Quick Walsall report

[Dkc]

And if there's no progress, what then? We sack him and get someone else in? Or do we give him the additional time that we should probably have given Clough and, with hindsight, Wilson?

I'm starting to think that we could get Mourinhio in and still be shit.

 

[Grappler]

Didn't attend for family reasons, so cannot really comment this week, however it sounds like our midfield needs sorting out quickly, Baxter has some detractors on here, but he is the most naturally gifted footballer we have. Not sure why we don't start Sammon, he is not a goal machine, but he is big and fast and gives us presence. Sammon and Sharp or Sammon and Done, don't mind which. Sammon and Done would give us a fast big man and a fast small man. Sammon and Sharp gives similar plus Billy is stocky and physical.

 

[BushBlade]

And if there's no progress, what then? We sack him and get someone else in? Or do we give him the additional time that we should probably have given Clough and, with hindsight, Wilson?

I'm starting to think that we could get Mourinhio in and still be shit.

Don't know mate. Personally, I'd give him at least two years but realistically he'll be lucky to get that. If he fails, I have no idea where we go next.

 

[Karaoke Blade]

Not sure why we don't start Sammon,

THIS.

 

[super_pig]

Now I can't comment directly as I didn't go, but I think Adkins is playing a dangerous game with this line. We may not all be qualified experts of the game, but making out that we can't see what is in front of us is patronising frankly. And after 3 wins in 13, he's hardly in football genius territory himself.

heh. .funny i said the same in another thread

 

[BushBlade]

THIS.

Maybe it's because he can't hit a cow's arse with a shovel and runs around like a seven year old with a growth disorder.

(Only joking btw, I think he's OK)

 

[HeCanDoMagic]

We need to go back to basics.

4. 4. chuffing 2.

1 keeper, 2 full backs, 2 centre backs, 2 wingers (playing on their natural sides), 1 strong holding midfielder, 1 ball playing midfielder, 1 poacher and 1 bully up top.

With that set up, we can play anyway we want to, but having that framework in place would make it simple.

Unfortunately the current squad doesn't give us the tools to do this, which is why its so f****ing frustrating at the moment.

How have so many managers failed to address the basics!?!?!

 

[Barry Blunt]

We need to go back to basics.

4. 4. chuffing 2

How old fashioned.

 

[super_pig]

How old fashioned.

what's fashion got to do with it??

 

[Balham]

what's fashion got to do with it??

Football tactics are ever-evolving. We started with a flat 4-4-2 on Saturday but Walsall's movement and formation meant that we ended up chasing shadows: Adams and Sharp were isolated while Coutts and Hammond (not the most mobile pair at the best of times) couldn't get to grips with Sawyers, Evans and Chambers in the middle of the park.

We need to stop fixating on whether Adkins (and Clough before him) is playing the "right" formation and instead look at the attributes of the players being picked. The teams at the top of League One aren't necessarily made up of the best individual players but what they all have in common is tactical balance.

One thing I saw from Walsall was that they spent the first half clipping 20-yard balls over the top of Collins for Bradshaw to try and get in behind Basham but in the second half - once we'd changed to 4-4-1-1 - it was all about the cross-field ball to try and take advantage of Adams' and Campbell-Ryce's reluctance (inability?) to defend.

We should be looking to develop a 4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1 with the squad we've got. The problem is that we don't have a centre forward or central midfielders with the required mobility and those we do have are Adkins' marquee signings in Hammond and Sharp.

 

[BushBlade]

How old fashioned.

Very but it's working for Leicester.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

We should be looking to develop a 4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1 with the squad we've got.

Unfortunately I fear a lot of fans bristle at that suggestion based on the Weir experience...

 

[Balham]

Unfortunately I fear a lot of fans bristle at that suggestion based on the Weir experience...

Which is ironic, given that our last two relegations have come under managers who played 4-4-2 as a default*.

*I know that Warnock played 4-5-1 a lot in the Premiership but we played 4-4-2 against Wigan.

 

[longinthe toothblade]

We drew 1-1 in an open game on a cold afternoon.

The first half saw our only chances being a free header 5 yards out from Hammond and a goal disallowed for offside while the home side hit the crossbar twice and drew an excellent double save from Long.

After the break we were eventually punished by a cross-field ball with Bradshaw tapping in unmarked at the back post before Baxter drew is level against the run of play, hitting the bottom corner from 20 yards. Adams had a decent chance one on one and should have had a penalty but Walsall also had some decent pressure so a draw isn't the worst result.

Marks:

Long 8: the double save in the first half was excellent and he also made a couple of decent stops in the second half. No chance with the goal.

Freeman 7: occasionally caught out by Walsall constantly looking to switch the play but generally defended well.

Basham 7: did fairly well after getting turned a couple of times in the first half

Collins 8: I've been really critical of Collins but he was excellent today. Defended well and bailed out Basham. Had a couple of decent opportunities from corners too

Harris 7: see Freeman. Booked.

Baxter 7: stated on the right but moved into the no10 role after half an hour. Occasionally guilty of showing the play too much but generally good in possession

Coutts 6: did OK but lack of mobility is shown up playing alongside Hammond. Tidy in possession but struggled to get close to Evans and Sawyer.

