Fleetwood Town (A) League One Dec 10, 3pm

[Welsh_Saddler]

Do we have a late late late comeback??? Fleetwood Town 2 Walsall 1 (73 min) - Dobson, of all people ..... :shock:

[Surrey Saddler]

Wow, we have scored. No music though.

[BathSaddler]

Dobson makes it 2-1. Jackson for Toner (69)

[Welsh_Saddler]

Two substitutions by Fleetwood with 10 mins remaining - their 2 leading scorers off, and they're looking to shut up shop.

Shades of Dean Smith now ... a Walsall substitution on 87 minutes :? (Makris on for Edwards)

(Edit - I withdraw the "Dingles :lol: :lol: " from earlier on .... or do I???)

91 minutes, and a 2nd yellow card for Walsall - Matt Preston

[BathSaddler]

Sounds as if we deserved nothing and we got nothing. I hope for better next week along with more attacking intent. As we played all our defenders this week maybe JW is planning to play all the forwards next week;-).

Attendance 2,708 (358 Saddlers)

[chunkster]

My god that was dire. We lacked any cohesion and ideas, continuing to pump the ball up to oz who was probably the shortest player on the pitch, we had one shot at goal and scored, and that was lucky, it either took a deflection or their keeper was unsighted. Fleetwood where very poor but we didn't get to those dizzy hights :|

[Harry]

Fleetwood deserved the three points. They were better in all departments, apart from goalkeeper. Etheridge was our man of the match and he kept the score respectable, but in truth 2-1 flatters us.

It was obvious at half time that the back three was not working, but Whitney waited until we were 2 down before making the inevitable change.

[chunkster]

Fleetwood deserved the three points. They were better in all departments, apart from goalkeeper. Etheridge was our man of the match and he kept the score respectable, but in truth 2-1 flatters us.

It was obvious at half time that the back three was not working, but Whitney waited until we were 2 down before making the inevitable change.

I thought etheridge was at fault for their second goal? And toner gave the the ball away for their first?

[hullsaddler]

Fleetwood deserved the three points. They were better in all departments, apart from goalkeeper. Etheridge was our man of the match and he kept the score respectable, but in truth 2-1 flatters us.

It was obvious at half time that the back three was not working, but Whitney waited until we were 2 down before making the inevitable change.

I thought etheridge was at fault for their second goal? And toner gave the the ball away for their first?

Listening to commentary they said Edwards lost the ball which then led to their first goal.
Dale & Mick were pretty scathing about our lack of attacking threat.

[Ancient Moaner]

Just got back after a visit to A& E after trying to slit my wrists! :lol: :lol:

My god we were dire, the score flattered us totally, we had two shots on goal and miraculously managed to score from one of them. (Dobson of all people!)
Fleetwood were not much better, but, like Rochdale, if they had gone up just one gear it would have been yet another hammering.
Whitney must go, he hasn't a clue, we went with what was obviously a 'defend for as long as you can' set up, but we were utterly powder puff as defenders and Fleetwood ran riot, I think their manager will be furious with them for not scoring more and letting us come back at them for the last ten minutes (too bloomin late to think about trying to attack by then!)

I note that swearing is not allowed on here, but Toner is a nob, gave the ball away for one of the goals, and just hasn't got what it takes to be a pro footballer.

We were dire (have I said that?) Our season is over, no F A Cup, our best achievement will be to avoid relegation, but I have grave doubts about that. A good team today would easily have got 6 or 7 goals we were so dire (have I said that?)

Positive points? Fleetwood's programme is only £1 and it wasn't mind numbingly cold.

[Ancient Moaner]

[quote="chunkster"]My god that was dire. We lacked any cohesion and ideas, continuing to pump the ball up to oz who was probably the shortest player on the pitch, we had one shot at goal and scored, and that was lucky, it either took a deflection or their keeper was unsighted. Fleetwood where very poor but we didn't get to those dizzy heights :|[/quote]

Line of the year!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[SoccerHQ]

MOTM- Paddy the steward.

