My first home game of the season, I can’t say I’ve missed it much at all. However, should we continue to show some progress on the pitch in the coming weeks I might be tempted back!
It’ll be my first (live) game of the season too Rob, even if we lose to Accrington because I’ve already got a ticket… I’m also looking forward to the pre-match routine of breakfast in town with several UTS posters, then to the Black country arms for a couple of pints and then at about 1:30 down to the railway for a couple. I was hoping to try the Locker out but I’m not paying £5 and then buying beer as well. I’ve plumped for a win by the way 3-1.
Gotta miss this one cause the missus has kindly booked a weekend away for my birthday. My fault for telling her way back when that I didn’t care about missing it cause the season was over Hope the lads do it again for the saddlers faithful.
Should we actually make the play-off final, I’ll have literally drove over to Normandy on the Saturday, and then I’ll drive back to Wembley and back to Normandy on Sunday.
Metro from Brum to West Bromwich Central.
Walk across the road to the Bus Station.
Bus - 4H - amongst others, very frequent service from West Brom Bus Station to Walsall. Stop U in the bus station.
Get off the bus at Deighton Court and walk down Brockhurst Crescent towards the ground.
My only fear is - have we peaked too soon? Of course I am happy to be in a play off spot, but I wasn’t unhappy being part of the pack just outside within touching distance (even down at 16th) - it’s where we are after the final game that counts, not anything inbetween (e.g. ask Bristol Rovers and Northampton fans about the 2021/22 season).
Being up there with the big boys makes us more of a target - it hands the opposition manager his team talk on a plate (“This lot, promotion contenders??? Let’s show them and pee on their parade!”)
The other thing is that now we’re starting the run in, nearly all games mean something more than they did earlier on in the season, whether that be clubs right behind us trying to be where we are, the ones just above after an automatic spot, or those at the bottom struggling like hell to avoid the drop (look at FGR and Sutton last night) - every game now is going to be a cup final, and we are the comparative giant that they all want to kill.
This run hasn’t come out of nowhere though, even when we were down towards the bottom end of the table there were signs of this being a good squad of players, and all that’s happened now is that they have clicked and found the magic formula that’s turned them from a bunch of good players into a very good team.
I’m hoping that this isn’t the culmination of our tilt for 7th place, but the start of a charge towards an automatic spot.