There are times when fans criticise the current owner, sometimes with a lot of justification, but the story of Accrington Stanley is one that shows what could have happened to our club during the last 10 to 15 years.

In 1960, amid persistent financial difficulties, Stanley were relegated to the then recently formed Division Four. However, they only managed to complete one full season in this division and bankruptcy followed shortly afterwards. On 12 February 1962, Edwin Slinger, the chairman, resigned and revealed that Stanley owed up to £4,000 in unpaid transfer fees and a similar sum to the Inland Revenue. Pilkington, as life vice president, brought in Bob Lord, who persuaded the rest of the board to resign by promising to buy shares, despite his chairmanship of nearby Burnley F.C. Stanley lost their last League match 4-0 away at Crewe on 2 March 1962, but at a creditors meeting shortly after a further £40,000 of unsecured creditors was revealed. A further amount of £458 owed for National Insurance was enough for Lord and Pilkington to decide the draw the line. The club sent a letter of resignation to the Football League even though none of the creditors was threatening to “pull the plug”. The resignation was accepted by Alan Hardaker, the League Secretary on 11 March, mid-way through the 1961/62 season.

The role of Bob Lord in refusing, in his capacity as administrator of the bankrupt club, to accept a bailout offer that would have permitted his close competitor to remain afloat has still not been forgiven by some.

Last year, of course, after 40 years, the reformed club finally got its League status back.

Richard Money goes into another important game (aren’t they all, now?), determined to improve the Saddlers away record. His injury problems are, however, starting to clear up.

Westwood is around a week from a re-appearance and Picken 10 days, but, with Bossu having recovered from his back spasm and Wrack having made a goal scoring return to first team duties on Tuesday, the Manager has plenty of options to choose from, Alex Nicholls has picked up a thigh strain however. The 16 should come from:

Ince, Bossu, Pead, Roper, Gerrard, Dann, Taylor, Wright, Wrack, Fangueiro, Dobson, Keates, Kinsella, Fox, Demontagnac, Butler, Sam, Constable and Bedeau.

It’s interesting to note that, whoever the three are who will miss out, plus Westwood, Nicholls and Picken, are all good enough to be in the match day squad. Improvement indeed.

One man in the Walsall squad eager for the game will, of course, be Anthony Gerrard, who did spend some five games there on loan when at Everton.

Stanley do have some troubles of their own. Their gates on their return to the Football League have not been matching expectations and, right at the start of the season, the Chairman warned that steps would have to be taken if they didn’t reach their break even figure. The first signs of that seem to have happened this week, with top scorer, 8 goal man Gary Roberts, farmed out to Ipswich on loan (ha ha), with a view to a permanent move in January. They will also be without influential defender Tretton, thanks to injury.

Predictions?
Stanley have got into their stride quite quickly this season. They are ninth in the table, having won 5, drawn 5 and lost 4 of their games, with a good goalscoring record.

As far as this game is concerned, however, that doesn’t tell the whole story. They are third in the home form table, having won 4, drawn 2 and lost just 1 of their games, letting in just one goal a game and scoring an average of two.

This is a tough proposition for the Saddlers, and I, for one, will be happy with a point.

As an away day Accrington is a bit like a premature baby, alive and healthy, with everyone pleased to see it, but arguably not ready for the world of the Football League where relatively small clubs like us can overrun the tiny stadium and the moderate facilities thereabouts.

Patronising? Maybe so, but I have little time for clubs who fail to offer adequate covered terracing, seats for away fans, or whose social clubs have a policy of refusing away supporters.

That aside the people and hostelries of Accrington offer a typically warm Lancastrian welcome to well behaved away fans in search of a pint, but that I guess is the least you would expect from a club allegedly formed in a pub, and whose current ground (pre sponsorship) was named after the adjacent Crown pub.

Train travellers have a couple of options as they alight about a mile and a half from the ground, the most obvious of which is the rather basic “Railway” as you exit onto Station Road.

Whalley Road is the main road near the ground, and there are three options here, the nearest of which is the aforementioned Crown Inn that overlooks the stadium. A better bet for those in search of real ale (particularly dark mild!) is the Grey Horse further down Whalley Road towards the town, while The Greyhound is situated on Wyresdale Avenue just set back from the main road is reportedly becoming the “away pub”.

As I have only visited Accrington during the days they were in the Unibond League attracting crowds of about 4-500 I can’t really make any further comment on the current match-day experience, apart from to say that the pubs near the ground are adequate, but nothing special and that it’s a real shame the social club is now home only.