Hammond 3: awful. Don't know what Adkins sees in him. Out of possession he struggled more than Coutts, with the ball he was wasteful. Should have been substituted.

Campbell-Ryce 6: negated on the left as he has no left foot. On the receiving end of some roughhouse treatment.

Adams 5: should have had a penalty and should have scored but his defending just isn't good enough. Didn't really do that much in attack

Sharp 5: not happening for Offside Billy at the moment, isolated for the hour he was on the pitch.

Subs
Sammon 6: put himself about
Scougall n/a: did OK

Adkins 4: poor substitutions, we were losing the game in central midfield but he replaced the centre forward and winger


Referee: absolutely woeful. I know as a football fan I'm biased but he was a complete homer

Agree with all of that. Collectively, the defence were certainly the stars of the game for us, and yes, Collins was excellent.

For me Sharp's simply not functioning because he's being forced to lead the line on his lonesome. He's a far better player when he has someone else leading the line and he's playing off them. Personally I'd start with him and Sammon every time.

Good, accurate match summary - that everyone can understand.

 

[super_pig]

We should be looking to develop a 4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1 with the squad we've got. The problem is that we don't have a centre forward or central midfielders with the required mobility and those we do have are Adkins' marquee signings in Hammond and Sharp.

so we can't do it then

 

[Darthblade]

Think there's a lot of generosity in those marks.

Baxter was head and shoulders above anyone else in our team and it would be unfair to give anyone a mark within one of his IMO.

First half we were outclassed (by Walsall!) in every department. Sawyer absolutely ran midfield (I would love to have him in our team) we crested absolutely nothing and they could have been 3/4-0 to the good.

Second half started much the same until they inevitably, and deservedly, scored. Then, we finally realised w needed to score a goal and stepped it up a gear. For the remainder of the game we matched them, no more than that, but at least we competed. This seemed to coincide with Sammon's sub to be fair to him, at least he made a nuisance of himself. We were still too narrow and the ball appeared to be a hot potato.

We are so slow and lack so much quality in every department, it makes for painful watching. Especially when you see other sides pass and create space with such ease.

My ratings:

Long - 6.5 - made some good saves, but a couple of them he brought on himself by not collecting first time. Lack any confidence when crosses come into the box.

Freeman - 5.5 - poor by his standards. Didn't assist attacks and left way too much space for their full back to attack. Has been fairly decent this year but not today.

Basham - 6.5 - good in patches. Passing fairly average as usual but tidied up generally quite well in defence.

Collins - 6 - was fairly good first 30 I thought. At least, he seemed to be in the end of most crosses and long balls to get a head on it, however once he headed it the ball could have gone anywhere. Deteriorated as the game went on and terrifies me with the ball st his feet.

Harris - 5.5 - very similar to freeman. Barely offered anything going forward but made 2/3 reasonable tackles. Still too narrow just like Freeman.

Baxter - 8 - would be great player in a better team. Makes intelligent passes, creates space and scored a good goal. Unfortunately he was shoved out on the right first half but naturally came inside which left us bare on the right. Much more effective when moved central and scored s good goal.

Coutts - 5.5 - did ok first half. Didn't even notice him second half. Not the answer.

Hammond - 5 - I'm never sure whether it's Coutts or Hammond on the ball, or who makes a tackle because they are the same player in ever respect. Offers nothing new.

JCR - 4.5 - not his day. You can usually tell after 15 minutes if it is his day or not and today wasn't. Rarely (if ever) beat his man, didn't get any crosses in and was generally anonymous.

Adams - 5 - average. Didn't do too much, got into a decent position about twice in the 90 minutes. Was completely ineffective as a striker and improved slightly when put out wide

Sharp - 4 - not his day, rightly subbed. I do feel sorry for him as he gets little service, well not of any quality anyway. Seemed to play deeper today just not sure he'll ever be a success as Sheff Utd, which is clearly the club's fault as he has succeeded everywhere else!

Sammon - 7 - good. Came on, put himself about, harried defenders and won the ball in good areas. As good as he has been for a while.

Scougall - 2 - waste of space. Tries hard but offers no quality. Cannot understand for the life of me why he got on ahead of Done. Another who should be shipped out ASAP.


All in all, another thoroughly depressing day to be a blade. We somehow got a point but on another day would have been beaten easily. Oh well, never mind, think it's gonna save me a load of time/money going to watch them much more this season!

Agreed broadly with your marking although I thought you were generous with Baxter, having said that he had a decent , if not very effective game. Hammond probably had his best game for us but I would still only give him 5 and he missed a sitter from 6 yards out earlier on that must have been easier to miss than to score.

Regardless of what Mr Adkins says .... Adams & Sharp up front does NOT work !! I'm not a massive Sammon fan, but when he came on for Billy, it was the first time that their defence looked flustered. Adams needs a spell on the bench or out wider as he isn't doing it at the moment. I would start with Sammon & Done upfront tonight.

Adams should have had a penalty for definite, but the referee ( Mr Trevor Brooking ) had an episode and missed the physical assault by the defender.

And can somebody answer me this ....... why do we sit 10 yards off wide players and allow them to accept and control the ball before we try to close them down ?????? Other teams never afford us this generous space ....

In short ....... if we could have swapped Billy for Bradshaw and Hammond for Sawyers we would have comfortably won that game even with a shit defence !!

UTB & FTP