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Coventry (h) - League - 17th January 2004

Reports and reaction from the 2003-04 season as Walsall finished 22nd (R) in Division 1
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Coventry (h) - League - 17th January 2004

Tue Dec 07, 2004 3:08 pm

By Jorge14 (195.93.34.9) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 06:29 pm: Edit

What an absolute shocking performance! The worst I've ever seen from a Walsall Team...

By SuIcIdALsAdDleR (195.93.34.9) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 06:33 pm: Edit

We should have given the £3000 a week we pay Merson to Junior.

By Walsall Supporter (82.37.192.152) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 06:45 pm: Edit

Well, I am ashamed to say that I left after the 5th goal, I have never before left early, but I couldn't take anymore, The first half was spoilt by a Ref who needed to go to specsave and have his eyes tested. We got back into it at half time, considering everything seemed against us, and I said to the guy next to me, I will be happy with this.

Had to say I was worried everytime Coventry headed for goal, the defence were all over the place and the poor goalie, talk about baptism of fire!

I still dont think its the worse performance, Zigor had a blinder of a match, but Merson shouldn't be put in a upfront roll.

Certainly missed Jimmy, Jorge and Vinny.

Lets hope we can bounce back!

By Jorge14 (195.93.34.9) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 07:07 pm: Edit

I just hope no one is going to come on here and defend Merson, Birch and co. Merson just doesn't want to know, and fair enough, he's out of position, but that is no excuse. He's our skipper and should get stuck in. If he's not happy with his position, tell Lee, and tell him that he either plays him in position or he loses his second "star" player in a week. I say "star", because I don't know how Merson can justify being such a high profile player after today.

Gary Birch was appalling, and put players like Carlos Andre and Bazeley at Albion to shame. He is frightened, he is literaly pissing himself whenever he has to go in for a header, a tackle, and for a striker, I've never seen a player so scared of shooting. Gary Birch is THE worst player I've seen in a Walsall shirt...well, apart from Andy Petterson!

On the subject of Petterson, has anyone seen such a calamotous player as him? He makes David James look like Gordon Banks! My dad has been watching Walsall since the 1950's, and he was struggling to think of such a bad goalkeeper and debut for a Walsall player ever. Aaron Kerr would have done a better job with one hand! We were unlucky to lose 6 to be honest with that fool in goals.

Then we move to the defence. Bazeley had a surprising steady game, as did Aranalde, and can't really be blamed for any of the goals. Emblen and Roper, however, are a different matter entirely. They were exposed, they were absolutely sh@t on by the Coventry attack, and it showed up how vunerable Roper actually is.

Onto midfield. First off, Darren Wrack was on a completely different level to the rest of the side. He ran, he battled and showed some passion for this football club. He was the only player who gave a damn today, and for that, Wracky deserves huge credit. Add to that a quality strike, and Wracky can be the only player who can be in the slightest bit proud of his performance.

Oakes was a little unlucky I think to get sent off. It could have been such a different game if the referee hadn't be so shocking and so picky. He even pulled back a free kick just outside our penalty area and 6-1 down because a Coventry player wasn't 10 yards away.

Osborn started steadily but was completely over-run. Another poor performance, and even I, who think he's a decent player, can't defend him.

Pedro now. Pedro tried hard, but blatently wasn't match fit, and in all fairness shouldn't have been any where near the first team. Zigor should have been on left midfield with Kris Taylor at left back. However, Pedro gave the ball away twice for two goals.

Merson was absolute gas-tank today. He just didn't want to know. He was embarrassing, and I wouldn't be surprised if he called it a day at the end of the year, personally, I wouldn't lose a minute of sleep over it. I think he's a waste of space whilst he's being played up front.

Birch I could go on about all night. He put in the weakest, effortless, and gutless performance from a Saddler I've ever seen. People say he's built like a striker, but mentally, he's plays like he's 5 foot 2, not 6 foot 2. He's an absolute disgrace, Hawley or Bishop - sh!t as they may be - would have played better today, as they have something to prove to Lee.

However, before anyone says, there is no way that Matty Fryatt could have played today. He would have been carried off injured after 5 minutes with Mo Konjic. He would have been squashed!

So where now? What are the repercussions?

First off, I think Lee will walk before he is pushed. As much as I like him as a manager, he has the same backing from the board as Graydon did. It all started off rosy, with Bonsor supporting Lee, but as soon as we made the loss, that was it.

THERE IS NO AMBITION IN THE BOARD ROOM!

If Bonsor or Mike Lloyd come out at any point in the near future and say they are building for the future, I will stick two fingers in their face and ask them to explain why, again and again, they let down their manager and the fans.

Our last two managers have changed this club further than any of us could ever believe. But neither of them could count on the support of Bonsor and Lloyd. As fans, we have the mentallity of a First Division Club, the manager is a first division manager, but the board room still treats us, as fans and as a team, as if we are mid-table Division 2. They are a disgrace, and are absolutely faceless. When things are going well, they're in the paper, they are in the programme saying how wonderful it is to be associated with the club. But when the sh!t hits the fan, they don't want to know.

oh, and Wolves beat Man Utd! What a fvcking day!

By dave (81.106.181.168) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 07:14 pm: Edit

I also left after 5th goal.
Ref. a disgrace.
Team selection a disgrace.
Samways never returned from Spain, a disgrace.
Hope he nevers plays for us again. Let down the club, team mates, manager & supporters and himself.

