Coventry City (A) League One, Tue 12 Jan 7.45pm

[coop63]

We toughed that one out!!!

Just back and what a point that was... Great resolve from the lads after what has to be said was a poor first half.

Coventry were well organised and clearly have some quality but frankly we ground them down by changing things in the second half and without trying to find negatives, Manton and Sawyers weren't at their best but the team dug in to get the goal and we could have nicked it in the last few minutes..

Pretty good turnout too I think - all in all, a good nights work from everyone :D

I'm a happy Saddler tonight!!

Cov will be gutted not to get the 3 points I think :lol: n :lol: :lol:

UTS

Great that Wigan dropped points too

[coop63]

1349 deliriously undepressed Saddlers in attendance.

Good support that after a big one on Saturday and to be fair the weather was bloody awful...

When we left the ground it made you realise how tough it must have been on the pitch for 90 minutes in those conditions - well done lads and lasses.

UTS

[wednesburysaddler]

just got back in

think a lot of praise goes to the manager tonight

we looked out of sorts for the first 60 minutes and were lucky to be only 1-0 down

then we made the changes and my god what a difference
all of a sudden Coventry sat back and invited us to play and we started spraying the ball into the space
was frustrating as they blocked everything and stopped us on every attack
but it was weird as Coventry had no legs left and we look like a team that had just started the match we ran them riot
no surprise when we equalised with a deft flick or backheel from bradders.
in the end we battered them but couldn't get the winner I think Coventry were happier with the full time whistle

enjoyed the night lovey ground decent fans I spoke to said we were way better than most on this league
I wouldn't moan if we both finished in top 2 to be honest as I think between us we play some lovely football and wed both be a credit to the championship.

happy that brentord lost as theyre about as arrogant as they come and still think they'll finish bottom half!!!

off to bury Saturday weather permitting and hoping to get the 3 points to get us back to winning ways in the league.

75 points should get us a play off spot that's 9 wins out of 21 games surely even we cant fudge this up can we ?

[JonnyOwen]

Felt we were a little lucky to get a draw from that. Cov set up to do a number on us and they did they very well. They sat back with two banks of 4, let us overplay it or make a mistake, and then counter attacked us from our mistakes. We looked very leggy, tired and slow first half and you can tell the Saturday game took a lot out of us. Whitney must of worked some physio magic as we came out second half looking a little more energetic and managed to get a goal from our first decent move of the match where we actually stretched Cov, and bang Tom gets the half chance he needs to score.

This team just doesn't give up. When we were 1 nil down with 20 to go, and whilst playing better than the first half, not really playing well in general - I still, the fans still and most importantly the player believed they could still get a point, or even win it, and they did.

Etheridge fantastic again, he's gone from making my arse clench when the ball gets near him to being confident he will make a wonder save over the course of a couple games. Cutler is actually a god.

[m&m]

I had the misfortune of sitting in the cov end behind the opposite goal to where our fans were seated.my cov supporting friends gave me lots of grief after our first half performance even though I told them we are better than that and the negative tactics employed by sod do not suit our players.
They were forced to eat their words in the second half and had to admit we dominated the half . In truth with a little more conviction we should have won the game.

It's a strange feeling being surrounded by the opposition but nearly all of them singled out sawyers as the player that ran the game.i heard at least half a dozen say I wish he played for us!

I urge our owner to make an educated gamble and break the bank to get him to sign a new contract.The reality is that this won't happen and he will go for peanuts only to become another Deeney.

[ChopperWFC]

Really important point tonight when not at our best. I'd give the lads the rest of the week off as looked leggy at times which is understandable. Saying that we finished the stronger but a draw the fair result.
Great turn out too from us. Our away following is a credit to us .
WM suggesting Wolves in for Bradshaw. A fan also commenting on him " waving goodbye " which I missed. Anything been heard ?
Up the Saddlers

[Walsallone]

A very good point...never write this team off. Well done to all those who went to support the lads.

[Mazza01]

For a guess Tom was waving to his family in the away end!

Who makes this crap up? Oh wait the type that call into WM!

[ChopperWFC]

:lol: let's hope so anyway. I've got flashbacks of viveash waving at Ipswich last day.

[Mazza01]

Romaine Sawyers , we are so lucky to have this lad. The Cov fans were raving about him after the game. :D

[saddler_nic]

Absolutely delighted with a point, had we scored five mins earlier I would have backed us for a win.

First half we looked completely unbalanced. It seemed we lined up with a back four, three players in centre midfield, Milan as a left winger, Romaine playing his usual game and Tom up top on his own. There didn't appear to be anyone playing down the right, which gave Cov an easy out ball and left Kinsella, who didn't have a bad game by any stretch, woefully exposed time and again. Having said that, clear cut chances were few and far between bar the goal, with Bradshaw hitting the post for us.

Second half they upped the tempo looking goal to kill us off. We rode it out for fifteen mins, then Made a double change. Demetriou and Forde for Kinsella and Milan. Anyone who didn't see what an important player Demetriou is for us should look at the half hour he played. He gave us a threat down that side which helped push Cov back. Without creating much we were the better side for the last half an hour and scored with our only real chance.

