AFC Wimbledon (A) League One, 25th Feb 3pm

[Ancient Moaner]

No place for Makris again today, even on the bench, methinks that experiment crashed in flames eh?
Will be sold or released in the close season, no doubt.

Not good omens today, it will end 0-0 or we will get beaten 1-0. But keep believing folks, you never know!

[Pheasey_Saddler]

1-0 down and looking bleak. Don't appear to show signs of being able to get back into this one.

[Guest]

Mid-table obscurity beckons.

[chriss5471]

Mid-table obscurity beckons.

For so many years I would have loved to be in this position at this point of the season. Just goes to show how expectations have heightened.

[Guest]

FT 1-0 :(

[Ancient Moaner]

No place for Makris again today, even on the bench, methinks that experiment crashed in flames eh?
Will be sold or released in the close season, no doubt.

Not good omens today, it will end 0-0 or we will get beaten 1-0. But keep believing folks, you never know!

So sorry that my prediction was correct, season over, let's get a striker in for next season PLEASE! Will the management eventually learn? Nah, like waiting for goddo..................what a waste of a season, could have been good, but we are just not good 'enough'. Shame................. :(

[chunkster]

No place for Makris again today, even on the bench, methinks that experiment crashed in flames eh?
Will be sold or released in the close season, no doubt.

Not good omens today, it will end 0-0 or we will get beaten 1-0. But keep believing folks, you never know!

The trouble is we wouldn't get anything for him, so if the so called price tag is to be believed(lol) then it is one of the worst pieces of business that we have ever done :|

[Walsallone]

Sounds like a poor performance although we gave it a go at the end....too little too late it appears. It will be interesting to see what those who went thought.

[SoccerHQ]

It's that old Achilles heel...losing another set piece goal against a team of giant strikers and defenders.

Probably ends top 6 hopes now although with 6 points from the two home games you never know.

[Ancient Moaner]

It's that old Achilles heel...losing another set piece goal against a team of giant strikers and defenders.

Probably ends top 6 hopes now although with 6 points from the two home games you never know.

I somehow doubt that our returning supporters will share your heartfelt and commendable optimism, from the stats it looked like the old, old, problem....no one to put that round leathery thing into that netty thing.

Now that our season is over we should start looking at alternatives up front......however, we are so lacking in that area we HAVE no alternatives! A chance to give Makris a chance perhaps? (or indeed try Preston up front, slot Laird back into defence?). Anything is worth a try.

Do we think that there are any 'unwritten agreements' with members of the same division about clubs fielding 'experimental' weakened teams towards the end of a season, in matches that may be important to your opposition ie promotion or relegation tussles? Always wondered.

[chunkster]

It's that old Achilles heel...losing another set piece goal against a team of giant strikers and defenders.

Probably ends top 6 hopes now although with 6 points from the two home games you never know.

I somehow doubt that our returning supporters will share your heartfelt and commendable optimism, from the stats it looked like the old, old, problem....no one to put that round leathery thing into that netty thing.

Now that our season is over we should start looking at alternatives up front......however, we are so lacking in that area we HAVE no alternatives! A chance to give Makris a chance perhaps? (or indeed try Preston up front, slot Laird back into defence?). Anything is worth a try.

Do we think that there are any 'unwritten agreements' with members of the same division about clubs fielding 'experimental' weakened teams towards the end of a season, in matches that may be important to your opposition ie promotion or relegation tussles? Always wondered.

I wouldn't have thought so mate it's unethical. until you get prem teams playing lower league teams in cup competition

[reedswood sadler]

Season not dead yet still need 4 points for safety :D

Would certainly play Makris and other players who are here next season once certain will not reach playoffs.

[BathSaddler]

Disappointed with the result today but victories over Chesterfail and Oldham and we are still very much in the play off picture.

UTS

[Graydon48]

Don't anyone post that is a proper football ground. Yes they roses from the ashes but that was a crap hole.
Awful terracing with no clear view. 3 toilets = approximately 1 per 200 hundred fans. Thought Kensington was posh. Maybe be but not the bit I saw.
Horible journey down 40 min delay M42 .
To be fair not one of my better away days.

