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Hutchings asks for patience
Wednesday 24th February 2010, 11:28AM GMT.
Chris Hutchings today pleaded for patience from Walsall’s fans after the lowest league crowd for 13 years reacted angrily to defeat.
The Saddlers were booed off after last night’s 1-0 loss to Yeovil at the Banks’s Stadium which attracted just 2,929 fans – the lowest league gate since a 0-0 draw with Grimsby in 1997.
Former Walsall loanee Sam Williams bagged the winner after just five minutes and Hutchings says the fans must realise his team are battling against a wretched home pitch.
“If they couldn’t see it last night they must have blindfolds on,” he said. “It’s there for everyone to see, it’s very difficult to play good, entertaining football on it.
“We’ve got wide players who want to run with it and if anyone wants to try then they can come down and try themselves.
“We always want better quality and even when we do play well we’ll pick faults in that.”
It was only their second defeat in eight games and Hutchings has asked for understanding after he was deprived of five senior players through injury.
He said: “They have backed us in the past and they are disappointed we didn’t beat Yeovil. We can’t do any more than what we’re doing with what we’ve have.
“I put Sam (Adkins) on but we’ve got injuries to a lot of first team players and we couldn’t change much. The only way was to put Clayton (McDonald) up front and go with three at the back.
“There wasn’t a lot on the bench which would have made a significant difference to the side we had out.”
And he insists his men will continue to give their all but cannot legislate for mistakes after Clayton Ince’s error handed Yeovil the win.
“You can’t fault the effort and when things are tight it’s always going to be a mistake,” said Hutchings. “You have to get the ball forward, get in the opposition’s half and hope they make a mistake. They didn’t and we did.”
To compound their woes the Saddlers could lose Jamie Vincent to injury after the stand-in skipper twisted his ankle in the dying stages.
Hutchings added: “Jamie has rolled his ankle so we have to assess him. Hopefully Rhys Weston will be training and there’s a possibly (Darryl) Westlake could be training on Thursday as well so we’ll have to have a bit of role call and see how we are.”
Meanwhile, reports in America suggest the Saddlers have handed a trial to defender Jonathan Borrajo.
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I think we can all see that the pitch is awful. But can that really be an excuse for a home team not to have a single worthy shot on target all night Chris?
Anyway, it’s off-the-pitch that is of more concern. Less than 3,000 fans. We’re a club transformed eh Jeff? Maybe a few thousand fans took your advice to go and watch Luton, I notice their gates are now 6,000+. Good call Jeff.
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Can’t help but wonder how many that were there at that Grimsby game were there last night?
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Ok Chris so it’s all the pitch’s fault is it?
Why then did Yeovil manage to pass it about? Why, if you have to play long ball don’t you get the players to lump it vaguely in the direction of one of our team? Why did a very moderate Yeovil team manage to create over half a dozen very good chances which they failed to take, when we did not make their keeper handle the ball?
Take off the blinkers; your tactics are garbage
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What a load of rubbish
May be if they were to use the whole of the pitch it would help. Yeovil were not a good team. The pitch is no excuse we have never played good entertaining football under hutchings its basic give it a full back and bang it forward.That is why people are not going, nothing to do with Bonser. I see more quality and footballers with more idea on pitches at under 10′s then at Walsall. The way they are being coached is straight out of a manual.a haynes car manual because its not a football one. I missed Barce vs stuttgart sat in freezing conditions with my son who is 10 and even he can see its rubbish. Similiar football at Hednesford for half the price. Please please at least have a go and show some passion when we play.
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I admit our pitch isn`t great at the moment,
but shouldn`t the surface affect both teams? Unlike us Yeovil managed to pass to their own team mates, run with the ball, have shots on target and test the keeper!
Its hard to be patient when you don`t see their keeper make a save in 90 minutes!
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Blaming the pitch again Hutchings? It’s the same bloody pitch for the opposition, in fact they’re at a disadvantage because they’re not used to playing on a terrible pitch! We should use it to our advantage, seen as we’ve played on it 5 times recently.
Yeovil didnt have any trouble with the pitch last night…we made them look like world beaters.
Your motivational techniques and tactics means our players perform so poorly, we can’t pass, we dont shoot, we dont score and we’ve got Krusty the Clown in goal. SORT IT OUT!
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I think it is fair to say the pitch isn’t helping but that does not excuse Byfield and Gray running into each other like circus clowns and the inability to get a corner past the first defender. I thought they played very well against Brentford on the same pitch. Also, why are we playing a back 4 when only McDonald is playing in his natural position? Richards should not be on the pitch let alone left back.
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Chris, you say your only option to change things was to put Mcdonald upfront?
Whats the point of Subs then? Will Grigg has been on the bench nearly all season, and has barely made an appearance to my memory – yet he looked lively and dangerous in pre-season.
Considering Darren Byfield is off form at the moment, wouldn’t it have been worth throwing Grigg on?
Mind you, whats the point, with your tactics we’d just have got Matt ‘hoofit’ Richards to hoof it 20 yards over the lads head.
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Clayton ince!! how many clangers he dropped this season get rid now we need a new keeper!
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“If they couldn’t see it last night they must have blindfolds on,” he said.
That’s a good idea Chris, I might just go to the next home game with a blindfold on. At least that way I won’t have to watch any of your mindless, hoofing tactics that you seem to think equals great entertainment.
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Hutchings Wigan got it right when you were sacked after 8 games or so, now I know why having watched your team and listened to your excuses. You sound like a man who knows the inevitable is about to happen and for me it cannot come quick enough.
To say you have now completely demotivated the lads on the bench with your inarticulate clap trap is an understatement, would I want to play for you….NO.
Do the decent thing and resign, Goodbye!
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Talking about blindfolds, what’s his excuse for not changing things earler? We could have been there forever and not scored!
If I was one of the subs on the bench and I heard my manager coming out with….
“There wasn’t a lot on the bench which would have made a significant difference to the side we had out.”
….I’d be thinking why bother!!
Last night was truly shocking, and Yeovil dealt with the conditions a lot better than we did.
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On WM this morning Hutchings said “I’m not going to make excuses”. He then went on to blame the number of games we’ve played. Now he’s blaming the injuries and the pitch! You’re nothing but excuses Hutchings.
So your whole football ethos is lump it forward and hope that they make more mistakes than us????? What a wonderful way to play football. Don’t worry about pass and move or running at the oppo defence, no, just lump it forward and hope for the best.
I wish I HAD had worn a blindfold last night, it would’ve made my evening much more enjoyable.
Hutchings out, Bonser out.
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omg guys whats going on? i bet u lot were the same people last week screaming from the roof tops about how the mighty saddlers shut up elland road? and u all talk about the managers movtivational techniques but lets be honest running out of the tunnel to about 2000 people who dont sing or chant or get behind their team after the music finishes just before kick off is hardly encouraging for those players is it? we can all blame bonser and the manager an on the bonser thing i agree with most things said, but this manager has the potential to take us places but we’ve gotta get behind him and our team and try to help as best we can rather than taking every opportunaty to ridicule them!
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I know I’m just repeating what everyone else has said but it needs saying after such ridiculous commentsd from Hutchings- THE PITCH WAS THE SAME FOR BOTH TEAMS!!! They managed 9 shots on target (according to BBC) and we only managed 1 (and by some of the above user comments that one probably shouldn’t have gone down as a SoT). I accept that we had injury problems too but if you’re saying that we only stand a chance of winning games with our best 11 and not even our 12th is good enough then it’s worse than any of us thought! With such an obviously appalling performance could it have really done any harm to throw on one of the kids. Especially the likes of Grigg up top. It certainly couldn’t have got any worse.
As for the attendance- I imagine it really wasn’t helped by the weather prospects but I bet we all had a feeling that after 2 wins there was a very good chance of a repeat of Oldham and for the fortunate enough to have missed that I’m sorry that it had to come on another home game. I can’t see one complete no-show in 3 or 4 helping attendance OR league position. I’d agree with plenty of comments that have been made – Hutch’s tactics are poor. His unwillingness to make substitutions is the most annoying as it’s usually a case of replacing someone who’s having a nightmare with a fresh pair of legs in the hope he doesn’t flop as badly not a giant formation switch. Sort it out Hutchings, it’s as much your fault we’re the very definition of inconsistent as anyone’s.
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I agree with everything said before, with the exception of Hutchings being able to to take us further unless, the writer was meaning Blue Square, where the football IS MUCH BETTER than at Bescot.
The only thing that has not yet been blamed are the facilities at Essington… Are they keeping the ball in the air during training to save the pitch…. stupid comment but in the same vane as the Managers excuses.
I was lucky I missed last night but in truth we have not had one decent game all season.
I think that there will be a few more unused tickets in my book before the end of the season.
I want to renew for next season but unless a change of manager is in the air my Early Bird will miss the worm
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I think there will be a few more saddlers doing the same mate, i can see it will be about the same attendance’s next season below 3000 fpor most matches
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So, the performances get worse, fewer people come, the quality goes down, the performances get worse. Anyone other than Bonser see where this is going?
As for Hutchings, he really is tacticvally inept. Same old tactics week after week, irrespective of whether they are working or not, or whether they fit the opposition. A tactically aware manager could do more, even with the leech in the Boardroom.
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Didnt go to the game but unfortunatley listened to some of it on WM. Sounded terrible. If i were manager I would, at this point in the season make a handful of changes i.e. give Ince a rest and Gilmartin another chance, change tactics give 3 5 2 a shot and give some of the kids a chance, we wont go down and cant make the play offs so why not start shaping up for next season and give some of the youngsters some experience and confidence. We once under the likes of Graydon and Money had a shoot on site tactic but all we do now is lump it up field to no one, we have no target men no decent strikers, only good thing this season so far has been the win at Leeds and the signing of Mcdonald.
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The kids aint good enough them that are soon get sold to the first bidder this club needs a totally clean sweep starting at the top..
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