D 0-0 vs Colchester United (A) - League Two - Tue 14th Feb, 7:45pm

[RobHarv3y]

Valentine’s Day see us travelling to Essex to take on Colchester United in a fixture that is sure to get the love juices flowing…

Colchester United are currently 16th in League Two, just one place below The Saddlers albeit having played 4 games more than we have! Also worth noting we are 5 points ahead of them too.

Managed by ex-Wycombe Wanderers legend, Matt Bloomfield, the hosts were looking over their shoulder at the trap door to the National League earlier this season, but a fair run of results in recent times has given them a bit of breathing space. This is Bloomfield’s first foray into first-team management, so survival may be seen as a relative success this season.

Colchester’s squad has plenty of EFL experience and contains names such as Luke Chambers, John Akinde, Freddie Sears, Frank Nouble, Cole Skuse, and Alan Judge, all of whom Saddlers fans are bound to have seen in action over the years.

With 4 wins in their last 7 fixtures, this game possibly isn’t the easy game people may have previously been looking at it to be:

Onto The Saddlers now, and we head into this winless in 4 league games and suffering a bit of a comedown since our FA Cup tie with Leicester City. If we have any aspirations of getting into the play-offs this season we now need to go on another good run of (predominantly) wins.

Michael Flynn has made changes to the starting XI in recent games, and seems unable to find the right combinations at the moment - who should be starting fixtures do you think?

Jamille Matt and Matty Stevens were both taken off on Saturday due to fitness / injury issues, whist Conor Wilkinson was stretchered off, hopefully with minor damage to the same knee he suffered an ACL tear on. If he has re-done the ACL then that could be that for him at a professional level, depending on the severity. Fingers crossed it’s better news.

Joe Low got his first professional goal on Saturday, and personally I thought his performance was a surreal experience to be a part of. Yes, he got his first goal, but some of the passing and clearing of the ball was like watching a Sunday League game. Made me laugh anyway, some proper defending. Clear at all costs . I do feel that if Manny Monthe is anywhere near fit after illness, he will take his place back.

How many hardened souls are making this trek? I considered it, but I don’t think I’ll be there. Credit to those who do go, and for anyone who is making a Valentine’s Day date out of it, fair play!

Colchester United vs Walsall - Match Result

• Colchester United Win
• Draw
• Walsall Win

[Fellows1926]

Yes I shall be there. Supporters Club coach.

[Mazza01]

Think we might lose this, zero goals!

[Shadman]

I’ll be there with me son. We live is Suffolk so our closest game. I’ll try and remember to share my onions post match.

[P.T]

Given their form and our lack of goals I worry whether this game is the one where the equation of no. of games in hand multiplied by 3pts does not equal seventh or better.

I’m gonna go 0-0.

[Mazza01]

Agree I think this game may shape the season for us.

[WalsallOne]

I fear the worst. Our injury problems are here again. 1-0 to Colchester is my prediction. I notice there are a full set of fixtures so this isn’t a game in hand which might yet define our season although I am not so optimistic as I was a month ago.

[KingCrod]

It’s a game we really need to win if we have serious designs on achieving a play off place come what May. Our away form needs to improve to improve although the JobServe Community Stadium is always a difficult place to go. Fair play to those attending this one on the most romantic night of the year, I am taking the better half for a slap-up 5 course meal so shalln’t be attending. A travelling audience in excess of 300 is a great effort.

[Worsul4eva]

Folk still optimistically clinging on to fading thoughts of a place in the Play off’s.
Regrettably that ship has sailed, 2 points from our last 3 games is hardly promotion material. Flynn cannot decide on a settled side, we lack any decent attacking options since the DJ goals sadly dried up for reasons beyond our control. Matty ‘running through treacle’ Stevens is not setting our world alight and his previous ‘partnership’ with Matt is certainly not coming to fruition yet. We are 15th and currently look like a team that should be 15th. Things had been looking good and exciting for us all, we lose our goal poacher and our season seems to have collapsed back into mid table mediocrity, again.
Colchester are on a run, couldn’t have been a worse time for us to be put to the sword.
Any making the journey should be commended
Another blow to our fading hopes again, 0-2.

[Mister-sitter]

How come you aren’t fine dining at the Crod mansion , I would have thought that being served by the butler the finest cuisine in a candelabra lit throne room with gentle classical overtones would be far more in keeping with your status, but it could be a long and tiring evening for the butler as he navigates from one end of the enormous mahogany inlaid oval dining table to the other ( never understood why gentry sit so far apart when dining ) anyway one hopes that you may consider fine dining at the Crod mansion in a more intimate atmosphere without an audience in attendance.

[Pingu]

Weirdly this is the fourth time we’ve played Colchester on Valentine’s Day, having also met in 1953, 2006 and 2009!

[Belphegor]

What a bundle of joy you are

1-0 win.

[AndyWTaylor]

MF said Kins might be back for this game. Then again, he said last week that Riley would be back for Orient.

Monthe and Maddox also missing on Saturday due to illness and injury - is 3 days long enough for them to recover?

Definitely out will be Wilkinson, which leaves our attacking options a bit light. You would therefore expect DJT to make it onto the bench, but with the 5 loan rule, which of the others would you miss out?

Could end up with a bench of 5 or less!

[Worsul4eva]

Apart from our opposing scorelines can you REALLY disagree with anything I have mentioned?
I would luuurve a bit of success for a change, but we are going backwards, watching us is hardly exciting, the last 20 minutes of Saturday’s match was like watching men against boys, Flynn’s strange subs helped us look even more disjointed and hopeless!

[Belphegor]

Certainly.
We still have a decent chance of making the playoffs and there is a lot to be positive about this season.

[Stourbridge_Saddler]

Some people may be disappointed with our recent results but Flynn has made us very difficult to beat. I’m predicting a 1-0 win. The MattAttack to break the deadlock.

[Worsul4eva]

Glad you are still positive, I too would love to be positive but as I’ve said, we seem to be going backwards, or earlier games pre F.A. cup were great to watch, we looked like we had our Walsall back, but somehow we do look disjointed and no longer a ‘unit’.
Perhaps we could get a few points under our belt in our much vaulted ‘games in hand’.
Let’s hope so, 15th certainly ain’t an encouraging place to be with so many above us going well.

[Sephiroth92]

Can’t see where our goals or possession is coming from
2-0 Colchester

[JumboTrudgeon]

The six teams between 8th place and 13th are all involved in games against each other tomorrow, and the team immediately above us, Wimbledon in 14th, travel to Northampton. Mansfield in 6th travel to 3rd placed Carlisle. If we win (if!) then the table could look quite different post-match.

Then on Saturday Bradford play Barrow, Tranny play Mansfield, Sutton play Donny, Salford play Swindon, and Stockport play Stevenage. Lots of dropped points coming up, so if we pick up a couple of wins…

[RedandWhite]

@Mister-sitter

mahogany inlaid oval dining table to the other ( never understood why gentry sit so far apart when dining )

To stop em pinching ya chips of course