Colchester United (H) March 19th, 3pm

[saddlersjse]

http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/competitions/league-one/10212291/walsall-2-1-colchester

[Walsallone]

I agree with phil's post above but would also add that playing Hiwula with Bradshaw in this system doesn't work at home. I am not a great fan of wing backs but clearly Henry is better at full back. We were weak collectively in midfield today caused partly by the system and partly by the performances of some key players. Lets hope Sawyers returns at his best from his trip to the tropics!
Agree with others that we badly need Chambers and O'Connor fit....indeed as some of us said earlier in the week a left footed Centre half would be a good addition.
So an undeserved victory but it makes up a little for those few undeserved defeats we have had.

[Cowshed]

Had my doubts about today due to bad omens

when I found out it was a community day and then when we kicked towards the wrong end first half and then we were still losing with a minute left but needn't have worried!

Preston moving up front us a definite plan b

If he us on the bench and we need a goal bring him on just to play up front.

Talking of omens kinsella playing is certainly a good one noticed we usually win

Best 2 mins of the season so far

UTS

[SoccerHQ]

These home games always seem to go the same way...start off really slow, have a few shots on goal, go 1 down before end of first half, get an equaliser with 15 minutes left and then see the keeper make 5 world class saves in the last minute.

Frequent results like that show why the home results each season are so mediocre.

Colchester's defence is hopeless though so with the two week break it is critical 3 points are secured today and if possible the GD increased a little.

3-1.

Glad to be wrong....just.

However as dramatic as today was I don't really get the feeling the team will reel off home win after home win in the run in.

And I think that will be the difference between auto and the play offs.

[TWM1962]

We need to go back to basics. Football is so much easier when playing the ball on the floor. Simple.. Most teams know the reason for our success under ROK. We cannot keep hoofing to bradders when he's marked by six footers.

Did anybody notice today that every time Uncle Jeffs love child Jason had the ball, there was always two or three players on him straight away.

I also think our pitch is to narrow for the game we play!!

[reedswood sadler]

What is it about playing at home that turns into a very poor team,a very undeseved but greatly accepted 3 points today.
For 88 minutes we were terrible outplayed all over the pitch but once the equaliser went in you felt we could get winner if we did not run out of time.
Etheridge running full lenght of pitch to celebrate winner shows the true spirit of this team.

[coop63]

We need to go back to basics. Football is so much easier when playing the ball on the floor. Simple.. Most teams know the reason for our success under ROK. We cannot keep hoofing to bradders when he's marked by six footers.

Did anybody notice today that every time Uncle Jeffs love child Jason had the ball, there was always two or three players on him straight away.

I also think our pitch is to narrow for the game we play!!

In fairness it wasn't just Jason that got played out of the game today - many of our lads did!

As others have said, we've been well and truly sussed out at home and most teams in the second half of this season have neutralised our plans... We need another plan for home games otherwise it's going to be a tough old run in at home...

I agree on the width if the pitch too (which only goes to support further the logic of an alternative playing strategy...)

I actually thought Andy Taylor was probably our best player today - work rate was excellent..

UTS

[kshammer]

80 odd minutes of absolute dross and then the fireworks. Colchester out run, out passed us and wanted it more and to be fair, a point would have been daylight robbery so to get three is fantastic. Those goals are obviously vital but they do so much more than keep us up with Wigan. Results like that can galvanise teams, and the winless run at home is also off our back.

I agree that Chambers and O'Connor were a big miss but my main gripe was with the attacking players today as they just didn't turn up. No sharpness, slack passing, lower workrate than their opponents and I do wonder if a bit of complacency crept in with the respective positions of the two teams. It is easy to name individual players for criticism but in my opinion noone other than possibly Taylor had any credit up to the first goal. Noone was worse than anyone else - they were just all either ineffective or cack for me and how Jordi was MOTM i'll never know.

I do think the small pitch hinders us at home as we look so much more fluent in the spaces available in alot of the away games, but we need to find a way round that. I hope today is a good kick up the backside to the players as getting rid of SOD was only the start as alot of hard work remains. It is also now I look at what we have in reserve with some concern but the spirit is back and the hope remains.

UTFS!

[ChopperWFC]

""Shades of Claude Gnapka against Sheffield Wendy....... :D :D""

Or Manny against Sheff Utd. I went a bit manic when it went in as was distraught that toms shot minutes before was saved. Thought the chance had gone. Terrible performance but amazing win !! Saw o conner on crutches . :(

[Darth Vader]

I know the whole ground is tight leading to not much grass after the lines but is the actual pitch significantly narrower than most?

