Nottingham Forest (A) Capital One Cup, Tues 11 Aug 7.45pm

[Pheasey_Saddler]

Brilliant result. Our record of 8 wins and 4 draws from the last 12 games against Forest must be one of the strangest recent head-to-head set of results, considering they are supposed to be the bigger club.

[aaaae]

Would love Newcastle or Everton away next.

Now we know the way to Wembley, be nice to gew back.

Especially Everton though.

[BathSaddler]

Brilliant result. Our record of 8 wins and 4 draws from the last 12 games against Forest must be one of the strangest recent head to head set of results in recent times, considering they are supposed to be the bigger club.

The results in that run are:

2001/2

H W 2-0
A W 3-2

2002/3

H W 2-1
A W 2-1 LC
A D 1-1

2003/4

H W 4-1
A D 3-3

2005/6

H W 3-2
A D 1-1

2007/8

H W 1-0
A D 1-1

2015/16

A W 4-3 LC

[WFC_Rob]

A genuinely great cup win to be at. It might not have been a giant-killing in the purest sense of the term, but the best thing about it was the way it was 100 per cent deserved.

That front three were electric for the first half an hour, and then Sawyers came on in the second half and gave us another option in the final third who they struggled to pick up. Demetriou and Henry also bombed on and supported the attack much more effectively from full back than they did as wing backs at the weekend. Mantom grew into the game and Flanagan really staked strong claim for a regular spot in the team. Everyone was excellent though.

Credit where credit's due - Smith could have had us sit back and shut up shop at 1-0, 2-0, 2-1 or even 3-3 but we kept attacking with intent and boy did it pay off.

[JonnyOwen]

A game to remember, my voice is gone!

I was considering suicide when their third went in, absolutely gutting. Then the penalty, with the referee running in slow motion towards the spot with his arm up, teasing the away fans, before eventually and finally pointing at the spot! :lol:

I might need a pacemaker at 19! :lol:

[Leatherman]

Well done Saddlers, well done Saddlers fans.

I was in the Forest end with a die-hard forest supporting mate of mine who saluted the amazing support and the 'far superior' opposition. Photo of our loud & proud fans coming when I get home. Forest must be a pretty poor side at championship level....

6-0 to forest eh MP? Will probably see you as much as we did on that bet thread now.

So was I! Well, different mates obviously :D .

I was directly behind the goal about 3 rows back (block T8 row P seats 84, 85, 86 and 87). If you were anywhere near there I was the one who who cheered and clapped when Bradshaw got his first. :mrgreen:

That's the best £20 I've spent in ages. Mind you, confused with driving, talking to the other Florist and listening to Dougie Freedman on the radio, our driver ended up on the M1 heading south. Hence why I'm late getting back.

Our fans were great by the way: YOU'LL NEVER BEAT THE SADDLERS, YOU'LL NEVER BEAT THE SADDLERS... :lol:

#saltwoundsrub

[Pedagogue]

Quote from sedgred on the Forest Forum:-

"Walsall were lively, hard working and at times a pleasure to watch as they swiftly moved the ball about on the deck. Our display, bearing in mind we played a wonderful talented prospect up front was agricultural. It would have been a travesty of justice had Forest nicked it."

:)

[WFC_Rob]

Quote from sedgred on the Forest Forum:-

"Walsall were lively, hard working and at times a pleasure to watch as they swiftly moved the ball about on the deck. Our display, bearing in mind we played a wonderful talented prospect up front was agricultural. It would have been a travesty of justice had Forest nicked it."

:)

In fairness, I've seen nothing but grace in defeat from their fans - they know the best side won.

[WFC_Rob]

Odd's on Super floppy hair'd Tom leaving by the end of the transfer window? :cry:

A team called Nottingham Forest might be interested :(

They couldn't afford him

Not to mention their transfer embargo.

[IHTC.]

Odd's on Super floppy hair'd Tom leaving by the end of the transfer window? :cry:

A team called Nottingham Forest might be interested :(

They couldn't afford him

Not to mention their transfer embargo.

I was not sure whether they were still in one.

[belgiansaddler]

That really was every bit as good as it sounds. And thoroughly deserved. Pure class and so easy on the eye. Then we left Hooters and went to the game :mrgreen:

At the game it got better. We were awesome tonight and any neutral would have assumed we were the higher placed team. Hard to pick out individuals as there were no poor performances. Full backs were absolutely immense in defence and especially in attack, they ran forest ragged. Mantom and Flannigan ran the midfield and Super Tom was devastating. Also special shout out to Sawyers, it would have been hard to improve what we did going forward but he did it when he came on.

Superb performance, superb support. performances like tonight make supporting Walsall all the more frustrating. The passing and some of the moves were top quality. Tonight is not a moment to reflect on how good we could be. Tonight is just a night to take mossiv pride in the performance and the result and the support. There cannot be a male on the planet who has got more potential shags than Tom Bradshaw judging by the songs after his first, second and third goals tonight �

Over 2 and a half hours drive back to wigan due to road works and diversions, but smiled all the way. Walsall ay we :mrgreen:

[SaddlerCrewe]

Highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4iqyaky9DI#t=126

[SaigonSaddler]

Great result - well done to each! :D

MP in the prediction sin-bin for the rest of the week.