By J (82.37.172.104) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 07:33 pm: Edit

why did the fans start singing 1 vinny samways?

thicko's he doesn't want to play for us

Petterson - Crap but badley exposed, amde 1 good save int he first half
Zigor - can't belive someone said he ahd a good game, still yet to beat the first man froma cross, been waiting over 3 years now
Emblen - Joachim s@it all over him
Roper - Worst game he's ahd for ages
Bazely - didn't see much of the game, not great but not as bad as the albion
Wrack - worked his bollox off, showed desire, 11 wracky's on the pitch and we'd have won
Oakes - played a few nice balls b4 the sending off, went in 2 footed, will be Lee's scape goat
Osborne - Got stuck in,
Pedro - looked off the pace, gave the ball away far to many times
Birch - ran about a bit, had no support
Merson - crap

Lawrence - when a player constantly stands behind opposition defenders so as not to recive teh ball he should be straight out the club. HE'S BEEN DOING IT ALL SEASON AND HE'S STILL HERE

COLIN LEE - SORT IT OUT, THEY'R YOUR PLAYERS OR GET OUT. TODAY WAS A DISGRACE, YOUR IN GAME DESICIONS AND SUBSTITIONS ARE A DISGRACE,. SORT IT OUT

By SheffieldSaddler (195.93.34.9) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 07:35 pm: Edit

Besides Wrack, the whole team was a disgrace.
Matias gave away possession that led to 2 goals, but personally, I thought he should not have been on pitch anyway, you cant expect a player who hasnt played for months to suddenly come back into the side, Lee is to blame for this.
Bazeley, usual useless self.
Roper, I think was frightened to tackle. And who could blame him considering the ref!
Emblen, ok.
Zigor, ok but made a few marking errors in the box that could have punished us more.
Osborne, ok.
Merson, useless.
Wrack, brill.
Oakes, gave away the ball too much when he was on the pitch!
Birch, pathetic, since he has given chance in first team he has gone from good to useless.
Overall, PATHETIC. The players should hang their heads in shame, just like the manager.
Added to that I think that all of them should donate this weeks wages to charity. (except Wrack who deserves them).

By beechdale_saddler (213.48.83.170) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 07:43 pm: Edit

Samways will NEVER play for us again, he will be gone by next friday according to lee. But lets just concentrate on WALSALL FC.

Im ashamed to say i stayed until the 93 minute, and if you heard someone shouting none stop abuse at lawrence, called lee a twerp and birch a slow toss@ then that was me. I have never been more ashamed to be a saddler, the fans that hide behind the excuse "we are gonna finish the highest we have ever done" thats not going to happen.

Now to the team.
Petterson- when he first signed from southend i told my dad if we conceed less than 12 in the 3 games i will be surprised but i never expected us to conceed half of them in 1 GAME! It was exciting to see the race between him and the ball to the line.
Bazeley- Useless, worst player of the season. He couldnt cross a ball if his life depended on it.
Roper- Was trying to cover for emblen too much.
Emblen- My nan can run faster and shes 6foot under.
Zigor- Lets hope the rumours of him going are true.

Wrack- Man of the match, didnt do much wrong.
Osborn- Id rather have that one from Black Sabbath
Oakes- Told you we should never play him.
Pedro- unfit

Merson- Is this the same bloke that was division 1 player of the year?, NO this is a barclays that wants to pick up his money and couldnt care if we lose 6!
Birch- Started off well this season but now we all know why he was close to being released.

Lawrence- You know when your day cant get any worse when a lazy bald black man walks onto the pitch when we are losin easily.

Mr Lee- I dont hate the bloke, but when he signs and PICKS crap like lawrence and Oakes he needs his marbles checking. Also he plays merson out of position and his constant praise for a team even tho we lose 6-1 to Coventry feckin city at HOME. We didnt have jorge,walker and ritchie but we still would have lost today, WE ARE TOO FECKIN SLOW.
Somethings got to change, Lee or Bonser.

By freda (195.93.34.9) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 07:48 pm: Edit

Hate to say I told you so......but,as predicted,Vinny and Merse gone by Feb.When the going gets tough,those not used to losing p**s off.

By cat3 (218.102.21.153) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 07:52 pm: Edit

I suppose the game is fixed.. that's what I think.. disgrace or just pure gambling attitude... I certainly don't like the way soccer is heading toward these days. 6-1 at the end and 1-1 in first half... 5 goals in the last 45 minutes. I don't know what is going on, but this is not the way we played at all, this is getting sick to watch... Anyhow, as a Walsall fan, I would like to see them fly sky high and get the chance to play with M.U. and Arsenal on and off. What a bunch of crap! This is really out of portion and ordinary, and it certainly beats my expectation. Wolves beating M.U., what is going on these days with soccer? I can't imagine Wolves knocked off the perfect wonderboys... Can't beat time, what can I say, just gotta take this crap in and digest for now...

By Dave Gittins (195.92.168.179) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 08:07 pm: Edit

Today was a prime example of what happens when there is no depth to the squad. Okay, we were without most of our influential players, namely Jimmy, Richie, Samways and Leitao. Of these, the least said about Samways the better apart from to say I hope Colin and the club sue him for breach of contract.

