A majestic performance by the Super Saddlers in Cumbria last night on a night where three goals were hit without reply. Wednesbury Saddler was there and posted the following summary on the message board:

Managed to get to match last night and I’m so glad I did. Right from the off we looked up for this one and in our first attack won a pen. I didn’t exactly know it was a pen straight away but well take it!

Went off the boil after 20 mins and let them into game although they never really hurt us
was thinking we could hold them and win 1-0

2nd half my god

we attacked with pace down both wings Fabian was outstanding with his pure pace and the ball was stuck to his foot
every time we lost the ball we just closed them down and won it back and we seem to have 3 up every time we broke played the ball mainly on the ground and basically passed them to death.
grigg deserved his 3 goals but was a team performance and the best away i’ve seen for a while.

the walsall fans were excellent singing all evening and walsall players acknowledged that
grigg came over to us straight after match with match ball up his jumper and really clapped us and then the team came over and you could generally see they were grateful for the effort from us as much as we were from them.

dare we dream that we could sneak that 6th spot? would need to realistically win 7/8 out from next 11 but after last night i don’t see why we cant give it a go now were safe from the drop

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BBC Cumbria would like to speak to a Walsall fan on the phone ahead of tonight’s game with Carlisle. If interested and immediately available please email editor@upthesaddlers.com

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A point in London yesterday – doing little favours for both teams’ playoff aspirations. TheGilbertAlsop reflected via the message board:

A deserved draw today. We were overran at times in the first half but got more into it in the second half and created a lot more chances.
Trotta for Brentford was superb and caused Butler all sorts of problems. George, making his debut, coped well and cleared one shot off the line.
McCarey made some decent saves, although they were saves you should expect him to make. Taylor, who was a bit flustered in the first half, poked a clearance against our bar. Grigg was completely isolated as our midfield never got a look in.

Second half we were a lot better. Brandy, Paterson and Baxendale came into the game more and finally got the ball up to Grigg. Struggling to think of a decent chance we created, although we had lot more possession. A bit more intelligent use of the ball could have seen us with a lot more clear cut chances. Most of our shots came from Taylor, bombing forward from left-back. Westcarr did well when he came on and provided a bit more muscle. We got to grips with Trotta in the second half and they didn’t trouble us as much. Fetherstone almost snatched it at the end but blasted over, when he was off balance.

MOTM has to go to McCarey, although he almost blew it in the 94th minute trying to come for a cross through a crowd of players.

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A I said in the Trust Walsall Advertiser column this week, we are in a very unusual position this weekend, for us. We may be used, in recent seasons, to relegation six pointers, but tomorrow, we have a promotion six pointer.

Realistically, of course, that long stretch without a win in October and November has left us too far behind the top six to have a really decent chance of making the play offs, but, it has to be said, several of the teams above us have shown a case of the severe wobbles in recent weeks, one of them, the Franchise, to the extent that they are now below us in the table. We go tomorrow, therefore, to Brentford, a team just above us in the table, and a win would leave us just three points behind them. Of the others, Doncaster, Yeovil, Bournemouth and Sheffield United are all playing each other. Interesting, isn’t it?

Dean Smith has got Aaron McCarey back on loan to replace the recalled Rectangle, but is also making encouraging noises about Grof. I think McCarey will get the nod, however. His other problem is right back, where Purkiss will be back, which is a good job, as both players who can cover, Chambers (J) and Taundry, are injured. Purkiss’s return is also welcome for another reason. Board member Bernie pointed out this week that our record is: With Purkiss this season: P26 W14 D4 L8 Pts per game 1.77 – comfortable play-off form. Without Purkiss this season: P12 W0 D7* L5 Points per game 0.58 – relegation certs.

Brentford have been spending the cash on loans to bolster their seemingly flagging play off hopes and could hand debuts to their new signings, defender Liam Moore and striker Bradley Wright-Phillips.

Jake Reeves (concussion) should be fit, but Farid El Alagui (knee) and Kevin O’Connor (ankle) are still out.

Predictions?

