The Fat Controller reporting from the ground.

It was back to earth with a vengeance for the Saddlers this afternoon, with the main problem being one of their strengths so far this season.

The central midfield pairing of Kinsella and Keates have been totally unable to get into the game this afternoon, leaving the strikers isolated and the centre backs under constant pressure.

On top of that, Wright has been relatively ineffective on the right and the Fox/Taylor partnership has been looking lacking.

The opening goal came from Lincoln getting a free kick, taking it quickly, and then no one closing down the player as he ran through and shot from distance.

The second was, according to the Fat Controller, well offside, the lineman responsible having had something of a forty five minute nightmare.

Time for Dicky Dosh to prove his worth. The likliest change is Carlos Fangueiro or Demontagnac on for Keates or Kinsella, with Taylor moving into central midfield and Fox to full back.

Walsall got their man today with the signing of Portuguese winger/striker Carlos Fangueiro, after a week long trial, which included a run out for the reserves.

Manager Richard Money had said that he wanted a “dribbler” to compliment the rest of the squad and the tricky little left/right winger certainly has a reputation of filling that particular bill.

He will, as far as we know, become the first Walsall player to be the father of quads. It’s their arrival two years ago, which caused him to have a nightmare season at Uniao Leiria. A calf injury made his problems worse, and when his contract came up in the summer, his club were slow in offering him a new deal, which lead to him getting a move to Millwall under the then manager Colin Lee.

“We could not come to an agreement over a new contract so I told my agent I would like to come to England” said Fangueiro at the time.

Fangueiro’s quads were born in September 2002 and he confessed life was tough in the first seven months of their lives.

“I could not sleep and then I got a calf muscle strain”, he said.
“I went through a bad time in my playing career. So my wife and I had to get two helpers in to give us the chance to sleep, so it did not affect my ability to perform for my team”.

Fangueiro signed a one-year deal with Millwall, but his stay there proved unproductive, getting just thirteen outings with the London club, scoring once. He was released by them in the Summer and had been on trial at Plymouth, coming close to getting a deal with them, as well as having a trial with New York Metro Stars.

Back home in Portugal, he has played for five different teams, including FC Maia, Guimaraes, Uniao Leiria and Gil Vincente.

Carlos will go straight into the 16 for tomorrow’s clash at Lincoln.

Name: Carlos Manuel Fangueiro Soares
DOB: December 19th, 1976
Hometown: Matosinhos, Portugal

(1,74 m; 78 kg)

Season (League)

1995/96 Leixões (II B)
1996/97 Leixões (II B)
1997/98 Vitória Guimarães (I) 19 games, 1 goal
1998/99 FC Maia (II) 30 games, 3 goals
1999/00 Gil Vicente (I) 31 games, 7 goals
2000/01 Vitória Guimarães (I) 30 games, 4 goals
2001/02 Vitória Guimarães (I) 30 games, 10 goals
2002/03 Vitória Guimarães (I) 27 games, 7 goals
2003/04 Vitória Guimarães (I) 17 games, 2 goals
2004/05 União Leiria (I) 29 games, 1 goal
2005/06 Millwall (England) 11 games, 1 goal

He has, therefore, spent 7 seasons in the Portuguese top flight.

It seems more than a little strange only four games in, but tomorrow’s outing to Lincoln could have a massive effect on Walsall’s season. We’ve got off to a flying start, with three wins out of three, but this is a game away to a team that has also started well. If we come away from Sincil Bank with a point, we can start getting really confident about the prospects for promotion this season. Get a win and we can start dreaming of polishing up that under used trophy cabinet. Losing wouldn’t be a disaster, in fact far from it, but keeping the confidence going would be nice.

Richard Money will still be without Wrack and Nicholls, of course, still on the way back from their broken legs, as well as skipper Dobson, new signing Bedeau and the improving James Constable, after he was stretchered off in the reserve clash in the week. Picken is also recovering from his knock and will miss out and it will also be interesting to see how Money resolves the Westwood/Pead conundrum.

It’s difficult to see much change from last week’s line up, however, of:

Ince, Westwood, Roper, Gerrard, Taylor, Wright, Kinsella, Keates, Fox, Butler, Sam,

with a bench of:

Gilmartin, Pead, Demontagnac and two from Dann, Bradley, Deakin and McDermott, who is travelling having impressed the manager in the pre season games and in the reserves.

Of course, there is also the outside chance of a new signing joining in time to be a sub, as Money has said he’ll be making a decision on Portuguese winger Carlos Fangueiro very soon.