[PT]

Thanks for posting those highlights. Great stuff.

Definite pen! :D

Just hope this gives us the confidence to push on. Loads of fixtures in the next month or so with second round of this in only a couple of weeks. Much over-used word in sport these days but if last night can spark some momentum it could be an exciting month. As much as Bradshaw will grab all the headlines, two in two for Sawyers is very important. As Saturday showed, some teams will try and do a hatchet job on Bradshaw so everyone else chipping in is essential.

Still think the squad looks completely unbalanced and hope that Chambers and Taylor aren't out for too long as they do jobs where we have little cover. But if we're taking the "you score three, we'll score four" approach then we could be in for some fun!

[Gripper]

I'm 21 years old and that's the best game I've ever been to. The second round is on my Birthday week...hoping for a decent draw.

[Exile]

I'm 21 years old and that's the best game I've ever been to.

Nice accolade.

Seriously happy with that result. Knew it was in the bag the moment we were picked against Forest though. :mrgreen: Really glad we scored 4. One more than the opposition is all we need, though so if there's a negative it's that the defence / game plan is more Merson than Graydon. Still, beats tippy-tappy pretty footie with no end result. :wink:

[Exile]

I am fully expecting it to be 5 or 6 to Forest tonight.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Turn it up, champ.

[We-ARE-Walsall]

I'm 21 years old and that's the best game I've ever been to.

Nice accolade.

Seriously happy with that result. Knew it was in the bag the moment we were picked against Forest though. :mrgreen: Really glad we scored 4. One more than the opposition is all we need, though so if there's a negative it's that the defence / game plan is more Merson than Graydon. Still, beats tippy-tappy pretty footie with no end result. :wink:

Don't think it was so much the game plan as just how the game panned out. We conceded a couple of sloppy goals, and one belter. We always looked like we could score last night though. Morris missed a real good chance at 2-0, if he'd buried that, think Forest would have gone completely.

[belgiansaddler]

U probably had best view of Morris miss from TV in bar lol. Agree though. It was one of those nights when smiths plans came together and the players delivered. Another 30 odd displays like that and we are promoted :D

[Bitter Tree Hugger]

Best team won on the night but eff me, what a soft penalty.

Firmly believe that had it gone to extra time we would have beaten you but it didnt and we didnt so good luck to you.

[Super Gabor]

Absolutely terrific footballing display last night, every player looked confident, in control and sharp. Lots of neat passing with swift movement and we out-played them.....again. Fair play to Dean for selecting an attacking team. I think it was 4-5-1 but it looked at times like 4-6-4!!

Brian Clough would have been proud of our performance last night, we totally out-footballed Forest aside from the last 15 minutes when Antonio came on and was head and shoulders in quality and determination above anyone else in the Forest team. We were very lucky to be awarded that none penalty at the end, but we fully deserved to win.

One of the most pleasing aspects was how in control we looked, passing the ball well and with purpose and lots of attacking movement all across the pitch. The whole team played well, so it's harsh to highlight a few but special mention I think for Reece plus Rico and Jason D.

One of the comments on the Forest message board (if you can wade through the "Dougie must go" and "a training cone is more use at left back than Fox (my God they really hate him don't they?)" type comments on there) is that Paterson wouldn't have got into our team last night, judging on how we played.

Great support last night and a few renditions of "You'll never beat the Saddlers" are still ringing in my ears.

[leics_saddler]

Couldn't post last night, as I was still bouncing off the walls. But what about that night, a Walsall cup performance of old.
Forest only have themselves to blame for under-estimating us (again), their sluggish start and leaving out the likes of Antonio.
But enough of them.

Formation looked like 4-n-1, where n is 5 players arranged in some sort of Ginger Mourinho tactical genius.
I can't be overly generous to a defence that shipped three goals, but I don't want to be harsh either.

Etheridge - wonderfully erratic again

Demetriou - good again, no answer to Antonio - mind you I don't know who would have outside the Premier.
Henry - brilliant again, was only caught out once I can recall.
O'Connor - plenty to do and did most things well.
Downing - ditto.

Morris - looked useful, faded a little later.
Chambers - linked things up well, but in his style.
Mantom - played well and is looking sharper and fitter every game.
Flanagan - played well, but took the wrong option quite often - he'll learn and he'll be a good player.
Lalkovic - good again, but if he had £50 in a massage parlour he'd try and over-elaborate that as well.

Bradshaw - Uncle Jeff must be rubbing his hands. The match ball and MotM - don't need to say anymore.

Subs:

Sawyers - made a difference when he came on, not just the goal - most improved player since last season already.
Forde - sound
Cook - little impact, couple of nice touches.