Also note that the current Stanley Arms situated in Stanley Street where the original club was formed, is not in fact the original Stanley Arms, so if you want football memorabilia with your real Ale try the Peel Park Hotel on Turkey St. although it is a good 20 minutes walk to the new stadium.

Walsall 1 Swansea 1 (Swansea win 4-3 on penalties)

The Saddlers departed the Johnstone Paint Cup last night despite holding the current champions to a creditable 1-1 draw. The highlight of the game was a comeback goal for Darren Wrack and some flapping from ex-Saddlers keeper Andy Oakes.

For the record James Constable and Kris Taylor missed our first two penalties after Wrack’s injury time equaliser had levelled matters in normal time.

Not many Walsall fans will lose sleep over the early cup exit, allowing Richard Money’s men to concentrate on securing their position at the top of League 2.

Walsall; Ince, Pead, Gerrard, Roper, Fox, Wright (Wrack 53), Kinsella (Constable 73), Dann, Taylor, Sam, Bedeau (Demontagnac 62).

Mmmm, the cup winners at home and a chance to shine. Pity it’s only the Johnstone’s Paint Pot Trophy, but tonight’s clash with Swansea City still carries a certain amount of glamour and gives a chance to pit ourselves against a team from a higher Division.

The rules of the competition have been changed this season and now say that teams have to have the majority (six) of the starting line-up taken from those players who have been used most regularly so far this season. That means that we will not be seeing the wholesale changes we have in the past, but managers will still, like as not, rest as many as possible.

For the Saddlers, Bossu should be available following his back spasms on Saturday, but Westwood (thigh), Roper (ankle) and Picken (knee) won’t be featuring, but the likes of Mark Kinsella, Carlos Fangueiro, James Constable and Ishmel Demontagnac will all be hoping for a spot in the squad, as will the recovering Darren Wrack and Alex Nicholls. In fact, I would suspect that Butler and Sam are amongst the most likely to be rested and Constable and Nicholls may well get a start.

Swansea have been having a few injury problems this season and only welcomed back talisman Lee Trundle on Saturday. Trundle has been missing after suffering knee and hamstring injuries, but he still managed two goals on his return on Saturday.

Kevin Austin has a hamstring problem and is likely to miss out and Adebayo Akinfenwa is also missing.

Kristian O’Leary may be back tonight after a medium term injury, while Kevin Amankwaah and Owain Tudor Jones may get some match practice following injuries.

One former Saddler might well be with us tonight, as Andy Oakes may well get a chance in goal

One question that remains unanswered about our opponents, however, is whether Leon Knight is likely to play. He was, remember, a surprise buy from Brighton last season, after he appeared to have fallen out with Mark McGhee. He has now suddenly been transfer listed by Swansea, after seemingly falling out with Kenny Jackett. A pattern is emerging.

Predictions? Near impossibility, given the uncertainty surrounding the line-ups, even given the new rules.

Swansea have won three of their seven away League games to date and go into the game 8th in League One, just two points off third place, while the Saddlers, of course, have the perfect home league record of seven wins and no goals conceded.

I just fancy us to sneak this.

REMEMBER: In another rule change, if the scores are level after 90 minutes, the tie will go straight to penalties.

Those people who make the outrageous claims about the extra entertainment of the Premiership should have joined the crowd of over 6,500 at Bescot Stadium yesterday. This was a superb advertisement for Division 2, as two teams committed to playing football battled out a great game, one which Walsall came out on top of, just to crown matters.

There were surprises in the home line up, with Westwood and Roper being injured and Bossu replaced in the squad at the last minute by McKeown, without explanation. Pead came in a right back and Dann at centre back, for his second start. The line up, in a 4 4 2, was:

Ince, Pead, Dann, Gerrard, Taylor, Wright, Dobson, Keates, Fox, Sam and Butler.

The bench was: McKeown, Kinsella, Bedeau, Demontagnac and Constable.

Wycombe had the best of the first half.

Despite missing leading scorer Jermaine Easter, they lined up in their usual 3 5 2 and the extra man in the middle of the park made a lot of difference. Dobson and Keates were under constant pressure when in possession, but, fortunately, the defence was looking very, very solid.

Despite the quality on show, however, chances were difficult to come by. Former Saddler Stefan Oakes had a long range effort blocked and Bloomfield had another long range effort tipped over by Ince, which, to be fair, he was never going to let in. Wycombe’s extra possession only seemed to be leading them to make shots from distance, despite the constant threat from the excellent looking right wing back, Chris Palmer.

