Walsall blog: FA Cup worries

OK, so it’s early Saturday evening and my reaction to the F.A. Cup draw goes something like this, writes Walsall blogger Mark Jones.

Great, a home tie. Great, it’s against lower division opposition. Great, a tie with a bit of an edge to it.

Then, mere split seconds later, I’m thinking ‘This is a tie I really really really don’t wanna lose.’

(I sulked when we lost to Macc Town last year, and that result hardly took the gloss off the whole campaign.)

This kind of built-in pessimism however, is what a lifetime of following the Mighty Saddlers does to you, and I’d be amazed if the same thought processes weren’t going on from Bournemouth to the Black Country at roundabout the same time.

The law of averages says the Shrews are due a result against us.

Their record stands at something like one win in 30plus years.

Yes they did beat us three times in 1989/90, but these results don’t count as they occurred during the dreaded (and dreadful) John Barnwell regime.

The law of averages also says that with just one win at Plymouth followed by five successive exits, we are due a cup win under Dicky Dosh.

Yet I know which one of these conflicting facts most of us will be worrying about in the next two weeks.

Thinking along the same lines, I always feel as nervous about playing a bottom of the table side as I would playing a top team.

So bearing in mind it wasn’t a brilliant performance on Saturday, I was reasonably happy with the point gained which keeps us ticking along and away from any immediate danger.

Also pleasing was the fact that there was no repeat of the nonsense of the previous week’s post-match press conference.

Dicky hopefully has worked out that most of us are willing him on through ‘the next phase’, and that he doesn’t need to take to heart everything that might blurt out from the odd individual’s mouth or typing finger.

Some home wins in the next couple of weeks would be nice though.

Saddlers fans, what do you think? Have your say below