We showed tremendous character to withstand that late onslaught, particularly with Antonio, who will surely be off to someone like Newcastle soon.
I can't blame their fans for not turning up at those prices, only one club has even greater delusions of grandure in terms of admission!
Our fans were tremendous (on the whole) particularly with the very professional stewarding in attendance!
The chanting was sublime, particularly how we ended up with 'our ground's too big for us' and the Sawyers song always makes me laugh.
Just a brilliant night from start to finish.

[belgiansaddler]

Best team won on the night but eff me, what a soft penalty.

Firmly believe that had it gone to extra time we would have beaten you but it didnt and we didnt so good luck to you.

Fair play BTH, and agree if it had gone to extra time I would have been worried. but it would also have been a travesty. We outplayed florist last night and thoroughly deserved our victory.

have been on florist forum, jeez you lot seem to hate fox and pato ���

But agree with comments on their about disgusting price policy, 20 quid in = cack crowd.

Good luck to you lot anyway, I must admit your forum is even more negative than this one �

Patterson is a confidence player and needs a manager and fans that believe in him. If he has that he can rip teams apart

[IHTC.]

Watched the highlights at about 2 am and even through blurry eyes that was one of the softest penalties I've ever seen given, would be furious if it had been the other way round

[WFC_Rob]

Still think the squad looks completely unbalanced and hope that Chambers and Taylor aren't out for too long as they do jobs where we have little cover. But if we're taking the "you score three, we'll score four" approach then we could be in for some fun!

I agree, but I'd also argue Taylor would have to start on the bench on Saturday anyway. You can't drop Henry after last night's performance.

Last night showed how a front three needs to work if that's the system Smith intends to play. We had Bradshaw occupying both centre halves through the middle, and Morris and Lalkovic willing to drift wide in search of the ball, but come inside whenever the opportunity arose. Contrast that with Saturday where we had Cook and Bradshaw through the middle with Sawyers just behind, and it's not too hard to see why we were snuffed out fairly easily.

On the "you score three, we'll score four" approach, if Smith's bold enough to go with Sawyers over one of the three holding midfielders he started with last night (who were all excellent, by the way), there's no doubt we'll score plenty of goals. We'll concede a fair few more too though, so it'll be a question of how much of a gamble he's willing to take.

[belgiansaddler]

Watched the highlights at about 2 am and even through blurry eyes that was one of the softest penalties I've ever seen given, would be furious if it had been the other way round

Always somebody who tries to pee on the bonfire. Yes it was a soft penalty but does it matter? We out played and out classed a championship team last night. The support was immense. Let's just enjoy that and stop picking faults ffs :roll:

[Walsallone]

I don't usually comment on match threads when I don't go to games however from the comments I have read and from the scoreline 3 up front appears to be the way to go. At the end of last season we tried this and looked good(except ,of course at Bristol). It means no starting place for Sawyers so there is the problem Dean has to solve. As WFC Rob says he could be very bold and play Sawyers in place of one of the midfielders however that would be very risky in my view.Answers on a postcard please!!!

[Welsh_Saddler]

Lots of negativity on the various Forest message boards, mostly directed at Dougie Freedman and certain players (including Danny Fox and Jamie Paterson). One positive comment from a seasoned contributor (10 years and more than 15,000 posts) caught my attention however, and I think it's worth posting part of it here:

"Walsall were lively, hard working and at times a pleasure to watch as they swiftly moved the ball about on the deck. Our display, bearing in mind we played a wonderful talented prospect up front was agricultural. It would have been a travesty of justice had Forest nicked it."

Love being a Saddler. :D

[IHTC.]

Watched the highlights at about 2 am and even through blurry eyes that was one of the softest penalties I've ever seen given, would be furious if it had been the other way round

Always somebody who tries to pee on the bonfire. Yes it was a soft penalty but does it matter? We out played and out classed a championship team last night. The support was immense. Let's just enjoy that and stop picking faults ffs :roll:

Get a grip you fool, How on earth is saying 'it was very poor decision by the Ref' picking faults?

[WFC_Rob]

I don't usually comment on match threads when I don't go to games however from the comments I have read and from the scoreline 3 up front appears to be the way to go. At the end of last season we tried this and looked good(except ,of course at Bristol). It means no starting place for Sawyers so there is the problem Dean has to solve. As WFC Rob says he could be very bold and play Sawyers in place of one of the midfielders however that would be very risky in my view.Answers on a postcard please!!!

For the first 45 minutes at Bristol City, that system worked really well too. It was the second half when they decided to up the ante that there were holes all over the place which they exploited. And let's not forget, we won't be playing a title-winning Bristol City every week.

Despite being there last night, it wasn't until I watched the highlights that I realised it was Mantom who crossed the ball in for the second goal. If he can do that a bit more often, that'll be another source of more goals. It's when we have nobody willing to run 'between the lines' that we become easy to play against, which was the case for much of last season.