[tinned]

What a laod of utter tripe that was! Pointless passing going nowhere followed by a equally pointless long hoof forward. Really need to up our home form if we want any chance of automatic promotion.

The local police are rumoured to be on the lookout for 11 thieves in the Walsall area :mrgreen:

Haven't celebrated a goal like that for a long, long time.

[chestersaddler]

What a laod of utter tripe that was! Pointless passing going nowhere followed by a equally pointless long hoof forward. Really need to up our home form if we want any chance of automatic promotion.

The local police are rumoured to be on the lookout for 11 thieves in the Walsall area :mrgreen:

Haven't celebrated a goal like that for a long, long time.

Got out of jail today Tinned, day ya. Most of those leaving early were waiting round the corner for you, so I heard :mrgreen:

[tinned]

What a laod of utter tripe that was! Pointless passing going nowhere followed by a equally pointless long hoof forward. Really need to up our home form if we want any chance of automatic promotion.

The local police are rumoured to be on the lookout for 11 thieves in the Walsall area :mrgreen:

Haven't celebrated a goal like that for a long, long time.

Got out of jail today Tinned, day ya. Most of those leaving early were waiting round the corner for you, so I heard :mrgreen:

:lol: Yeah was starting to think I could be hunted down. Was considering doing my bit for the team and staying away.

[aaaae]

I know the whole ground is tight leading to not much grass after the lines but is the actual pitch significantly narrower than most?

No it's about average. Grounds like Fulham, Ipswich, West Ham and especially Crewe are narrower.

[clawtheolder]

According to J W it was the players who told Preston to play centre forward, so if they can see why can`t the Management.

[Guest]

Mental.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaAsCSf5CEk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[Optimistic]

According to J W it was the players who told Preston to play centre forward, so if they can see why can`t the Management.

I am fairly sure it was Sawyers, I saw him do it. The answer to your question is that he is absolute class and sees things that others don't, but some people will not accept it.

[Neuromantic]

We were really poor today. As many others have said - very much daylight robbery.

Observations:

Neil - Superb. Getting better and better.

Jase - Great, tried all game.
Downing - Abysmal. Supposed to be Captain but shirked responsibility and backs off everyone. So frustrating.
Preston - Bar his involvement in the two goals - showed his lack of experience and caught out by pace and positioning time and time again.
Taylor - my MOTM - was great.

Kinsella - Unfortunately, the game passed him by. Poor to be honest and was a passenger. Showed how much we missed Chambers. His first start, and hard to criticise as a young land - but if we want to go up, a replacement is needed if Adam isn't going to be fit.

Romaine - way too deep.
Mantom - largely careless.

Rico - Didn't understand his substitution.
Jordy - Some nice touches, but feel like he needs to play in one position.

Tom - Why oh why were we lumping balls up to him all game? He's deadly when he gets a chance.

Subs:

Milan - didn't really do much.
Morris - Livening things up - his directness is a must at home for me.


How do we solve the home form?

I have mused over this a lot. But here are some suggestions:

- In spite of the form of Taylor, Rico and Jason as fullbacks to stretch the game and provide pace on the break.
- I would grab Romaine and tell him to stay in and around Tom. Far too many times he is getting frustrated and going looking for the ball. I would try and get him to stay within the width of the penalty area in the oppositions half. He gets dragged out wide, leaving no-one near Tom.
- We need to get more players in the box. Time after time today we had only 1 bloke in the box. Compare this to when we play away - and it is staggering.
- Stop this obsession with trying to hit Tom with long balls.
- I think the way to play at home, is with a 442. We don't need to play a holding midfielder (like we did today) when we are playing bottom of the league, and the impetus is on us. Two central midfielders with one dropping while the other goes should be enough - but also allow players to be in more advanced positions.
- In a related point, I feel like our 'wide' players and (a) central midfield(er) are about 10-15 yards too deep. By pressing further up we can look to get the ball back quickly and hit teams.
- We need to seriously work on our set pieces. For years now, we are not a threat at all. That needs to change.

[Walsall_fan1992]

Long time lurker, not much of a poster as my post count suggest.

A few observations today:-

Cons

- As if we didn't already know, today showed just how much we miss Chambers in the middle of the park, and when JOC went off, I thought that if we walked away with a point, it wouldn't be the worst result. I think it was a big ask of Kinsella, considering we had loaned in a player who was meant to be Chambers's back up? Not a criticism of him btw.

- I thought the fans - although a lot of it was natural frustration - didn't help the team at all before we got the equaliser. If a player dared to take a few extra touches before finding a pass, was met with shouts of "forward!" or groans to which would then be shouted at when the inevitable long ball went straight to the opposition. It's no wonder they play better away. But then again, I do sit in the OAP stand who are remarkably quiet when we're playing well, and remarkably loud when we're not.

