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Swindon Town (H) League One Tues 28 Jan 7.45pm

Reports and reaction from the 2013-2014 season as Walsall finished 13th in League 1
wfc & chips
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Re: Swindon Town (H) League One Tues 28 Jan 7.45pm

Wed Jan 29, 2014 6:38 pm

JonnyOwen wrote:
wfc & chips wrote:
JonnyOwen wrote:
sallian wrote:
JonnyOwen wrote:Deserved to win with all those first half chances.

Same problem still prevenant though, we create and create, but can never finish off without it being a 1 on 1 with the goalie. The only one who does shoot when they get into the good positions is Westcarr, and event though he is class at bringing others into play, he is not someone I would call clinical.


This is why I say they should have Lalkovic central and advanced....he is most likely to score and has the tools to create chances himself.

Like I have said before, he is a waste centrally, we tried that for the first third of the season and it didn't work. Taking Lalkovic and putting him up front just makes out attack about as lightweight as you can get it, Westcarr is the only one with a bit of muscle up top. Sawyers is talented but for a big lad he is gets brushed aside easily and can't really go toe to toe with the centre halves.

Secondly, coming up against League 1 defences he will get slaughted, we are not the type of team that plays with a quick striker. League 1 defenders a big and strong, and teams only get away with the small quick guy up front if they have someone big to support him, ala' Wells and Hanson at Bradford; on their own they get brushed aside.

i don't really get all this talk about positions, they only exist nominally given the freedom of movement this squad enjoys. milan ends up through the middle plenty.

The positions are pretty prevelant, even if our of the front 4 is pretty free flowing. They are definitely in position for the majority of the game, they need to be in place even if our attacks are free flowing, other wise their is no order to our squad. He is a left winger, when you see him attack, 90% of it is down the left.

we disagree! i'm not sure if you asked him his position he'd reply "left winger". they're all forwards.

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Re: Swindon Town (H) League One Tues 28 Jan 7.45pm

Wed Jan 29, 2014 6:46 pm

Swindon are obviously in the mix for a reason and will be come the end of the season - but for me they looked very poor last night and it was 100% a missed opportunity. Unfortunately, comes down to the same old story of chances created and chances missed. Really hope some business is done between now and Friday as it's simply going to be the difference between 7th and 6th. Sawyers goal was a tremendously worked goal and you will struggle to see a better team move at this level, their goal was pretty soft to be honest. Mantom deservedly man of the match - fear we may lose him in the summer if he continues at this rate (at least he is tied down on a long term deal if you want to look at it that way =£££). Lalkovic had a very quiet game and should have been substituted instead of Brandy. What Deano thinks Hewitt is going to do in 3 minutes is beyond me. Moral of the story - sign a decent striker who could perform at this level and we will be top 6, end of.

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Re: Swindon Town (H) League One Tues 28 Jan 7.45pm

Wed Jan 29, 2014 6:55 pm

[quote="JAL-WFC"]Performances like that are the reason we wont make the play-offs. How many times this season have we said that? We could and should have been 2-0 by half time, killing the game off since Swindon posed no threat whatsoever. Only way they were going to score was from a set piece or header... Typical Walsall allowing them back into the game and dropping 2 points.

It does show how far we have come though, which is a testament to the squad Smith's put together.

We play such good football and it is a pleasure to watch. It is just so frustrating that we dont have a clinical end product. Hopefully we get a striker in by the weekend, allowing Westcarr to play in his best position. Nothing against Swayers as he has been a revelation this season, but he is the only one in the team that potentially could be dropped without disrupting the way we play. His goal today was beautifully worked and well dispatched; if only we could be so clinical in 50% of the chances we make!!

Nobody played badly today, although Milan was fairly anonymous throughout. The wing play and movement of all 4 attacking players in the first half was encouraging, helped by a very good performance by Benning, who seems to be maturing into a fine fullback. The Mantom/Chambers partnership is perhaps the best midfield partnership I have seen at Walsall, they both work so well together. Back 4 and keeper are as solid as we have had since 2008.

This team could do so well and the top six is well within our reach. It will be a hell of a lot easier if we sign an out and out striker though.[/quote]

Which one is it going to be then?

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Re: Swindon Town (H) League One Tues 28 Jan 7.45pm

Wed Jan 29, 2014 7:15 pm

wfc & chips wrote:we disagree! i'm not sure if you asked him his position he'd reply "left winger". they're all forwards.

But he plays on the left wing, and he is there for the majority of the time during all of the games he has started there. I am not sure of the point that you are trying to get at.

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Re: Swindon Town (H) League One Tues 28 Jan 7.45pm

Wed Jan 29, 2014 7:52 pm

DYSaddler wrote:[quote="JAL-WFC"]Performances like that are the reason we wont make the play-offs. How many times this season have we said that? We could and should have been 2-0 by half time, killing the game off since Swindon posed no threat whatsoever. Only way they were going to score was from a set piece or header... Typical Walsall allowing them back into the game and dropping 2 points.

