Q.P.R.(a) Capital One Cup 2nd round 28/8/12

[bangsection]

It was clear during the Doncaster game that still being in three cup competitions was having a negative effect on our league campaign.

Although results seem to have picked up since then, I think having one less cup run to distract us can only help our promotion push. I think a few people have forgotten that we're only three points off top spot!

[JonnyOwen]

Grof made some great saves today, wish people would stop blaming him for everything. Notice how he was good last season when our defence was quality? These are premier league players.


Loved today, never laughed so much at a footy game!

We've seen Kieran Dyer play!

[Surrey Saddler]

It was great to watch the Saddlers tonight. The 3-0 score line most certainly flattered QPR. We had every bit as much of the ball in the first half as they did but just lacked that final penetration. It was the same in the second half and if the shot which hit their bar had gone in the result may even have gone our way. We played the ball along the ground throughout the game and showed bags of spirit. That said, the number of real chances we had were simply not enough.

[Stu]

Not enjoyed an away match like that for a while, the banter and wit by our lot was fantastic... Crossed the line once or twice, but some very witty songs.

As for the football. Proud to be a Saddler really, we played some very attractive football and held our own in that regard. Ultimately, it came down to mistakes and quality. QPR's first goal came from our defensive lack of concentration, SWP wasn't tracked and we were 1 down. We had 2/3 good chances, Paterson at 1-0, Grigg's crossbar & scramble at 1-0 and Bowerman's sitter at 2-0. I'm trying not to be harsh as I know we were playing QPR, but we just seem to lack any real cutting edge. Grigg did well tonight, I think he gets a rough time, but his movement isn't great when playing as a solo striker, he won his fair share of headers but had little support or runners off him.

If I were a QPR fan, my assessment of WFC tonight would be 'lovely football, nice to watch, should be proud, however they never really looked like threatening and we could have scored more if we wanted'... The last bit I put in as I felt when QPR upped the tempo, they did create chances and could have scored more.

Promising though and I much prefer watching a 3-0 defeat when we play like that, than some of the turgid rubbish we endured last season.

[Bernie]

Just seen the goals on SSN
Looks like Grof is culpable for the 2nd (lobbed way of his line, positioning looks suspect) and the 3rd where it looked like he dived with the wrong hand and instead of parrying the ball round the post, popped it up in the middle of the goal for a tap in.

He's struggling a bit.

A bit harsh. While he was too far forward for the second goal it took a brilliant lob to beat him; however had Zamora passed instead of lobbing, Grof's position would still have been all wrong. I think the third goal took a slight deflection off the back of one of our defenders which probably caused Grof to save with the "wrong" hand.

[Graydon48]

On the M/Way services. Car back window smashed broke into parked by ground. AA windscreen told me 2 hr wait just to secure it.Police tell me not to wait area to dangerous . Nice drafty drive home. End of perfect night barclays

[Darth Vader]

Did you have a Walsall related flag/sticker on the back? You've gotta watch out wherever you go if that was the case.

Sorry to hear that anyway fella.

[fatboyslim]

Not enjoyed an away match like that for a while, the banter and wit by our lot was fantastic... Crossed the line once or twice, but some very witty songs.

As for the football. Proud to be a Saddler really, we played some very attractive football and held our own in that regard. Ultimately, it came down to mistakes and quality. QPR's first goal came from our defensive lack of concentration, SWP wasn't tracked and we were 1 down. We had 2/3 good chances, Paterson at 1-0, Grigg's crossbar & scramble at 1-0 and Bowerman's sitter at 2-0. I'm trying not to be harsh as I know we were playing QPR, but we just seem to lack any real cutting edge. Grigg did well tonight, I think he gets a rough time, but his movement isn't great when playing as a solo striker, he won his fair share of headers but had little support or runners off him.

If I were a QPR fan, my assessment of WFC tonight would be 'lovely football, nice to watch, should be proud, however they never really looked like threatening and we could have scored more if we wanted'... The last bit I put in as I felt when QPR upped the tempo, they did create chances and could have scored more.

Promising though and I much prefer watching a 3-0 defeat when we play like that, than some of the turgid rubbish we endured last season.

Nice to have a decent match report from someone wo actually went as opposed to the jokers sat at home and still criticising ala ihatehtecorps :roll:

Grigg did ok and his header was unlucky. He gets far too much criticism. Grof was mixed, Flo was poor and tried too much, Patterson was abysmal yet again. Hope chambers isn't injured too bad, looked serious! Taylor looked good at left back, first half anyway. Bowermans chance was not a sitter but perhaps should have done better. Would have preferred deano to go 2 up top and play Grigg and Bowerman together as it neither are suited to a lone role.