- I think our formation under Whitney (not that I can complain with 3 wins in 3) protects Taylor an awful lot and is very skewed towards the left. Demetriou has no real protection down his side, and it's no wonder their No. 12 had so much freedom in the first half.

- Not as much a criticism as an observation, but sitting behind the dugout, the opposition manager usually tells their captain to try and switch ends at the start of the game (shooting at the FTG stand end in the first half). Does this really affect us as much as they think?

Pros

- I'll give our fans the credit as Whitney did, once we did go 1-1 (for those that stayed :wink: ) the fans didn't half encourage the players to go forward, almost sucking the ball into the net for the 2nd goal. Glorious celebrations and fair play to the spirit within the camp to believe

- Bradshaw has had two chances in two games and finished them both beautifully. He looked so unhappy (as did a lot of players) under SOD and he seems to only need one chance to finish a chance which can only be good with the EURO's coming up and him dying no doubt to gain a place in the squad.

- I thought Whitney's subs were very effective. I think taking Rico off was the right decision, not that he had been playing badly but I think his effectiveness had been neutralised by about 3 players being on him every time he got the ball. It made us play a different way and the subs made us look a lot more balanced.


- Whether this is one of the minor plus point of SOD's reign, we seem to be able to play a little more direct when needed, even dare I say it a plan B. I can't imagine Preston having the impact upfront that he did under Smith or SOD and was vital for the three points.

Just thought I'd share my thoughts anyway, the Easter weekend hopefully will wield the results we need as we have done what we have needed to do. If JOC (unlikely seeing his reaction today) and Chambers are back, it could be a blessing in disguise the Easter weekend has been wiped out..

UTS :)

[Guest]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3SbpZU-wKQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[Guest]

Long time lurker, not much of a poster as my post count suggest.

A few observations today:-

Cons

- As if we didn't already know, today showed just how much we miss Chambers in the middle of the park, and when JOC went off, I thought that if we walked away with a point, it wouldn't be the worst result. I think it was a big ask of Kinsella, considering we had loaned in a player who was meant to be Chambers's back up? Not a criticism of him btw.

- I thought the fans - although a lot of it was natural frustration - didn't help the team at all before we got the equaliser. If a player dared to take a few extra touches before finding a pass, was met with shouts of "forward!" or groans to which would then be shouted at when the inevitable long ball went straight to the opposition. It's no wonder they play better away. But then again, I do sit in the OAP stand who are remarkably quiet when we're playing well, and remarkably loud when we're not.

- I think our formation under Whitney (not that I can complain with 3 wins in 3) protects Taylor an awful lot and is very skewed towards the left. Demetriou has no real protection down his side, and it's no wonder their No. 12 had so much freedom in the first half.

- Not as much a criticism as an observation, but sitting behind the dugout, the opposition manager usually tells their captain to try and switch ends at the start of the game (shooting at the FTG stand end in the first half). Does this really affect us as much as they think?

Pros

- I'll give our fans the credit as Whitney did, once we did go 1-1 (for those that stayed :wink: ) the fans didn't half encourage the players to go forward, almost sucking the ball into the net for the 2nd goal. Glorious celebrations and fair play to the spirit within the camp to believe

- Bradshaw has had two chances in two games and finished them both beautifully. He looked so unhappy (as did a lot of players) under SOD and he seems to only need one chance to finish a chance which can only be good with the EURO's coming up and him dying no doubt to gain a place in the squad.

- I thought Whitney's subs were very effective. I think taking Rico off was the right decision, not that he had been playing badly but I think his effectiveness had been neutralised by about 3 players being on him every time he got the ball. It made us play a different way and the subs made us look a lot more balanced.


- Whether this is one of the minor plus point of SOD's reign, we seem to be able to play a little more direct when needed, even dare I say it a plan B. I can't imagine Preston having the impact upfront that he did under Smith or SOD and was vital for the three points.

Just thought I'd share my thoughts anyway, the Easter weekend hopefully will wield the results we need as we have done what we have needed to do. If JOC (unlikely seeing his reaction today) and Chambers are back, it could be a blessing in disguise the Easter weekend has been wiped out..

UTS :)

Post more. :D

[funk_hits_the_fan]

Long time lurker, not much of a poster as my post count suggest.

A few observations today:-

Cons

- As if we didn't already know, today showed just how much we miss Chambers in the middle of the park, and when JOC went off, I thought that if we walked away with a point, it wouldn't be the worst result. I think it was a big ask of Kinsella, considering we had loaned in a player who was meant to be Chambers's back up? Not a criticism of him btw.

