton's horror tackle gave us a man advantage for 50 minutes, yet we were still second best for that entire period.

All I'd add is that Benning came on and made a complete mockery of Taundry or Chambers filling in at left back. Admittedly he didn't have anything to lose and was playing against 10 men, but he made positive runs, passed the ball to feet and, well, actually looked like a half competent footballer. Baxendale also tried his best to make things happen, but being stuck out on the right wing until we found ourselves 2-0 down didn't really give him chance to make an impact on the game.

As for Ashley Hemmings, to not even get a game at 2, 3 and 4 goals down just shows how little regard the management team has for him at the moment. If his attitude's as bad as most seem to think it is, let's ship him out on loan and stop that attitude having a negative impact on the rest of them.

Did Scunthorpe play well? No, they didn't. All they had to do was play simple football and take the simple chances we gifted to them. Leon Clarke is exactly the sort of striker we need, gave them a focal point up front and to make matters worse, was born just up the road.

After that performance, there are some players who should never play for Walsall again. There are others who need to be taken out of the firing line for a bit. And then there's a manager who, along with his players, has taken the pee out of the club that gave him a long-term deal and the fans who pay his wages.

We need at least two new faces to be brought in this week, and then we need a win on Saturday. Nothing else will do.

[LancsSaddler]

Highlights: Grigg came on and looked like a professional footballer, Benning looked like he wanted to get forward, Williams didnt have enough time to do anything wrong. Oh, and they didn't announce a motm, the most sensible PR decision i have ever known the club to make, have they got a new guy in...?

Lowlights: everything else, it started with a terrible team selection, what was he thinking!?
- Taundry on the left and chambers on the right when logic states you put the more competent full back on his wrong side
- Taundry in the team full stop, the guy is awful.
- Three very lightweight players in support of one lone striker who has consistantly proven that he can not play upfront by himself as he can not hold the ball up and bring others into play and/or make decent runs into the channels. Grigg may not be a world beater but he does both of these thing far better than Bowerman and was on the bench. At least he could have looked to bring the 3 behind him into play.
- Grof in goal, i can only presume Walker is looking like a beached whale not to get in the team infront of Grof. Watch their keeper for how to command your area.
- Starts jones, why? apparently he was bright at Lincoln. they are nearly bottom of the conference, he should look bright! starting him in a confident team with some other experienced players is one thing. starting him with Baxendale and the consistently dire Paterson is ridiculous!
And then the team selection was only beaten by the performance, i really can not find words to describe it. Utterly useless is as close as i can get on a family forum. that is until the last 10 minutes when we decided to pass the ball to each other... It is just a shame that by then their 10 men were 4v0 up and sitting off us giving us the space to play, something no team is going to do for the rest of the season. That is unless we sack Smith and they are daft enough to appoint him...

[WFC_Rob]

I wanna see Rob and Registered on here tonight mocking us for still being negative panickers. If anyone can still pick positives from that complete shower of white then they have their heads in a dangerously deep bucket of sand.

When did I mock you, tinned? Glad to see you rushed online to score points from a couple of fellow Walsall fans who happen to have slightly different views to yours though.

Read my report and you'll see me tell it exactly how it was - a woeful performance of epic proportions.

[Worsul]

I did warn thoose that started posting 'we're seeing something special' after Bournemouth away, that we'd run out of form. We were scoring screamers and holding leads we barely deserved (see Mk Dons at home, see Baxendale v PNE & Portsmouth), the second they inevitable dried up, we'd look bang average.

Sorry, I'm not having that. We played some awesome stuff against PNE and against others. It wasn't a couple of fluke goals that meant we got the points back then.

How we can go from how we played then to what we witnessed tonight is the real disappointment.

What's going on....... ? It's simple really. The players who left were replaced by players far far worse. How many times was this stated on this message board during the pre season !

No. it's not that simple. If it was it wouldn't be so disappointing. That's not a valid explanation because we know from our games in September that these group of players can produce good results/performances far far better than what we saw last season.

[Walsall_Casual]

That my friends is what you call relegation fodder every day of the week! What an embarrassment.

Special mention for super David Grof - clown.