On to the players we did have on the pitch-

Petterson - made one decent save but sod all else. At times I thought he must have been a vampire - afraid of crosses.
All of the back 4 - exposed for pace time and time again.
Midfield -
Wrack - had a good game and scored a cracking goal.
The rest of the midfield - totally anonymous, although in Pedro's defence he was far from match fit and needed a couple more weeks building up his fitness again before being thrown in to the first team.
Forwards:
Birch - didn't want to know and does not deserve a place in the team on this howing (in fact on most of his showings recently)
Merson - Didn't seem interested today, possibly because he was being played out of position again but as captain it is up to him to get stuck in and lead by example. If he is incapable or unwilling to do this then maybe the armband should be passed on to someone who is.

Where do we go from here? I think those calling for Lee's head are premature. We are in a poor run admittedly but not as bad as the one under Ray before he got the boot. Given time and the return of 3 of the key players above things will turn around again. It would be nice to think that JB will release funds to sign a couple of players to strengthen the squad but we all know that ain't going to happen. Then again, did anyone see the article in the E & S at the ground - when JB sells the land to build the hotel all of the proceeds will be released into the club. If that happens though, you are looking at next season rather than this for any benefits.

By bs (213.48.83.170) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 08:10 pm: Edit

yeah but dave did you read the article further " all proceeds that go into the club will not all go into the playing staff". If we get £500,000 for planning permission i bet lee signs one player on loan from it that will go on to sign for derby,
The futures dull, the futures walsall.

By Dave Gittins (195.92.168.179) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 08:19 pm: Edit

You must be looking at a different version of the article to me! The article is also on the E & S web site and is reproduced below.

Walsall owner Jeff Bonser has pledged that all proceeds from the land sale for a proposed Bescot hotel will go back into the club.

Bonser's pension fund owns the land next to the stadium where the budget hotel is set to be built, but the fact that the club controls the adjacent car park means they will benefit from the sale.

Bonser is already in negotiations over the building of the hotel after winning planning permission last year, and he hopes work can start this year.

But the away supporters' car park, which will be turned over to the hotel as part of the deal, holds the key to any deal.

"The hotel itself will be on land owned by my pension fund, but the car park land is in the control of Walsall Football Club along with the stadium on a 99-year lease," explained Bonser.

"If the football club does not release the car park then no hotel operator will want to build, so in exchange for the club releasing the car park the pension fund will hand over whatever fee it gets for the sale of the hotel land to the club.

"There are certain rules that govern the pension fund, but the issue of the car park will allow me, with my pension fund hat on, to give the money to the club."

The hotel site is at the rear of the William Sharp stand, opposite Bescot Stadium Station, on disused land next to the away supporters' car park.

Planning permission has been granted by Walsall Council for a 100-bedroom development, with Bonser now open to offers from developers.

By Mark Davies (81.152.12.136) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 08:43 pm: Edit

Merson has now played about the same number of games for us Junior. Does anyone still think that he is adding more to our team than the Brazilian did?
Lee chose to use the resources he had on Emblen, Merson, Oakes, Lawrence, Osborne and Samways insted of capturing or replacing Junior...foolish man.

By SheffieldSaddler (195.93.34.9) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 08:48 pm: Edit

Lee tried to sign Junior for gods sake. He was then p*ssed about by Junior and or his agent nearly all summer. And then went to Derby for a lot more money than Walsall could afford.
Are you also suggesting CL should have used all his money to get one player? I would rather have Merson, Emblen, Osborne and Samways then Junior, yes.
I think you are very foolish to be honest.

By Mark Davies (81.152.12.136) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 08:54 pm: Edit

Let's try again then. Would you prefer Merson to Junior?

By SheffieldSaddler (195.93.34.9) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 09:03 pm: Edit

Thats like saying would you prefer Beckham to Owen! They are to totally different players. Merson creates (well sometimes ) and Junior does naff all except score the odd goal.
Added to that Junior has only played one season in first division where as Merson has played football at the top level.
I would prefer Merson. But the one we had a few months back, not the one currently playing for us.

By Mark Davies (81.152.12.136) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 09:10 pm: Edit

Sadly Merson hasn't created as many scoring opportunities as Junior did last year let alone score as many goals himself. Still everyone is entitled to make their own judgements on what they see...do you remember The Emperor's New Clothes?

By popperpancake (81.77.229.115) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 09:16 pm: Edit

Like everyone has said only Wrack did OK. I didn't think Petterson was that bad to be honest. I don't think i've ever seen Roper play so badly. A nightmare all round really. And they still always run out of fudge bovril at half time (the little kiosk in the purple stand). The fat ••••••• behing the counter just laughs at you. Shocking shocking performance by us and the ref ( and the fat would be bovril server)

By Ludlow Dave (81.77.229.112) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 09:39 pm: Edit

Why do people crucify themselves with might have beens? Junoir didnt want what we offered, he made more elsewhere, thats life. Merson has had some good games. We knew he would not be a world beater - his best days are behind him - this is the twilight of his career, and hes playing for us. Hes played out of position so I reckon he feels a bit miffed at present too, but support the guy. Hes helped us get to 35 points quicker than the norm, and I'm sure that we will get to our 50 point target sooner rather than later. I know the the junior element on this board, probably never saw the guy when he was one of the best players in the prem - but take it from me he was. If we used him correctly he could and would have more impact on games.
Then again hed have to be Merlin to get the best out of some of our players at present. I just sit here shaking my head at Gary Birch? In all the years I've watched Walsall we always seemed to find a forward from somewhere...I know all this has been said before...I'm still shaking my head!!
I wasn't going to Stoke as I'm working - but I'll have to get a swap now, because it will be intriguing to see our response to day. Hopefully the words fight and passion will feature somewhere in the team talk.
Finally, and sorry for bringing this up here, but I'm confused with this Hotel/Bonser - pension fund/Car park scheme. Am I right in thinking then that Walsall FC will not be the owners of the hotel? Will the only money Walsall FC see from this venture be the sale of the away car park to the hotal firm. Sorry I thought we were going to see a steady cash flow from the hotel for years to come.

