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It's been an interesting 24 hours with four days to go before the closure of the transfer window. The Freedman rumour, and he wants join a side challenging for honours www.thelittlegazette.com/news/loadnews.asp?cid=TMNW&id=404531, confirms Tilly's thinking that we may have plenty of forwards but can they put the ball into the back of the net enough to get us into the top six sooner rather than later.
Of course the good Lord is that player, four games without a goal or not, but can he be relied upon to play forty plus games? Still, he's fit for Saturday where we have an embarasment of riches up front, Walker also declared fit along with Scannell, but not so promising in midfield. No decision from the Hall yet on Pompey Frenchman Jean Francois-Christophe.
The back five picks itself but the rest? Walker himself spoke about being picked to play wide: "I've played on the wing once or twice before and I don't really like it if I'm being honest. You have to do things for the team though so I don't mind."
I would start with the same eleven as Brighton with Sawyer in for the Moose. Walker, Scannel and Laurent all on the bench with Joyce and Sankofa? Top heavy up front for an away game or a side picked that can play the Tilly way. Blimey, I've forgotten about Furlong! Maybe the Frenchman will have to wait, somebody should score from that lot! Let's do it. 2-1 Blues.
THE OPPOSITION
Walsall go into the game with 4 points from 3 games, the same as Southend.
Walsall came away from Gresty Road with nothing thanks largely to a totally inept first half showing. Even though they tried better after the break there was no hiding from the fact that they are lacking in quality in key areas. Namely defence, midfield and attack...
Had it not been for several key saves from Ince, glaring misses from the home attack and assistance from the woodwork the score could well have been embarrassing when the players went in for their half time cuppa. Ince, Palmer, Gerrard, Smith, Boertien, Nicholls (Deeney 72), Taundry, Hughes, Zaaboub (Demontagnac 54), Reich, Ibehre.
Credit where it's due though. They played well for the first seven minutes and could actually have taken the lead when an excellent cross from Hughes was tapped the wrong side of the post by the on-rushing Reich.
Mullen lined up his side with the same personnel and formation which struggled to break down Scunthorpe. The shortcomings which were on display a week ago were still evident 40 miles up the road. Not surprising really is it.
The defence in particular looked extremely loose as time and time again Crewe split them apart with ease both on the ground as well as over the top. For reasons unknown they seemed intent on playing high up the field attempting to lay down an offside trap which was quite easily breached on numerous occasions. Why they attempted this against a pacy and tricky attack is anyone's guess.
Saddlers contributed to their own downfall with some quite dreadful passing from the usual suspects. Palmer in particular doesn't appear to have any notion of weighting and direction when attempting a pass to someone in the same coloured shirt. He was not alone.
Despite the best efforts of Jabo, who once again held the ball up terrifically but had no-one available for him to play with, Walsall found themselves trailing mid-way through the first half. Taundry gave the ball needlessly away and Crewe sliced through the static defence with Elding netting the rebound from Ince's initial save from Moore.
Up the other end the large travelling contingent anticipated an equaliser as Marco Reich lined up a free kick identical to the one he put away against Scunthorpe. Sadly it troubled the windows of the chippy on Gresty Road itself more than it did Collis in the Alex goal.
Crewe eventually doubled their lead on the stroke of half time. Don't know what happened as I went for a pie and a pee but by all accounts it was a quality strike from Grant.
Overall, a very poor first half showing.
The second half continued with Crewe in the ascendancy until Mullen finally decided it was time to go 442. He took off Orange boots and moved Marco Reich out wide with Ishmel going up front. For at least eight full minutes Saddlers laid seige to the Crewe goal as attack after attack was thwarted. Hughes was instrumental in most of Walsall's good build up play and must be extremely frustrated with the lack of quality surrounding him as time and time again most attacks ended with either a poor pass, poor shot or poor decision making.
Finally Saddlers gave themselves a lifeline after excellent work from Jabo saw him pull the ball back from the dead ball line into the path of Hughes who planted one firmly into the bottom corner.
Although Walsall upped the tempo they were extremely jittery at the back relying on Ince once again to pull off another one on one save. Alex then had an effort disallowed for offside and comically, Donaldson on as a second half sub making his Alex debut, attempted to lob Ince when clear through on goal. He missed. Oaf.
Saddlers did have opportunities to draw level as they threw caution to the wind. Ishmel drew a fingertip save from Collis as he arrowed one towards the bottom corner and Jabo seemed certain to score as he bounced through the Crewe defenders. Unfortunately he took one touch too many when all was needed was for him to blast it in from six yards.
So. We've lost to a team who were bottom of the table. Mullen really needs to learn a few lessons from this. On the way back down the M6 he was heard on local radio blaming the players for poor decision making. Whilst I agree with this I also think he needs to look on his own doorstep.
The centre of defence looks like a sieve. He can't really point to the absence of Roberts as an excuse as ultimately it was his call to go into the season with two recognised centre halves.
Similarly at the other end of the pitch he has put all his eggs into one basket with Ricketts and Jabo. What does he do when one of them is suspended or injured? Play Reich up front? Wrong call matey. Does he play Deeney or Nicholls up front? Not good enough by some distance.
