Well, it’s 1 down and a mere 45 more to go. Let’s hope the majority are as successful as Saturday’s outing to Spotland. Three points in the bag and, to follow, a first home game against Stockport, a team who disastrously lost at Edgeley Park in their first game to the team newly promoted from the Conference, Hereford United. Should be an easy win, shouldn’t it? Aah, but as we all know, football is never quite that simple, is it?

Walsall Team News

Money’s resources look a little better for Tuesday night, as back into the reckoning come Ian Roper, after his one match ban, and Chris Westwood, after the last of his three games picked up last season. Despite that, it’s difficult to see any changes at the back, unless the impressive Allen Picken isn’t yet capable of playing two games in four days yet, in which case, expect Roper to reappear.

In midfield, Kinsella came off on Saturday, but it’s difficult to say if that was old legs or an injury. Either way, his replacement by Keates looks to be the only possible change there, unless Dickie decides to gamble with his temperament in order to use the extra pace and creativity of Ishmel Demontagnac on the left wing. If that happens, he might consider Fox to left back and Taylor into centre midfield.

Up front, the Butler/Sam partnership is very unlikely to be split.

All in all, injuries permitting, I’d expect the same line up as on Saturday, with a bench of Gilmartin (if recovered), Westwood, Roper, Keates and Demontagnac or Constable.

Wrack and Nicholls Progressing

One piece of good news in general on the injury front is that Wrack and Nicholls have both started light training again. They have both been given a target of six weeks by Richard Money before they may be fit enough for a first team recall. How long it will take Wrack, in particular, to get match fit is another story, of course.

Stockport Team News

They will be desperate to get striker Tes Bramble back, having missed him badly on Saturday, when their forward line misfired completely.

They have seen massive changes in the Summer, as in have come Michael Rose (Yeovil), ex Saddler and Dingle Tony Dinning (Port Vale), Jason Taylor (Oldham) and Carlisle forward Glenn Murray (on loan). Meanwhile, they have lost Matt Hamshaw (to Mansfield), Ross Greenwood (to York), Danny Boshell, David Beharall, Harpal Singh, Mickael Wolski, Zeke Tomlinson, Jamie Kay (all released).

They haven’t reported any injuries following their home defeat, so they look like lining up the same way, as manager Jim Gannon has expressed his satisfaction with the performance against Hereford. That would look like this:-

Spencer, Williams, Raynes, Owen, Rose, Briggs, Dinning, Taylor, Malcolm, Murray, Le Fondre.

Subs: Deasy, Robinson, Clare, Allen, Dickinson

Predictions

Looks easy on paper, doesn’t it? A game at home, following an away win, against a team that lost their first to a team promoted from non League? Unfortunately, that doesn’t, of course, tell the whole story.

Hereford’s win on Saturday was a bit of a “smash and grab”, as the stats show. Stockport had 11 corners to the opposition 4 and 17 goal attempts to their 6. The problem for the home team lay with the other telling stat, however, of a mere 3 of those 17 shots being on target, while Hereford scored with both of their that hit the target. It’s difficult to see Stockport being so profligate again.

At the same time, our opponents, Rochdale, were very poor and look like facing a season of struggle.

Having said all of that, I still fancy us for a win tomorrow and will go for a nice 2 – 0.