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Scunthorpe United (H) Dec 9th, 3pm

Reports and reaction from the 2017-2018 season as Walsall finished 19th in League 1
Locky
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Re: Scunthorpe United (H) Dec 9th, 3pm

Sun Dec 10, 2017 8:14 am

By far the best performance for weeks, possibly all season.

Actually passed the ball today, long range passes were passes not hopeful punts and all but one pinpoint accurate finding our player, movement was much better creating the space which allowed us to play and we played with an intent to go and win the game from the off, all of which have been sadly lacking over the last several weeks dispute the previous couple of wins.

Baka showed real energy and work ethic up front which helped defend from the front and limit their ability to get forward. This along with Gillespie being more mobile around his box helped the team push up and helped prevent us defending too deep.

Saw someone said Scunny were cack but I think on this occasion it was more a case that we played well and made them look very average.

Pen wasn't that bad from Ozzy but keeper guessed right and saved well.

Dominated the game throughout and thoroughly deserved the win. Crowd responded to the good play and singing slowly started to come back after the passed few weeks where everyone seemed to have become a bit apathetic.

Taken as a whole rather than looking at individual axe grinders Saddler's fans are a fairly honest bunch and if the team has been drawing criticism recently then they've deserved it but it is in their hands to change that and they made a very good start on that here. If they can maintain something approaching that level of play and application fans will very quickly start getting behind them again. Get complacent and let it slip back and they will rightly continue to draw criticism.

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Re: Scunthorpe United (H) Dec 9th, 3pm

Sun Dec 10, 2017 8:27 am

Well well where did that performance come from?
Probably the best home performance of the season where all starting eleven were up for it and worked their socks off combined with interplay and fast movement that we haven’t seen the best of the Smith days.
Special mention to Bakayoko (it must have been his best and most committed performance in a Saddlers shirt) and to Morris who deserved the accolade of the MOM award. But also a word for Flo. He made such a difference to midfield and it just wasn’t the silky stuff either as he won more tackles than you expect from a player with such an injury damaged career.
We lost some of the plot when Flo was (understandably) subbed. Flanagan regrettably needs to look for another career as the game passed him by and most of his distributions was poor.
One nil doesn’t reflect the difference really. Messi’s penalty wasn’t a bad miss and I lost count of the great fast low crosses at speed into the box from Leahy that just needed a touch.
Even the keeper earned his money at the end after not being involved all game.
Shame that 1500 fans had voted with their feet and stayed away given what has been going on behind the scenes and on the pitch so far this season.
Perhaps Whitney heard the reaction of the crowd today. Supportive and positive and applauding players off the field to standing ovations. That’s what happens when a team performs Jon. Perhaps more of that and the fan base might come back and get behind you. So stick to the football and less of the media babble. We don’t need to hear that there are good things going on at the club. We wouldn’t be fans if we didn’t recognise some of that.

One last thanks to everyone that put time and effort into getting the pitch cleared and playable.

coop63
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Re: Scunthorpe United (H) Dec 9th, 3pm

Sun Dec 10, 2017 8:56 am

saddlerbishoff wrote:Well well where did that performance come from?
Probably the best home performance of the season where all starting eleven were up for it and worked their socks off combined with interplay and fast movement that we haven’t seen the best of the Smith days.
Special mention to Bakayoko (it must have been his best and most committed performance in a Saddlers shirt) and to Morris who deserved the accolade of the MOM award. But also a word for Flo. He made such a difference to midfield and it just wasn’t the silky stuff either as he won more tackles than you expect from a player with such an injury damaged career.
We lost some of the plot when Flo was (understandably) subbed. Flanagan regrettably needs to look for another career as the game passed him by and most of his distributions was poor.
One nil doesn’t reflect the difference really. Messi’s penalty wasn’t a bad miss and I lost count of the great fast low crosses at speed into the box from Leahy that just needed a touch.
Even the keeper earned his money at the end after not being involved all game.
Shame that 1500 fans had voted with their feet and stayed away given what has been going on behind the scenes and on the pitch so far this season.
Perhaps Whitney heard the reaction of the crowd today. Supportive and positive and applauding players off the field to standing ovations. That’s what happens when a team performs Jon. Perhaps more of that and the fan base might come back and get behind you. So stick to the football and less of the media babble. We don’t need to hear that there are good things going on at the club. We wouldn’t be fans if we didn’t recognise some of that.

One last thanks to everyone that put time and effort into getting the pitch cleared and playable.


Good post and I especially agree with your point about more of the footy improvement and less of the press rubbish which would serve us well (been saying it for weeks now.)

