Bury (A) League One, 5th August 3pm

[SoccerHQ]

Full time 1-0.

All the current problems at the club laid bare for 90 minutes and it will be the same next week unless significant signings are made.

[coop63]

Predictable lack of attacking threat - only Gillespie keeping the scoreline relatively respectable

Credit to the 600+ that travelled... safe journey home

Let's hope fir better next week!

[BathSaddler]

A long, hard, season beckons. It sounds like we can do the basics but little else and lucky not to be beaten by more.

When was the last time an opposing team missed two penalties? A pity we did not have the wit and creativity to make them pay.

[BornASaddler]

Did we really give away 3 pens and Bury missed all 3 ?

Just reading through the match report it seems that way

Doesn't sound like the next 45 games will be much different....for the first time ever at this stage of the season I am about to look at the Saddler's relegation odds

[scott_powell]

Whitney out. Absolute barclays

[One time faithful]

Does anyone know the formation today? Team sheet I can only see 2 cb and no wingers. Was it 4411 with no width or was 5311 playing someone who shouldn't be a cb as cb?

[SoccerHQ]

4-4-2 according to WM...Ozzy (who was hardly mentioned) upfront with Jackson. Edwards and Morris wide players.

[One time faithful]

4-4-2 according to WM...Ozzy (who was hardly mentioned) upfront with Jackson. Edwards and Morris wide players.

That's what I was thinking/worried it was. So a team built for 5 at the back he now starts playing 4. Oh dear

[wednesburysaddler]

predictable result could have been a lot worse has bury scored those 2 pens.
long hard season beckons where well have to pick up points where we can and especially at home.

cant believe theres not a fit striker out there who we could loan for a few months
well soon be walsallnil

[Fish]

Never mind the score, more importantly how many metres did the boys complete?

[Kevlar]

A pity we did not have the wit .........

,,,,,,,,,we have .



He picks the team.

[Guest]

Gillespie saves it!!! :shock:

https://twitter.com/berianlowe/status/8 ... 4480465920

You can also find the second penalty and the goal thereabouts.

https://mobile.twitter.com/berianlowe

[tinned]

Oh look, a goal from a set piece. Maybe I was right when I said they should have spent the time at boot camp on the training pitch practicing defending/attacking set pieces :roll:

You wait until those 200,000 metres of running give us an advantage (probably by helping us run back to our positions ready for kick-off after each time we concede from a set piece).

[El_Nombre]

Oh look, a goal from a set piece. Maybe I was right when I said they should have spent the time at boot camp on the training pitch practicing defending/attacking set pieces :roll:

Yeah they haven't had time in the month since, I bet...

[Ancient Moaner]

Just got back in, met Chunkster and his lovely wife, as well as PT again. After that the afternoon just went downhill.
We were all over 'em like a rash for the first 45 minutes, apart from the penalty, they were no threat at all until a saft foul in the last minute, set piece 1-0 down, half our fans were in the queue for drinks when that goal went in, many didn't believe me when I told 'em!
Second half we just went to pieces, we wouldn't have scored even if we were still playing at midnight!
Powder puff up front, just like last season, no attacking threat whatsoever, Jackson should be released from his contract or sent out on loan to a Conference side. Baky no better, just an awkward lump, no skill no finesse, useless. Even when Whitless sent on 'Candlin the eye' in the last gasp 10 minute spell, we still didn't even put in a threat at goal, the second of their missed penalties just adding to the ridiculous waste of space the team was.
I quite like Wilson, the big lump that we so desperately need in defence. However unless Whitless sorts out a striker, we are in for a long hard season. Messi looked infuriated at our uselessness, and I believe if an offer came in he will be off...shame.

[hullsaddler]

As my friend said to me "same tactics and same performance as last season, just with a different set of players".
" Yes, they are rubbish but at least they are our rubbish" I replied.

I don't know where the goals are going to come from. I couldn't see us scoring if we had played 190 minutes.
At least I made my connection at Manchester Victoria!

[chunkster]

Well TBH we didn't play that bad first half. Apart from the penalty they only had one shot on goal and scored. But for all our hard work and possession we didn't have an end result. No attacking flair whatsoever. Jackson was very poor. We just kept on lumping the ball up to him and against the 6ft 2 defender he never stood a chance. We persisted with sideways passing and whenever flo got forward he persisted in running back towards our goal with it?. Because there was just no outlet up front for him to pass to. There were a few calls for whitneys head,and after 70 mins he made a double change bringing Baka and maz on. And it just went downhill from there. And I thought that Bury were very poor, and if they play like that for the rest of the season they will be fighting for survival with us :| the only highlight of the day was meeting up with AM and PT a couple of good lads :wink:

[Fish]

As my friend said to me "same tactics and same performance as last season, just with a different set of players".

Inevitably really. It's the only thing Whitney knows.

A new striker, alone, is not the answer. The way that the team is set up anyone up front will fail unless there is some creativity in the team. There is none.