Better decision making in the final third and we would have had three points. Mantom broke with three players in support, two unmarked to his left, but tried to squeeze a pass to the right. A few times we chose the wrong option, but on another day we could have left with a win. Special mentions for Rico, Chambers and Etheridge, who pulled off a world class save to deny Armstrong at 1-0.

[scott_powell]

Cov fans absolutely raving over Sawyers

"Sawyer is the best opposition player I've seen this season. Ran the show."

[Andy_Petterson]

Rico Henry.

So good they named the stadium after him.

[otiswfc]

Cov fans absolutely raving over Sawyers

"Sawyer is the best opposition player I've seen this season. Ran the show."

All the walsall fans around me said he played cack, I thought he played okay myself.

[Sadders]

Not long back. Will elaborate more tomorrow.

In short. We were second best for 70 minutes and looked knackered with no cohesion on the ball. Much better after that. Rico, Chambers and O'Connor excellent. Mantom and particularly Milan - both atrocious. Sawyers not as his best but still ran our game. Irreplaceable.

Bradshaw came over to our fans, clapped us like normal with all team, then looked up into the right hand corner of our stand and gestured to someone, friend or family. Totally innocent.

[belgiansaddler]

There was still a turd sat next to me who was shouting at Sawyers for being crap all game :shock:

Could have gone either way, they were better than us first half and we bossed it for most of second half. Thought mantom had a mare, he hardly passed to a Walsall player all night and that's from someone who really rates him!

Rico, chambers and etheridge were superb. Sawyers was always involved but wasn't at his best. We tried to over play it at times. What can you say about Tom? Hardly had a sniff but the two sniffs he had he hit the post with one and scored with the other after we finally went down the outside rather than always going across the front of their penalty area.

They were happier than us to hear final whistle but happy with a draw. This team doesn't know when it is beaten. Credit to SOD for the changes as well. Positive and made a difference.

[funk_hits_the_fan]

Fantastic point at a team that are unbeaten at home. I felt the substitutions changed the game and we were a different proposition afterwards. I did wonder if he was going to take Bradshaw off as he was having a stinker - but that's what makes him such an asset. Two chances, one goal, one off the post.

Where they pulled the energy from for the last 25 minutes is anyone's guess. Coventry played at such a high tempo for the first 65 minutes I do think they may have run out of steam a little. But still, having played a championship side on Saturday we still had the ability to take advantage.

Good, healthy following. For a modern ground I thought the Coventry fans created a bit of an atmosphere - certainly better than Highfield Road; the opposite to most clubs who lose the atmosphere when they move!

Shouts to the lads asleep on the 900 bus who had missed their train - hope it's not to much of a late one trying to get back to Walsall.....

[Chomper]

Agree with above. We looked tired and the subs and change of shape freshened us up.

Not sure the midfield diamond is working. It's too narrow, leaves us exposed and neither Mantom or Evans looked particularly comfortable. When we changed things and got the full backs forward we looked a different team.

[Guest]

http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/teams/walsall/10128074/coventry-1-1-walsall

[Gripper]

The Sawyers is lazy and bone idol gang were out in full force last night...clearly not been for a season and a half before last night.

He had an off-day but was still one of our better players! Rico looked calm, Etheridge had no nervy moments, Chambers - what can you say?

Dreadful refereeing, soft free kick for their goal I thought but you could blame us for diving in!

Mantoms final ball I thought was dreadful last night after what I'm lead to believe was a great performance on Saturday. He'd do most of the hard work in an energetic style then just run out of juice when he was in a great position and pass right into the feed of their defence.

£5 to park, massive wage bill, the need of a drummer, empty rugby stadium. What a club.

Great point.

[belgiansaddler]

I always knew Geordies were thick. But why on earth, when they can't hit a cows bum with a banjo (until last night!), have they let Armstrong go to Cov for a season. If he is not better than the cack they have been playing up front most weeks I'm a chinaman. Quick as anything and always dangerous.

Also forgot to list o'connor and Milan in my comments. First for being superb second for being shocking on the night.

And gripper: you forgot to mention that they built a train station next to the ground to serve the arena, but can't use it on days when there is an event on cos it's too small :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[philthesaddler]

Brilliant result.

Always knew Coventry would come at us, it's their chance to push on. Again we stood firm!

[CooperTheSaddler]

Another brilliant away day and in the end, a well earned point. Thought they were 1 of the better teams we have played this season and up until we scored and then until the end of the game, I couldn't have saw us scoring. Would have taken a point beforehand and certainly felt happy with 1 in the end. On to Saturday now where we need to go for all 3, UTS!

[Cheesebag]

All the walsall fans around me said he played cack, I thought he played okay myself.