A tough one for the Saddlers, even if the Bees’ form has been a little hit and miss of late. They didn’t get a good tanking off Chelski in the Cup either, which might have demoralised them a little. However, Bournemouth in their long unbeaten run and Doncaster away weren’t easy, either. We are quite capable of taking the points tomorrow, even with their reinforcements. It may just hinge on how well we can cope with the new partnership of Wright Phillips and Donaldson.

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Disappointment with a draw yesterday against moneybags (or are they?) Notts County shows how far expectations at Bescot have come in recent week. Sadders offered some reflections via the message board to chew over.

I’m not sure what I saw but I’ve heard a few mentions of the ‘p’ word about todays performance – poor. You lost the plot? Again we took control of the 1st half and found a County team that have a superb squad at this level and haven’t performed for one reason or another upp it to the required level in the second half to create 2-3 good chances. I thought again we tried hard, worked as a team and fought for every ball on a thoroughly atrocious football pitch that can only have just made it passed inspection. Brandy and Paterson were excellent again and Taylor was my MOTM, he covered every blade of grass whilst providing quality in both attack and defence.

I’ve also heard mentions of Westcarr’s best game? Gash – he and James Chambers were stand out’s as the weak links. Again he was lazy, slow, plodding, won nothing in the air, provided no attacking threat and missed our chance of the second half. Poor player overall and has no way of improving interms of pace and height to improve himself.

County have players we would normally be dreaming of, JCR and Judge are superb wingers at this level. Arquin, Zoko and Jeff Hughes have been a range of solid to impressive lower league players for years and Dean Leacock/Andy Liddle are both decent centre halves.

Thought the second half was a good blood and thunder game, end to end with both teams attacking and creating openings. The fact that I was sat in the car park in February even mentioning the playoffs goes to show where we’ve come, the last 2 years it would have most likely been a depressing look back on another home capitulation or references to games as ’6 pointers’ in the fight for relegation.

Unlucky lads, well played again. Some good attacking stuff, decent at the back and an overall entertianing performance.

Onwards and Upwards.

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Dean Smith is facing a challenge that not many Walsall managers have ever had to, in that he will have to try and beat the “Manager of the Month” curse against Notts County. Despite Yeovil just topping us on the form charts, the fact that we gained more points over the course of the month, not to mention the quality of some of the sides we put away, seems to have swung the verdict in his favour. Deservedly, to my mind.

The fact that this is such a young and relatively inexperienced team was shown by the fact that we could go on a massive run without a win in the same season as Smith got the award, having won 8 out of 10, but that’s the kind of inconsistency you might expect from a team in this position. Even if we don’t make the play offs this season, it should, given the intention to sign so many of players on longer term contracts, bode well for the next campaign.

That leaves us, of course, with a game to win tomorrow, against a team whose inability to get into the top spots or the play off positions cost another third tier manager his job in the last week, in the shape of Keith Curle.

Smith will have, it seems, just two injury worries, with Purkiss struggling with a hamstring strain he picked up in the win at Doncaster. @Taundz is also likely to be still out injured, so, presumably, James Chambers is likely to deputise if the former Hereford man fails his fitness test.

His other selection dilemma will be who gets the free role, Baxendale or Westcarr, after his impressive contribution from the bench last week and, of course, against his old club.

Ian Mcloughlin will be playing his last game in goal, unless his loan is extended. Smith has said that he already approached MK Dongles to do just that.

Caretaker County Manager Chris Kiwomya will have captain Neal Bishop back in contention. Bishop has completed his three-match suspension for the red card he received during the 2-0 win at Portsmouth on January 29 and Kiwomya must decide whether the skipper goes straight back into his starting line-up.

Another selection issue facing Kiwomya comes between the posts. First-choice goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski has resumed training, three weeks after suffering a head injury during the 2-1 defeat at Leyton Orient. Teenager Fabian Spiess has, however, impressed in the Pole’s absence, leaving Kiwomya and goalkeeping coach Kevin Pilkington with a dilemma.

Leicester striker Jacob Blyth could be added to the squad after joining the Magpies on a month-long loan deal this week.

Predictions?

Home win and beat the curse!

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What a performance from the Saddlers today as Donny were humbled by Dean Smith’s men who continue their hot streak of form. Saddlertd jumped straight on to the message board to rightfully pay tribute to the gaffer.

