The Saddlers came up against the form team Norwich last night in a match re-arranged as last time the Canaries boss got the game called off due to player safety fears.

Luckily this time Lambert gave permission for the game to go-ahead but it ended in Walsall a defeat, albeit a narrow one – WFC Rob was there and offered these words on the message board:

We did alright I thought. The fact of the matter is, you get what you pay for in League One, and Hoolahan’s left foot was the difference. We don’t have a single player in our squad who could have picked out a ball like that for their winning goal.

Second goal aside, I thought we defended well as a unit. We pressed them as much as possible and made an effort to keep the ball on the floor as much as possible. I actually think Smith tends to play better against the better sides, and McDonald looks consistently solid.
I thought Richards had one of his best games in a Walsall shirt – it’s just a shame he can do no right with some people for whatever reason. No, he hasn’t got much pace and no, he’s not a winger so don’t expect him to tear down the wing, skinning full-backs for fun.

Our front two worked well together again. Byfield should have done better with his chance in the dying seconds however it just wasn’t to be.

Ultimately, we were undone through midfield once again. For a young midfielder with international honours to his name, I can’t believe how slow Bradley can be at times. He is second to almost every loose ball. I also find it strange that O’Keefe continually sits behind him in the pecking order despite Hutchings’ tendency to throw him on to do a particular job – last week it was to support the front two, this week it was to sit in front of the back four. To me, that shows that Hutchings sees O’Keefe as being technically better than Bradley but yet he still won’t play him from the start. Very odd.