For some reason our regular match reports aren’t coming as quickly this season - any volunteers to write up the night of the game are welcome to PM their reports to me. This from regular Plastic Hawk, who was at the banks’s’s’ to see Walsall hit the playoff places:

Good result, but we were woefully undercooked for what was the third game of the season and the early sending off saved us from inevitable defeat (quite possibly a heavy one). However, there’s not much that can be done about that at this stage and I saw enough today to suggest that we’ll be much closer to the right end of the table than the relegation zone.

Defence was ropy, but given that neither Smith or Boertien got enough games under their belts in pre-season (and both were much better in the second half as they adjusted). The problem won’t get better quickly as when Weston comes back in with no pre-season behind him (as he surely will, since Palmer isn’t a League 1 player in a million years) he’ll take a game or two to settle. Admittedly there’s little to be done about Boertien and Weston, but Smith wasn’t given enough game time in the friendlies against proper sides (and alongside Gerrard or Roberts) so that’s entirely self-inflicted. Also, Gerrard didn’t look bothered. He needs to accept that while he’s a very good League 1 player, no Championship side is going to pay a fee for him (they might take him on a Bosman but I can’t see them paying cash), so he needs to accept that he’s stuck here and knuckle down to play properly for the duration of his contract in order to ensure he’s still marketable when he is out of contract.

Midfield was poor too, partly because Hughes is also under-prepared but largely because Taundry and Nicholls are being played out of position. Nicholls doesn’t know where to stand or run as a winger, so consequently it’s difficult to get the ball to him in dangerous positions. Since Reich (a winger) was playing up front the problem could have been solved by swapping them around. Taundry’s still nowhere near mobile enough to be a central midfielder and also doesn’t know how to look for space to receive the ball in such a congested area of the pitch - so he only had about ten touches all game. The movement’s not really his fault: he’s a full back. However, his weight is. It was forgivable as a first year pro breaking through last season, but as a more established player he ought to have been working in the gym all summer to get himself back in the right shape for a professional footballer. What worries me most, however, is that the manager thinks that Taundry is a better option than Bradley. That makes no sense to me at all.

Up front Ibehre was the clear man of the match. An absolute revelation. He looks like he’ll need a lot of chances to score a single goal, but he’s so awkward and worked so hard chasing things down that he’ll never have to wait long for another chance. He’ll score his share of goals this season and make plenty of chances for his partner. Which brings me to another problem with our tactics today: he didn’t have a partner. Reich seemed to be playing much deeper - and was lost as he didn’t get anywhere near enough of the ball there. Whether that was down to him or to his team mates not being used to looking there I don’t know, but either way it wasn’t working and should have been changed - especially after the sending off. Playing 75 minutes against ten men with only one out-and-out striker was ludicrous.

Once our players get match fit (and the four key players who were out today - Roberts, Weston, Mattis, Ricketts - return) then I can see us doing very well - assuming that the manager shows a bit more tactical awareness. Most of our problems today were self-inflicted (out of position players, not playing two up top against ten men, not preparing properly in pre-season, letting the game drift by not making subs early enough) but if we can avoid harming ourselves then there really should be enough quality in that side to compete with anyone in this division.

We ought to be going into tomorrow’s game with newly relegated Scunthorpe with a measure of confidence. After all, they must be suffering from a little bit of a crisis themselves facing up to life in the third tier again and that seems to be born out by the fact that they lost their first home game of the season (albeit to Leeds) and also went out of the League Cup to early season pace setters Hartlepool United.

However, life isn’t always that simple and our own poor performance losing at home to Darlington on Tuesday night will not be helping the Saddlers’ cause any. Neither will the team news.

Rhys Weston should still be missing with his injury, but that will be partly countered by Roberts likely to have got over his calf strain and Paul Boertien, hopefully, being fit again.

In midfield, there is a chance that Dwayne Mattis, missed so badly so far, may return and Marco Reich will be pushing for a start as he starts to reach match fitness.