It does show how far we have come though, which is a testament to the squad Smith's put together.

We play such good football and it is a pleasure to watch. It is just so frustrating that we dont have a clinical end product. Hopefully we get a striker in by the weekend, allowing Westcarr to play in his best position. Nothing against Swayers as he has been a revelation this season, but he is the only one in the team that potentially could be dropped without disrupting the way we play. His goal today was beautifully worked and well dispatched; if only we could be so clinical in 50% of the chances we make!!

Nobody played badly today, although Milan was fairly anonymous throughout. The wing play and movement of all 4 attacking players in the first half was encouraging, helped by a very good performance by Benning, who seems to be maturing into a fine fullback. The Mantom/Chambers partnership is perhaps the best midfield partnership I have seen at Walsall, they both work so well together. Back 4 and keeper are as solid as we have had since 2008.

This team could do so well and the top six is well within our reach. It will be a hell of a lot easier if we sign an out and out striker though.



Which one is it going to be then?[/quote]

I will tell you on Friday

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Re: Swindon Town (H) League One Tues 28 Jan 7.45pm

Wed Jan 29, 2014 8:59 pm

wfc & chips wrote:we disagree! i'm not sure if you asked him his position he'd reply "left winger". they're all forwards.

I don't think he'd call himself a striker either. He'd probably say his best position is 'in the hole' - just like Westcarr, Sawyers & Baxendale. :lol:

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Re: Swindon Town (H) League One Tues 28 Jan 7.45pm

Wed Jan 29, 2014 10:02 pm

DYSaddler wrote: What Deano thinks Hewitt is going to do in 3 minutes is beyond me.


Presumably about as much as he was able to do in the game when he came on as a sub in the 1st half and had a 50 or so minutes to show us something and didn't manage to.

Although some on here will say he's good at "keeping central defenders occupied" as though that is adequate for an ex Championship striker.

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Re: Swindon Town (H) League One Tues 28 Jan 7.45pm

Wed Jan 29, 2014 10:09 pm

saddler_nic wrote:
sallian wrote:
JonnyOwen wrote:
sallian wrote:
JonnyOwen wrote:Deserved to win with all those first half chances.

Same problem still prevenant though, we create and create, but can never finish off without it being a 1 on 1 with the goalie. The only one who does shoot when they get into the good positions is Westcarr, and event though he is class at bringing others into play, he is not someone I would call clinical.


This is why I say they should have Lalkovic central and advanced....he is most likely to score and has the tools to create chances himself.

Like I have said before, he is a waste centrally, we tried that for the first third of the season and it didn't work. Taking Lalkovic and putting him up front just makes out attack about as lightweight as you can get it, Westcarr is the only one with a bit of muscle up top. Sawyers is talented but for a big lad he is gets brushed aside easily and can't really go toe to toe with the centre halves.

Secondly, coming up against League 1 defences he will get slaughted, we are not the type of team that plays with a quick striker. League 1 defenders a big and strong, and teams only get away with the small quick guy up front if they have someone big to support him, ala' Wells and Hanson at Bradford; on their own they get brushed aside.


I don't agree with this though. Even if you don't have a big/strong guy.....skillful forwards and fast forwards can still take strong and spoiling type defences apart. I think it should be given another go now Brandy is here. AT the end of the day speed can split a defence and trickery can....if Lalkovic can do that in the scoring area rather than on the wing...then the next destination is the goal....and he can finish. And aerial and bustling issues can be solved by playing to space and to feet and having back up runners for rebounds.

And getting slaughtered...can mean winning direct free kicks, penalties and sendings off.


Our whole game plan is based around ball retention in the final third. You need someone who can
play with their back to goal and bring others in to play. Lalkovic can't do it, it's not his game. No way should we change our whole set up just to accommodate a forward who is "fast and can get shots off quickly" Part of the reason Bowerman wasn't retained was because his game was playing on the shoulder, relying on the ball in behind, much like Milans.

When he plays centrally, his movement naturally takes him
out wide. If you've ever seen him play when he's supposed to be the main striker you'd recognise that it's like playing with three wingers. Take the JPT game against Wolves. We were terrible in the first half, with nothing up front. Milan was replaced by Westcarr and we looked a totally different team, mainly to do with the fact that we had someone occupying the central defenders.

On the point of him getting slaughtered, he's more likely to get himself sent off rather than a member of the other team. He's a player that gets easily frustrated when things aren't going his way. A big centre half boggling away at him all game, clips to the ankles, elbows in the back, things that are part and parcel of every game get to him. He gets wound up and retaliates. It's happend a few times this season. On those occasions Smith has brought him off. He doesn't get it half as much now he's on the wing as he plays facing the goal more often than not.

He should only play up front with 10-15mins left if were hanging on a bit, giving us that extra bit of pace up front


Yes he gets frustrated but that is can be overcome, if he was given decent passes in advanced positons more.