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Soton Saddler
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Re: Scunthorpe United (H) Dec 9th, 3pm

Sun Dec 10, 2017 8:57 am

Hadn't realise the sort of form Scunthorpe were on either... anyone saying they're a bad side is just wrong - we, reading posts from who that went, made them look bang average.

Great job Saddlers - top ten and beyond here we come!!! :)

Walsallone
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Re: Scunthorpe United (H) Dec 9th, 3pm

Sun Dec 10, 2017 9:37 am

Yesterday just continued the improvement since Newport and I am surprised at some of the comments on here ...it was after all our 3rd win in a row following a good performance against Gillingham. Cuvelier certainly made a big difference though and I hope we can get a few more games out of him. Flanagan did ok. when he came on...I don't get all this criticism he receives. He lacks physicality but he is a good passer of the ball and never hides.

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Re: Scunthorpe United (H) Dec 9th, 3pm

Sun Dec 10, 2017 10:05 am

An excellent performance and result against a side on a long winning run in the league (although I was not aware of this until afterwards). Some great passing football and encouraged to see creativity shared between a number of team members (Flo, Morris, Ismail) and not just Oztumer who had his usual 8/10 match (not meant as a criticism!). Bakayoko played his part but should have been substituted 10 minutes or so earlier as I thought he ducked a number of challenges late on (perhaps because of a slight injury?), but he had a great first half, as did the team.

I'm sure the circumstances to get the game on played it's part in a togetherness on and off the pitch as the players were really up for this one. A solid defensive performance was only slightly tainted but an unnecessarily panicky last 10-15 minutes but we should really have been out-of-sight by then. Great save for Ozzy's penalty and the defence shackled a high scoring Scunthorpe frontline effectively with a number of timely blocks. Also good to have Wilson back as he is a steadying influence.

I laughed at the comments of the Scunthorpe manager who suggested it was a low quality game from both sides. I put it down to disappointment on his part because if the visitors replicate that sort of performance they will slide out the Play-off picture. As for us, if we continue to play with that intent and verve we will be looking up the table rather than down. However, a return to a mediocre performance and defeat at struggling Northampton will put us straight back to where we were. A big week ahead of you, Jon.

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Re: Scunthorpe United (H) Dec 9th, 3pm

Sun Dec 10, 2017 11:06 am

No fluke this we deserved the win against an in form scunny side.
Credit to Whitney for picking right side and getting tactics spot on.
Best performance of season for me a real team effort every player gave his all showing the passion and fight lacking in many games this year no weak links at all, Baka showed what he is able to do, got stuck in and was shattered when subbed deserved the reception he got.
Other players recently getting stick answered back , Gillespie got us the extra points with his double save at the end Morris found his shooting boots and Flo made a big difference.

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Re: Scunthorpe United (H) Dec 9th, 3pm

Sun Dec 10, 2017 11:09 pm

Whitters wrote:
saddlertd wrote: I am not a “happy clapper” either - I think we will always struggle given the current financial set up at the club: over a grand a day going out of the club even before a ball is kicked. .

I agree, it's a yoke around the neck, putting us behind other clubs at the start of each season before a ball is kicked.
Maybe the mods could start a "sticky" so that we can add details of other clubs' grounds as they become apparent.
For instance, Hull City and Colchester United are examples – they have the benefit of stadiums paid for by their respective local councils.
We are constantly behind the 8 ball and it's a miracle we aren't in the bottom division.

Swansea is another club with a Council paid-for ground (had for a peppercorn rent) which they are now deigning to "consider" buying with their new-found riches. To the Council's credit, they built the club the ground before they "took off" into the Championship, then The Prem; helped them no end. And, remember, Swansea were one of the last clubs to do the "going into administration" trick to save their skins before it became an "offence".
Ah, well! It's a grand-a-day.

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saddla
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Re: Scunthorpe United (H) Dec 9th, 3pm

Mon Dec 11, 2017 1:47 am

SWS11 wrote:
Whitters wrote:
saddlertd wrote: I am not a “happy clapper” either - I think we will always struggle given the current financial set up at the club: over a grand a day going out of the club even before a ball is kicked. .

I agree, it's a yoke around the neck, putting us behind other clubs at the start of each season before a ball is kicked.
Maybe the mods could start a "sticky" so that we can add details of other clubs' grounds as they become apparent.
For instance, Hull City and Colchester United are examples – they have the benefit of stadiums paid for by their respective local councils.
We are constantly behind the 8 ball and it's a miracle we aren't in the bottom division.