Lincoln have also got off to a flyer so far. They look, however, like they’ve lost long serving goalkeeper Marriott, who limped off midway through the first half in Wednesday’s strangely timed friendly against Liverpool, but that seems to be their only injury doubt.

We won’t be facing ex Saddler Gary Birch, who has gone on loan to Tamworth, as he wants a move closer to home having lost his lift to Lincoln apparently, but will be facing another, in the shape of the much travelled Jamie Forrester. He has an excellent scoring record over his eleven club career. His likely partner is the almost equally restless Mark Stallard (Lincoln is his 10th club), who has an almost identical goal scoring record.

Predictions?

Well, Lincoln haven’t won at home since beating Grimsby 5-0 back in March, although that was no mean feat. Since then, they’ve played five League games at Sincil Bank and every single one has ended 1-1. Their last home defeat, however, was back in October 2005, when the then high-flying Wycombe were the victors, so they are far from being pushovers. With a slightly weakened side with the injuries balanced against the confidence flowing through the team after our start, I’ll go for sitting on the fence and a draw.

Richard Money has said that he will be making a decision in the next day or so about one of the trialists who played for the reserves on Tuesday, Carlos Fangueiro.

The player originally came to England when recommended to Colin Lee, the then Millwall manager, by a contact in Portugal.

The tricky little winger, who can play either side (although naturally on the left) or as a second striker, has been at Uniao Leiria, Guimaraes and FC Maia in his native country, before arriving at Millwall, where he made just three full appearances, with another 12 as sub.

Rising from the featureless approach of the A46, Lincoln is an under-rated away trip spoilt only by the annoying band with whom away fans now have to share a stand.

There are 46 pubs to enjoy in the splendid City Centre, many of which are dotted along the High St. which itself is easily accessible from the station (about 15 minutes walk to the ground, left and left again at the church).

Unfortunately on my last visit Lincoln seemed to developing a chav infestation so High St. wise I avoided the chain pubs and headed for the more traditional and compact Golden Eagle which is worth a visit with football memorabilia and real ale (Bateman’s), then headed up to the George and Dragon, another more traditional pub which is nearer the football ground end of the High St.

Nearer still is the more spacious City Vaults, but I have to say on my last match-day visit there was a distinct “atmosphere” between the home supporters and the visiting York City fans. Maybe it was some kind of Cathedral rivalry I hadn’t quite grasped, I don’t know.

You can actually have a proper pub crawl heading away from the station up the High St. and then hang a left at Scorer St. to the ground, but this will rob you of the enjoyable saunter along the Sincil Drain, one of the most picturesque approaches to an English football Stadium.

My choice therefore is to take an earlier left turn down Portland St. to the logically named Portland Arms, which is amongst the friendliest and just all round most enjoyable away pubs in the country. Friendly staff, pub games and a fine choice of real ales (Bateman’s again!) can be enjoyed in a relaxed atmosphere, before heading along the Sincil drain/bank to the ground about 5 minutes walk heading away from the City centre. Don’t forget to look over your shoulder for the superb view of the Cathedral.

Nearer the ground still on the corner of Monson St. and Sincil Bank is the Ripon Arms, which isn’t as good as the Portland IMO but still well worth a look for convenience sake.

At the ground there is the usual social club, namely The Centre Spot, which is as ever for this type of establishment friendly but a bit basic, but cheap it isn’t! Situated behind the goal, near the tiny South Park Stand, for those that went last time this is the opposite end to what used to be the away end but is now convenient for the away area of the new stand in which we will be housed.

For those awaiting trains on the way home you can get a pint in the Tudor bar of The Grand Hotel opposite the station, although last time I had to wait until 5.30 for the bar to open. So don’t lose your head if you get there at twenty five past.

Saddlers fans will be waiting anxiously this morning for news about reserve striker James Constable.

It was the first outing of the season for the reserves last night, as they ran out comfortable 4 - 1 victors over Port Vale, with a brace apiece from Scott Dann and James Constable.

The main talking point, hoever, has to be an injury to Constable. He was eventually stretchered off after a heavy tackle and the club have not, as yet, made any announcement as to the extent of his injury.

With Richard Money already considering us to be light up front and with Nicholls still a month or more away from fitness, this might make the signing of another striker imperative.

On the brighter side, one of the two trialists, ‘keeper Manuel Esteves, looked very competant.

As Richard Money has pointed out, it’s very difficult to win three games in seven days. Hartlepool were always going to be a more difficult proposition than either Rochdale or Stockport, especially when it became obvious that, on a breezy day, with a hard pitch, they hadn’t come to get the ball down and play very much. Still, it didn’t matter in the end, did it?

