Crawley Town (A) - Tue 16th March, 7pm

How did we fall so far that Crawley is an expected loss and we all kinda accept it?

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Hopefully the chairman gave both the players and Manager the kick up the arse that they needed.

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I think you should lie down…

What’s the highest scoring draw ever for the Saddlers? 4-4 vs Watford?

What a lovely bit of optimism. Love it :grinning:

We need a positive performance, but i can see us parking the bus again. There will be no tenner from me.

Their manager John Yems is certainly an “interesting” bloke, doing a fantastic job there though.

So what do we think Duttons random formation and player selector will come up with tonight?

3-5-2 or 4-4-1-1?
Will Dutton have learnt anything about putting square pegs in square holes?

I’ll go with 4-4-2
Roberts
Norman, White, Sadler, Melbourne
Wright, Kinsella, Sinclair, Wes
Gordon, Lavery

And hope the wingers create chances.

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He needs a win and loves mixing it up!
Roberts rose
White Sadler
Wright Kinsella Bates Sinclair Perry Vincent
Gordon

Nobody to know the formation even the manager

Dammit I forgot our best player osadebe! Im a Fool :frowning:

Swap Osadebe for Wright and your good to go

It’s all part of backing off. 2-0 defeat but we took part and that’s the most important thing.

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I just hope part of the ‘backing’ was a suggestion to take a step back and reassess the squad, and play a good old 4-4-2 with the best players for the positions. If there’s been a bit of a reset in the camp then let’s hope everyone treats these next 4 games as a mini tournament and we see something of the top ten squad we supposedly have.

Probably a bit of a forlorn hope, I still expect at least nine defenders to be announced at 6pm, I’ll have a moan on whatsapp and text and then give in at 6:45 and pay my tenner.

And speaking of wingers, the only player to score in a Walsall shirt since about 1926 was Campbell on Saturday for the Academy vs. Accrington - right footed winger if Wes remains out of favour.

Regulation 1-0 defeat tonight…The team picked out of Clarke’s hat that he left by mistake (no wonder he can’t pick a decent squad at Burslem) tactics from the Beano football extra annual, formation from the side of a kellog’s cereal packett.Then, on to Saturday and in form 3rd Division bound Bolton, with a forward line we could but dream about. I can see a 5-0 possibly 6-0 drubbing, followed by a swift exit of Dutton as our already negative goal difference hurtles toward that of our relegation competitors, who have, in the meantime closed in on our spot after collecting a few points. “Quite frankly” Pomlett should have let Dutton hone his future management skills at a Vanarama Northern Side rather than an EFL club shortly to lose their EFL status after a monumental slide into relegation.

There’s sod all else to do apart from watch it, although I think the club should arrange for anyone that paid a tenner for Friday to get something by way of compo, maybe a Dutton T shirt…One colour - brown - with a nice commemorative logo " Barrow 21…I backed off for Brian" just to say we were there (virtually). Always thought the fans at Gillingham for the McNightmare game should have got something, although we did get on Question of Sport a few years later.

Anyway tonight we need some leadership.
So I’d stick Sinclair in the middle alongside A N other.
If we are serious about winning a game then we simply have to pick Lavery and McDonald for just as they can be annonymous for games on end they are virtually the only two players at the club that might occasionally score a goal. As I’ve said before I’d play Wright up top with Lavery and stick Nolan on the wing, that also gives us two players that can actually deliver a set-piece.
I’ve got a horrible feeling he’s going to just build a line-up around Osadebe and hope for a 0-0, which will likely turn into a 0-1.

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I will probably do the normal:
Tell myself to wait until 6pm to see what side / formation Mr Dutton has picked before choosing to part with my tenner.
Then even though my brain is saying don’t waste your money as the formation / lineup is pants I will still buy my match pass.
Then regret sitting through 90 minutes of dross!
But what else is there to do on a Tuesday night in lockdown :smile:

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I won’t be watching tonight as I have something else on. The first game I have missed this season so we will probably win!!! I forecast a defeat above and if the team selection and performance is anything like Barrow we will lose which is the most likely outcome. I just hope you all see some semblance of a team which knows what it is doing as we did at Exeter and Cambridge.

We drew 5-5 with Accrington Stanley in 1932. That was in the heady days when we played at the same level as Accy.

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You could always binge on watching paint dry watching the complete series of The joy of Painting with Bob Ross if you are struggling

Think the whole series is on Netflix

Fair play to the people that have had a stab at guessing our formation, I’ve been thinking about having a stab at it since the post came up and I still have absolutely no idea.

Dutton is making it so much more complicated than it needs to be at the moment. I’m a massive fan of a 4-2-3-1, but without Holden and our lack of any attacking threat, surely we just need to play a 4-4-2 with everyone in their correct positions.

Roberts

Norman
Scarr (White if not fit)
Sadler
Melbourne

Wright
Kinsella
Vincent
McDonald

Lavery
Gordon

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