Aside from that utterly dismal.

I defend Whitney a fair amount but what on earth was that starting 11 and formation all about. 5-3-2 with about 8 defenders in it? :roll: :lol:

Not good enough by a long way...the sarcastic chants started after 20 minutes.

Not heard a player in Walsall colours abused like Toner was for a long time.

[Mike Vale]

I am afraid we were really poor today. There is no papering over that or any significant redeeming features. Neil Etheridge was ok - I didn't think he was at fault for either goal. Dobson had a reasonable 20 minute spell in the 2nd half and scored an excellent goal against the run of play. But overall it was grim and the ultra defensive set up was surely wrong. It was disappointing that the. Lachesis failed to change the system when plainly it wasn't working. Putting Markus on with a couple of minutes to go was an empty gesture. Finally, hope the Fleetwood player who was carried off will be well - that looked like a bad injury.

[Mike Vale]

Sorry typo there. That strange word should read coaches!!

[Mike Vale]

Typos galore. Too much red wine. Misspelling of Makris.

[SoccerHQ]

Fair enough Fleetwood are playing well and are strong at home but 5-3-2 there....really? I'm still shaking my head at it. Got in late due to underestimating how long it took to get the tram from Blackpool so looked up at the big screen and couldn't believe how many defenders there were in the 11 and that contributed to the performance imo.

If you're going to play it surely that's the ideal opportunity to bring Jackson back or even give Markis a go alongside a physical forward...it might actually have worked.

Instead Pond easily nulified Baka...they quickly got men to close down Ozzy and there was nothing else to worry about.

[Guest]

Flappin' Neil :(

https://youtu.be/zSVFVwnQXhM

[Whitters]

Thanks for the video!
Some good goals there - their first was a cracker.

[Gripper]

That was dross.

Subs when the game was out of reach yet again.

First ever goal worked from a free kick I can remember in bloody years!!!

I'm glad I have plenty of beer before watching us.

[SaddlerSteve]

The worrying thing is that Whitney doesn't seem to be learning from his mistakes.

Decides to play another inexplicable formation changed from last time. Brings back the awful Toner.
Plan A isn't working but he waits until the game is virtually over before taking any action to rectify.

I don't think we'll go down as I think we'll still get a good result every few games but I think we're looking at mid table with a season of inconsistency.

[Exile]

That was dross.

Subs when the game was out of reach yet again.

First ever goal worked from a free kick I can remember in bloody years!!!

I'm glad I have plenty of beer before watching us.

I picked that up early. Can't watch Walsall without at least a couple of pints. Seems to make it more bearable, especially knowing it'll be over soon and you can top up to numb the pain/celebrate a win...

[Cowshed]

Toner us too error prone everyone can see this and that's why he is getting stick from the crowd

Not that I think he will be in pro football too long but Whitney is putting him in the firing line which is going to damage him longer term

If we are going to play youngsters and accept they will make mistakes I'd. Prefer to play vassell or rowley it will benefit us in the longer term

[ToeJoe Jnr]

Toner and Edwards dangling their legs out to stop the cross for the 2nd goal :roll:

We seem content to let teams have chance after chance to knock balls into our box this season despite our chronic ability to defend. The fact we haven't stopped this indicates what little we do on the training pitch during the week.

James Hanson is visiting us next Saturday, he must be licking his lips at the thought of an early Xmas bonus!

[Leatherman]

The worrying thing is that Whitney doesn't seem to be learning from his mistakes.

Decides to play another inexplicable formation changed from last time. Brings back the awful Toner.
Plan A isn't working but he waits until the game is virtually over before taking any action to rectify.

I don't think we'll go down as I think we'll still get a good result every few games but I think we're looking at mid table with a season of inconsistency.

I thought the only difference was Toner in for Morris who didn't make the bench?

He started at a Sheffield with the same formation.

I like playing with wing-backs and with Demetrion and Henry, even Taylor we had the resources to do it last season but I can't see it working for us this.