Money’s changes were the sensible one of bringing Keates in for the injured Dobson, thus causing the least disruption to the side, but he also decided to bring in Westwood for Pead at right back. One look at the size of the Hartlepool starting XI, plus memories of the poor far post defending on Tuesday, were the probable reasons. The line up, therefore, was

Ince, Westwood, Gerrard, Roper, Taylor, Wright, Kinsella, Keates, Fox, Sam, Butler, with a bench of:

McKeown, Constable, Dann, Demontagnac and Pead.

The first fifteen minutes were very even, as Hartlepool continually hit it long to Porter and Williams, trying to stretch the two centre backs. Keates and Kinsella were finding it difficult to get foot on ball, as the midfield was being by passed. It was starting to look as if maintaining the winning run was going to be a little difficult until Sam and Keates decided to take the game by the scruff of the neck.

Wright found Sam on the right, he cut inside on one of his trade mark runs, beat two or three defenders to hold the ball up perfectly for a midfielder to arrive, then laid it off for Keates, on his return from injury, to crash the ball home from 20+ yards. Konstantopoulos got a finger tip to it, but stood no chance. Goal of the season contender already. More than that, four goals scrored this season, three laid on by the impressive Sam.

It was now time for the referee to take a hand. Some of Mr Graham’s decisions in favour of the away team had already been baffling the home crowd when, two minutes after the restart, Gerrard bought Williams down with a clumsy (and unecessary) challenge a good two feet outside the area. Mr Graham immediately pointed to the spot, without even looking at his linesman.

Up stepped Gavin Strachan to hit a penalty to Ince’s right but the ball was at the right height for the Trinidad and Tobago International to make a good save. Justice done.

Hartlpool continued to try and pressurise the home defence, but we coped well for the next ten or so minutes, then Fox slightly overhit a pass into the area, Butler showed his willingness to die for the cause by somehow chasing it down and crossed as he crashed into the hoardings. Wright got up well, but was just beaten to the ball, but the pressure he created meant that the clearance only fell to skipper Keates on the edge of the box and he duly put away a superb left foot volley into the far corner, for an even better goal than the first.

2 - 0 to theSaddlers and, really, game over.

The second half saw some spirited attacking from Hartlepool, as they tried to get back into the match, but, not only did it always look in vain, Walsall also looked like scoring with every meaningful attack. Butler, Fox, Wright, Constable (on as sub for Sam again) all went close and the worst moment for the now loadly cheering home fans was when Gerrard made a terrible hash on a long punt forward (not his only lapse of concentration), to let in youngster Brown, who made a complete mess of the opportunity.

Pead then came on for Kinsella, after he took a knock in a heavy challenge on the touchline, with Westwood moving into midfield. Towards the end, Demontagnac came on for Butler, presumably to make sure he wasn’t injured and the winger duly lived up to his new nickname of “psycho” by aiming a kick at a defender on the floor, for no apparant reason other than he’d beaten him in the tackle, then got a yellow for the only truely nasty tackle in the game. His future has to be questioned.

Keates got Man Of The Match and it’s difficult to disagree, although Ince, Roper, Butler and Sam all ran him close. The Taylor/Fox partnership is looking better and better and everyone else did their job well, even Westwood, when he moved into midfield!

The only downside for me was three or four bad lapses from Gerrard (including the “penalty”), who might find his place under pressure once Picken is properly match fit and Demontagnac, who, quite frankly, I have now completely lost patience with.

UptheSaddlers exists through the contributions to this site from Walsall fans around the world, and through the generous financial support of the following companies and individuals. See sponsorship opportunities for details of how you can be listed here.

Alps Apartment
Apartment sleeps 4/5 and is in beautiful French village of Samoens. 265kms of pistes in the Grand Massif ski area will provide endless fun for winter sports enthusiasts and in the summer months the village is busy with walkers, mountain bikers as well as almost any outdoor persuit you can think of. Prices start at just £200 per week (i.e. £50 each !!!) we will consider any day for change-over or even short break to maximise the cheap flights to Geneva (only 1 hour away!). Contact “Aldridge Steve” by PM.

Walsall Supporters Trust
The key aim of the Walsall Supporters’ Trust is to strengthen the bonds between Walsall FC and its community of supporters. The Trust aims to support the interests of this community in the running of Walsall FC and is one of the Club’s ten largest shareholders. We are trying to promote a culture of constructive dialogue and openness. We are a democratic Industrial and Provident Society, governed by the Registrar of Friendly Societies. For more information see: http://www.walsallfctrust.co.uk or email: enquiries@walsallfctrust.co.uk

UptheSaddlers T-shirts
You can now buy an UpTheSaddlers t-shirt from ebay - if the link above doesn’t work just type “upthesaddlers” into ebay. For each t-shirt sold, Smell Ltd donate money to UpTheSaddlers.