By Ludlow Dave (81.77.229.112) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 09:44 pm: Edit

Same post as before but without spelling mistakes!
Why do people crucify themselves with might have beens? Junior didnt want what we offered, he made more elsewhere, thats life. Merson has had some good games. We knew he would not be a world beater - his best days are behind him - this is the twilight of his career, and hes playing for us. Hes played out of position so I reckon he feels a bit miffed at present too, but support the guy. Hes helped us get to 35 points quicker than the norm, and I'm sure that we will get to our 50 point target sooner rather than later. I know the the younger element on this board, probably never saw the guy when he was one of the best players in the prem - but take it from me he was. If we used him correctly he could and would have more impact on games.
Then again hed have to be Merlin to get the best out of some of our players at present. I just sit here shaking my head at Gary Birch? In all the years I've watched Walsall we always seemed to find a forward from somewhere...I know all this has been said before...I'm still shaking my head!!
I wasn't going to Stoke as I'm working - but I'll have to get a swap now, because it will be intriguing to see our response to day. Hopefully the words fight and passion will feature somewhere in the team talk.
Finally, and sorry for bringing this up here, but I'm confused with this Hotel/Bonser - pension fund/Car park scheme. Am I right in thinking then that Walsall FC will not be the owners of the hotel? Will the only money Walsall FC see from this venture be the sale of the away car park to the hotal firm. Sorry I thought we were going to see a steady cash flow from the hotel for years to come.

By Dave Mickle (195.92.168.164) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 09:51 pm: Edit

Possibly the worst Walsall performance ever. Other than Wrack and Osborne nobody tried. Regretably tonight I am ashamed to be a Saddler we were clueless, passionless and useless

By Surrey Saddler (195.93.34.9) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 09:58 pm: Edit

Gloom

By Wyrley Saddler (193.113.240.102) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 10:03 pm: Edit

I have been shot down in flames over my comments on Birch during the earlier part of the season. I have been watching the Saddlers for over 30 years and I am sure I can spot an absolute DONKEY by now. At last every one is waking up to the fact that a complete arshole is masqarading as a striker. For gods sake Lee, remove this donkey now. As for our debutant keeper' I likened him to a pub player during the warm up, so over wait he could not dive one way or the other. Saddly he carried his warm up play into a 1st division game. Shame on you Lee, where the hell did you get this one from???

By Exile (210.54.79.70) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 10:19 pm: Edit

Can't comment on game, as wasn't anywhere near the match, and I figured after our night out I'd be better off in bed with the missus instead of listening to commentary at 3.0am. Walsall FC, and Exile have something in common right now - both f**ked by 4.45....

Ye gods, what a disappointment. Still, it's a funny old game, and the season ain't over yet, apart from for Samways.

Cheers all
Exile

By cat3 (218.102.21.153) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 10:24 pm: Edit

Dreadful to see Samway jump off our boat like that, what an egghead or has he gone mad himself totally. He has no passion whatsoever for soccer nor for our club, fans, management and players. He careless of what everyone felt. 6-1 at HOME, what a disgrace. This is not how we played and CL will manage to throw a pie back at Samway, that's for sure; I would if I am CL. I think the players felt disgusted with the way he ran off without saying "Goodbye" in a gratuitious fashion. Samway, what a pig, he didn't thought about the injuries with our minimal squad nor did he thought about the suspensions we are having tonight. What a shame to have this bloke with us in the past 6 months!

All in all, we will shake off this morale crisis and play even better soccer to prove him wrong; we don't need him and we still can win games a.s.a.p.. He's no superstar, he's just an egghead. We can survive the league without him. We will continue to strive for excellence. Merson will come back and show us that. I have great ambition in him. He's a legend and there's no one better than him in first divison with all respect. Therefore, no need to panic, we will continue to beat other rivals and survive!

By Bristol Fan (195.92.67.77) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 10:26 pm: Edit

A terrible day for the club. No point blaming the ref, he made a shocking decision over the corner for Cov's first goal. Sending off was for a 50-50 challenge, yes, but Oakes could have broken the guy's leg with his follow-through. (Of course, McSheffrey could have broken Emblen's leg with his challenge on the half way line, but that wasn't even a booking.)

Roper was pathetic. I'm amazed he hasn't been worked out more often. Coventry did their homework. Run quickly at him and he's like a deer caught in the headlights, he just can't cope and every time they did it today, they scored.

Not too sure the goalie can be directly blamed for much, but I don't think we'd have conceded six if Walker had played.

Birch just isn't good enough for division one. We went into the season with only one striker, Leitao, and I can't believe we haven't found anyone since. Leitao is barely good enough for the division and Birch isn't.

We couldn't cope in midfield. We were overrun even before Oakes was sent off and after that had no chance. Pedro shouldn't have played, obviously not fit, but what choice did Lee have?