[Leatherman]

My first visit to this particular Highbury and I thought the ground was good in a peculiar sort of way. The half stand behind the goal for the away support was novel. :D

As far as the match went there's not a lot to say really. Contrary to others on here, I thought Fleetwood were a decent side who moved the ball quickly and everyone knew their job i.e. Where to be on the pitch at any given time. Us on the other hand had a bit of trouble in that dept.

No one really stood out. Etheridge made a good save from a short corner routine where their number 3 had a good shot saved at the near post. Ozzie should have been marking him but he switched off completely. To rub salt into the wounds they served up the same routine in the second half but no one was switched on enough to spot it. Dozy bastards. :evil:

I agree with the other poster regarding Dobson in so much that I thought he had a bright start to the second half and earned his goal.

The glaring problem for me is the transition from defence into attack. There's not enough players getting forward looking for the ball; it's much more of a leisurely stroll up the pitch leaving the bloke with the ball 3 choices:

1. He try's to beat everyone in his path U8s style;
2. He plays a team mate into trouble with a 'get-rid-quick' pass only 3 fudge feet away and then stands there watching whilst he flounders.
3. Hits the ball 70yards in the hope it will find someone in a Walsall shirt who can then either score or hold the ball up whilst the rest of the team jog up the pitch towards him. Honestly, they moved quicker in the fudge warm up!

If Bakayoko plays up fron with Ozzie then they need a creative central midfielder (Cuvelier?)who can do just that. However, they will need their colleagues to show a bit more fudge determination and belief and get up the fudge pitch like their lives depend on it.

I feel sorry for Their player who was carried off following a 50/50 ball clash with Preston, but was pleased that Preston didn't back off. I didn't think it was a sending off offence, possibly not even a booking. This happens in football when players have grit and both of them showed that when going for the ball.

Hope he gets well soon.

P.S. Changes were too late.

[Andy_Petterson]

My first visit to this particular Highbury and I thought the ground was good in a peculiar sort of way. The half stand behind the goal for the away support was novel. :D

As far as the match went there's not a lot to say really. Contrary to others on here, I thought Fleetwood were a decent side who moved the ball quickly and everyone knew their job i.e. Where to be on the pitch at any given time. Us on the other hand had a bit of trouble in that dept.

No one really stood out. Etheridge made a good save from a short corner routine where their number 3 had a good shot saved at the near post. Ozzie should have been marking him but he switched off completely. To rub salt into the wounds they served up the same routine in the second half but no one was switched on enough to spot it. Dozy bastards. :evil:

I agree with the other poster regarding Dobson in so much that I thought he had a bright start to the second half and earned his goal.

The glaring problem for me is the transition from defence into attack. There's not enough players getting forward looking for the ball; it's much more of a leisurely stroll up the pitch leaving the bloke with the ball 3 choices:

1. He try's to beat everyone in his path U8s style;
2. He plays a team mate into trouble with a 'get-rid-quick' pass only 3 fudge feet away and then stands there watching whilst he flounders.
3. Hits the ball 70yards in the hope it will find someone in a Walsall shirt who can then either score or hold the ball up whilst the rest of the team jog up the pitch towards him. Honestly, they moved quicker in the fudge warm up!

If Bakayoko plays up fron with Ozzie then they need a creative central midfielder who can do just that. However, they will need their colleagues to show a bit more fudge determination and belief and get up the fudge pitch.

I feel sorry for Their player who was carried off following a 50/50 ball Clark with Preston, but was pleased that Preston didn't back off. I didn't think it was a sending off offence, possibly not even a booking. This happens in football when players have grit and both of them showed that when going for the ball.

Hope he gets well soon.

P.S. Changes were too late.

To be fair Lman I may disagree with a you on other topics, but your football related posts are often informative and enlightening, as this was one was. Thanks for posting this.