[BathSaddler]

think that attendence was in top 5 of lowest league attendences at bescot bankss whatever

i wonder what lowest fa cup attendance is down walsall as well smash that next tuesday

The league attendance tonight would probably be in the top 15-20 of the lowest at Bescot/Banks's - we had some very poor crowds in those desperate early years at the new ground in particular. I think it was the lowest for 15 years [v Grimsby, November 1997, 2,599] with the most recent similar attendance being 2,929 v Yeovil, again a Tuesday night, in 2009/10.

The lowest FAC attendance at the same venue is certainly the 1,802 last season for the Second Round Replay against D & R [1,706 of them Saddlers].

[tinned]

I wanna see Rob and Registered on here tonight mocking us for still being negative panickers. If anyone can still pick positives from that complete shower of white then they have their heads in a dangerously deep bucket of sand.

When did I mock you, tinned? Glad to see you rushed online to score points from a couple of fellow Walsall fans who happen to have slightly different views to yours though.

Read my report and you'll see me tell it exactly how it was - a woeful performance of epic proportions.

I never said you mocked me. Just commenting on a few "oh how the masses panic" and "we should celebrate we've got more points than we expected" posts from yourself and Registered while the rest of us faced reality and admitted we'd shot our bolt.

I'm not trying to score points, I just want to see if you stand your corner and insinuate that other fans are panicking doom mongers.

[belgiansaddler]

I have been a long standing member of the keep the faith club. I am close to resigning

Closer?

yes

[mel58]

Having been one of the people who said that we were witnessing something special earlier this season it's hard to accept what is happening now.
Whilst we were never going to be able to continue to scale the heights we reached on some occasions there is no acceptable reason why broadly the same group of players - admittedly without the most vital component - should be performing as poorly as we have been in recent weeks.

Roy Whalley - never normally lost for something to say about nothing - was suitably low-key and understated in the Bonser Suite after the game, saying that, given the circumstances, it wasn't fair to ask the Match Sponsors to make a MOTM choice. For me, the only bright spot was Benning's 20 minutes at the end of the match, oh and perhaps Butler's excellent last-ditch block in the first half,which prevented a certain goal.
It's illustrative of our desperation and lack of depth that Butler seems to be assuming duties of creative midfielder now too. He was regularly involved in stuff over the half-way line, which would be understandable in a last minute scramble for an equaliser but is a sure indication of the shallowness of our playing resources .

I struggle to think of five worse performances in all my years of following the Saddlers. Coming, as it did, on the back of our 'getting out of jail' at Lincoln it's hard to know how we can stop the rot.

[Cully]

Get rid, there's nothing else to say.

[IHTC.]

Dean Smith: "It’s as painful as it’s been as a manager – certainly standing on the side 4-0 down – and I’ve told the players that."

Well thats told them :roll:

[Bernie]

That game took us back to worse than we were last season before we signed Cuvelier, Mantom and Ledesma. When we had quality creative, skilled and hard working players in our midfield we did well. Now we do not have them, and have lost some of the better home grown players as well, it is no surprise that have little to offer.

Grof is not one of the best goalkeepers we have ever had but he is not the only problem. The caller to WM who blamed everything on Grof and said that if only we still had Karl Darlow everything would be wonderful ought to try to explain why we only won two of the eight games Darlow played and lost four of them.

Benning looked confident and useful going forward during the last twenty minutes, but he was not tested defensively because the ten men of Scunthorpe were not playing a wide right man against him.

[WFC_Rob]

I wanna see Rob and Registered on here tonight mocking us for still being negative panickers. If anyone can still pick positives from that complete shower of white then they have their heads in a dangerously deep bucket of sand.

When did I mock you, tinned? Glad to see you rushed online to score points from a couple of fellow Walsall fans who happen to have slightly different views to yours though.

Read my report and you'll see me tell it exactly how it was - a woeful performance of epic proportions.

I never said you mocked me. Just commenting on a few "oh how the masses panic" and "we should celebrate we've got more points than we expected" posts from yourself and Registered while the rest of us faced reality and admitted we'd shot our bolt.

