philthesaddler wrote:So glad I didnt bother wasting my time and money on watching another "performance" from Walsall FC.
What else do you expect from a team full of very poor players? I said at the start of the season that the signings of Featherstone, Baxendale, Brandy, Hemmings, Holden et al were all below our usual standard of player (even when comparing against the Hutchings and Mullen eras). I highlighted the fact our squad was physically small in July, and now finally, every one else has come to see that too. If I could see that in July, why, oh why couldn't Dean Smith?
In terms of the quality of players - there's a reason why Featherstone, Purkiss and Baxendale were at League 2 Hereford... there's a reason why Hemmings was at League 2 Plymouth...theres a reason why Holden was at a relegated from League One to League Two Rochdale... there's a reason why Brandy was playing in some obscure Greek league (and barely getting a game)... can you see a common theme here?
I dont particularly blame Dean Smith, I know how poor the budget he has to work with is - and if you pay peanuts you will get monkeys. What disappoints me about Smith is that he's failed to see the obvious regarding the physicality of the lower leagues, and failed to bring any players in who can cope with the hustle and bustle of League 1. I'd also blame Smith for the lack of a Plan B, we never see a winger darting for the byline anymore, getting a cross in and a striker attacking the ball, never. Thats partly because a) we havent got a winger capable of beating a man and b) we haven't got a striker with any presence.
All I can say regarding the 2 year contract given to Dean Smith is to pass on what a knowledgeable friend of mine pointed out to me. It is so out-of-sorts of WFC to hand out a long term contract that there must be something in it that benefits the club, maybe a January get-out-clause that didnt exist in Deans old contract, who knows, I'm only speculating.
When you were all jizzing in your beers after the Preston game, I was the one to point out the flaws in our performance, the luck of that performance, the luck that occurred in the previous games etc, and thats why I'm not all that bothered about the current predicament, because I saw this coming back in July when I saw how our squad was shaping up with no real wingers, no height, no strength, no senior striker, a stable of full backs that included Taundry, Purkiss and Chambers, barely any cover at centre half... etc.
Football isn't rocket science, if you pay peanuts, you'll get a team full of lower-league, inconsistent, cant-be-bothered, uncaring, physically lacking, unfit, injury prone, short-contract failures happy to pick up their pay, train 4 days a week then bother off to whatever seedy vodka bar they frequent on a saturday after the game and boast about their BMW/Audi that they managed to buy on a PCP finance package.
Worst post of the night.
I'm not happy at the current plight at all, but to claim the Preston performance was lucky is a distortion of the truth. If anything we were very unlucky in some games (e.g v Leyton Orient, Shrewsbury). Unfortunately the evidence doesn't fit your rather simple explanations.
I dare say Dean Smith could have gone out and bought 6ft 6 cloggers in the summer but I for one was glad we were trying something different earlier in the season. I can't speak for other fans but I would rather play attractive football and lose rather than batter teams and win 1-0. In the long term it's the only approach that will work for us anyway (compare the recent history of Swansea, Blackpool and Doncaster to Boston or Chester)
Of course the flaw in my argument is that we're not even playing decent football at the moment, so the losing is especially painful
WFC_Rob wrote:Talk of an air of inevitability about last night's result is absolutely right. Last night's game went exactly the same way as the Dagenham game this time last year, albeit we were put out of our misery before it got to penalties this time.
What hurts me the most at the moment isn't that we're losing games and it isn't that we're out of the FA Cup. My main gripe is that having assembled a team to play a certain system and a certain style of football, Smith now sits back and watches as his players play the aimless long ball we deployed under Hutchings two years ago. The problem this time around is, we don't have players who can play that way to good effect - we don't have a Jabo or a Jon Macken any more.
We can't blame the budget for the drastic decline in the way we play football - that's a management issue.
The facts that Grof never plays the ball short any more, that the fullbacks don't drop deep to get the ball from him and that Nicky Featherstone and Adam Chambers don't pick the ball up from the back four all stem from somewhere. If that's the players' decision-making, they need to be dropped. If that's the manager's doing, he needs to be sacked.
There are some players who, to be frank, should never play for us again. When you fail to get the better of your non-league opponent twice in ten days, you've showed you're not good enough. There are at least five who started the game last night, who that applies to.
Best post of the night. The sheer stupidity of repeatedly playing high balls to Brandy (how tall?) made me want to cry. After setbacks to Leyton Orient, Carlisle etc fans were told to keep faith in our passing style. Someone should have told the players the same.
Special mention for Taundz. I know he (deservedly) gets some stick, but he played well last night (one of the few).