What a fantastic result. I hope all those people who were slagging Deano off before Christmas and writing some absolutely stupid and often abusive comments will now put their hands up and admit they were completely wrong. We are really lucky to have Deano: he is developing into a very accomplished manager. He has brought some fantastic players to the club, instilled a really attractive style of play – no hoofball here thanks – and he comes across in interviews as level-headed, modest and knowledgeable. Even if we don’t win another game this season, we will still have made great progress and we have the foundation for a real good go at promotion next season (if we fall short this year). Well done Deano and the lads, you’ve made me proud to be a Saddler again. C’mon you Reds.

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Its been a funny old week in the history of Walsall Football Club, but, then again, when isn’t it? Last week finished off with the appointment of a club legend as Assistant Manager and a home win against a desperate Oldham side that was hard fought, the side showing a lot of character to come back from a goal down and not playing well for 20 minutes, to achieve what was, in the end, a comfortable 3 – 1 win, exhibiting some lovely flowing football in the process.
Then along comes this week.

First of all we have the departure of one of the true greats of the club, Jimmy Walker. Whatever has gone wrong this season, following his appointment as goalkeeping coach, we don’t, frankly, know, other than something hasn’t been right. Whatever it was, however, cannot tarnish the memory of one of the best players to wear the Walsall shirt, and one who was extremely loyal to the club, as well.

That was followed by David Kelly invoking the clause in his contract to go and join Billy Davies at Nottingham Forest after just nine days in the job. What he was thinking of, joining a club that is on its fourth manager since July, I am not too sure, especially as Davies isn’t known as the most diplomatic of characters and the new owners found Alex McCleish to free thinking for them. I, however, am just disappointed that he decided that he more faith in Davies’s ability to succeed than he does his own.

All we need after that is a tough fixture on Saturday, such as being away to the team I second place, only on goal difference. Oh, hang on a minute . . . . . . . . . . . .0

Smith should, at least, have a fully fit squad to choose from, with Taundry the only injury. I suspect his main choice will be whether to start with the same team as last week, or bring in Westcarr for Baxendale, in the hope that the ball will “stick” more up front, away from home.

Veteran Manager Brian Flynn will be without Iain Hume and David Syers for the game.

Hume is still a couple of weeks away from fitness after suffering a calf injury, whilst Syers is out for around three weeks after suffering an ankle injury in the defeat at Bury last weekend.

Martin Woods is pushing for a place in the squad after returning from injury.

Predictions?

I’ll give a glimmer of hope here. Rovers have lost five games at home this season, the same as we have – it’s their away form that’s got them to second place, as they’ve lost just two on the road. Those defeats were to Crawley Preston, Bournemouth, Coventry and Crewe, so they are beatable. If you want an omen, Preston won there away, despite losing 0 – 3 at home, as we did. Still, I’d be very happy with even a point!

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What was the worst piece of business ever done by a football club? Chelsea wasting 50 million on Torres? Chelsea (again) paying some 30 million for Shevchenko, when his legs had gone two years before? No, I reckon one of the prime candidates must be Notts County when, in 1993, they let a young goalkeeper by the name of Jimmy Walker leave to go to Walsall.

Players just don’t have loyalty to a single club nowadays, not since the Bosman ruling, but here is a man who went on the make 476 appearances for one club, over a period of ten years, before finally, and with the fans blessing, leaving to cash in by playing for two Premiership clubs, but then returning to his first club to break the team’s appearance record.

It wasn’t just that Jimmy was loyal in this day and age, though. He was also a tremendous goalkeeper.

Forever told he was too short to be a success (not true, at an official 5 foot 11, by the way), he was consistently in the running for the Divisional Team awards every season while at the Saddlers, and finally developed a reputation of being one of the best outside of the top flight, something which tempted West Ham to take him on.

Whatever has happened this season (and none of us know what has been going on behind the scenes), the decision to take him on the coaching staff hasn’t worked out, but that cannot and should not detract from a player who has achieved legendary status at the club,.