[chunkster]

Don't anyone post that is a proper football ground. Yes they roses from the ashes but that was a crap hole.
Awful terracing with no clear view. 3 toilets = approximately 1 per 200 hundred fans. Thought Kensington was posh. Maybe be but not the bit I saw.
Horible journey down 40 min delay M42 .
To be fair not one of my better away days.

Well you won't have to suffer it again if we play each other cus i think they are having a new ground built?. I am always envious of clubs with old grounds because they will always have the most newer ones in years to come :|

[Surrey Saddler]

Not a good day for the lads. Far too much hoof ball and failed to take command of the game against a poor Wimbledon team. Should have gone out and taken 3 points from the Wombles, but didn't. The ball spent most of the time in the air with a sort of head tennis contest throughout.

[Mike Vale]

Not the best day at the office. Time to galvanise. 2 home wins would make us feel better and obviously more optimistic. We lost today but we have been on a great run. Let's not forget that.

[Asps]

Rubbish crap performance. Wimbledon were there for the taking

Whitney has got too much useless cheap tat around him on the bench. What exactly does mittens Cutler and Tap & Tanner Sharps have to offer. And as for Cuzman F'ing off at the fans, he can watch his back from now on. He should concentrate on picking up his pop bottles.

[leics_saddler]

Oh dear! Just got back from this delight.
I have to agree Wimbledon were a poor side and there for the taking.
However, we are even poorer than them for being dragged into a street fight and then being outplayed in it.
Had it not been for Etheridge, we could have been 4-0 down.

It was inevitable that this gang of players were going to turn in a performance like that at some point.
It's also inevitable (ask JW predicted) that Wimbledon would try and play the way they did.
However, despite knowing all that, we were still unable to counter it.

We so desperately needed to get the ball on deck and get it wide it was untrue.
JW clearly said this to the players at HT because they then tried to play it to McCarthy, no matter how unfeasible the pass was.
The goal was caused by three separate mistakes / slips and was still deflected.
As far as away days go, it was as bizarre as the Hockey Stadium (now that will upset them)

Etheridge - Kept us in it
All defence - Tried hard and looked assured for most of the time, despite some concerted pressure in the second half
Chambers & Osbourne - Looked like a pair of old donkeys to be honest, some of their distribution was appalling.
Morris & Oztumer - Some nice play at times, but should have been far more influential than they were.
Jackson - Unfortunate with the chance that shaved the bar, some nice link up play again. Desperately needs a goal.

Subs:
Bakayoko - Fighting fire with fire. Nuisance value only.
Laird - Very unfortunate with his late effort, looked sound when he came on.

Now, we can kiss the play offs goodbye, we need to have a look at these fixtures that remain.
There's not that many where we can field weakened teams, because most teams still have something to play for.
So we need to be sneaking in one or two each game and some more on the subs bench for the some of the youngsters.
We need to be starting our prep for next season now.

[Guest]

Walsall Womble Wobble

https://youtu.be/10c_s25UWYM



Good effort by Laird!

[booster cogburn]

Don't anyone post that is a proper football ground. Yes they roses from the ashes but that was a crap hole.
Awful terracing with no clear view. 3 toilets = approximately 1 per 200 hundred fans. Thought Kensington was posh. Maybe be but not the bit I saw.
Horible journey down 40 min delay M42 .
To be fair not one of my better away days.

Kensington? I think you might mean Kingston!!

[WSTFC]

Yesterday's performance wasn't great by any means, it was one of those that you knew was going to happen after about 15-20 minutes when on several occasions we looked to clear the ball but hit one of our own players, resulting in corners / throw-ins for AFCW.

Pitch wasn't great, but that's no excuse, in this league we have played on numerous crap grounds so I don't see where that comes into it.

I don't think anybody had a particularly good game yesterday, Etheridge made a few decent saves, but overall I think everybody was 5/10, which has been a rarity recently.

Some observations from yesterday, and what I've seen in a few other games:

1) Why do we insist on playing long balls directly up to our strikers (Oztumer / Jackson), when one of them is tiny, and the other not much bigger. I don't think I've seen them win a header between them, especially not yesterday. IMO, long balls in a straight line don't work, if you're going to play them at least make them cross-field to try and split the defence!