On the other hand, we were down to the bare bones with some of our most important players missing. Samways has been our best player of the season - what he has done though is shameful. Leitao is probably our most likely player to score and he was suspended. Walker, obviously, is irreplaceable. Ritchie is our best defender (by a very long way).

Don't think Lee can be criticised much (though I would have put Emblen up front with Birch, played Merson deeper and put Carbon at centre back with Matias not playing). If Samways has gone then we desperately need to replace him because there's nobody at the club half as good, sadly.

By cat3 (218.102.21.149) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 10:34 pm: Edit

Great analysis Bristol Fan! Well said!!

By Delves Saddler (82.37.162.58) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 10:49 pm: Edit

Not one mention above about the disadvantage Walsall had in terms of the 10 MEN!!!! Typical seizing of the slightest chance to slag off the manager and/or players. How shallow.

Prior to the final whistle, I was feeling a mixture of emotions you would not believe - too numerous, wide-ranging and complicated to explain - typical of a football fan in an emotional turmoil.

But then I felt myself torn between two avenues of opinion at 4.50pm.

The first was the gut reaction:

Embarassing, gutless, spineless, lack of invention.........

Then I thought to myself, hold on, we were playing with ten men, we were playing against 14 men (anyone that disputes the official's contribution to Cov's cause is sorely misguided!), we had three positions where our quality was depleted through absentees (centre half, central midfield and striker - we missed Ritchie, Samways and Jorge). AND, we had our 'star' player imitating a donkey brilliantly.

Jorge14: "First off, I think Lee will walk before he is pushed." and "THERE IS NO AMBITION IN THE BOARD ROOM!"

Jorge14, get real.

A. Lee will not walk, and rightly so - what reason has he to? Time and time again I have to point out our position relevant to our poor history.
B. If ambition means a Derby/Stoke/Sheffield Wednesday/Barnsley/Bradford/QPR/Wimbledon/Northampton situation or that of numerous clubs in divisions three and four then you can keep it. I would rather be sfe in the knowledge that my beloved Walsall will survive beyond the foreseeable....

This is a typical gut reaction from peeved/embarassed fans who have put no reasonable considered thought into their posts.

Good on Sheff for considering his posts. Dave Roe tells me Sheff was slagging Zigor off in the heat of the moment, but I see his considered opion is a "Zigor did OK". I don't mean to sound patronising, but well done Sheff.

Petterson - I actually thought he did well. He could do nothing about the goals and his handling was good.

Wrack - yes, he was MOM. A real 100%er, as discussed in other posts before now. The only source of any real attacking threat.

Zigor - OK, as Sheff said. Didn't do much wrong defensively but didn't have much chance to attack after the red card.

Bazeley - shown up again for his lack of pace and awareness. He really has to be dropped for Mark Wright, who showed a willingness to fight beyond anyone bar Wrack.

Emblen - please, CL, never play him at Centre Half again. Ten men didn't help, but at the end of the day, his awareness and lack of ability against pace was shown up today. Awful. The worst player on the pitch.

Roper - through no fault of his own, a bad game. Having to cover for Emblen far too often. Although the own goal was a farce!!!

Osborne - no opinion on him, as ever. Whenever he plays, I am always totally non-plussed on him. Not quite sure what to make of him. An enigma in my brain. I suppose as a defensive midfielder, this can only be a good thing.

Oakes - neat and tidy, sometimes incisive passing. Sending off was a travesty.

Pedro - yes, a bad game. How many weeks injured? Then expected to fill in on the left in a team of ten.

Merson - a joke - lazy, un-interested, low quality. 'Nuff said.

Birch - another joke. Can't agree with Jorge14 that he is the worst ever in a Walsall shirt (remember Soumassi Abou?) but a poor, spineless performance lacking much of what a striker needs - awareness, pace and an eye for goal. Drop him for......you know where I'm coming from.

Lawrence - lose him. A disgrace of a player. Spineless, gutless, loser etc. I have run out of words for him. At least Wright came on with a good attitude.

Yes, I am p*ssed off as much as anyone, yes I am as embarassed as anyone and yes. Buit no, I will not slag off Colin Lee for what amounts to a match whose result was determined by so many external factors (Ref, Judas, Suspensions etc.), it's untrue.

I await the usual predictable vitriolic diatribe from C&D and so on.

By Cannock (213.48.83.102) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 10:53 pm: Edit

"Don't think Lee can be criticised much"?

Apart from all the blunders you listed that is

Mind you, all the so called first division players in our team need to take a good, long look in the bathroom mirror.

By coxanddrummie (195.93.34.9) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 11:12 pm: Edit

What a total disgrace. I am totally embarrassed by this group of pathetic toss pot players and of course this utter waste of space of a manager.
I can't even say his name anymore,just the thought of him makes me feel physically sick.

Of course it is time this idiot resigned and he can take some of these so called players with him. For starters i don't wanna see Merson in a Walsall shirt again, he is just a useless waste of space. I don't care if you crawl back to your pathetic existence of a weak man, i just want you out NOW. You have no right to use our club as a halfway house for your instabilities.

Osborn next. He is a joke right. What other club would take on a player that can't pass,tackle,run,or even walk for that matter. He walks like a pi55ed pensioner with a serious gout condition.

Gary Birch. Well what can i say about you that you don't already know. Yes you know deep down you are useless don't you Gary. Well why don't you do the honourable thing and just retire, not just from Walsall but football as a whole. You are the worst exscuse for a player i have ever seen.

Emblem. One more performance like that your OUT mate. Got beaten in the air by one of the smallest men in football and that goes for you Roper as well. You were both a joke today and Roper is also too fat.

As for Jamie Lawrence, words ain't enough to describe my utter contempt for you. I don't even class you as a human being. People usually have some form of morality,honour,loyalty. You posses nothing but the worst characteristics of anything we know in the world today.

As for you Col, im not even gonna waste my breath on you because you assembled these idiots because they obviously mirror you. JUST GO NOW

By Stu (195.92.67.76) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 11:15 pm: Edit

Cannock, what can you blame Lee for?

In terms of team selection, his hands were tied.

He was missing the one of the Top 6 keepers in the Division, our current Player of the Season, our current No 2 Player of the Season and our in form striker.

In terms of tactics, his hands were tied.

I could possibly have one criticism of Lee today, and that is I'd have put Carbon on for Roper who look scared to tackle after getting himself booked.

As far as I'm concerned, the players (Wrack excepted) and the players only can be blamed.

By SheffieldSaddler (195.93.34.9) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 11:15 pm: Edit

Delves - YES we were down to ten men. NO this is not the reason we lost 1-6.
We lost because every player except Wrack played with NO PRIDE, NO GUTS and NO PASSION.
Can you honestly say to me that those players deserved to wear a Walsall shirt today? Can you honestly say those players all gave 100% today?
The answer in my opinion is NO to both questions.
Whats your answer Delves?

By Dave Roe (81.131.172.55) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 11:16 pm: Edit

How come when the opposition drop to 10 men we struggle (West Ham) ? Yet when we go down to 10 we totally fall apart ?

The problem with stating your case against Lee after such a game is that you will be labelled reactionary due to the particularly bad performance. In truth I've seen this coming for weeks (if not months).

I firmly believe that we are mid table in spite of Colin Lee and not because of him. Think what this team could achieve if lead by a manger who instilled confidence and belief !

You're correct about the officials, one less player and injuries/suspensions hindering us Delves. I do think that to use these excuses as the sole reason for our desperate showing is like using wallpaper to cover over large and growing cracks. Face it, without a toal change in outlook from the manager and team, a mid table finish will be little more than a pipe dream.

By cat3 (218.102.21.153) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 11:23 pm: Edit

It's 6 a.m in HK and I am gutted... can't sleep the whole night cause we were beaten 6-1 at home... That saids my reaction to how angry I am with the result and I suppose that goes for you too Delves and all the rest of the true saddlers... man, where's that god damn punch bag, gotta take five and take out the heat...

By Stu (195.92.67.76) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 11:25 pm: Edit

Dave, "in spite of Lee and not because of him"...

You miss the point that some of these players are only at the club because of Lee.

Do you seriously think we have anything more than a mid-table bunch of players here?

Lets look
Walker - Class act
Bazeley - Would struggle in the 2nd to be honest.
Ritchie - Class act
Roper - Solid 1st Division player, but can be exposed.
Zigor - Poor 1st Division player
Wrack - Hard working, but just an decent 1st division player
Merson - A player whose age is telling
Matias - 2nd division player at best
Birch - poor 1st division striker
Jorge - inconsistent striker, can do half a job as a foil.

If you were a Play Off team, how many of our side would you want? Walker and Ritchie, I think thats it. Thus, why do you expect us to achieve any more than what we have?

If Lee didn't instill confidence & belief, we'd be in the bottom 3, not moaning about being stuck in mid-table.

By Delves Saddler (82.37.162.58) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 11:31 pm: Edit

What's your answer Delves?

You are quite fond of slagging people off for not reading your posts properly, Sheff. Practice what you preach.

I did not say that was the reason why we lost 1-6 - my post indiactes this was a factor - one of a few factors.

You will also note (if read properly) that I questioned the commitment of individual players.

Your 'hoax' thread criticised one-up-man-ship, sheff. The last question of your last post reeks of that.

By Delves Saddler (82.37.162.58) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 11:33 pm: Edit

Too right, Cat3. The cat (my feline version) has stayed outside knwowing a kicking was in the offing!!!!

By Dave Roe (81.131.172.55) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 11:34 pm: Edit

Stu, can you honestly say the current Walsall team runs out every week with the self confidence and belief brimming over ? Really ?

By cat3 (218.102.21.149) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 11:36 pm: Edit

CL is the man and our bus driver. I have total believe in him. If it's not for him, we are sitting ducks and persumably be in the last 3 spots. Due to some idiots we have in our squad, we had lost quite a few crucial games. The worst one in history sofar, this is gotta be the lamnist of them all. 5 goals in last 45 minutes, what were we doing on the field then, letting Coventry squander us like bystanders waiting for the bus. The inspiration was not there, and the morale was low for the whole team. Our replacement goalie lacked practice and communication with the team. It's difficult to bring in someone to replace Walker while Samway ticks off everyone. A lost is evident, but I will never see ourselves down 5 goals in 45 minutes, whipping our butts like that. That's an absolute disgrace! Can't beat or stop time, I suppose I gotta take it the hardway... Where's that bunch bag... gosh... we are so close to 6th spot finish... man, what a turning point this is...

By Delves Saddler (82.37.162.58) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 11:36 pm: Edit

Stu, you have hit the proverbial on the head!!

By Dave Roe (81.131.172.55) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 11:40 pm: Edit

we are so close to 6th spot finish... man

With all due respect Cat, we are about as close to a top 6 finish as you are to Bescot !