My abiding memory of a great player? Two, one for us and one for the Hammers. For us, an incredible triple save against, ironically, a Joe Cole inspired West Ham in the Cup, which was simply breathtaking. The other? The day he made himself a West Ham legend by saving a penalty from the hated Frank Lampard, leaving the fans chanting his name!

Jimmy, you’ll be missed and enjoy your retirement.

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Great victory from Walsall at the weekend. Before the match report, a poll:

Can we make the playoffs?

• No chance, but we're much improved! (54%, 180 Votes)
• Yep - we're in with a shout! (41%, 136 Votes)
• Stafflers (3%, 10 Votes)
• Playoffs? We're in a relegation scrap still! (2%, 6 Votes)

Total Voters: 332

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Now onto the match report. UTSer “DYSaddler” was there, and this is how he saw the game, sitting down and not blocking anyone’s view in the OAP Stand:

Not long back from a bitterly cold day at the Banks’s but a result that warmed up the near 5,000 fans! Started very slow and Oldham deserved their lead which Mcloughlin couldn’t really do much about – very well placed header from Barnard. Grigg should have equalised with a free header from 6 yards but couldn’t convert. The equaliser came and really sparked us back into life, I thought Baxendale had done too much but finished it beautifully under Bouzanis. After a poor first 35 minutes the second half we completley dominated and never looked back. Hats off to Pato – he was on a different level 2nd half topped half with 2 top quality goals to take his tally to 9 for the season. Player ratings:

McLoughlin 7 – Couldn’t do much at all with the goal, kicking was generally good and dealt with balls into the box very well I thought.

Purkiss 7 – A standard Purkiss performance, vital blocks, got forward well and put some decent balls into the box. First choice RB and should be for some time – would like to see an 18 month deal offered to him.
Downing 6.5 – Very shaky first half but a much better second – dealt with Iwelumo very well during the 2nd period and didn’t do much wrong from 45-90mins.
Butler 7 – A standard Butler performance – solid in the air, can’t really say much else.
Taylor 7 – Impressive yet again, can only assume Benning was injured to not be named in the 18man squad. Taylor looked assured, got forward when he needed to and I’m glad he is commited to the club until the end of next season.

Paterson 9 – MOTM for me, he has that added bit of skill and quality that create something special. His first goal was a great attacking run with a lethal finish, his 2nd was sheer quality from start to finish, stunning first touch and clinical finish yet again. Very glad we kept hold of him as I have said all along the lad has so much potential and showed that today.
Chambers 8 – Another brilliant, battling, passionate perfomance from him – whoever spoke to him about 3 months ago seriously needs a good pat on the back because he has been outstanding ever since – another player who I would like to see have his contract extended.
Mantom 7 – Him and Chambers completed dominated things in the 2nd half after a very quiet first half – distribution was good and another solid performance.
Baxendale 7 – Worked hard and can often create something out of nothing – took his goal very well after I thought he had done too much. A good, solid game.
Brandy 7 – Not as effective as in previous games but still shows why we missed him last week, looked lively, willing to run at a poor Oldham defence and probably should have got himself a goal.

Grigg 8 – Not on the scoresheet but more than deserved to be. Put in another shift and looks a player transformed – fully expect him to get 15 or more goals by the end of the season.

Subs:

Westcarr 6 – Held the ball up a bit, still think he is lazy and we could have done better.
J Chambers 6 – Not much time to make an impact, tactical and correct substitution mae though.

Must say I feared the worst after going a goal down – but Baxendale’s goal really sparked off a very clinical and assured performance. Their main threat before the game would have been Iwelumo but he didn’t really cause any major problems apart from winning the majority of the balls in the air. Oldham were generally very poor and the type of teams we should be expecting to beat and that’s exactly what we did.

Just a note on today’s attendance – really good to see probably an increase of 800-1000 home fans at the game today, i’d say they brought around 500 fans which left 4,200 saddlers which is impressive (whether the return of Kelly influenced that I don’t know – but I’d like to hope it was mainly down to impressive recent displays). I genuinely think if we maintain the level of performance/results we have been witnessing really we could start getting over 5,000 at the bescot again which is the least that the lads deserve at the minute! UTS

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