Scunthorpe United (H) Dec 9th, 3pm

[Welsh_Saddler]

"Any old iron, Any old iron, any any any old iron"

(Music hall song recorded by Harry Champion, 1911)

Well, there's very little point in previewing this game as it's a racing certainty that the result will be 1-4, isn't it? It's one of those scorelines that is unusual enough to stay in the memory from even one occurrence, but when it happens three times in five years it almost becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. For those with an interest, the details are:

6th Nov 2012 Walsall 1 (Grigg, 90) Scunthorpe Utd 4 (2nd half with 10 men)
10th Jan 2015 Walsall 1 (Cain, 51) Scunthorpe Utd 4 (including a James Chambers o.g. and a Paddy Madden penalty)
27th Sep 2016 Walsall 1 (Oztumer 45) Scunthorpe Utd 4 (including a Josh Morris hat-trick, one of them a penalty)

Back to the present day, and as far as League One is concerned Graham Alexander's side are the form team (currently 3rd in the table) ........

21 Oct Peterborough Utd (H) Won 2-1
28 Oct Oldham Athletic (A) Won 2-3
11 Nov Bristol Rovers (H) Won 1-0
18 Nov Northampton Town (A) Won 0-3
21 Nov Bradford City (A) Won 1-2
25 Nov Charlton Athletic (H) Won 2-0

And yet .... and yet .... (ignoring the League One form for a moment) they managed to crash out to Doncaster Rovers (A) in the F.A. Cup this month by losing 3-0, which just goes to show the unpredictability of football when you consider our 0-3 showing at Doncaster. They were also on the wrong end of a 1-2 defeat at the hands of Leicester City's U-21 side in the tin-pot trophy a couple of days ago (mind you, that Leicester City side was reportedly worth £45 million). Those two reverses have resulted in Graham Alexander making the sort of comment that might have come from Jon Whitney - "I am not questioning the quality of the players, but sometimes you need a slap across the chops to remind you what real life is about".

So, realistically, what about Saturday? As always, it will depend on which Walsall side turns up. In common with Graham Alexander's opinion we can think the same about the Saddlers' squad - there is undoubted quality there but it does need to be linked to a certain attitude for 90 minutes. Regrettably we've only seen this in fits and starts, often only for the 2nd half (by which time we're probably a goal or two down). We seem to have stopped giving away penalties, only to allow comical defensive errors to take their place. Squad fitness isn't in question, there are no major injury concerns apart from Florent Cuvelier's occupation of the treatment room on an almost permanent basis, so if we assume (hope) that 2 up front will be the order of the day it's a possibility (but no more than that) that we might squeeze a 1-1 draw out of this one (Oztumer to score.....who else could it be?).

UTS :D

[El_Nombre]

I can't see anything but a loss here, I'm afraid. When it matters, in the league, they have been very impressive this season.

I'd snap your had off for a draw, not something I often say about a home game.

[Ancient Moaner]

1-4 nailed on, written in stone. Only hope this is as bad as it gets for us.

All this nonsense about being beaten by Donny (note some of the numbers on the Scunny shirts during that match, I think they played their kids thinking they would 'walk' the game! :? ) will be just a smokescreen, as El Nombre pointed out, when it comes to League matches it is a totally different ball game. They will be just too powerful for our rabble.

Ozzy with the consolation.

[Wyrley Saddler 66]

Not only is it Scunthorpe, therefore a probable 1-4 score line.

It has been decided to have a fun day, therefore a definite defeat.

I will of course be attending as I have for many years, I'm expecting a loss, will take a draw.

Wilson, Devlin and Edwards returning?

[Wyrley Saddler 66]

The bottom 2 clubs on 17 points are both at home to bottom half opponents.

Therefore, if all goes badly wrong, we could drop 2/3 places on 25 points and end up only 5 points above the bottom, with difficult games ahead

[tinned]

My prediction: Game postponed, heavy snow/frozen pitch.

Will possibly stay in Black Country Arms/The Fountain instead, so the afternoon won't be a complete disaster afterall :mrgreen:

[saddlersjse]

To quote a popular TV show, on Saturday we are definitely going to "pay the Iron price" against a backdrop that accurately mirrors certain locations in said show - sparsely populated and bitterly cold. That's if it goes ahead at all.

I'm going to be optimistic and say we'll buck the trend and instead fall 1-3 in front of 3,800 odd with a few hundred northerners. Disgruntled voices to be muted by sheer cold.

Whitney to see the positives and photoshop himself into a picture of someone else winning manager of the month to put on his Wall of Delusion.

UTS

[leics_saddler]

Walsall P-P Scunthorpe

Postponed due to lack of interest.
JW to claim that they or Blackburn can't beat us this season.
EFL to confirm this as factually correct and put him forward for Manager of the Year 2018.
Czcuzman to express mild criticism and Kim Jong Un to launch a plastic missile at him for his impudence.
Cutler to take 2w off work when he is hit by one of the straws from Ker Plunk when Czuczman ducks.

[Walsallone]

Time we beat these......2-1 to the saddlers....UTS

[chunkster]

2-1 to the saddlers with whitney being given freedom of the town and made mayor of walsall :mrgreen:

[Ancient Moaner]

2-1 to the saddlers with whitney being given freedom of the town and made mayor of walsall :mrgreen:

All three as likely as him being crowned Manager of the month mate!

[chunkster]

2-1 to the saddlers with whitney being given freedom of the town and made mayor of walsall :mrgreen:

All three as likely as him being crowned Manager of the month mate!

After the manager of the month nomination i think that the latter 2 are very likely :mrgreen:

[Whitters]

1-0 to us with JW being booed off at full time for not giving the correct wave.