By Cannock (213.48.83.166) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 11:43 pm: Edit

Stu, in response, i have posted in open forums that i am not particularly keen on Colin Lee as a manager simply because i do not find his style of football entertaining or enjoyable. I have also said that he has done a fantastic job in getting quality players into a Sasddlers shirt and credit must go where credit is due.

My overall gripe is that his teams play without width and in the main tend to be more negatively biased trying to contain a side as opposed to going out and letting other sides worry about us.

I also get very distressed at his inability to make subtle changes. To make a change when we were 4-1 down i find laughable. 2-1 or even 3-1 one then yes, try and do something about it but 4-1....... However, i admit that he is limited to what he has available to him. This then must be escalated to the next management level.

Football is an emotive game. A good job really otherwise none of us would go.

By Stu (195.92.67.68) on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 12:31 am: Edit

Dave,

No, I don't think we go out onto the pitch brimming with confidence. But I do think we go out onto the pitch looking like any other mid-table side, eg, sometimes great, sometimes •••••, most the time we're fairly average.

That's what all mid-table teams do. If they didn't do that, they wouldn't be mid-table. You need results to get confidence going, you need ability to beat the best to get results, we don't have that ability.

Thus, as all midtable teams, we'll have good spells and •••• spells, and lots of inconsistency.

I accept your and Cannock's view about the type of football. Personally, I don't care what its like as long as we're doing well and attempting to keep it on the deck. In my view, we are in the most successful spell of our history, therefore he must be doing something right. I'll always go for 0-0 vs West Ham than 4-3 vs Colchester.

Agreed, he can be too negative. Agreed, we lack width. But, with our resources, we will always lack something.

Out of interest, who is drowning their sorrows as they type? I'm with Southern Comfort & Lemonade... If I drink enough, will I forget today?

By ShropshireSaddler (195.92.168.177) on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 02:25 am: Edit

Today was appalling and it wasn;t all down to the ref but I'll stick my head above the parapet here and suggest that, having thought back on the game over a few hours(and beers) abd having been in a very good position to see it, I think there might be a good case for Oakes being sent off. Compare it with the Koumas/Ritchie challenge - do we not all agree that Koumas should have been sent off? Similar with Oakes I suspect. I remember wincing as I saw him shaping up to dive into the challenge. I'm not sure, really need to see it on TV.

By ShropshireSaddler (195.92.168.177) on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 02:38 am: Edit

The performance in the 2nd half was abysmal though and I can;t agee with some of the assessments above;

Goalie - didn;t think he had much chance. no he didn;t inspire confidence but he's unlikely to in his first game.
Bazeley - just not up to Div 1 any more
Aranalde - badly exposed defensively. Don;t think we would have lost 6-1 with Vincent at left back
Enblem - thought he was the better of the centre halves
Roper - a nightmare game. Backed off so far he was almost standing in the net for a couple of goals. Add to last week at WBA when he should have given away a poor penalty and I think he needs a "rest"
Wrack - I've been a critic but I'll eat humble pie. Once we went down to 10 men he was superb.
Osborne - I thought he gave 100%. He's not flash, you won;t notice hih, but he got through alot of work.
Matias - some good football but the usual mistakes which lead to 2 goals. Good game considering how long he's been out but he's a poor
1st Division player at best
Oakes - thought he was looking good. PLayed some nice passes. Not sure about the sending off but it will give Lee an excuse not to play him again.
Birch - totally lacking passion, commitment, enthusiasm etc.
Merson - see Birch although I think this has been the story with Merson for much of the season. In fact, when you think aboutit, when Coventry attacked, they were playing against 9 men not 10 'cause Merson never tracked back once in the whole game
Lawrence - a complete waste of a place on the subs bench.
I really hope I'm wrong but I can see more of these kind of results and I don;t think we're safe from relegation. Our whole season has been held together by Samways in midfield and he's obviously not going to play again. It seems clear to me the directors think we are safe and are not willing to invest any more this season. I think that's dangerous and wrong.We may pay for this attitude. We have to accept that we are a "small" club and thus, the directors are not going to push the boat out to sign players who may get us into the play-offs. We're not ggod enough, we're not big enough. Our only aim has got to be to finish in a respectable position but we're nowhere near that yet.

By reading saddler (62.3.250.21) on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 02:48 am: Edit

ironically whenever i click to hear what the bbc wm match review via real player is all i get is west brom burnley........ that must mean the guy is speechless. my senior sous chef is a coventry fan help. he has divided everything in the kitchen to 6-1 chopping boards pans everything i may just die

By Sky Blue Dan (81.101.69.251) on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 12:44 pm: Edit

I would like to thank everyone at Walsall FC for a truly fantastic day out. A great game. SKY BLUE ARMY!!! Perhaps Mr Merson now regrets the constant abuse he gave towards the coventry city faithful. Saturday reminded me what proper football is all about. It really was like watchin the sky blues at a conference ground. Not just the stadium but the opposistion were of true lower division standard. Hopefully i shall return soon to the bescott stadium soon provided that the football league alow us to play you every week. If they do then we will be back in the premiership next year for sure.
Thanks for turning our season around.
Dan

By BS (213.48.83.81) on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 02:06 pm: Edit

No problem dan, weve got a thing of turning other peoples seasons around, Ipswich away was a joke they hadnt won all season then they beat us and now they are in the play-offs. WBA hadnt won in 8 games, but they bet us. Coventry hadnt scored in 4 games and they score six against us.
We change everyones season around but the person we want to turmn our season around just chickens out and threatens fans.
Come on Colin get it sorted before we become the laughing stock of this division.

By Frazy (195.92.168.169) on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 05:50 pm: Edit

We were absoloutely awful.We were hammered and we desperately missed Samways.Im unhappy that a lot of people don't like petterson.I thought he had a good game.
Petterson-Good game.Made a good save and wasn;t to blame for any of the goals.
Bazely-He didn't have a bad game.Not one of his best days but he wasn't that bad.
Aranalde-Got me annoyed at times but was still ok.
Emblen-Was pretty bad.
Roper-Complete rubbish.Worst game ive seen him play.
Matias-Tried very hard but wasn't brilliant because he wasn't match fit.
Oakes-Very unlucky to get sent off.i thought he looked very promising but Lee won't play him now he has got sent off.
Osborn-You could tell he was trying but couldn't turn the game around for us.
Wrack-He probably was the best for us but i haven't forgiven him for the WBA match when he was SH!!
Merson-Recently he has been terrible and this time he was a complete embarrasment.Keep him out the first team.
Birch-Is he even bothered about playing? It didn't look like it to me today.
Bring back Samways Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaasssssseeeeeeee!
Does anyone know when we were last beaten by that much?I'd like to know.

By PT (213.48.247.8) on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 09:09 pm: Edit

Absolute shambles but rip the spine out of any team at any level (here in L'pool Houllier has been going on about the players he's had missing for months and he's only spent around £75m) and it's gonna be a struggle. Throw in a ref that defied belief, a chuckle brothers reunion on our left flank (from me to you etc)and a second division centre-back who's luck finally ran out and it all adds up to a wolloping.
Nice to be left at the end with 3-4,000 real fans who gave a deserved ovation to Wrack and tried to inject some much needed humour into the situation. 7 goals, a sending off, trouble with the stewards, Sheff & Sophie having a barny at full time and people are saying it's dull.
Then on the way home some comedians phoning WM "Lee should have picked Samways", the bloke hasn't been seen for over a week and our phone-in friends want him in the side just in case he makes it back in the nick of time with an intriguing tale of kidnap and escape. Then I'm hearing about a Fryatt inspired Carlisle win. The lad must be a friggin genius given he didn't play.
Jimmy's book tells us one thing and that's that we ain't got a clue what goes on inside the club so why people pretend they know or just make things up seems like a cry for help.
To cheer meself up as I left WM-land I play the CD that's in the car not knowing what was in it and it seems that Mrs T has been going through my CD's as on comes The Specials (first album -absolute quality). Only around track 4 do I remember that they were from Coventry and have to revert to the radio where Wolves fans have taken their gloat onto national forums.
Now Kenny Hibbett always went on about Januarys......

By Fish (81.132.88.198) on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 10:48 pm: Edit

BS we also turned Rotherham's season around, gave Crystal Palace some confidence and helped a very very poor Burnley.

Notts Forest soon !!!

By karen jones (195.92.168.176) on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 10:59 pm: Edit

if we are getting stuffed like that why not get some of the youngsters on.kris taylor had his shirt off at one stage ,o.k so he couldnt have changed the game at 4-1 but at least he could have got some experience,which is all that c lee says he is lacking.you might as well get stuffed with a couple of youngsters playing .i watched the reserves play at hednesford on monday.kris taylor was head and shoulders better than matias (not fit) lawrence (crap) and even mark wright who did get on at left side of midfield when he is a right back and kris is a left side of mid field player.

By ashamed (217.42.242.102) on Monday, January 19, 2004 - 01:37 am: Edit

petterson - Not to blame for crap defence
Bazeley - should have been replaced for the hot chick in the pie shop - you know the one
Zigor - crap
Roper - sometimes good, sometimes bad - today, worse
Emblem - forget it mate
Wrack - only bright spot
osborne - non existant
Oakes - can't see anyone demanding he gats a chance now
Pedro - not fit, but would have made no difference anyway
Merson - Biggest dissapointment of all.
Birch - loan him to carlisle

Lawrence - WORSE THAN CARL SAUNDERS, a disgrace to his trade !

All in all, terrible. I really can't say it better than that.

By sADller (194.83.69.90) on Monday, January 19, 2004 - 03:38 pm: Edit

I have nothing against Colin Lee, he has done well with the club, but when is he going to see that Birch is a complete ass? He would struggle in the conference, yet alone our division. Get Birch out and beg the board for some money that will get us a half decent forward!!!

By lee54 (82.37.178.73) on Monday, January 19, 2004 - 09:20 pm: Edit

saddlers for playoffs coooooooooome on lads

By Mark Parton (217.42.88.117) on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 12:08 am: Edit

Now come on lee, put the cap back on that bottle and put it away. Oh and take more water with it next time [

By mark slattery (82.37.144.147) on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 03:43 pm: Edit

poor performance by ref on saturday. wrack got stuck in but i would of given mom to osborn. petterson in goal did o.k considering it was his first game for months,so give him a chance.lee still a bit slow with subs.if the board could find some money jamie cureton formerely of reading is looking for a club!! he is a proven goalscorer in the nationwide and always seemed to score against us.would he be worth a go?? still the results not the end of the world,roll on jan 31 and lets kick some butt at stoke!!!!!!!

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