He still has the attributes more than any other in the team to have the most success as an advanced central striker.

Can he beat people with speed? Yes.
Can he beat people with trickery? Yes.
Can he shoot on target (relatively compared to the others)? Yes.

Could the team alter the nature of their delivery to him? Yes.

The team has too many supporting forwards and none who can take the lead finishing role, Lalkovic is still the best man for me to do that...and he has the most potential for me.

Westcarr doesn't have the potency or speed but again is better as a supporting distributor/supporting striker or wide man.

Sawyers plays better as a supporting carrier/runner...his relaxed style benefits when it works but other times it turns into a slackness that can't be relied upon. I can't see this changing in him. He is a player whose style seems to be the intrinsic key to his success and failures.

Hewitt...I can never see him as a finisher but he can be used to battle spoiling defenders. Hemmings the same but at least his speed could be used.

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Re: Swindon Town (H) League One Tues 28 Jan 7.45pm

Thu Jan 30, 2014 3:15 pm

WFC_Rob wrote:
wfc & chips wrote:we disagree! i'm not sure if you asked him his position he'd reply "left winger". they're all forwards.

I don't think he'd call himself a striker either. He'd probably say his best position is 'in the hole' - just like Westcarr, Sawyers & Baxendale. :lol:

heh, possibly, but i reckon they'd all say "forward".

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Re: Swindon Town (H) League One Tues 28 Jan 7.45pm

Thu Jan 30, 2014 3:42 pm

JonnyOwen wrote:
wfc & chips wrote:we disagree! i'm not sure if you asked him his position he'd reply "left winger". they're all forwards.

But he plays on the left wing, and he is there for the majority of the time during all of the games he has started there. I am not sure of the point that you are trying to get at.

which surprises me, and annoys me a little, too, as i'm gonna have to type more than i like to, and worse still come off a bit "sallian"!

out of possession we are a well regimented side. in possession we become, as guillermo rigondeaux might say, "like water". a winger is your wide man, traditionally in a 4-4-2, who hugs the wing, gets past the full-back and whips crosses in on his stronger foot.

we don't play that system and milan doesn't play that rôle. when we get the ball, he often comes inside, either with or to receive it, or to create space. the forwards are free to roam and swap, a nightmare to defend against and the opposite to what you say about order. milan and brandy swap, sometimes westcarr pulls wide, leaving space inside. our full backs get forward, providing width. not only do they switch position, even the formation changes throughout matches. in the 2nd half against oldham athletic (i think, it's all a bit of a blur recently!) we lined up 4-4-2 with sawyers and brandy up top, with, ironically, milan in the traditional left wing position. within a few passes it had all changed again.

does this make more sense now, jonny?

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Re: Swindon Town (H) League One Tues 28 Jan 7.45pm

Thu Jan 30, 2014 6:21 pm

wfc & chips wrote:
JonnyOwen wrote:
wfc & chips wrote:we disagree! i'm not sure if you asked him his position he'd reply "left winger". they're all forwards.

But he plays on the left wing, and he is there for the majority of the time during all of the games he has started there. I am not sure of the point that you are trying to get at.

which surprises me, and annoys me a little, too, as i'm gonna have to type more than i like to, and worse still come off a bit "sallian"!

out of possession we are a well regimented side. in possession we become, as guillermo rigondeaux might say, "like water". a winger is your wide man, traditionally in a 4-4-2, who hugs the wing, gets past the full-back and whips crosses in on his stronger foot.

we don't play that system and milan doesn't play that rôle. when we get the ball, he often comes inside, either with or to receive it, or to create space. the forwards are free to roam and swap, a nightmare to defend against and the opposite to what you say about order. milan and brandy swap, sometimes westcarr pulls wide, leaving space inside. our full backs get forward, providing width. not only do they switch position, even the formation changes throughout matches. in the 2nd half against oldham athletic (i think, it's all a bit of a blur recently!) we lined up 4-4-2 with sawyers and brandy up top, with, ironically, milan in the traditional left wing position. within a few passes it had all changed again.

does this make more sense now, jonny?

I suppose, but that is just a given to what our forward line does. Even though the front 4 changes their positions regularally during the game, for the majority of the time the formation and the players' positions stay the same. Lalkovic on the left, Brandy on the right, Sawyers in between the midfield and Westcarr who is up top. Of course this changes during build up play some of the time, but for the vast majority, Lalkovic is on the left. He may come in-field to pick up the ball sometimes, but you will see him running down the left to the byline to get a cross in and beat his defender, or go around him onto his right foot - down the left wing, a lot more than you would see him in the Sawyers position with Brandy up front for example. You also seem him tracking back a lot more than you would Westcarr, assisting the full back like a winger would.

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Re: Swindon Town (H) League One Tues 28 Jan 7.45pm

Thu Jan 30, 2014 6:59 pm

then, as i stated before, we disagree! i stand by my analysis.

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