Good atmosphere from the Walsall fans, however it is quite clear that we have our fair share of absolute numpties within the 'hardcore'. A fair few chants about Anton Ferdinand which were out of order, plus someone shouted out 'you bl*ck c*nt' more than once. The chanting also descended into 'banter' about Rob Green's missus for the last 30 mins which got a bit embarrassing after a while. It's a shame as it seems a few don't know where the line is and just live up to the idiotic football chav stereotype.

All in all a good game. Walsall showed good effort and passed it about nicely but the amount of times the failed to put in a cross was unreal. Hardly any chances created. Need to release the final ball quicker. Both Grigg and Bowerman made numerous runs but the dallying on the ball meant that the pass never came and they had to check back.

Ridiculous team that QPR had out, they should be comfortable in the top half with that squad and they looked dangerous every time they went forward.

[Chris]

We tried to play football and succeeded for the most part. Therefore I am happy. Don't care about the score. We badly need something up front though to either penetrate or at the very least for the ball to stick to, so they can lay off for the midfielders to fire some shots off.

The chants were just away-day banter. I wouldn't wet yourself too much over it. The racist one was over the top, but didn't hear it myself.

Bleeding nightmare back on the motorway. Went down to 1 lane about 10 times.

Got to admit, this set of players and our general style of football have generally exceeded my negative pre-season expectations.

And I now have Corner Shop firmly stuck in my head. Cheers whoever came up with that one! :-)

[Graydon48]

Did you have a Walsall related flag/sticker on the back? You've gotta watch out wherever you go if that was the case.

Sorry to hear that anyway fella.

Nothing on the car . Bastards did about half dozen cars.

[kevin]

Kevin I will remind you that you was listening to one of the worst stations imaginable for sport commentary

Sorry for the confusion.................I'm with you mate ,I don't think he's got it , either.

[brummie saddler]

if you didnt go, then you simply missed out on a special atmosphere that has not been present for a long time, the fans never lost any enthusiasm or passion during the game, even after the game we just didnt stop singing, the scoreline was so irrelevant we were so proud of the performance and our team it was unreal

UTS

[IHTC.]

For your information fbs I was at work and sorry having an opinion I didnt realise it's not allowed.

Have your started the Will Grigg Appreciation Society yet as you are so far up his backside its untrue

[IHTC.]

Kevin I will remind you that you was listening to one of the worst stations imaginable for sport commentary

Sorry for the confusion.................I'm with you mate ,I don't think he's got it , either.

Sorry, sarcasm is sometimes missed on the internet :(

[Willenhall Saddler]

Note Deano STILL persisting with our 'International starlet' up front...I hope to god that aint IT for the season, we've now got a plethera of fullbacks/half backs/defenders/midfield etc...but aye the point of footy to put a ball in the net?
PLeeeease Walsall football club...they are called 'strikers' are we the ONLY club in the Football League unable to comprehend this basic function?
Watch us go an beat QPR tonight with a wonder goal from Mr. Grigg!! :oops: :oops: :oops:

:lol:

[TimWilkes]

Passed it around nicely, NEVER looked like scoring except for the corner where we hit the bar and QPR couldn't clear for a few seconds.
Still, a very strong QPR team, Cisse coming off the bench for Christs sake!!

Enjoyed it, apart from that song, which made me feel embarrassed to be sat there....that isn't "banter". :oops:

[Willenhall Saddler]

apparantly groff blunder again

It was a cracking finish off Zamora to be fair though, not many League 1 strikers would have scored that.

[Willenhall Saddler]

if you didnt go, then you simply missed out on a special atmosphere that has not been present for a long time, the fans never lost any enthusiasm or passion during the game, even after the game we just didnt stop singing, the scoreline was so irrelevant we were so proud of the performance and our team it was unreal

UTS

You did us proud Brummie! Who needs Bowesy? :wink:

[Registered Saddler]

Agree with a lot of the comments (of the people who actually went to the game). It was almost like watching a five-a-side game at times as we hardly ever kicked the ball over head height. The balance of the game was very similar to the Bolton game of a few years back, where we matched them toe-to-toe throughout but the bit of Premier League class told in the end. On that occasion I think they brought Nic Anelka off the bench, this time they were able to bring Djibril Cisse on. Our subs were Jones, Baxendale and Bowerman who must have started fewer than 10 professional games between them.