I'm not trying to score points, I just want to see if you stand your corner and insinuate that other fans are panicking doom mongers.

I'll stand my corner to an extent, because a large number of those who have been panicking, were doing so when we were playing ok, but not quite getting the rub of the green. Obviously, now we've been thrashed, they get to say 'I told you so', whilst I, at least for the time being, sit here wiping egg off my face.

As mel58 has just said though, how can a side that played so well at Shrewsbury turn into the side that played tonight - in the space of three weeks? That's the concern.

The facts that we've got 19 league points and are still in the FA Cup still remain though, however bad our plight at the moment. It's up to the board and manager (who will still be here until at least the end of the season, regardless) to halt the slide. Perhaps tonight provided the necessary proof that this squad isn't strong enough, and the shock factor needed to get them to do something about it.

[KoloSaddler]

Shocking shocking.

We are playing against ten men so he brings on a left back when we need goals.

[SaigonSaddler]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAd93Tg141o[/youtube]

:x

[King Crimson]

The facts that we've got 19 league points and are still in the FA Cup still remain though, however bad our plight at the moment. It's up to the board and manager (who will still be here until at least the end of the season, regardless) to halt the slide. Perhaps tonight provided the necessary proof that this squad isn't strong enough, and the shock factor needed to get them to do something about it.

This is a defining moment :

Correct action now: season retrievable

Inaction/incorrect action : situation irretrievable.

[Neuromantic]

The facts that we've got 19 league points and are still in the FA Cup still remain though, however bad our plight at the moment. It's up to the board and manager (who will still be here until at least the end of the season, regardless) to halt the slide. Perhaps tonight provided the necessary proof that this squad isn't strong enough, and the shock factor needed to get them to do something about it.

This is a defining moment :

Correct action now: season retrievable

Inaction/incorrect action : situation irretrievable.

Exactly right.

Also it will speak of what the board truly thinks of our manager.

Back him in the loan market = club really backs Smith.
Does not back him in the loan market = what on earth is going on.

[PT]

I love supporting Walsall. Even last night there is nowhere else I'd have preferred to be. I try to be positive - perhaps over positive - a "happy clapper" if you will. As an adult I can choose how to spend my time and I'd much prefer to spend it thinking positively rather than moaning, groaning and suggesting that even when things are going well, they are about to go wrong. So I tend not to go in for hysterically negative hyperbole and a poor Walsall result tends not affect my mood once I get home.

Therefore having had the drive home and a night to sleep on it, when I say that last night was possibly the worst home performance I think I've seen in nearly 40 years, then I don't do it lightly. I've really tried to come up with a worse one, just so that I can think "oh it's not as bad as back when xyz". I can't come up with one though. Oxford under Coackley, Chelsea under Barnwell, Coventry under Lee, Doncaster under Hibbett, Tranmere under Hutching were all awful. Cup games against Yeovil, Macclefield, Darlington et al in recent years were all bad. But I don't think any of them come close to being as wretched as last night.

Scunthorpe are poor. They had ten men for over a half. That was still around 8 more than we had. Kids playing with a freedom and confidence was a joy to watch. Kids playing with fear, being jeered for another mis-placed pass, is almost cruel. You really wanted the ref to stop the fight, a big white towel to come in from the heavens as a compassionate way of preventing more punishment and humiliation for a punch-drunk collection of kids and mis-fits.

The only player I'd give more than a 4/10 to would be Jamie Paterson, who I've given some stick to recently, but he kept asking for the ball, he kept having a go and gave us the rare thrill of beating his man and getting to the by-line on occasion. I'd give Taundry a bonus point for comedy value.

It was sad to see over 8,500 empty seats for a league game. There's one empty seat in particular that is more of a disgrace than Smith or any of the players and we shouldn't forget who's that is and why changing the manager wouldn't be addressing the real issue at Bescot.

[Willenhall Saddler]

Just on way home. Moved from Smith fan to Smith out clan now.

One of the worst performances I have ever seen.

The so called players thought to themselves "well we didn't show the home fans how bad we were at Lincoln, so we'll do it tonight" And they were worse!!!!!!!!!!!