There are also major issues down the flanks. If you are to wear orange boots you need the class to be able to carry it off. Zaaboub just looks ridiculous. Maybe he could hide his limitations by wearing conventional footwear. On the other flank Nicholls is as much a winger as Roper was.
In the centre of midfield we have a quality act in the form of Hughes. Sadly Taundry simply is not good enough to work alongside him. For all his work rate and effort he is still way too short in the quality stakes.
And that, in a nutshell, is what Mullen must rectify if we are to have any success this season.
Subs Not Used: Gilmartin, Bradley, Sansara. Booked: Hughes, Ibehre, Reich. Goals: Hughes 59.
Meanwhile Walsall blogger Mark Jones, in the local paper the Express and Mail, talks about Anthony Gerrard and the woes of keeping good players, (been there mate), ahead of the match against the Blues.
He's big, he's Scouse and he wants out - Ant Gerrard, Ant Gerrard.
It's absolutely no surprise. The club are blaming the player's agent and therefore indirectly Gerrard himself and Anthony himself is making the usual noises about wanting to play at a higher level. We can now prepare for the 'well it's the end of the transfer window so we haven't time to find a replacement' argument to come from the boardroom.
No-one outside the Club ever gets to find out exactly what goes on in contract or transfer negotiations, so we have to rely on what was disclosed on Wednesday - that Anthony Gerrard asked to be transfer-listed and this request was granted, less than a week before the August deadline. As fans what we don't get to know is if this was the first request. How many enquiries have been made by other clubs or when they were made. Did Anthony Gerrard decide to move two days or two months ago? We don't know what negotiations have taken place between the club and Gerrard since he last signed a contract.
Of course we don't know how much the events of January 2008, Richard Money's resignation and a somewhat mixed pre-season at the Banks's have influenced Anthony's decision. What I can't understand is what was to be gained from announcing Gerrard's intentions, so close to the end of the transfer window? If a deal was going to go through anyway then why not conclude it in private and then report it? It can't possibly help to improve a player's value if it's common knowledge that he wants away, if anything it weakens the club's bargaining position.
What if no deal is done? Manager Jimmy Mullen is already talking about Gerrard's frame of mind, some fans will certainly get on his back and I would imagine the relationship with some team mates will be strained to say the least. All of which could be avoided, if there'd been a bit of common sense with the press release. It has to be said Walsall's conduct in the transfer market when it comes to sales has been pretty shoddy over the year
From Scott Dann's midnight flit to join fellow Scouser Dan Fox at Coventry in January, you can trace a line back. Through the Keates/Westwood 'let's not wait 'til the promotion party's over' departures, the cut-price Bennett and Fryatt giveaways of January 2006, the Darren Byfield fiasco and the one that still makes me seethe - the sale of Martin O'Connor. In every case, the picture has always been painted that it was the fault of the player/agent/both and poor little Walsall FC have been wronged.
Significantly after every one of the above mentioned departures, the club have failed miserably to bring in adequate replacements or strengthen the squad in other areas. Which is unfair on the manager, unfair on the rest of the squad and, most importantly, unfair on us fans. I don't half have a feeling of deja-vu.
I've actually got no problem with players wanting to move on to clubs at a higher level. Anthony has been linked with some decent Championship clubs (and Wolverhampton). I think he has been a good enough servant to the Saddlers' cause over the past three and a bit years to have earned the chance to further his career. I just don't see why the club should have to take (another) step backwards to enable this to happen.
What does all this say about Walsall FC in 2008? We've always been a selling club to a certain extent, but similar clubs seem to do it so much better. The idea of a production line youth policy is that it has to be just tha. You sell players when you're ready and their replacements can come straight in, or you actually use some of the funds to go after already-identified targets.
Is Anthony Gerrard's demand to play at a higher level a recognition that he is not likely to ever get to a higher level as a Walsall player? With a heavy heart I have to say I can see exactly where he's coming from. At least it'll make the next few days a bit more interesting.
THE MATCHES
Played 73: Won 37 Drawn 16 Lost 20
A good record against Walsall where we have been undefeated against them since a 1-0 home defeat on Jan. 17 1998. Though there have been only 4 games over those 10 years!
It all started on Oct. 29 1927 with Hick getting the winner for us in 1 one goal win in the Midlands. The best Blues win was on Jan. 22 1938, 5-1 at home, Goddard and Oswald with a couple each and a penalty from Dickinson penalty. The next decade brought our biggest loss, Sep. 6 1947 away, 0-6!
The best win of the fifties was 4-1 at Roots Hall on Oct. 19 1957, McCrory grabbing a hat-trick, Hollis the other. The sixties saw a terrific game at the home of football on Feb. 5 1966, a 5-3 win with the goals coming from Bentley, Bradbury, Smith, Firmani and a Atthey own goal. The best of the seventies was not just Rod Stewart's Maggie May at No. 1 in both the US and British charts, not repeated until Coldplay this year, but a home 3-0 win for the Blues on Sep. 16 1974, Brace, Guthrie and Cunningham, the goals.