Up front, Mullen has real problems. Jabo Iberhe will start, but the big decision will be who replaces the suspended Michael Ricketts. Demontagnac, Deeney and Nicholls will all be in the running.

If Mattis is fit, he’ll find a couple of familiar faces on the other side, as Scunny have signed midfielder Sam Togwell permanently and goalkeeper Sam Slowcombe on loan from Barnsley this week. They will also be parading another new signing in Huddersfield defender David Mirfin, who joined for 150,000 earlier this week, but wasn’t eligible to play in the Cup tie.

Main dangerman is likely to be Jonathan Forte, who we have met before while on loan from Sheffield United at Doncaster and Rotherham.

Predictions?

No messing about allowed. With Scunthorpe having lost their first two games and having to come to terms with life in the lower reaches, anything less than a home win will be, quite frankly, unacceptable, if we have pretensions of the top half of the table this season.

Saddlers fans were brought firmly back to earth last night, as the team deservedly crashed out of the League Cup to Darlington, from the Division below.

At lot of focus will be on Michael Ricketts, following his first half dismissal, but there was a lot more to worry about than that in what was a disappointingly tactically naïve performance.

The central midfield did not perform on the night, to the extent that no one got in front of the strikers at all. The combination of Taundry and Hughes looks overly defensive and, even before the sending off, we were, in effect, playing with nine men, as neither winger got a pass all night. The very odd occasion they got some quality possession, we did look threatening. In the absence of Mattis, I’m sure Bradley would have been a far better option to play alongside Hughes.

Equally, both Sansara and Palmer looked defensively suspect and were given a torrid time by a lively Darlington attack. The main problem in defence, however, was the poor performance from new signing Roberts, who lost his man as early as the first minute (Ince producing a decent save) and then proceeded to do it four or five more time in the first half, including being way off his man when they scored the equaliser (although Sansara, skinned for the cross, and Palmer, easily beaten by the winger for the knock back, were also to blame).

Roberts topped his performance by limping off in the second half, with Manny Smith coming on in his stead.

Iberhe, Ince and Gerrard were all outstanding, the number nine providing our only attacking threat, and the other two dealing well with the crosses coming into the box.

The other problem, however, was the way we dealt with the sending off. At half time, the lack of possession we were giving the two wingers was an obvious weakness. It was crying out for a change to be made to a 4 3 2, or a 4 3 1 1, with either Reich or Demontagnac coming on to try and link up with Iberhe and, possibly, Bradley to play in midfield. Instead, we carried on the same way until Darlington took the lead, by which time we were chasing the game and, despite throwing players forward towards the end, we still did not create enough quality in the last third.

No, I know we are missing Weston, Boertien, Mattis and, now, Ricketts from out first choice line up, but we have to get performances like this out of our system quickly and the need for some experienced central defensive cover and, most importantly, someone who knows where the back of the net is was thrown into sharp relief.

This isn’t quite a match report, as I didn’t see the game, but piecing together bits and pieces from around the traps, aided and abetted by Mick Kearns’ unique brand of match commentary the game went something like this.

We were looking for a bright start, but soon realised that Darlington had turned up to play some football, rather than the standard league Two ‘Hoof’ brand to which we’d become accustomed. As a result, it was Ince tested first as a keeper rather than his opposite number, Brown. Within ten minutes Proudlock (twice) and Purdie were through on goal, forcing saves, and it was against the run of play that Ricketts headed home from a Palmer free kick.

For the next twenty or so minutes the game was more open, with some neat attacking football from both sides, Ricketts missing a sitter at one end from a Taundry rebound, and Poole and Griffin combining on the wings to give the Walsall full backs a torrid time. It was perhaps inevitable when Kennedy hit the equaliser when teed up by Griffin.

