It’s not often the Saddlers are on the TV, which is just as well - because with one or two exceptions, we’re always poor. None more so than tonight, when Leeds deservedly took the points leaving the Saddlers slipping 3 points from the play-offs. Moaning Saddler was at the game, and offered this honest assessment of the performance and the players on the message board:

Just back from the game and relaxing in our luxury waterfront apartment. Thought we were well and truly found out today. Leeds were nothing like the threat that Forest had in attack, but simply had to wait until the inevitable defensive error(s) from the once impregnable Saddlers.

How Betsy was allowed to stay on the pitch for the whole game is baffling. Truly an inept, gutless performance. Dobson did what Dobson does. Breaks up play effectively, then seems to become blind to anything going on around him. The gift pass that he teed up for Leeds winning goal was an accident waiting to happen. Mooney - too slow and wasted the best chance of the game. To be fair to him, the support for him was generally woeful.

Wrack - great servant to the club but the last few weeks seem to have been a step too far for him. The way he weakly gave away possession to end what had been the Saddlers best spell of the game seemed to sum up the exhaustion of his Walsall career perfectly. Roper - what you see is what you get. Beckford is a class act, and eats journeymen defenders (which is what Roper has become) for breakfast. Sonko - dfficult to comment since I did not see much of him, particularly in an attacking sense.

Gerrard, Ince, Weston - the usual decent performances that we have come to expect.

Holmes - our sole attacking threat. Our only period of attacking intent coincided with Holmes stepping up a couple of gears in the second half. Boertin - OK but does not look confident venturing over the half way line.

Very disappointed tonight to have been so comprehensively outfought.The wheels look to be coming off, and it isn’t difficult to pinpoint the cause. Fans were generally excellent today, and the stewards were a cut above the Forest lot. Although why they allowed the Leeds Creche to sit so close to the away fans was a mystery. The result apart, it was a real pleasure to go to Elland Road today. A real football city, even if they have an unhealthy obsession with the 15 point “loss”.