There was a 0-4 defeat on Feb. 11 1984 so from that decade let's remember a close 3-2 Roots hall match where Pennyfather, Nelson and young Greaves all scored. The nineties was pretty horrible, we lost all three matches played, in fact five in a row from Nov. 1987 until the 2-2 draw at Walsall on Aug. 13 2005. The Goat was fed along with Wayne Gray getting the goals on that day.
Last season saw us complete a double. Oct. 20 20077, a 2-0 away win, the two Clarkes, Peter and Leon. (Read about it here: www.southendunited-mad.co.uk/news/loadsngl.asp?cid=EDY3) Then Barny popped up with the winner at home on Mar. 29 this year.
THE GROUND
The Saddlers moved to the Bescot Stadium in 1990 from Fellows Park. With the opening of the now named Floors 2 Go Purple Stand in 2003 the Club are finally getting a ground to match their ambitions. This new stand is for home fans and is a large two tiered affair that completely dwarfs the rest of the ground. It is smart looking, with a glassed area running across its middle, which houses the concourse. Unusually, it has a slightly larger upper than lower tier. This end before it was re-developed was previously called the Gilbert Alsop (a former Walsall playing great) Stand, but in a commercial sponsorship deal, has been renamed the Floors 2 Go Stand. Similarly the H.L. Fellows Stand has been renamed the Txt 64446 Health Stand. Oh dear, still God knows what our new stadium stands may end being called, don't expect to see the Stan Collymore South Bank.
The rest of the stadium is totally enclosed with three of the stands being roughly the same height, giving it a 'box-like' feel. These stands are not particularly big, around 15 rows high. The corners are filled, but only for advertising hoardings. Above the Homeserve (William Sharp) stand there is a small electric scoreboard, whilst on one side there is a small television camera gantry precariously perched on the roof. One unusual feature are the strange looking floodlights, which sit on the roofs of the side stands. The main disappointment is the large number of supporting pillars in each of the older stands (the new Floors 2 Go Stand is pillar free). As Walsall unfortunately very rarely fill the stadium, this is not a huge problem. However, for big games this can be very annoying if you are unlucky enough to get seated behind one. There is also a small electric scoreboard on top of the Homeserve (William Sharp) Stand.
In a corporate sponsorship deal with Marstons Brewery, the stadium has been renamed the Banks's Stadium.
Away supporters are housed in the Homeserve (William Sharp) Stand at one end of the ground, where around 2,000 away supporters can be accommodated. There are a few supporting pillars at the front which could impede your view. The good news though, is that even a small amount of away fans can really make some noise and make a good atmosphere. A trip to Walsall can be disappointing in terms of trying to get there and the stadium itself, but is more than countered by the relaxed atmosphere around the ground and the friendliness of the Walsall fans themselves.
It does have a strange look to it with three covered stands all the same size, but one large stand that towers over the rest of the ground, giving it a somewhat lopsided feel. It can be rather cramped and the view distorted by one of the four pillars that run across the front. As the stand is covered a good away following can create a lot of noise. The away end is served by a food kiosk stuck in each corner, and near to the toilets which can create a bit of a bottle neck at half time. The food though, if you are prepared to wait, is excellent. The stewards come across as a friendly bunch of people but the amount of police on duty can be a little excessive though that's nothing new at a lot of groounds now unfortunetly.
THE PUB
Along with many stadiums ouside the town it's best to drink at the ground where there's the Saddlers Club, which normally allows small numbers of away fans in at a cost of £1, but you need to arrive there early. Please note that alcohol is not served inside the stadium.
Other than that it's best to get a drink in Birmingham before the short journey to the stadium by train. I recommend a couple with fingers well crossed in the Pub Crawl.
www.southendunited-mad.co.uk/news/loadsngl.asp?cid=EDW8
THE CAR
The ground is right next to the M6, in fact you can see it from the motorway just north of the RAC Control Centre. Unfortunately, this stretch of motorway normally has a large traffic jam on both Saturday lunchtimes and early weekday evenings, so allow extra time.
Leave the M6 at Junction 7 and take the A34 towards Walsall (beware though of speed cameras on this stretch of dual carriageway). At the end of the dual carriageway turn left at the Bell Inn public house into Walstead Road (sign posted Bescot Stadium, Bescot Station Park & Ride). Continue straight on this road for two miles, passing another pub called the Tiger on your left. You will come to Bescot Stadium and entrance to the away end on your right.
There is a good sized car park located at the ground (cost £3) and behind the away stand, which lends itself to a quick getaway after the match. Bescot Railway Station also offers car parking for £2. Alternatively there is some street parking to be had off Wallowes Lane.
THE TRAIN
Bescot Stadium has its own station, situated behind the away end only a few minutes walk from the turnstiles. Trains run there on a local line from Birmingham New Street and the journey time is around 20 minutes. There is a regular service on Saturdays along this line and you should not have too many problems getting away after the game with the first train 17.03.
For full details of all forms of transport and how to get tickets even at this late stage click onto Day Return at
www.southendunited-mad.co.uk/news/loadsngl.asp?cid=EDW4
(Thanks to the usual suspects in their help with this article.)