This is a really good post imo, I don't agree with all the points on here but plenty to debate. It's certainly better than Ancient Moaner's we are all doomed, we should get refunds and will be in the Conference North within two seasons type musings.
Sadders wrote:I'll give my match reports in short bullet points.
- How can the likes of Chambers/Taylor/Mantom/Bax/Purkiss/Chambers be the same lads that left me buzzing with pride after Molinuex 20 months back?
Chambers twins are 18 months older and tbh it's showing now. I would be disappointed if in a years time both are regulars, no problem with either as cover. From being one of the best LBs around at this level, Taylor certainly dosen't look himself, injuries could well have knackered him. Mantom's only just back so give him time, Bax is a lost cause and I like Purkiss but he's your bog standard league 1 players so will look good some days and rubbish the others.
- Smith won't play 4-4-2 ever again. We look weak in midfield when we do.
Interesting point. I'd look to take out the wide players tbh and go 4-3-1-2 so you can still play Sawyers with two strikers and have three central midfielders although this isn't the best stage of the season to start doing formation changes
- For the first time ever, we don't look a team under Smith. Today and in recent weeks has been 10 outfield strangers. The best term I can think of is 'cohesion'. We lack it, severely at the moment. Be it confidence. Be it form. Not sure, but the flowing football of old has evaporated, today we didn't pass it on the floor once.
There does seem to be a set of staleness creeping into the club, wether it's the players just bored by the same voice they've heard for the last 4 years I dunno or the spirit has been fractured as we heard from the dissent last week.
- We would be 10 points better off with Andy Butler. People said we wouldn't miss him. Clueless bafoons. He won 95% of aerial battles, he lead the team, sometimes with posture, sometimes with mouth, mostly with attitude - but it set the tone. Chambers as captain? I've never seen an ounce of emotion on either of their faces. Neither do enough, neither are captain material. Bin Adam especially.
Disagree, the only time we've missed Butler this season was at Wembley last week, that sort of game and occasion would've been made for him. It's worth remembering though this season he was part of a defence that shipped 4 at Rochdale and last season the team finished shipping plenty of goals with him in it so I think that's a very sentimental view as much as he was brilliant for the club. The defence is still one of the best 6 in the league let's not forget.
- Sawyers isn't perfect, but Smith has built his team around him. Our entire team is slow, weak and not up for a physical battle. Both wingers lack pace and when they can't skin a man, they cut inside and look for Sawyers, they did it today, but with no Sawyers there we had nobody to hold it. He has bad days, but Sawyers is the core of any ball retention high up the pitch we have and without him, we are much worse. It's no coincidence that at Oldham away, Scunthorpe away and today we had nothing up top, played 4-4-2 in each game and got battered.
As we see with his thread, Sawyers divides opinion probably like no other player currently in the squad.
- ALL of our outfield attacking players are 'summer' players. When we are 2-0 up and dominating a game...they are fantastic...when we go behind, need to work hard, need to tackle or track a man, put a foot in during a 50-50 they are...nowhere. Cook/Forde/Bax/Benning/Flanagan/Sawyers to a degree.
I agree with this, when the going gets tough and you need to dig in and battle and scrap in games a lot go missing.
- Purkiss, half the player recently. Andy Taylor? The rarest thing I've seen happen in a Walsall shirt. A great player 6 months ago. I'd drop him for Rico Henry if he was fit now. Adam Chambers? Our inspiring all action leader? No, just no. Cook today, abhorrent. Weak, not up for it, just down right dire. Forde, anonymous, poor defensively.
- The game itself? Chesterfield played well, but we defended well. However, the sheer volume of crosses and corners were going to lead to something eventually. Truth is, they were nice and pretty bit toothless, like we are so often. Butler smashes that corner clear. Does ROD have glue in his boots when the ball leaves the ground? We deserved a point but our attacking game was dire. We got over-run and didn't win a single second ball ALL afternoon. We improved when Smith went 4-5-1 with Cain - Mantom - Flanagan. I'd play that permanently from now on, stick Sawyers behind Hiwula and Bradshaw. Baxendale needs binning, he's pathetic.
As I've said countless times league one on the whole is bog standard. Chesterfield have actually had a really good season, newly promoted and only two points off the top 6 but in the two games there's hardly been anything between the top teams and indeed you could probably put a cigarette paper between 15 teams in this division. The worry is the poor run is starting to form in the run in.
- I could handle the defeats early in the season, regardless of results, some of the performances were decent and our team was just gelling together. The last 5 games I've seen, to me look like the result of a team who can't motivate themselves or aren't being motivated sufficiently by a 'soft' manager. If Smith thought today was good, I'm actually becoming genuinely concerned that he's probably relaying that to the dressing room, at which point our players think today and recent weeks have been acceptable. That's critically, totally wrong. Lacking cohesion, lacking fighters, lacking physical presence. We have a squad of nice possession players..nice Summer players. They aren't up for a relegation battle. I'm telling you right now.
My 20/1 with Bet 365, dropped nicely to 14/1 today... Any takers yet?
No. 4 points from Crawley and Notts County games will probably be enough on its own. It's long odds for a reason.
I can firmly say, from 100% stoichly in the Smith camp..I am teetering this evening. For the first time ever. Please repay my faith Dean as this would honestly be, the most unnecessary relegation in League 1 and Walsall FC history. It really is, just needless.
I was very close to being in the Smith out club with those back to back defeats to Crawley and Crewe in October but results picked up for three months afterwards. Now to me it's important the team finish the season strongly at least as another limp finish and yes I can understand why people would want a change in the summer even if I wouldn't be quite in that group just yet.