On 36 minutes Ricketts was heading for the tunnel, instead of the goal, his misplaced elbow being the cause of his instant red card from ‘referee’ Darren Drysdale. Whilst nobody appears to contest this decision, and appreciating that the Banks’s’s’s Stadium is a far cry from last season’s FA Cup Final where he assisted, Drysdale could certainly have asserted more control from start to finish, as he’d patently lost the plot by the end.

Half time came and went, not sure what performance was put on by Stafflers, or whether it was open mic night.

Second half, all uphill, some end-to-end stuff, with, inevitably, Darlington’s extra man counting against Walsall. The defence was undone shortly after Manny Smith replaced Roberts (another injury?), when Clarke took two attempts to bury the ball in the net. The resulting Darlo bench celebration saw a water bottle hitting one of the Saddlers faithful in the OAP stand, and some sharp comments were made to the stewards, who took the stance that as it wasn’t one of the crowd chucking it, they didn’t have to do anything.

Zaaboub was immediately replaced by Reich, and ten minutes later Jimmy Mullen gambled on a 342 formation, throwing on Deeney up front and sacrificing Sansara, who’d not had the best of home debuts.

All for nothing. The last throw of the dice saw Ince in the outfield, but several chances went begging for the sake of good finishing, and we were lucky at our end of the pitch too. A couple of the fans, sensing perhaps that this season was one to ‘concentrate on the league’, made their frustrations plain, as Gerrard, then Deeney copped abuse from sections of the crowd. Gerrard managed a late yellow for himself following an incident after the final whistle, while Deeney had to be dragged down the tunnel to prevent him from defending his reputation in a rather physical manner.

A disappointing exit from a disappointing competition in a disappointing game. Onwards and upwards should be the watchwords - this squad came together late compared to many, we’re still short of our best eleven (and will be for at least three more games thanks to Ricketts) and still lacking a little in match fitness. Excuses aren’t needed yet - encouragement is.

If Carling sponsored football competitions, we’d all be drinking Hofmeister. A better-drilled Darlington team, aided and abetted by Michael Rickett’s sending-off in the first half, bundled Walsall out of the Carling Cup tonight. Match report to follow.

This match report courtesy of roving reporter and occasional video star Wednesbury Saddler METFAN.

The Saddlers kicked off the season with a more eventful journey than the actual match itself (those who drove will understand why!). Many Saddlers fan’s made the 300 mile round trip to see the mighty reds’ come up with an OK performance, and an OK point. Driving rain and high winds played their part in a real cliche of a game.

The first half started brightly for the Saddlers, with Sofiene Zaaboub’s early corner causing trouble in the Yeovil penalty area. However that was about the only positive from a lacklustre and slow first half. On 9 minutes, poor defending from debutant Stephen Roberts saw Paul Warne get into the penalty area. His shot was saved by Ince but dropped right into the path of Yeovil’s impressive striker Gavin Tomlin, who proved a real threat all game. Yeovil were playing the conditions better in the first half, with neat passing and movement causing problems for a very edgy Walsall defence. Gerrard and Roberts kept a high line, which caused panic on a number of occasions through poor positioning. Ricketts and Ibehre both had efforts towards the end of the half which didnt trouble the Yeovil Goalkeeper.

Jimmy Mullen had to earn his corn at half time, and so he did - to an extent. The Saddlers came out in the second half with a favourable wind that limited the opposition and helped the Saddlers launch waves of attacks, but ultimately with no real goalscoring chances. There was a lot of possession and crosses without any real penetration. However, the only one bit of real football we played all game came with about 2 minutes on the clock of the second half, where Michael Ricketts was put through on goal only to see his rather indecisive effort saved by Begovic.

The rest of the half saw Clayton Ince go on holiday, play a game of Chess, write a novel and play cards before he had to do anything of any real note as Walsall played the conditions much better. The equaliser came on 76 minutes, when a wayward backpass after good pressure by Alex Nicholls, went straight into the path of Jabo Ibehre who finished well. It was about as much as the travelling faithful deserved after the rubbish first half, rubbish journey that took 4 hours and rubbish no-pie situation. There were two changes late on with Boertien coming on in Midfield for Hughes, and Reich coming on for Nicholls. There were a few attacks towards the end but again the final killer ball eluded us.

All in all, a good point under the circumstances. It wasn’t the best weather to play in but its the same for both teams. Yeovil commanded the first half and we dominated the second, but for all our pressure we rarely threatened the goal. This is the first game after all, but a massive improvement will be needed for the Scunthorpe game. Hopefully the missing Dwanye Mattis will have recovered, Hughes will be a bit fitter, and we may have another striking option on the bench.

Individually, the lads all had average games, with no one really impressing greatly other than the full backs, Hughes and Zaaboub in the second half and Jabo towards the end of the game. The lack creativity was a problem, so maybe Marco Reich coming in for the quiet Alex Nicholls may be the next step forward. I am still pretty positive with the new signings, but another striker needs to brought in ASAP, as we had no option on the bench. Well done Lads, bring on Darlo!

The Saddlers kick off the 2008/2009 campaign away at Huish Park, home of struggling Yeovil. Last season the wind and rain affected the enjoyment for many, although the Fab 15 earned their moment of youtube glory by staying out in the elements while the rest of the travelling faithful were grateful to the home stewards for letting them shelter in the stands. This season we’re hoping the rag-end of a rather unsettled Summer might lead to tanning opportunities rather than a soaking.

Yeovil have been shy of keepers all Summer until this week, and we’re still not sure who the number 1 will be on Saturday, with 3-month loanee Begovic (the Canadian signed from Portsmouth) vying for the shirt with new permanent signing Josh Wagenaar (the Canadian signed from ADO Den Haag).

In front of this it gets harder, as Yeovil’s squad has undergone more change as ours recently. It could be anyone in the outfield - the cash-strapped Glovers have lost 16 players over Summer, signing only 6 replacements, two of whom are Conference South gambles from Fisher Athletic. A squad of just 17 contracted players (including their first-season youngsters) looks terribly thin for a season in League One, so for manager Russell Slade it’s a question of which player to leave off the bench rather than choose five to go on it.

My friends in The Green Room (an replacement for the long-lamented ciderspace) tell me the likely first XI is:
Begovic
Peltier Forbes Skiverton Smith
Way Schofield Bircham Tomlin
Warne Downes

Bench: Jones, Murtagh, Alcock, Trogwell, Owusu (although we’re not sure if Trogwell has signed yet).

A probable Walsall line-up (fitness being assumed) would be Ince, protected by a new-look back 4 of Palmer, Roberts, Gerrard and Boertien, with much depending on how quickly these guys can gel together. Midfield is probably Nicholls, Hughes, Mattis and Zaaboub, although Mullen may give the nod to Demontagnac on the left, and forwards almost certainly the new signing partnerhsip of Ricketts and Ibhere. Subs bench: one of Ishy or Sofie, plus Gilmartin, Deeney, Reich and Taundry.

Predictions? Trusting in the bookies, we see that Yeovil have been installed as slight favourites, which should be the kiss of death to them. Given the negativity surrounding the Glovers, who believe that survival is their only hope this season, it’s likely we’ll be the beneficiaries of the bookies largesse. So… 3-1 Walsall, as the defence concedes due to miscommunication, while the forwards get busy.

The club has made the official announcement this morning about the signing of Stephen Hughes, as expected following his appearance at Port Vale on Saturday.

The central midfielder is a player whose career has looked on more than one occasion like taking off, but has never quite done so.

He started his career at Arsenal under Arsene Wenger, (also going on loan to Fulham), before moving to Everton for £3 million, but never really made it there, being freed after 33 appearances.

He then went to Watford, but was never a success there due to injury and finally moved to Charlton in 2003. He failed to make any appearances for the London club and finally seemed to find a settled home at Coventry, for whom he made 144 league starts.

He moved to the Saddlers, where he has been appointed Captain, despite having been offered a new contract (on reduced terms) by Coventry and being on trial at Nottingham Forest.

He’s 6 foot and 31 years of age.

The latest delectable treats from the smorgasbord of internet gossip that surrounds our beloved club.

Triallists, Hopefuls and Rumours
Since we last wrote The Blender, Walsall have signed Michael Ricketts. Despite this major coup nothing more has been heard, although we’ve been linked with (at least) 21 players since then.

To save the mailboy at the Excrete & Stir having to do any more than the bare minimum he’s used to, here’s all the names for their ‘Transfer Rumours’ section: Chris Birchall, Marco Reich, Nick Chadwick, Anthony Grant, Graham Kavanagh, Kenny Lunt, Russ Penn, Keegan Ayre, Chris Palmer, Georges Ba, Patrick Suffo, Inigo Idiakez, Justin Cochrane, Luke Guttridge, Lilian Nalis, Ben Muirhead, Daniel Nardiello, Deneiro Moore, Tom Ellis, Anthony Miller and Trevor Benjamin.

It’s a bit of a concern, maybe, that we’ve not got any news on this front, but perhaps Jimmy Mullen has seen what he needs from the players we have.

Games, Warm-Ups and Income Streams
Walsall sides of varying ages and qualities have also been busy since the last Blender. A total of 6 games have been played (none against Birmingham), and 35 different players named on the teamsheet for these games, so we’re in no danger of not having looked at enough players / kids / triallists in our search for the perfect squad.

The jumble-sale rummage continues with more games ahead of the season opener, although Jimmy ‘Fix-It’ Mullen has declared that he’s 90% certain of what his starting line-up will be, indicating we’re no closer now to naming any new signings in a hurry, despite all the new faces we’ve seen.

Demontagnac- shape up, lad!
Our man at the helm, Jimmy Mullen, has echoed comments that have been made over the last few seasons by many users of UTS when speaking of Ishmel Demontagnac. He agrees whole-heartedly with everyone who has ever said the lad has talent, but needs to learn consistency. We think this season has the potential to be the watershed in Ishy’s career - he’ll be either a hero or a nobody at the end of it. Good luck, Ishmel - we’re hoping you can mature and grow at the Banks’s, since it’s always a pleasure to hear opposition commentators mangle their pronounciation of your name.

Jeff Bonser - an apology
We’re sorry not to be able to bring you our glorious leader’s latest utterances, but since the last column someone’s gagged him. Sadly we’re therefore unable to bring confirmation of the three new faces or the result of the Walsall vs Birmingham game. Our apologies.

Don’t just book it…
…Thomas Cook it! The club’s linked up with Thomas Cook so if you go to the relevant part of the official site you’ll get details of how to get your guaranteed discount just for being a Walsall fan. We’d tell you more but can’t just lift anything from the official site due to the cut/paste facility not working in there. We encourage all fans to take advantage of this offer, which is thought to be subsidised by the extensive use of Thomas Cook by a certain P Taylor, a Saddler of some repute in the sunny travel business.

Well, that’s about it for now. First game just over a week away!!

The Excuse and Dingle is reporting that we are about to offer a 12 month contract to former Everton and Plymouth striker Nick Chadwick.

Chadwick was one of Everton’s promising youngsters back in 2001 to 2005 and made a few first team appearances. He made four starts in the League and the League Cup and 17 substitute appearances, scoring a creditable 6 goals in the process.

He also had loan spells at Derby (4 starts, 2 sub, 0 goals) and Millwall (11 starts, 4 sub, 4 goals), before finally moving to Plymouth in 2005 for a quarter of a million.

His time down in the South West has been an injury ravaged nightmare, as he managed just 53 starts and 30 sub appearances, with 10 goals, in two and a half seasons.

He is a 6 foot, imposing centre forward, who would be well worth the gamble, despite his recent injury problems.