[Willenhall Saddler]

oh and forgot to say was that bad they didnt even announce a man of the match!!
ive never known that!!!

That's because there wasn't one

[WFC_Rob]

The facts that we've got 19 league points and are still in the FA Cup still remain though, however bad our plight at the moment. It's up to the board and manager (who will still be here until at least the end of the season, regardless) to halt the slide. Perhaps tonight provided the necessary proof that this squad isn't strong enough, and the shock factor needed to get them to do something about it.

This is a defining moment :

Correct action now: season retrievable

Inaction/incorrect action : situation irretrievable.

Exactly right.

Also it will speak of what the board truly thinks of our manager.

Back him in the loan market = club really backs Smith.
Does not back him in the loan market = what on earth is going on.

The club needs to practise what it preaches now. Stefan Gamble has repeatedly said that Smith has money available to bring in new players, yet we've only seen Darlow come in so far. I'n my view, we need to bring in two new players in time for Saturday.

[kshammer]

Where do you start on that? As bad as i've ever seen, every player a disgrace to the shirt and all my optimism and enjoyment of the early part of the season completely smashed to bits.

Grof - not good enough, don't think he ever will be despite getting plenty of chances. Doesn't command the area at all and find it hard to actually list a strength he has as a keeper let alone his weaknesses
Chambers - doesn't look fit and was complete rubbish - Purkiss aint the best but what's he done so wrong? Can't mark, run, tackle and isn't good going forward
Taundry - not good enough as well all know, but to be fair to him he's never a left back
Butler - cracking last gasp tackle in 1st half but needs a footballing defender alongside him, not a great captain either albeit he puffs his chest out a bit
Holden - starting to show why he's only played for crap teams lately - will attack balls in front of him but struggles against the slightest movement or pace
Chambers - huffs and puffs but gets nowhere - as last season, not good enough. His introduction into the midfield has gone hand in hand with it losing it's fluid passing and movement.
Featherstone - loved him earlier in the year sitting in front of the defence but has not been the same player since Chambers was brought in. Thought he was our best player in the early days but is being ruined in this team.
Baxendale - confidence is shot and so with his passing/skill etc going astray, he has nothing as he can't tackle/defend.
Paterson - same as Baxendale but without the talent, worryingly ineffective with no real skill, delivery or shooting prowess. Edited: He did try though to be fair.
Jones - I know he's young and don't want to have a go at him but was he on the pitch?
Bowerman - again, confidence is shot, doesn't hold the ball up and while he will score when the team is creating chances, offers nothing when they're struggling.

Benning - had a run out... one really funny moment went his foot seems to get stuck in the grass
Williams - did nothing
Grigg -tried a bit and took his goal well


Smith has to shoulder the blame. We started the season knocking it about superbly, playing one up top with a fluid midfield and had success. He's then messed around with 4-4-2 just to accomodate Grigg and Bowerman, forced Chambers into midfield to the detriment of Featherstone and was deviod of the tactics or personnel to cope with the fact that teams have sussed out that if they work hard and pressure us, we struggle to play. I agree we desperately need a forward (a biggun would help but ideally someone with experience who can hold the ball up regardless of size), but also a mobile and tall centre half, an experienced goalie and a good left winger. Other positions could also be strengthened but these are, for me, the areas that are crucial. MUST GET PLAYERS IN BEFORE SATURDAY.

[Louise]

Woke up this morning in the vain hope last night was just a bad dream but then reality sank in.
Watching 90 mins of the most turgid pathetic excuse for football I have seen in a long time .
The players need to take a good look at themselves and realize that even at this level they are very fortunate to be in their position . Smith is here to stay after his contract extension so he too needs to realize that he is fortunate and start paying back the fans with some decent performances.
I can take a defeat, but last night was a gutless, performance - no passion at all.
2-0 down at half time against ten men - I expected them to come out fighting , not wave the white flag.
Yes we miss Flo but we cant rely on a loan Player to prop up our team. The lack of confidence was evident and Smith needs to earn his managerial stripes and build them up for Saturday otherwise against a good Swindon team who will bring plenty of support we will be beaten in double figures.
Fair play to the sponsors - I did wonder who the Man Of the Match could possible be - my vote would have gone to Paterson for what it was worth but think the right decision was made .
Walsall Fc - I paid good money to come out on a cold night a month before Xmas to watch that rubbish -As bad as anything I witnessed under Merson , Mullen or Hutchings - I want to see the passion back on Saturday. Tackles made, attacks built and heads held up - not rocket science, because if not on Tuesday Lincoln will most def have the victory they deserved on Saturday and we are heading to League Two.

