First – a request to our readers. After the game a visiting Portsmouth fan was viciously attacked near the railway station in town. If you saw anything or know anything about this incident, in which a middle-aged chap who was in our fair town for the match had his jaw broken in two places by some young thugs, please come forward. The rabble were ravelling in the front car of the train to town, the victim and his wife in the rear.

If you can help, please call the British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40 or contact the West Midlands Police on 101. Please help bring the perpetrators to justice, or this little gang of scumbags will carry on their cowardly assaults and things might be worse next time.

In the meantime on behalf of UTS we extend our best wishes for a speedy recovery to the victim.

On to the game, which unfortunately the victim suffered too. UTS regular ihatethecorps was there, and had this brief word to say:

Excellent performance today hugely impressed by Darlow, Westcarr (great footballing brain), Brandy (pace that scares the life out of defenders), Chambers, Grigg (best game i’ve seen him have) and Benning (looked like a seasoned pro). Infact the whole team were blooming brilliant

I think it’s fair to say he enjoyed it. I did!

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After the heroics against the Wendies, a return to the apparent base form that’s plagued Walsall this season.

UTS regular Sadsfan was at the game and sums it up as follows:

Absolutely garbage today, and for me it was down to the manager. Far too long this season I have watched the back four pump long balls to the front men completely bypassing the midfield. Now, this is not just the fault of the defence as the midfield has all the movement of a photograph. Peterlin can play the short pass well but doesn’t find space to receive the ball off the back four and Chambers may as well not play as he always makes sure he is being marked so he does not have to have the ball. This is Smiths fault as he should have addressed this by now and made sure the team were playing the ball through the midfield using the Patterson as a creative outlet. To be over 20 games into the season and playing a style of football that is clearly not working leaves the blame at the door of the manager, its not Bonser that will make me a stayaway next season, but it will be the awful football played under Smith.

Fellow regular tinned also saw the game in a similar manner:

I thought for spells in the first half we passed it well and looked like a half decent side. Second half and another Smith master tactician talk and we’re mentally still in the dressing rooms. As soon as Macken was taken off we lost all ability to hold the ball up top.

It’s okay saying 4 points out of 6 was a good haul (it was) but after getting 3 on Monday we should be disappointed not to get all 6.

UTSer Welsh Saddler saw the following:

All in all, a disappointing game. Rochdale were obviously trying to impress their caretaker-manager by showing their ability to play proper football, and I thought they always looked the more likely side to score. We CAN play like that, but too often we CHOOSE not to. That’s down to Dean Smith.

Does Deano believe in his team?

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With regular Neil being missing more than Byfield, it’s another Metfanwy preview this weekend. Thanks, Bangor!

Tuesday nights performance against non-league outfit Fleetwood Town left a lot to be desired, with many Walsall supporters still unhappy with the way the team is playing. An unconvincing 2-0 win was played out in front of a small crowd, with two moments of class from Reuben Reid the difference.

So we head into tomorrow’s Coca Cola League One game against a confident Carlisle United side, who are currently on a 5 game unbeaten run in all competitions. Last weekend saw the Cumbrians run out 3-2 winners over early season promotion favourites Southampton: no mean feat.

Carlisle come into the game with a close to full strength outfit. Highly rated striker Gary Madine went off in the victory over Southampton with a slight knock, but makes the squad for Saturday’s game. The only real selection issue for Carlisle will be whether James Chester will continue in the left back role.

The impressive part about Carlisle’s recent form is that the extremely experienced midfield duo of Graham Kavanagh (our old friend) and Paul Thriwell have been missing due to injury. Quality left-back Sean McDaid (former Doncaster Rovers) is out, as well as striker Richard Offiong. Players to look out for include deadly striker Francois Zoko and creative midfielder Matty Robson, who will cause problems.

What about us? Darren Byfield has been set back in his comeback from injury, and will be out for a further month. Clayton MacDonald, Jon Macken and Martin Devaney have been struggling with injuries, and may make the game. One player absent from the midweek win over Fleetwood was Ryan McGivern due to first team duty for North Ireland and he will still be unavailable due to suspension. William Grigg also returns from International duty, but he never plays. Andy Butler should make his Bescot bow, after missing the FA cup tie due to his ineligibility.

Carlisle should therefore line up: Collin, Simek, Murphy, Michalik, Chester, Taiwo, Berrett, Marshall, Zoko, Madine, Grella. It’s a bit trickier to predict how we might play, it is very much dependent who is available after injury. The return of Martin Devaney may push us back into a 442 formation, after the midweek 433.

Hutching’s bemusing quote of the week comes from the E and S. According to Oliver Lancashire: ‘The manager has been saying that we had been playing well and losing’. We haven’t been playing well..and we have been losing. Also, Oliver may have been tired after training for he also came out with this intriguing quote: ‘Carlisle are a similar team to us, with a similar budget I expect, and it’s good to see a team like that doing well. Similar budget? Really?

The money spent on Kevan Hurst and the signing of very good league one players such as Sean McDaid, Paul Thirlwell, Graham Kavanagh and Franky Simek show the Carlisle board have invested in their side with good results. Carlisle are currently 2 points from the automatic promotion places and the their owners should be congratulated. Let’s hope our owner and board of directors can show similar investment and deliver decent football to a public that has been humiliated by performances this season.

Prediction? We have the lowest scoring record in the division – just 15 goals – against the 3rd best defence in the league. The stats suggest we should lose again, but I am going for a draw. My reasons? It surely can’t get any worse.

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Sorry for the delay – been doing some business and out of town, but finally got some time to fire up the laptop.

Why go to the Banks’s this weekend? Now it’s the chance to show your support for the Supporters Trust and the Club – our team!

This weekend the Trust are asking Walsall fans to turn up and show off by wearing retro Walsall tops for the game, the older the better. Of course, MK Dons fans can only muster a few different patterns since being founded in 2004, whereas our history unfolds over more than 120 years.

So, if you love Walsall, turn up wearing your favourite old top and make some noise this weekend. Support the club and the Trust by showing you’ve been a fan for years, decades even, and that you believe Walsall FC has a future as well as a history.

It’s our season closer, with nothing else now before preseason. If you can, get to the stadium and get behind the lads.

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