2) We always use the same substitutions over and over and over again. It's so predictable, any team scouting us has an easy report to write. Mix it up a bit.

3) Yesterday we switched to 4-4-2 when Preston came off for Bakayoko. I have no issue with us playing 2 up top, but I don't think we can accommodate Oztumer playing in this formation at the same time, especially when we are chasing a game, and yesterday I don't think he had his greatest game either so would have been a good time to take him off.

4) Moussa on the bench for good performances in training - OK, but when Makris has scored a couple in the reserves recently, why can't he get a look in? Bakayoko looks disinterested and jaded to me, he should be given a few weeks out of the squad to re-build his confidence and energy.

5) The abuse at the end of the game was a bit silly. The physio didn't help matters, but there are rumours he told people to "F off", which didn't happen, I was watching him the whole time. Whitney got some dogs abuse, when 90 minutes earlier the same people were singing "Jon Whitney's Barmy Army" - nearly as fickle as the Dingles.

I was looking at the league table last week and noticed that we had only lost 9 games (10 now), which I'll be honest, surprised me a little because I thought it was more. We have drawn way too many games, but given the situation in the summer with us having to re-recruit a near enough full squad, I don't think we are actually doing too bad. Yes, the football has been dire, which is why it feels like we have lost more than we have sometimes, but what else did anyone realistically expect?

Having a conversation with the lads I went with yesterday on the way back to the car, we were discussing Whitney and his contract etc., and I believe that this season, whatever happens happens, we aren't going down, we probably won't be going up either. Next season is the chance to be building a more 'permanent' side and getting them used to being a unit, and providing we aren't in danger and pushing towards the top 8-10 keep him in charge. Then season 3 I think if we are nowhere near pushing the top 2-6 he will be going at Xmas (or sooner). I know some people will say that some of what I said is settling for mediocrity, but we gave Dean Smith the time, so lets see what Whitney can do given a bit of time too. It makes me laugh that some fans demand instant success. We are Walsall, not Manchester City or Chelsea.

Anyway, that's my opinion, see you all on Tuesday...UTS!

[Walsallone]

JW got "dogs abuse" !!!! What is the matter with people these days. Do they think it helps? Do they get some sort of kick out of it? Do they think a manager is responsible for every missed chance, mistimed tackle. every decision players make on the pitch?
In my many years of supporting Walsall I have seen plenty of dross and bad managers...Barnwell,Sibley,Merson to name a few but I have never had the urge to abuse them.It is not the answer. Anyway JW does not deserve abuse...he has done ok. this season as the loss of just 10 games show. We have the basis of a really good team and with one or two good additions in the summer I can see a great season beckoning next year. In the meantime enjoy the rest of the season..we are under no pressure and as others have said we should use some of the games to try out some of our younger fringe players.

[Hadley]

Don't anyone post that is a proper football ground. Yes they roses from the ashes but that was a crap hole.
Awful terracing with no clear view. 3 toilets = approximately 1 per 200 hundred fans. Thought Kensington was posh. Maybe be but not the bit I saw.
Horible journey down 40 min delay M42 .
To be fair not one of my better away days.

The pigions above us had better facilities. :lol:

[Gripper]

Well I hated that. The ground was crap, made fleetwood seem impressive.

The ball was in the air 90% of the time and the 10% of time which it found itself on the floor it wasn't passed around well at all.

Loads of sarcastic copying of what Whitney was shouting to the team "Goalside Kieron"... etc. Got seriously boring - classic from our fan base though. Waited until Whitney had walked off before shouting their abuse.

Good points made above RE getting the fringe players such as Roberts, McGiverlery etc. Out on the pitch as that what is overall important with one eye on next season.

Oh and fair play to AFC we simply couldn't play them at their game and they won - simple as.

[Cheesebag]

Yep... agree with most... 12 hours on a plane to then watch that shower.... Should have gone straight home!

[tinned]

Yep... agree with most... 12 hours on a plane to then watch that shower.... Should have gone straight home!

Good job you landed when you did. If you'd been flying in the London skies between 3 and 4.45pm your plane would've been in danger of being hit by the ball from one our numerous "more industrial" passes :mrgreen: