Walsall boss bids to thrash out deal for James Chambers
Walsall boss Dean Smith today revealed he will hold further talks with James Chambers after the defender’s emergency signing.
Walsall boss Dean Smith today revealed he will hold further talks with James Chambers after the defender’s emergency signing.
The former Albion star made his debut in Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to Doncaster after the Saddlers swooped to plug their defensive gap.
Richard Taundry pulled out with a thigh injury meaning Chambers, who has been training with Walsall, signed on non-contract terms to play.
And Smith will now speak to the 31-year-old, twin brother of Saddlers midfielder Adam, to try to thrash out a longer deal.
He said: “We’ll still be negotiating with James this week. It’s non-contract at the moment and we’ll see where we go with it.
“We signed him on Friday but it’s only on a short-term deal. Richard had pulled out with a thigh strain so we needed him and he stepped up to the plate for us.”
Chambers has been training with the Saddlers this summer after his release from Doncaster as Smith looks to rebuild his squad.
He is still looking to add to his ranks but admitted to being thwarted in his attempts to strengthen further.
“We are where we are. I’m looking to strengthen all the time,” he said, as goals from Brown, David Cotterill and Kyle Bennett downed the Saddlers in their opening League One game.
“It’s not as if we haven’t asked. It’s not just whether they want to come but it’s whether we can afford them and we’ve had knockbacks but we’re looking all the time.
“Everyone says I need a big centre-forward but I would have needed a 6ft 7in forward to play against their big centre-halves on Saturday.
“I’ve got two big centre-halves in Andy Butler and Dean Holden who can handle that. We’re looking to get the ball down and play and we have a certain style with how we want to do things.”
The Saddlers also suffered a further blow when new striker Febian Brandy limped off just seven minutes after coming on in the second half.
Smith added: “It looks like a hamstring problem. He got pulled back, there was no booking for their player and he pulled his hamstring so it’s a double whammy for us.”
Comments for: "Walsall boss bids to thrash out deal for James Chambers "
Scout
keep to your principles deano dont get drawn into the HOOF it to the big man up front camp. Not worked before and its been tat to watch.
ben
scout - people are not asking to 'hoof it to the big man', people are asking for a physical striker who can hold the ball up and bring others into the game.
tinned
EXACTLY Ben!
Too many people think that having someone up front that can hold it up means we're after a giant player that we can hoof it to.
How limited are these people's football knowledge? Nobody in their right mind wants hoofball but we MUST get a player that can hold his own and keep the ball to let these nippy players get into dangerous positions.
Colin
.............and maybe even score a few goals too.....?
rat
Your style isnt workin Smithy..
Dave
.................
Someone like Jon Macken
Saddlertd
Dean - we're having too many knockbacks. Why can't we just sign James Chambers and Jordan Stewart and a centre-forward who has some presence? I can't believe that you have blown the budget on the players you have signed this summer - they're hardly top-flight, proven players are they? They are nearly all unproven or Players that have lost their way - they shouldn't cost much. Presumably we have around £60k to £70k from Westlake, Smith and Gerrard's add-on - can we spend it on some decent players and show some ambition, or are we going to fall even further behind the likes of Crawley and Stevenage?!! The jury's out on you Deano, I hope you can get it right.
James
We let go the man who could hold it up - Jonny Macken lets get him back. I dont think he's signed for anyone?
desben
88th minute, a goal down, we're desperate and MUST hoof the ball to try and get something out a game, do we aim for Frodo or Bilbo?
It not just about principals, its also about having a plan b.
Its also about relieving pressure on the defence to allow them time to reset and rest, If we had Busquets, Iniesta and Xavi in midfield who would never give the ball away fair enough, but we've got Flo who is decent and then a rabble of rejects around him.
I'm not going to be critical of the performance as we were playing a promotion favourite, but we've set ourselves up to fail.
IAN ALLEN
The current squad is the weakest I can recollect in recent years and I already fear a long hard season.
No disrespect but players released by the likes of Hereford,Rochdale etc are not going to be great players. The odd one slips through the net but not the seven or eight that we have signed up.Youngsters need time without pressure to develop, not the constant relegation dogfight that we are destined to be in yet again.
No leadership on the field, and sorry Deano but we need someone strong with experience and guile in the middle of the park to help the youngsters when the going gets tough.
Its now very much your team, so come on lets move forward !!