Meanwhile, at the other end, Mark Wright was giving the visitors trouble down his flank and Sam and Butler always looked as if they could create something.

Keates dragged one decent opportunity wide and Wright should have done better with a half volley on the far post from a superb Taylor cross, but the opening goal, when it came, was a bit of a surprise, as it came from an unlikely looking mistake. The Saddlers won a corner on their left, Mark Wright, not for the first or last time on the day, produced a superb cross and Hector Sam was left with oceans of space to nod home the free-est of all free headers as the defence looked at each other.

Grant and Oakes then both had long range efforts, which Ince had covered, but the best chance came to Martin Butler, as he roughed a defender out of the ball, drew the keeper and was then unlucky to see his piledriver hit Young on the arm, as he tried to make himself “big”, and the ball went over.

It’s a debatable point, I suppose, but I’d say manager Paul Lambert made a mistake at the start of the second half. he changed from the 3 5 2, which had been giving them so much possession, to a 4 4 2. Things immediately got a little easier for Keates and Dobson.

Wycombe, not unnaturally, got off to a bright start, but Ince was commanding his area superbly. He also found time to tip over yet another long range effort from Oakes.

Dicky Dosh then made his first change, moving Fox to left back, Keates out wide and bringing on Kinsella for Taylor. The idea was, presumably, to give the midfield a bit of solidity. The pace and quality of the game, however, was shown when Kinsella’s first two touches were fouls from mistimed tackles.

He soon sorted himself out, though, when the ball arrived at his feet some 20 yards out and he made room before hitting a sweetly struck drive into the bottom right hand corner, giving the ‘keeper no chance.

Wycombe then threw the kitchen sink at us, but the Saddlers always looked capable of getting another as well. DD bought off the tiring Wright and Hector Sam for Bedeau and Constable, to give us more pace on the break.

Mooney slipped Gerrard for one of the few times in the game, only for Ince to produce a superb parry and Stonebridge should have done better with another chance, but Ince’s catching was magnificent and all the rest of the shots he had to deal with were from long range.

At the other end, however, Pead supplied a sublime cross which Dean Keates headed wide when he really should have scored.

In the end, the Saddlers edged this encounter between two teams that will be there or thereabouts this season, unless one of them has a disastrous run of form. Certainly Wycombe were easily the best side I’ve seen at Bescot in the League this season and they almost gave us as much trouble as Bolton.

Man of the Match? The sponsors gave a joint one to Pead and Keates, but I wouldn’t presume to pick anyone out. This was a superb team effort in which everyone, including all of the subs, played a full part.

Saturday’s game is the sort of thing that success inevitably brings. 8 points clear of the team occupying the first place after the slots and a gap starting to increase, it’s first versus second tomorrow, as Wycombe Wanderers arrive in town. This could be the opportunity to put a real marker down.

For the Saddlers, Darren Wrack has been making noises about wanting to be back in the squad as soon as possible, but this is surely far too early.

The injury doubt is Clayton Ince, whose suspension from FIFA has at least been overturned. Carlos Fangueiro is just starting recovery from his injury, Allan Picken is missing with his knee problem and Rene Gilmartin is out for a couple of weeks, after breaking down in the warm up before the reserve game in the week. Hector Sam is expected to be fit, despite being withdrawn from the Trinidad and Tobago international squad.

James Constable netted twice in that reserve game and will be pushing for a place in the starting line up and youngster Alex Nicholls will be looking to be included in the squad, following the young striker’s recovery from his broken leg.

That leaves a probable line up of:

Ince or Bossu, Westwood, Gerrard, Roper, Taylor, Wright, Dobson, Keates, Fox, Sam or Constable, Butler.

The bench is likely to be five out of Bossu, McKeown, Pead, Dann, Bedeau, Sam or Constable, Demontagnac and Kinsella.

What of Wycombe?

They haven’t reported any injury news as yet, so we don’t have much indication of the likely make up of Paul Lambert’s squad.

The former Scottish International has been making quite a mark in his first managerial job outside of Scotland so far, but, with the team in a spell of 5 games in 2 weeks, in the league and two cup competitions, the club’s limited resources are likely to be stretched. That’s what did for their promotion push last year, along with losing manager John Gorman, following his wife’s illness.

Top scorer Jermaine Easter, has been recovering from a thigh injury, but is expected to be fit, while Ian Stonebridge (hamstring) and Sergio Torres (knee) are also on their way back.

Dangermen are likely to be the aforementioned Easter, if he is fit, and Tommy Mooney, scourge of many a defence over the years and well know to Dicky Dosh from their days at Villa, where Mooney was a youngster.

Also likely to pop up with a long range effort on goal is ex Saddler Stefan Oakes, he of the number 50 on his shirt and the sending off that contributed to the 6 goal hiding we suffered at the hands of Coventry City.

Other names Walsall fans may have come across before include the former Swindon Australian keeper Frank Talia, and former Barnsley winger Kevin Betsy.

Predictions?

Wycombe are, of course, in second place and two points behind us.

Their away record this season is the third best in the division, having played 6, won 4 and lost 2, scoring 9 goals in the process.

Against that, of course, they face the meanest home defence in the country, with the Saddlers’ record of played 6 won 6, conceded 0.

A tough one to call, this, but I think I’d go for a narrow home win. I’m not sure that we won’t have to score twice to do that, however, as it will be increasingly difficult to maintain that record of clean sheets.

The club have announced that, at long last, they are in negotiations to acquire their own training facilities.

For a long time, the club have led a hand to mouth existence, using the Delves Green playing fields, owned by one of the local schools.

They are now, however, in negotiations with Essington parish council to buy the Broad Lane Pavillion site, for the club’s own use.

Roy Whalley has said that they are hoping to have the new site ready for pre-season training in 2007, should the negotiations be successful.

With this announcement, one can only assume that the deal is virtually “in the bag” and one big factor in improving the facilities, profile and professionalism of the club will be in place.

Back up ‘keeper Rene Gilmartin was injured in the warm up to last night’s reserve fixture against Nottingham Forest.

Gilmartin was unable to continue and it now seems likely that youth team keeper McKeown will the back up for number two Bertrand Bossu when he makes his home debut on Saturday, if he has to replace the suspended Clayton Ince.

The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation have, however, according to the Express and Star, asked for Ince’s ban to be overturned. Presumably, with some 13 of their players threatening to retire from International football following a World Cup pay dispute, they cannot afford to alienate any more of their experienced players.

The reserves went on to beat the league leaders 2 – 1, with both goals coming from James Constable.

Even more pleasing, however, was the news that Alex Nicholls completed 80 or so minutes in his come back from a broken leg, and Darren Wrack, missing for 12 months now, played for the entire 90.

The Evening Mail has ended the speculation about Clayton Ince’s International ban.

The press in Trinidad and Tobago had been reporting that the Walsall goalkeeper had picked up a 10 day ban, following his withdrawal from the squad for their two friendlies this week.

Walsall had been asked about his availability a week and a half ago, but had said that the player had been carrying a knock and was, therefore, unavailable. He then played in the Mansfield Town game.

His local Federation said that they accepted the fact that he was injured, but asked FIFA to impose the ban as a matter of course and the ten days were imposed from last Friday.

Ironically, Ince was unable to play in Friday night’s game at Chester anyway, because of the injury.

His deputy, Frenchman Bertrand Bossu, will, therefore, be making his home debut against Wycombe because of the ban. It is likely that Ince would have missed that game and the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy game against Swansea next week because of the injury anyway.

There are games that make you think that you might just be going to do something this season. A cold, wet, windy evening in Chester leading to a point is one of those.

The Saddlers never managed to get the same amount of control in the second half, with the advantage of the conditions, that Chester had shown in the first and this was, really, a fairly poor performance from the Saddlers, according to the Fat Controller.

Dicky Dosh mixed the personnel and the tactics up, bringing on Pead for Wright, then Demontagnac for Taylor and, finally, goals scoring talisman Dann, all to no avail, as the game ran out to the almost inevitable draw, given our defensive record.

There was time for Bossu to produce a couple of good saves and one superb one to protect yet another clean sheet and for Keates to go very close with a free kick, but the draw began to look more and more inevitable, yet the Saddlers were still grateful for the ball hitting the woodwork twice.

In the end, most Walsall fans would have taken a point before the game and that’s exactly what we got, as the march to the top goes on. but his will go down as one of the poorer away performances of the season. The ball, when it did go forward, just didn’t stick and it shows how much we tend to miss Hector Sam when he’s not there.

Opinion on the mesaage board is mainly in agreement with the Fat Controller’s asessmemt, although Cully has gone so far as to call it “appalling”. It seems that, whent eh central midfeild decide to have an off day, they do it big style, as Keates and, especially, Dobson, were never really in the game.