Thick twerp

[ShropsSaddler]

Interesting how SOD is getting plaudits again for making changes and influencing a result. Now maybe I've got this wrong, but we've gone half the season without being bossed by another team in any match. All of a sudden, we've changed formation and both Rochdale (full game) and Coventry (first half) have completely dominated us. Of course, results will speak for themselves over the second half of the season but I remain a little worried that, despite saying he wouldn't tinker with a winning formula, that's precisely what he has done. I don't know about last night, and I believe Brentford certainly wasn't like this, but in previous matches, Sawyers has seemed to be playing in an increasingly deep position (which led someone to suggest he was almost playing at centre half against Rochdale!) and we've gone from basing our whole game around him to making him just another player in the team.Now, of course, it's good to have a plan B, but our plan A has worked so well this season, I'm very loathe to abandon it.

Where I do like SOD is that he has got some other tricks up his sleeve. Against Peterborough, he anticipated that they'd mark Sawyers out of the game and it was a tactical masterstroke to allow Mantom and Evans freedom to break forward ahead of him. We dominated them for 20 minutes.

So, for me at least, the jury remains out on how much we will miss Mr Smith and how astute SOD will prove to be. But it's a great point last night and you have to take your hat off to this group of players and the coaching staff.

As for the transfer window, I would think it's almost inevitable that someone will take a major punt on Bradshaw now and I think, for an offer of around £2m, we would have to accept, especially given his injury problems. The guy wants to get in that Welsh squad for the summer and his only real way of doing that is to move a league up and continue to score goals. I don't think Sawyers will go anywhere and Henry, at very worst, will be a sale and loan back.

[shady53]

Interesting how SOD is getting plaudits again for making changes and influencing a result. Now maybe I've got this wrong, but we've gone half the season without being bossed by another team in any match. All of a sudden, we've changed formation and both Rochdale (full game) and Coventry (first half) have completely dominated us. Of course, results will speak for themselves over the second half of the season but I remain a little worried that, despite saying he wouldn't tinker with a winning formula, that's precisely what he has done. I don't know about last night, and I believe Brentford certainly wasn't like this, but in previous matches, Sawyers has seemed to be playing in an increasingly deep position (which led someone to suggest he was almost playing at centre half against Rochdale!) and we've gone from basing our whole game around him to making him just another player in the team.Now, of course, it's good to have a plan B, but our plan A has worked so well this season, I'm very loathe to abandon it.

Where I do like SOD is that he has got some other tricks up his sleeve. Against Peterborough, he anticipated that they'd mark Sawyers out of the game and it was a tactical masterstroke to allow Mantom and Evans freedom to break forward ahead of him. We dominated them for 20 minutes.

So, for me at least, the jury remains out on how much we will miss Mr Smith and how astute SOD will prove to be. But it's a great point last night and you have to take your hat off to this group of players and the coaching staff.

As for the transfer window, I would think it's almost inevitable that someone will take a major punt on Bradshaw now and I think, for an offer of around £2m, we would have to accept, especially given his injury problems. The guy wants to get in that Welsh squad for the summer and his only real way of doing that is to move a league up and continue to score goals. I don't think Sawyers will go anywhere and Henry, at very worst, will be a sale and loan back.

Excellent post Shrops.

[Bee_Leevers]

I had the misfortune of sitting in the cov end behind the opposite goal to where our fans were seated.my cov supporting friends gave me lots of grief after our first half performance even though I told them we are better than that and the negative tactics employed by sod do not suit our players.
They were forced to eat their words in the second half and had to admit we dominated the half . In truth with a little more conviction we should have won the game.

It's a strange feeling being surrounded by the opposition but nearly all of them singled out sawyers as the player that ran the game.i heard at least half a dozen say I wish he played for us!

I urge our owner to make an educated gamble and break the bank to get him to sign a new contract.The reality is that this won't happen and he will go for peanuts only to become another Deeney.

That's one thing I don't think I could do! I wouldn't be able to keep my mouth shut or refrain from celebrating when we score. How did we sound from that end? Some Cov fans saying we were quiet, seemed quite loud from in the away end.

[Micky Saddler]

Rico Henry MOTM by a country mile for me.

Only player looked like doing something in the first half and they could not deal with him at all when he ran at them.
Assist for the goal too which was deserved.

Much better 2nd half although could tell our lads need a rest, Mantom was blowing 20 minutes in and im sure he nearly passed out at the end of the game :lol:

We go again Saturday, just hope SOD gives them a bit of time to recuperate.

good point.

UTS

[Magic Man Fan]

All the walsall fans around me said he played cack, I thought he played okay myself.

Thick twerp

Indeed. He wasn't up to his best in the first half, and unusually hos touch let him down a few times, but it's no surprise that the team was better in the second half when Sawyers was conducting the play. I thought he'd got the goal. Didn't realise Bradshaw took it off his toes.

[Pedagogue]

Cock out incidentally, but it's been so long since I used it last, I don't know what to do with it! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Answers on a postcard, please! :mrgreen:

I'm sure that our Welsh-based Saddlers will have the usual suggestions but no doubt the most "interesting" will be submitted by Saigon Saddler. :lol: