We’ve had a little break, now it’s time to start picking up some points again, writes Saddlers blogger Mark Jones.
To do that we need to start doing something that we haven’t been brilliant at this season - scoring goals.
A quick glance at the Walsall results section shows that we’ve managed more than two goals in a game a whopping three times in 2007-08. Three at Donny followed by four against Huddersfield in October, which was incidentally the last time we won two games back to back, and then three in one half against Millwall at Christmastime.
Not that this should reflect badly on the current squad however. Tommy Mooney has lead the line brilliantly every time he’s worn the number 10 shirt and is already into double figures. Thirty goals have been shared between twelve players, four of whom are no longer at the club (who knows how long for in the case of Ricketts).
Deeney and Nicholls are both fine prospects who are sure to be on our scoresheets in the near future but it is unfair to expect them to shoulder the goalscoring burden just yet.
I’m confident both of them will come good, you only have to look at Karl Hawley as a good example of how a striker can develop.
Hawley, a Walsall boy through and through, was never given much of a chance to prove himself at Bescot. The dreadful Zdrilic, a clearly unfit Deon Burton, Lee ‘where’s the goal’ Bradbury and the utterly pointless Jermaine McSporran all got preferential treatment over Karl.
Look at him now though, playing in the Championship and looking the part too. Anyone got any idea of the whereabouts of Jermaine or Aussie Dave right now?
What we need at the moment though is someone proven. At Swansea last week there were a couple of occasions when Troy got himself into good positions that maybe a more experienced striker would have scored in. That would have given us a morale boosting point in a game where we showed plenty of endeavour but were second best to a quality side for long periods.
Sooner or later a lack of goals is going to catch you out, so now would be a good time to boost the attack especially as all there must be a raging inferno in the club’s pockets with that wad of Coventry cash.
We’re lead to believe that targets are being chased and that the end of the week when the 93 day loan period covering the play-off final begins will signal the start of some crucial activity.
As a Walsall fan however you learn not to get too worked up about signings until they actually happen. It’d be fantastic to see a photo of DD stood next to a genuine net-bulger holding up a red and white scarf before the weekend though.
7 Comments
Yet another boring ‘Lee bashing’ blog Mark, can you not do any better.
Karl Hawley was not given a chance because he wasn’t good enough, no other reason, he was deemed not good enough at that particular moment in time. Based on evidence from loan spells at Kiddy, Carlisle and Raith where he never really delivered the standard required of a potential Championship player.
Imagine if Lee had gone out and signed an 18 year old kid with Hawley’s exact background, pedigree and experience. You’d have lynched Lee, yet you imply he should have given Hawley a chance.
Boringgggggggggggggg.
Saddler can’t you do any better than blindly defend the truly awful CL reign. Mark is right to criticise the signings of ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzrillic, McSporran, Bradbury and Burton because like many of CL ‘name’ signings they contributed absolutely nothing. How many of the signings Lee made have gone on to do better than a deal at Walsall? Exactly.
Hawley, like Fryatt, never even got close to a chance under CL and was never likely too.
Also, you point out that loan speels at Kiddy, Raith & Carlisle proved he lacked pedigree. So how come that the biggest side out of the three named signed him as soon as he became available? How come as soon as he went there he started scoring goals and how come four years later he’s consistently played at a higher level than us?
Perhaps the truth is that in receiving a better standard of coaching than he was getting at WFC Hawley has flourised into the genuine goal threat that he is today. Then again, given who coached him during his final years at Walsall is that really any surprise?
Also, you say “Imagine if Lee had gone out and signed an 18 year old kid with Hawley’s exact background, pedigree and experience.”
Isn’t that exactly what a youth system is for?
For someone who was ‘not good enough’ Karl Hawley ain’t doin too bad now is he ’saddler’?
Perhaps Mark was suggesting that our then manager was incapable of spotting young talent and prefered to spend/waste our money on players who were definatly not good enough.
Maybe you could try and keep us all awake by telling us exactly why we should think Colin was so wonderful.
I dont think he was wonderful, he had many faults, but im fed up of blaming the world at his feet as Mark seems to do oh so often.
For starters, who do you think set up our fantastic infrastructure in youth now? Who set up the stream of young players that DD is now benefitting from?
Halsall coached them, but who was it who was behind ploughing money into youth development. I’ll remind you, his initials began with CL.
So he actually deserves a bit of credit. The likes of Smith, Nicholls, Taundry, Bradley were all 13/14/15 year old kis when Lee arrived, he set up a system that helped them develop in the last 4/5 years to let them reach where they are today.
Simple fact is, Hawley wasn’t good enough at the time. At the time, we were a Championship club, Carlisle were a League 2 club. He was good enough for League 2, not the Championships.
Its hardly rocket science.
What exactly did Lee set up that we didn’t have in place already? Mick Halsall and Bill Jones have been at the club for over a decade. We’ve had academy sides for longer than that.Eric McManus did a brilliant job in his first spell and has done well over the last 3 years.
As for the money surely that was a result of being at a higher level.
You also state that Nicholls, Taundry etc were already here so the system must have been working pretty well before the Lee error began.Fryatt had been at Walsall from the age of 11 and was criminally overlooked by Lee even when he’d scored for the first team. And who replaced him? Bradbury and McSporran!
The whole of Lee’s time as boss was one big wasted opportunity, thats why your always gonna be a voice in the wilderness Sadboy.
Nevermind you could always go and watch Torquay in the conference.
Fryatt, Hawley & Platt are all currently with Championship Clubs. Butler also did it and Ricketts played for England. All were here before CL & the only way CL helped these ex Saddlers was by overlooking them during his other ‘highly successful’ spell in the Black Country.
Come on saddler, even your only argument in favour of the CL reign doesn’t even stack up.
And tell me what part of the CL reign that Mark criticises was so great? Answers on the back of a stamp please.