While I wouldn't want to criticise any individuals because no one let themselves down, it's clear that the area we are most lacking is around the opposition penalty area. It's way too simplistic to say that's all Will Grigg's fault and kind of indicates that you don't really understand tactics. It'd be nice to think that we could sign a Drogba or Lukaku to destroy defences single-handedly, but I live in the real world. At the moment we lack any kind of battle plan to try to create chances. We've scored three goals this season - one from a set piece, one from a short back-pass and one from a counter-attack. The closest we came to scoring last night was from a short back-pass and a set piece. Our problem, as I see it, is that we don't move the ball quickly enough in the final third and I wonder whether that's because the players aren't sure what they're meant to be doing. For this system to work, we need to either be getting the ball wide for the wingers to get to the byline, or playing one-twos around the edge of the box. Instead, Paterson, Hemmings and Cuvelier were all guilty of holding on to the ball for way too long - both the wingers cut inside a lot - and for the most part we lost possession because they were crowded out. We will be a very easy side to play against unless this changes. In fact, I'd almost be tempted to switch to 4-4-2 and see if that helps us to link play better.

Chambers' injury is a blow, he was our best player by a distance till he went off. Taylor looked solid at left-back and joined in the attack well. Not sure if we need him and Chambers, though, as Purkiss looked decent. Can't remember the much-lauded Junior Hoillett doing much up against him. And I was impressed by our other Hereford reject, Featherstone, who did the Joe Allen role with some aplomb I thought.

Nice to watch Walsall in a positive atmosphere but the John Terry/Anton Ferdinand chants were an embarrassment. Wasn't just one or two fans singing them either, was pretty much the whole lot of the hardcore singers. Grow up please, racism's not cool.

[Willenhall Saddler]

I enjoyed the Dean Holden song (sung to the tune of Brimful of Asha) nice to hear some new songs.

[Registered Saddler]

Also, I haven't seen the goals on the TV but it looked from our end like the third took a massive deflection and Grof was diving completely the wrong way when he saved it, which might be why it looks like he's going with his wrong hand. As I say, the TV might tell another story but it looked like a brilliant save to me and not a blunder.

[Cheesebag]

Laughing at the armchair warriors comments too.

Cracking "Football" game, good banter good atmosphere and a good night out.

Play like that against most league one sides and we will be ok.

Comparisons of results when QPR put out a FULL STRNGTH first team to Leicesters reserves are laughable.

Proud to be a Saddler

[fatboyslim]

Agree with a lot of the comments (of the people who actually went to the game). It was almost like watching a five-a-side game at times as we hardly ever kicked the ball over head height. The balance of the game was very similar to the Bolton game of a few years back, where we matched them toe-to-toe throughout but the bit of Premier League class told in the end. On that occasion I think they brought Nic Anelka off the bench, this time they were able to bring Djibril Cisse on. Our subs were Jones, Baxendale and Bowerman who must have started fewer than 10 professional games between them.

While I wouldn't want to criticise any individuals because no one let themselves down, it's clear that the area we are most lacking is around the opposition penalty area. It's way too simplistic to say that's all Will Grigg's fault and kind of indicates that you don't really understand tactics. It'd be nice to think that we could sign a Drogba or Lukaku to destroy defences single-handedly, but I live in the real world. At the moment we lack any kind of battle plan to try to create chances. We've scored three goals this season - one from a set piece, one from a short back-pass and one from a counter-attack. The closest we came to scoring last night was from a short back-pass and a set piece. Our problem, as I see it, is that we don't move the ball quickly enough in the final third and I wonder whether that's because the players aren't sure what they're meant to be doing. For this system to work, we need to either be getting the ball wide for the wingers to get to the byline, or playing one-twos around the edge of the box. Instead, Paterson, Hemmings and Cuvelier were all guilty of holding on to the ball for way too long - both the wingers cut inside a lot - and for the most part we lost possession because they were crowded out. We will be a very easy side to play against unless this changes. In fact, I'd almost be tempted to switch to 4-4-2 and see if that helps us to link play better.

Chambers' injury is a blow, he was our best player by a distance till he went off. Taylor looked solid at left-back and joined in the attack well. Not sure if we need him and Chambers, though, as Purkiss looked decent. Can't remember the much-lauded Junior Hoillett doing much up against him. And I was impressed by our other Hereford reject, Featherstone, who did the Joe Allen role with some aplomb I thought.

Nice to watch Walsall in a positive atmosphere but the John Terry/Anton Ferdinand chants were an embarrassment. Wasn't just one or two fans singing them either, was pretty much the whole lot of the hardcore singers. Grow up please, racism's not cool.

Once again a very good comment with actual explanation as opposed to some of the slagging off you can find on here. The wingers and midfielders need to play a final ball more often and put the defence under some pressure.

[fatboyslim]

For your information fbs I was at work and sorry having an opinion I didnt realise it's not allowed.