[kshammer]

The facts that we've got 19 league points and are still in the FA Cup still remain though, however bad our plight at the moment. It's up to the board and manager (who will still be here until at least the end of the season, regardless) to halt the slide. Perhaps tonight provided the necessary proof that this squad isn't strong enough, and the shock factor needed to get them to do something about it.

This is a defining moment :

Correct action now: season retrievable

Inaction/incorrect action : situation irretrievable.

Agree with this - the action/inaction that follows now will define the season for me.

[Cheesebag]

I did loff at the "4-0 and you f**ked it up" chant when we scored...... :D

[WFC_Rob]

Just to clarify, Purkiss was injured last night. That's why he didn't play.

Chambers' problem is that he has as many 2/10 performances as he does 8/10 performances - and there's rarely anything in between. Worth giving the Baggies a call about Sam Mantom perhaps? I'd like to see some experience brought in but failing that, at least we know Mantom can do a job.

[kshammer]

Just to clarify, Purkiss was injured last night. That's why he didn't play.

Chambers' problem is that he has as many 2/10 performances as he does 8/10 performances - and there's rarely anything in between. Worth giving the Baggies a call about Sam Mantom perhaps? I'd like to see some experience brought in but failing that, at least we know Mantom can do a job.

That explain Purkiss - fair enough.

I liked Mantom but a bit of experience wouldn't go amiss for me. Saying that i'd sign him all day long if he was available.

[saddler_nic]

Having had chance to reflect on the game and post with a bit of a cooler, it just doesn't get any better. The most striking thing is how below average we are without our best player. Having Flo on the field seems to bring out the best in the likes of Featherstone, Baxendale and Chambers. Now I wouldn't say he has hit the level of performance that he did last season, but he's the one player who can do something a bit different, find that killer pass or beat a man in the right areas. With him in the side, you can get away with playing Bowerman on his own to some extent, as Flo has the quality to play the type of ball that George wants. Play anybody else in this role and it just goes to pot. Take Flo out of the side and we just look so flat with no tempo to our play. It's as if everyones looking around for someone else to take some sort of responsibility, to try and take a game by the scruff of the neck.

This is where the captain should come in. Now, I'm a big Butler fan, he's exactly the type of player that you need in a team like ours. Someone with passion and who actually cares about the result. However, in the last few weeks I've had to question his leadership qualities. Having played at centre half for a nhumber of years, admittedly not to as higher standard as these guys, but if my team had conceded a goal early in the game from a free header, I would be going absolutely mad. Even at 2-0 down there nothing in the way of a reaction, either rollocking or trying to gee up the lads. Wer could all see that first goal coming, surely so could the players on the pitch. This where a captain should be saying "whats going on lads?". There just doesn't seem to be any sort of leadership on the pitch. Jimmy Walker is so good at this, you can hear him constantly throughout the game talking to players, dishing out rollockings and praise. Depending on how fit he is, I would start him on Saturday. Grof again nheeds to be taken out of the firing line. This would be the second time this season which doesn't bode well for his future.

Grigg's relegation to the bench was a bit of a strange one too. Fair enough, Bowerman scored again on Saturday, giving him some confidence back, but Grigg is probably putting in his most consistant run of performances he's ever produced in the first team, leading to his most rewarding spell infront of goal. Giving the fact that out key player in the 4-2-3-1/4-5-1 formation is out. Why play square pegs in round holes? He didn't really have much of a choice in full back stakes,unless he would have thrown Benning in at the deep end, which I insedently would after his cameo yesterday. I can understand the inclusion of Jones given his promising displays off the ebnch lately, but don't sacrifice his inclusion for the shape of the team. Patterson is a winger, of sorts. He can't play upfront, and he can't play as our floating play in the 4-2-3-1/4-5-1. You either play him out wide or not at all. Smith should have gone 4-4-2 with Grigg and Bowerman and then picked two of Patterson, Jones and Baxendale.