- I thought the fans - although a lot of it was natural frustration - didn't help the team at all before we got the equaliser. If a player dared to take a few extra touches before finding a pass, was met with shouts of "forward!" or groans to which would then be shouted at when the inevitable long ball went straight to the opposition. It's no wonder they play better away. But then again, I do sit in the OAP stand who are remarkably quiet when we're playing well, and remarkably loud when we're not.

- I think our formation under Whitney (not that I can complain with 3 wins in 3) protects Taylor an awful lot and is very skewed towards the left. Demetriou has no real protection down his side, and it's no wonder their No. 12 had so much freedom in the first half.

- Not as much a criticism as an observation, but sitting behind the dugout, the opposition manager usually tells their captain to try and switch ends at the start of the game (shooting at the FTG stand end in the first half). Does this really affect us as much as they think?

Pros

- I'll give our fans the credit as Whitney did, once we did go 1-1 (for those that stayed :wink: ) the fans didn't half encourage the players to go forward, almost sucking the ball into the net for the 2nd goal. Glorious celebrations and fair play to the spirit within the camp to believe

- Bradshaw has had two chances in two games and finished them both beautifully. He looked so unhappy (as did a lot of players) under SOD and he seems to only need one chance to finish a chance which can only be good with the EURO's coming up and him dying no doubt to gain a place in the squad.

- I thought Whitney's subs were very effective. I think taking Rico off was the right decision, not that he had been playing badly but I think his effectiveness had been neutralised by about 3 players being on him every time he got the ball. It made us play a different way and the subs made us look a lot more balanced.


- Whether this is one of the minor plus point of SOD's reign, we seem to be able to play a little more direct when needed, even dare I say it a plan B. I can't imagine Preston having the impact upfront that he did under Smith or SOD and was vital for the three points.

Just thought I'd share my thoughts anyway, the Easter weekend hopefully will wield the results we need as we have done what we have needed to do. If JOC (unlikely seeing his reaction today) and Chambers are back, it could be a blessing in disguise the Easter weekend has been wiped out..

UTS :)

Post more. :D

Agreed! Absolutely spot on.

[funk_hits_the_fan]

Mental.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaAsCSf5CEk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Those poor Colchester fans when that second goal goes in, you can see the absolute frustration & emotion.

Threw it away last minute last week again Wigan as well! I think any football fan that follows a side at this level can sympathise with their predicament

[Guest]

Top two finish?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsY81bOUsGs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[derbysaddler]

Played poorly, dont give a damn i'll take these 3 points in whatever circumstances we can at this stage of the season.

Build on the momentum.

[WFC_Rob]

- Not as much a criticism as an observation, but sitting behind the dugout, the opposition manager usually tells their captain to try and switch ends at the start of the game (shooting at the FTG stand end in the first half). Does this really affect us as much as they think?

There was something quite ironic about us scoring two very late and arguably undeserved goals right in front of the away end after they'd switched us around.

I hate it when we don't attack the home end in the second half, but I'm not sure it makes much difference to the players. I'd probably still try to switch things around if I won the toss as an away captain though.

[Leatherman]

There's this Sheffield Wednesday supporter I know who left early one Boxing Day afternoon whilst they were 1-0 up against us. He often describes his reaction when he got to the car after he heard the results.
#leaveearlyatyourownrisk :mrgreen:

I have never agreed with the 'we didn't deserve to win brigade' on two accounts.

Firstly, the game is about scoring more goals than the opposition, so ipso facto the the team that scores the most goals is the 'best' team.

Secondly, if you have all the possession, hit the woodwork 50 times in a match and their keeper pulls off the worlds most miraculous saves every other minute but you still cannot get the ball over the line in 90 minutes it means that your offence hasn't been good enough to break them down and the most you deserve is a draw. If they then go up the pitch and bang one in right at the end, even after it ricocheted off the linesman before creeping over the line, then you have failed to prevent them scoring and they deserve to win.

Well, so far as the match went we were overrun in midfield for the majority of the match. When we did get possession, we gave it away through a lot of unforced errors. We certainly missed Chambers.

Etheridge was excellent pulling off more than a few good saves and Andy Taylor was easily my MoM.

Bradshaw showed what he could do if the ball is presented to him in a way that suits his rapier like instinct for goal.

Matt Preston is still leaning as a Centre-half, but seems well suited to the Bernie Wright role of Centre-forward. Why not start him there once in a while? I'm sure he'd suit Bradshaw as a better strike partner than Hiwula.

I felt initially sorry for the Colchester fans after the final whistle; particularly after last weeks late goal from Wigan. But then I thought, WTF? I bet nobody felt sorry for us when Blackpool and Wigan got theirs against us did they? So fudge tough! That's football.

There was a lot of pressure on the team to perform yesterday which may have made them edgy, but it's something they are going to have to overcome, especially if we end up in the play-offs. Still, according to my season ticket stubs only four left to get through on a season that has almost had everything.

[firreblade]

Got to give this team credit, we huffed and puffed but nothing was happening, I couldn’t see where the goals was going to come from but they did with the help of Matty Preston. We should be arrested for nicking that game. With O’Conner & Chambers out; the back wasn’t so solid, Preston and PD don’t look comfortable together at the back.

Kins had a good game again and loves to battle and normally draws a foul being small, I think he will be a great player has he gets older and beef up.

Whit; has to really look and analyse our home form I can’t seem to put my finger on the problem which is no shame considering the last few mangers couldn’t too, could it be the home fans putting too much expectations on the players along with the shortage of width on the pitch which our wide players become limited and of course the formation either way WCW has to find the solution.

I don’t think the formation was right with Chambers out we should of went with a flat four at the back making us a little tighter and defiantly a flat four when O’Conner came off.

[Gripper]

Long time lurker, not much of a poster as my post count suggest.

A few observations today:-

Cons

- As if we didn't already know, today showed just how much we miss Chambers in the middle of the park, and when JOC went off, I thought that if we walked away with a point, it wouldn't be the worst result. I think it was a big ask of Kinsella, considering we had loaned in a player who was meant to be Chambers's back up? Not a criticism of him btw.

- I thought the fans - although a lot of it was natural frustration - didn't help the team at all before we got the equaliser. If a player dared to take a few extra touches before finding a pass, was met with shouts of "forward!" or groans to which would then be shouted at when the inevitable long ball went straight to the opposition. It's no wonder they play better away. But then again, I do sit in the OAP stand who are remarkably quiet when we're playing well, and remarkably loud when we're not.

- I think our formation under Whitney (not that I can complain with 3 wins in 3) protects Taylor an awful lot and is very skewed towards the left. Demetriou has no real protection down his side, and it's no wonder their No. 12 had so much freedom in the first half.

- Not as much a criticism as an observation, but sitting behind the dugout, the opposition manager usually tells their captain to try and switch ends at the start of the game (shooting at the FTG stand end in the first half). Does this really affect us as much as they think?

Pros

- I'll give our fans the credit as Whitney did, once we did go 1-1 (for those that stayed :wink: ) the fans didn't half encourage the players to go forward, almost sucking the ball into the net for the 2nd goal. Glorious celebrations and fair play to the spirit within the camp to believe

- Bradshaw has had two chances in two games and finished them both beautifully. He looked so unhappy (as did a lot of players) under SOD and he seems to only need one chance to finish a chance which can only be good with the EURO's coming up and him dying no doubt to gain a place in the squad.

- I thought Whitney's subs were very effective. I think taking Rico off was the right decision, not that he had been playing badly but I think his effectiveness had been neutralised by about 3 players being on him every time he got the ball. It made us play a different way and the subs made us look a lot more balanced.


- Whether this is one of the minor plus point of SOD's reign, we seem to be able to play a little more direct when needed, even dare I say it a plan B. I can't imagine Preston having the impact upfront that he did under Smith or SOD and was vital for the three points.

Just thought I'd share my thoughts anyway, the Easter weekend hopefully will wield the results we need as we have done what we have needed to do. If JOC (unlikely seeing his reaction today) and Chambers are back, it could be a blessing in disguise the Easter weekend has been wiped out..

UTS :)

Great post, one of the other times they switched ends beforehands...Millwall (Oh dear) and Posh (2 late goals again).

[Bristol Fan]

I haven't felt that happy coming away from a home game since the one when we booked our place at Wembley. Amazing few minutes at the end.

But it does show yet again that we need to find a new way of playing at home. 4-1-4-1 in the first half didn't work, 3-5-2 in the second didn't either. What was most strikingly different about us under Smith this season compared with previous seasons (other than having better players - which certainly helps) is that we really managed to impose ourselves on the opposition - every game was all about us. When teams tried to just stop us playing, push up to try to stop us playing out from defence, or sit back with 11 behind the ball - we found a way through. Since he's left, we seem to have lost the ability to find a way through - need to get it back, urgently. If there are two players on Bradshaw, two players on Henry - that means there's space somewhere else. We need to find it and expoit it, like we did earlier in the season.