Have your started the Will Grigg Appreciation Society yet as you are so far up his backside its untrue

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz! As I said before, I do know Will and so I will support him against criticism from people like you who slag him off when you weren't at the game. Contrary to your comments he did ok, nothing more really, but against a full strength QPR side that isn't too bad. He still had a lot of high balls to deal with (Grof needs to pass to the full backs more or they need to make themselves available more), however he did actually win a few headers against Fabio, Ferdinand and Nelsen. The only problem is that with 1 upfront there is nobody around him to gather the headers when he makes them! This was evident on 4-5 occasions last night. The set piece where he hit the bar was unlucky and well worked. Shame the ball wouldn't drop for him or Butler to smash it in on the rebound scramble. (c) Will Grigg Appreciation Society :wink:

[Denmark Hill Saddler]

My first game for some time (no excuse as the QPR ground just 10 miles up the road)...and thoroughly enjoyed it. We played good possession football, though lacked a cutting edge. Certainly didn't disgrace ourselves though against a team full of internationals. Team did us proud. Thought Paterson showed a lot of promise too - he kept the QPR defence on its toes.

Echo the comments about atmosphere - for the most part, I loved the banter - though the John Terry/Anton Ferdinand stuff was disappointing. The Rob Green taunting went too far as well.

The other point about the atmosphere is the QPR fans - who offered nothing. And they did something which I have never seen before in almost 30 years of watching football. We had outsung the QPR fans from the beginning. They then scored their first goal. Shortly afterwards, their fans started shushing (to try and make the point that we weren't singing) - and which I am pleased to say we chanted through.

But who has ever seen a home set of fans do that before - basically admitting that they are being out-sung by the away fans? Extraordinary.

[fatboyslim]

My first game for some time (no excuse as the QPR ground just 10 miles up the road)...and thoroughly enjoyed it. We played good possession football, though lacked a cutting edge. Certainly didn't disgrace ourselves though against a team full of internationals. Team did us proud. Thought Paterson showed a lot of promise too - he kept the QPR defence on its toes.

Echo the comments about atmosphere - for the most part, I loved the banter - though the John Terry/Anton Ferdinand stuff was disappointing. The Rob Green taunting went too far as well.

The other point about the atmosphere is the QPR fans - who offered nothing. And they did something which I have never seen before in almost 30 years of watching football. We had outsung the QPR fans from the beginning. They then scored their first goal. Shortly afterwards, their fans started shushing (to try and make the point that we weren't singing) - and which I am pleased to say we chanted through.

But who has ever seen a home set of fans do that before - basically admitting that they are being out-sung by the away fans? Extraordinary.

Agreed, the QPR fans were shocking! Such a poor turnout too for a Premier League team.

[saddlerJP]

Thought Paterson showed a lot of promise too - he kept the QPR defence on its toes.

Really????? I saw what I see every game, no end product, ball given away, poor decision making, shooting when a pass is on. Jake Jones did a lot more in the 10 mins he was on the pitch then Patterson did in the whole match for me

as for the rest of the team, disapointed to see Grof lobbed again but other then that did well, all the back 4 did well, really liked the look of Taylor, looks solid, Featherstone had his best game for us, Chambers was playing out of his skin until he came off (although Baxendale looked handy). Hemmings had a poor game, his touch seemed to let him down but i'm sure it was just a one off. Overall I thought we played well but looked toothless upfront.

[Bernie]

Good atmosphere from the Walsall fans, however it is quite clear that we have our fair share of absolute numpties within the 'hardcore'. A fair few chants about Anton Ferdinand which were out of order, plus someone shouted out 'you bl*ck c*nt' more than once. The chanting also descended into 'banter' about Rob Green's missus for the last 30 mins which got a bit embarrassing after a while. It's a shame as it seems a few don't know where the line is and just live up to the idiotic football chav stereotype.

if you didnt go, then you simply missed out on a special atmosphere that has not been present for a long time, the fans never lost any enthusiasm or passion during the game, even after the game we just didnt stop singing, the scoreline was so irrelevant we were so proud of the performance and our team it was unreal

UTS

One of the reasons I rarely go to away games nowadays is that I have no desire to spend a couple of hours in close proximity to the hardcore "fans" who seek out football matches in order to spew their vile racist, sexist, obscene abuse. That sort of "special atmosphere" has no attraction to me at all.

Back in the days of standing areas it was generally quite easy to keep well away from such people when supporting your team at away grounds, usually by buying a seat in the main stand. In the all seater stadiums that is often not possible.

[Darth Vader]

:lol: Oh deary me.

I dread to think what our away support would be like if everyone had the same mindset as you, we'd probably match Fulham for being cack!

[Bernie]

:lol: Oh deary me.

I dread to think what our away support would be like if everyone had the same mindset as you, we'd probably match Fulham for being guano!

Our away support could well be a lot bigger if it were not the brainless minority with their moronic "banter". It might surprise you to know that the vast majority of the population detest that sort of behaviour. What has racism, sexism, chants about player's wives etc got to do with supporting your team?