Ask Tony Quiz Nights
Providers of company quiz nights throughout the UK. Perfect for conference, after work socials, formal dinners, or any form of client entertaining.

Welcome Mobility
Welcome mobility supply mobility aids for the UK.

Gavin Drake, John Reade, Leamore Saddler
Jonathan Wright, Andrew Perrett, S J Lawton
Richard Burgess, Mark Sharples, Andy Phillips
Paul Thompson, Avnish Bansal, Elaine Porter
Richard Gray, Mike Donoghue, Mark Egan
Carl Jones, Christopher Owen, Kevin Caddy
John Newport, Martin O’Malley, John Butler
David Porter, Dave Hanson, David Sweet
Andrew Milne, Steven Guest, Geoff Whiting
Peter Lakin, Stephen Wellings, Saddlerken
John Broome, Dave Dean, Steve Williams
Dave Roe, Matthew Waller, Paul Vickery
Philip Neale, James Grist, Tim Wilkes,
Stuart Cox, Rob Kinghan, Philip Heminsley,
Lisa Cadman, Steven Adams, Andrew Curl,
Michael Needham

With two wins out of two and no goals conceded, it might be easy to get a little carried away at the moment. Fortunately, Saturday should see a sterner test than either game so far, with the arrival at Bescot of newly relegated Hartlepool United. Still, it has to be said, they aren’t exactly a club without any problems!

Richard Money will be faced with an embarrassment of riches in some areas for this game, but will also have one difficult choice to make.

Ince will be continuing in goal, of course, but there is no news yet as to whether Gilmartin has recovered from his ankle injury to sit on the bench, or if it will be young McKeown again.

The back four is likely to stay the same, with Pead, Gerrard, Roper and Taylor, but Picken will be pushing hard for a recall, as will Westwood against his old club.

Midfield gives the manager the most headaches, with skipper Dobson out with his head injury. The most likely replacement is a straight swop for Keates, but he also has the option of putting Taylor in central midfield, Demontagnac on the wing and Fox at left back. I would suspect he’ll go for the Keates option, however, as that causes the least disruption.

Up front, the blossoming Butler/Sam partnership will almost certainly continue, with Constable as the adequate back up.

That leaves a team looking like:

Ince, Pead, Gerrard, Roper, Taylor, Wright, Kinsella, Keates, Fox, Butler, Sam

Subs: Gilmartin or McKeown, Westwood, Picken, Demontagnac, Constable.

Hartlepool have other problems. New manager Danny Wilson has been told he has to cut his squad dramatically, as they are, at the moment, operating above the Divisional wage cap. Out have gone star striker Adam Boyd (to Luton) and a few others (including midfielder Darrell Clarke, who played against us last week as he’s on loan at Rochdale), leaving them with a shortage of experienced resources, while no one has been allowed to join due to the transfer embargo which is a result of exceeding the wage cap.

The other players who have left are: Chris Llewellyn (Wrexham), Darren Craddock (York), Neil Wilkinson, Steven Istead, Jack Wilkinson, Hugh Robertson, James Winter, Andy Appleby (all released).

Still there, however, is Aussie danger man Joel Porter, who is their main goal threat, and star defender Michael Nelson.

Predictions? Now things start to get a little more difficult.

Hartlepool lost their opening game at home to Swindon and then drew at Macclesfield on Tuesday night. That doesn’t tell the whole story, however, as they were probably the better side against bookie’s favourites Swindon, but contrived to miss no fewer than two penalties.

Walsall’s problems all revolve around the absence of influential skipper Dobson. The ex Brentford man has been outstanding so far and the key to this game may well be how well we cope without him. Goals may be a little more difficult to come by with Kinsella and Keates in the middle, so I’m, tempted to go with a 1 – 0 to the Saddlers.

Despite Walsall’s excellent start to the new season, Manager Richard Money is still not satisfied.

He has told the Evening Mail that he is determined to bring in another striker.

He told the paper:-

“I’ll bring in another forward if I can find one. The chairman is determined to get promoted this season and will do everything he can to do that.

I’ve got no complaints about my current strikers. Martin Butler leads the line tremendously well, while Hector Sam has set Butler up for both his goals so far this season.”

He also spoke about the positive attitude at Bescot at the moment:-

“I’ve come in with a positive frame since day one and I’ve asked for no negative talk.
I now feel a sense of expectation from the supporters, but the biggest expectation is within the dressing room. The players expect to achieve.”