[SaigonSaddler]

1-0 to us with JW being booed off at full time for not giving the correct wave.

Or giving the right wave but not for the correct amount of time - the scoundrel! :x

[NEWPORT SADDLERS DAD]

Wave or run up the tunnel.

I think it will be another run up the tunnel for Jon boy.

[El_Nombre]

Personally I'm hoping for two pirouettes, 4 high kicks a couple of Saturday Night fevers and a bow that would make John Barrowman wince. Anything less is downright disrespectful to our fans.

[Neuromantic]

Few pre-match comments by a spy in the camp for the Scunthorpe Telegraph...

http://www.Scunthorpe.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/jon-whitney-struggling-convince-walsall-890013

[Walsallone]

How odd that a Walsall fan would run the team, the manager and club down in an opposition paper! However if it leads to over confidence in their attitude he may unwittingly have done us a favour. As for Viveash and Keates he is surely having a laugh...a lot of the criticism aimed at JW is because he is inexperienced as a Manager. How are they more qualified on those grounds?

[El_Nombre]

How odd that a Walsall fan would run the team, the manager and club down in an opposition paper! However if it leads to over confidence in their attitude he may unwittingly have done us a favour. As for Viveash and Keates he is surely having a laugh...a lot of the criticism aimed at JW is because he is inexperienced as a Manager. How are they more qualified on those grounds?

To be fair Keates has more managerial games under his belt now than when we employed Whitney. He's also won a fair few of them.

Viveash is nothing more than sentimental choice. I don't buy the Chelsea academy accolades as managerial experience. That youth team has been assembled using more money than virtually any other, more than most league teams. I don't see how that gives him any relevant experience to managing Walsall with our budget other than he played over 200 times for us. And despite that I still don't think it's a bad choice purely because it doesn't really matter who our manager is with the way the club is run so at least he might not get dogs abuse from the fans for at least a little while.

[Whitters]

How odd that a Walsall fan would run the team, the manager and club down in an opposition paper!

He's just a member of the miserable prick brigade.
So not a real fan in the asps mould.
Trotting out the "servant" and "physio" stuff endlessly.
He may have been a physio but he also was a lower league player with a fairly varied career.
Maybe Optimistic should have been asked to give a preview.

[Neuromantic]

How odd that a Walsall fan would run the team, the manager and club down in an opposition paper!

He's just a member of the miserable prick brigade.
So not a real fan in the asps mould.
Trotting out the "servant" and "physio" stuff endlessly.
He may have been a physio but he also was a lower league player with a fairly varied career.
Maybe Optimistic should have been asked to give a preview.

Pardon.

[reedswood sadler]

With our carefully assembled "steely defence" keeping clean sheets and Whitney reaching manager of the month list how can we lose to our bogey team 4-1 again.
Scunny over confident expecting walk over so 1-0 to mighty saddlers.

[Optimistic]

How odd that a Walsall fan would run the team, the manager and club down in an opposition paper!

He's just a member of the miserable prick brigade.
So not a real fan in the asps mould.
Trotting out the "servant" and "physio" stuff endlessly.
He may have been a physio but he also was a lower league player with a fairly varied career.
Maybe Optimistic should have been asked to give a preview.

Nah, if I had written the preview the Scunthorpe team wouldn't have turned up to avoid the embarrassment. :)

[Whitters]

How odd that a Walsall fan would run the team, the manager and club down in an opposition paper!

He's just a member of the miserable prick brigade.
So not a real fan in the asps mould.
Trotting out the "servant" and "physio" stuff endlessly.
He may have been a physio but he also was a lower league player with a fairly varied career.
Maybe Optimistic should have been asked to give a preview.

Pardon.

If it's you who wrote it then good work for writing it and sticking your head up above the wall.
But having done that be prepared to take criticism eh?
It's nothing personal, just my reaction to the constant negativity.

And never forget, it's us against them, it's war.
Never ever let them think the garden is anything but beautiful in WFC-land.
Otherwise you're a traitor.
We are always better than them no matter who "them" are.

[Super Gabor]

Bearing in mind the weather and likely frozen pitch, any news on the game being called off?

[Cully]

Absolutely no news!

..................but the Whalley inspired flaming dustbins are on standby

[chunkster]

Bearing in mind the weather and likely frozen pitch, any news on the game being called off?

I seem to remember us investing in a cover a few years ago so it should be ok, it looks like there are only scottish games off at the moment

[DonningtonSaddler]

Bearing in mind the weather and likely frozen pitch, any news on the game being called off?

I seem to remember us investing in a cover a few years ago so it should be ok, it looks like there are only scottish games off at the moment

It's not just about the pitch though. If they can't guarantee safety around the stadium it would be grounds for calling it off. It's a bit frustrating not getting any news from the club's website.

[chunkster]

Bearing in mind the weather and likely frozen pitch, any news on the game being called off?

I seem to remember us investing in a cover a few years ago so it should be ok, it looks like there are only scottish games off at the moment

It's not just about the pitch though. If they can't guarantee safety around the stadium it would be grounds for calling it off. It's a bit frustrating not getting any news from the club's website.

It certainly is if you have got to travel :( it's ok for me because i only live about 20 mins away, the times in the past that we have travelled for it to be called off when you get there is infuriating. i remember fleetwood last year i think it was? a night booked in the big blue one, xmas show at the viva and a chinese at michael whan at the manderin with drinks and taxi's ended up costing us about £250 :lol: and then my mate had the audacity to ask for some petrol money :mrgreen:

[Wyrley Saddler 66]

The game is on