[fatboyslim]

Definitely the worst performance I have seen in my time watching Walsall - even worse than some of the games under Hutchings which is saying something!!

Grof - apart from his shot stopping (which is limited to shots only below head height) he offers nothing as a keeper as he lacks intelligence. Abysmal at set-peices and corners, abysmal distribution and no command of the defenders in front of him. Feel a little sorry for him as his confidence is shot at the moment but I have never been a huge fan. Keepers need to be alert for the full 90 mins and not just make a couple of decent saves for the cameras. He was so slow off the line for Clarke's goal that I think it even caught the striker by surprise!

J.Chambers - poor last night. I have seen him a few times this season and looked bright but last night he couldn't handle their left sided players. Too weak, not quick enough and wants too much time on the ball.
Holden - Got done by their pace and slick passing a few times and struggled when they backed into him which led to one of the goals. Hope he improves on Saturday otherwise we are in trouble.
Butler - he is a battler but is very poor technically. If I was Smith I would forse him to pass it to the closest player every time he gets the ball and never try anything more as he just does not have the ability in his locker. Superb block in the 1st half but struggled in the air against Clarke and had an off day.
Taundry - Okay, so we know he isn't a left-back but that doesnt excuse him from some of the shocking decisions he made last night and his horrendous passing performance. Always looks for the hollywood ball and rarely pulls it off. If I was Smith I would have hauled him off immediately after his ridiculous 50 yard 'attempt' towards the end of the game when there were simple passes into the front men available.

Paterson - Mashiter gave him his MOM, however I thought he was poor. Far too wasteful and some of the decisions he makes when players are better placed are often hard to believe. Battled hard and improved in the 2nd half but certainly needs resting for a game or two.
A.Chambers - Poor last night. Will always get stuck in and battle but just didn't have the quality and everyone in midfield looked shaky.
Featherstone - Usually a good passing midfielder, however he certainly had an off night. Not physical enough for the midfield battle last night and is a bit too much of a crab in both his passing and movement.
Baxendale - Like Paterson some people have said he was one of the brighter sparks but I thought the opposite and thought he should have been binned at half time. When he doesn't have the ball he may as well not be on the pitch and when he does have the ball he is too eager to shoot (presumably based on a couple of goals he scored earlier this season) and gives the ball away too much. Also too weak and doesn't do enough defensive work.
Jones - not really the team performance he would have wanted to make his debut in. Offered little and hardly touched the ball from what I can remember.

Bowerman - felt for him during first half as he was completely isolated and couldn't win a header against their giant defender. Improved in 2nd half with Grigg as a partner but confidence throughout the team was shot by then. Can't play the lone striker role. Smith should be playing 4-4-2 at home.

Subs:

Grigg - like Bowerman I felt sorry for him as he was making the runs in the 2nd half but for some reason received hardly any passes. Looked sharp and bright and finished his goal well but the strikers were really feeding off scraps.
Benning - looked bright considering he was probably quite nervous coming on at 3/4-0 down. At least he looked to go forward and tried to put in a few crosses which is more than can be said for the rest of the wide players.
Williams - one of first times I have seen him and not sure he offers much but still young and a long way to go.

Playing 4-5-1 at home gives off a negative feel immediately and Smith needs to sort this out quickly. Nothing wrong with 4-4-2 if Grigg is dropping off and linking with the midfield. Without Flo we have zero creativity and it is worrying to see how much we miss him seeing as he is off for good at Xmas. Smith needs to beat this performance out of them quickly as Swindon will give us a very tough game on Saturday! We need to be positive and play 4-42 if we are to get anything from that game. Some fans calling for strikers but even Van Persie would have struggled last night as they saw nothing of the ball. Worst defensive and midfield display I have seen in a long while. They were completely outbattled (too lightweight) and seemed to lack any confidence at all.