[chunkster]

My god that was dire. We lacked any cohesion and ideas, continuing to pump the ball up to oz who was probably the shortest player on the pitch, we had one shot at goal and scored, and that was lucky, it either took a deflection or their keeper was unsighted. Fleetwood where very poor but we didn't get to those dizzy heights :|[/quote]

Line of the year!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

:lol: cheers AM
something else to lighten the mood for ya. the guy that i went to the match with hasn't been for a few years, and we didn't get into the ground until about 30 mins after kick off. so we took our seats and for about the next 10 minuets my mate was cheering every time fleetwood attacked? it was then i realized he thought we were playing in red and white :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Ancient Moaner]

My god that was dire. We lacked any cohesion and ideas, continuing to pump the ball up to oz who was probably the shortest player on the pitch, we had one shot at goal and scored, and that was lucky, it either took a deflection or their keeper was unsighted. Fleetwood where very poor but we didn't get to those dizzy heights :|[/quote]

Line of the year!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

:lol: cheers AM
something else to lighten the mood for ya. the guy that i went to the match with hasn't been for a few years, and we didn't get into the ground until about 30 mins after kick off. so we took our seats and for about the next 10 minuets my mate was cheering every time fleetwood attacked? it was then i realized he thought we were playing in red and white :lol: :lol: :lol:

Good one indeed, what does sometimes puzzle me is the lethargy shown by so called supporters around me, who might as well have been sleeping in their beds for all the enthusiasm/complaining they didn't do. Even when our lucky 'second attack of the game' shot went into the net, our goal was greeted with a shuffle of their feet. I know we are utterly crud, (just love the sarcastic chant, a repeat of the one used at Rochdale that can't be repeated on here), but come on, some of you were as lethargic as the players, which takes some doing!

We will need some points on the table, VERY quickly to avoid being dragged into the zone, but how can you be expected to score goals when you play with ten defenders! (who even then can't defend).

[chunkster]

My god that was dire. We lacked any cohesion and ideas, continuing to pump the ball up to oz who was probably the shortest player on the pitch, we had one shot at goal and scored, and that was lucky, it either took a deflection or their keeper was unsighted. Fleetwood where very poor but we didn't get to those dizzy heights :|[/quote]

Line of the year!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

:lol: cheers AM
something else to lighten the mood for ya. the guy that i went to the match with hasn't been for a few years, and we didn't get into the ground until about 30 mins after kick off. so we took our seats and for about the next 10 minuets my mate was cheering every time fleetwood attacked? it was then i realized he thought we were playing in red and white :lol: :lol: :lol:

Good one indeed, what does sometimes puzzle me is the lethargy shown by so called supporters around me, who might as well have been sleeping in their beds for all the enthusiasm/complaining they didn't do. Even when our lucky 'second attack of the game' shot went into the net, our goal was greeted with a shuffle of their feet. I know we are utterly crud, (just love the sarcastic chant, a repeat of the one used at Rochdale that can't be repeated on here), but come on, some of you were as lethargic as the players, which takes some doing!

We will need some points on the table, VERY quickly to avoid being dragged into the zone, but how can you be expected to score goals when you play with ten defenders! (who even then can't defend).

YE we were in the seats which doesn't naturally burst into enthusiastic song, we usually leave that to the youth behind the goal, but everything they sang for most of the entire game was negative :| now i know they will say "well the team must give us something to cheer about" but it all ends up being a catch 22. at the end of the day the clue is in the name "SUPPORTER" :wink:

[SoccerHQ]

It was a strange atmosphere yesterday.

It's a difficult game to criticise fans in that Fleetwood is a bloody long trek especially at this time of the year but I was really surprised by the negativity....it was even starting at 0-0.

I said to my mum after about 50 minutes....fair enough Walsall are rubbish but it's not like they're 4-0 down and not trying.

So many games down the years Walsall look clueless but then get a goal that changes everything and they get a decent result.

Yesterday wasn't much different to Sheffield, instead Fleetwood got that crucial 1st goal just before half time. It's very small margins this season in league one for most outside the top 4 who are pretty good teams.

I can only conclude last season was so exciting fans aren't having this season of mediocre mid table fare but to me that was always going to be the logical outcome after last years near miss.