The club should do the decent thing, now - this weekend. In fact it could and should have at the end of last season. We could have said farewell and good luck to a good servant of the club...the longer this goes on attitudes will harden and 'good bye and best wishes', will turn into, 'good riddance'.

[Enniskillen]

2 observations:

1. We learnt nothing from pre-season.
2, Even if we have the best defence in the world, we will only get 45 points - no width, no threat, no goals

[sid swifty]

Well I didn't expect Whitney to say this....https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/football/walsall-fc/2017/08/05/jon-whitney-walsall-will-learn-crucial-lessons/ Weren't they learning lessons all last season? surely they should know everything by now.... :D

[scott_powell]

Oh look, a goal from a set piece. Maybe I was right when I said they should have spent the time at boot camp on the training pitch practicing defending/attacking set pieces :roll:

Yeah they haven't had time in the month since, I bet...

Well it's more bloody useful than a shite boot camp

:roll:

[PT]

Nice couple of pints prematch. Nice to meet Mr and Mrs Chunkster, as well as seeing AM.

The match. Probably better than I expected to be fair but that is probably down to my ridiculously low expectations rather than us being any good.

I'd say ten out of ten for effort but one out of ten for quality. Jon Whitney ay it?

[JonnyOwen]

It's shocking how bad we are going forwards. Cuvelier had no options, Morris is so far out of form he's looking like he can barely walk, Oztumer had no support, Edwards offers nothing as a winger, Jackson was offside a hilarious amount, Bakayoko came on and touched the ball 3 times in 20 minutes and our best striker was a 16 year old in Mitch Candlin who managed to touch the ball a few times and win a free kick. Just look at the difference between their free-kick's and ours, theirs had pace, whip, direction - ours are all slowly lofted in so that they can be headed back out again. What do we even do on the training ground, or is it just marathons and 400m races?

Just awful, plain awful.

[SoccerHQ]

It's shocking how bad we are going forwards. Cuvelier had no options, Morris is so far out of form he's looking like he can barely walk, Oztumer had no support, Edwards offers nothing as a winger, Jackson was offside a hilarious amount, Bakayoko came on and touched the ball 3 times in 20 minutes and our best striker was a 16 year old in Mitch Candlin who managed to touch the ball a few times and win a free kick. Just look at the difference between their free-kick's and ours, theirs had pace, whip, direction - ours are all slowly lofted in so that they can be headed back out again. What do we even do on the training ground, or is it just marathons and 400m races?

Just awful, plain awful.

Judging from what I saw on local tv on Thursday, press ups and more press ups. :mrgreen:

I think Whitney is running out of ideas now, the senior players stopped listening end of last season (Osbourne, Laird and seemingly J O'C) so big problems ahead and he won't have many answers considering his inexperience in the hotseat.

[El_Nombre]

Oh look, a goal from a set piece. Maybe I was right when I said they should have spent the time at boot camp on the training pitch practicing defending/attacking set pieces :roll:

Yeah they haven't had time in the month since, I bet...

Well it's more bloody useful than a shite boot camp

:roll:

Not really. Your comparing apples and oranges. It's like saying maybe if they did shooting practice all summer we'd have scored goals...

[reedswood sadler]

Not an unexpected result at least it was not the goal glut some predicted and a good example of what we have got to come this season.
It does not matter how good your defence is with no threat up front and little from midfield you will always concede at least 1 goal with no chance of a comeback.
Everyone connected to the club from the youngest fan to JB know we need a striker and what do we get from the board and Whitney nowt.

[scott_powell]

Oh look, a goal from a set piece. Maybe I was right when I said they should have spent the time at boot camp on the training pitch practicing defending/attacking set pieces :roll:

Yeah they haven't had time in the month since, I bet...

Well it's more bloody useful than a shite boot camp

:roll:

Not really. Your comparing apples and oranges. It's like saying maybe if they did shooting practice all summer we'd have scored goals...

Maybe we fudge would have!!

[El_Nombre]

Oh look, a goal from a set piece. Maybe I was right when I said they should have spent the time at boot camp on the training pitch practicing defending/attacking set pieces :roll:

Yeah they haven't had time in the month since, I bet...

Well it's more bloody useful than a shite boot camp

:roll:

Not really. Your comparing apples and oranges. It's like saying maybe if they did shooting practice all summer we'd have scored goals...

Maybe we fudge would have!!

Send that one to Pep. All you need to do is shooting practice all summer

[Michal]

I'm disappointed, a little. I thought my first game on IFollow would be more special. Not a win, but something memorable. I've read many times team can't defend set pieces, can't score, but defence looks good. And defending part was good, offensive part was abysmal (not only players were missing, tactical plans too), every set-piece was a little tragedy. Onwards and upwards, but this season can be really painful experience.

[mel58]

The only thing that is different from last season is the design of the shirts.