Swansea is another club with a Council paid-for ground (had for a peppercorn rent) which they are now deigning to "consider" buying with their new-found riches. To the Council's credit, they built the club the ground before they "took off" into the Championship, then The Prem; helped them no end. And, remember, Swansea were one of the last clubs to do the "going into administration" trick to save their skins before it became an "offence".
Ah, well! It's a grand-a-day.


The council is not interested, even if we were to pay them the rent!
https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-hubs/walsall/2017/08/25/walsall-council-urged-to-look-at-buying-walsalls-bankss-stadium-/

coop63
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Re: Scunthorpe United (H) Dec 9th, 3pm

Mon Dec 11, 2017 9:18 am

saddla wrote:
SWS11 wrote:
Whitters wrote:
saddlertd wrote: I am not a “happy clapper” either - I think we will always struggle given the current financial set up at the club: over a grand a day going out of the club even before a ball is kicked. .

I agree, it's a yoke around the neck, putting us behind other clubs at the start of each season before a ball is kicked.
Maybe the mods could start a "sticky" so that we can add details of other clubs' grounds as they become apparent.
For instance, Hull City and Colchester United are examples – they have the benefit of stadiums paid for by their respective local councils.
We are constantly behind the 8 ball and it's a miracle we aren't in the bottom division.

Swansea is another club with a Council paid-for ground (had for a peppercorn rent) which they are now deigning to "consider" buying with their new-found riches. To the Council's credit, they built the club the ground before they "took off" into the Championship, then The Prem; helped them no end. And, remember, Swansea were one of the last clubs to do the "going into administration" trick to save their skins before it became an "offence".
Ah, well! It's a grand-a-day.


The council is not interested, even if we were to pay them the rent!
https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-hubs/walsall/2017/08/25/walsall-council-urged-to-look-at-buying-walsalls-bankss-stadium-/


What is interesting with the council link though is that last week, it was a big news item that local council's (not just oursa by the way) were being cited as risking funds by investing in commercial property! Seems they can invest in whatever they like.....

One additional point ref the Swansea situation - their council funding strategy was heavily influenced by finding a home for the Ospreys Rugby Club too so they had an extra element to their agreement in respect of revenue stream and future capital value etc..

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layzeedude
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Re: Scunthorpe United (H) Dec 9th, 3pm

Mon Dec 11, 2017 10:05 am

First off, huge pat on the back for all those involved in making sure the pitch was in a playable state come 3:00 on Saturday. How many home games have we missed due to weather over the last few years? Can't be many at all.

On to the game. I guess the big question is, has Whitney finally started to get a handle on this management malarkey, or has he lucked on a winning formula that'll work for a few weeks until teams figure us out and we're back to square one again?
Hopefully it's the former. Playing football, not hoofball. Sensible substitutions. Players playing as if there is actually a plan in place. I don't want to get too carried away...but I do find it difficult not to. Not saying I'm off to the bookies to put my house on Walsall reaching the play-offs, but a top 10 finish would do very nicely.
I think we're all agreed, the comings and goings in Jan will be huge. Let's hope whatever happens it doesn't upset the apple cart too much.

LD

Harry
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Re: Scunthorpe United (H) Dec 9th, 3pm

Tue Dec 12, 2017 1:06 pm

layzeedude wrote:On to the game. I guess the big question is, has Whitney finally started to get a handle on this management malarkey, or has he lucked on a winning formula that'll work for a few weeks until teams figure us out and we're back to square one again?

LD


I have some hope that Whitney has at long last begun to improve. I base this on the fact that after changing our playing tactics (getting rid of the back three, playing at least one winger, cutting down on the frequency of the high ball to forwards who cannot win the ball in the air etc) we went on to lose at Newport and then at home to Gillingham. Those were very disappointing results, but nowhere near the bad performances that we had seen earlier in the season. Whitney had the guts to stick to this new plan and has been rewarded.

There will be ups and downs ahead, but if Whitney is learning then maybe he will make a satisfactory manager after all. I have to admit that I did not expect that to happen.

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Re: Scunthorpe United (H) Dec 9th, 3pm

Tue Dec 12, 2017 1:13 pm

My thoughts during the game were that Scunthorpe were really poor. After thinking about it after the game I think we made them look poor. We limited their ability to get into the game and made usually prolific scorers like Morris look ordinary.

Effort was fantastic from the whole of the team - which was even more evident when a number virtually collapsed on the final whistle.

I was in the stand behind the manager for the first time, and one thing that struck me was the approach that JW was taking to virtually micro manage the team - telling individuals where to be standing on a continual basis - perhaps that's his style, which leads to some of the disagreements he has had with certain players?

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