Walsall boss rips into sloppy Saddlers
Monday 27th September 2010, 11:40AM BST.
Furious Walsall boss Chris Hutchings has ripped into his sloppy stars and branded their defending a “joke.”
The manager also admitted for the first time confidence is low after Walsall sunk to their sixth straight defeat and slipped into the League One relegation zone, following a 2-1 defeat at Hartlepool on Saturday.
Hutchings is under mounting pressure ahead of tomorrow’s crunch trip to Leyton Orient – as defeat could see the Saddlers plummet to the bottom of the table.
And the Saddlers boss angrily lashed out at the men who threw away the lead at Victoria Park.
He said: “The lads have got to look in mirror themselves and start picking things out as Martin O’Connor and myself do.
“One or two have let themselves down, they have got to start looking at themselves. We can’t keep giving goals away otherwise we’ll stay on the run we are.
“The second was an absolute joke, there was no marking, there was no picking up and certain people have certain jobs to do. It’s very frustrating when that happens.
“There wasn’t any marking, we put up on the board who marks who and people have let us down.
“You can’t afford can do that at any level.”
Julian Gray had fired the Saddlers ahead before Tony Sweeney and Andy Monkhouse saved Hartlepool.
The manager revealed after another demoralising defeat his team are starting to lose confidence.
He said: “They are possibly a little bit low now, especially with the goals we’ve conceded, I don’t think we’ve conceded a good goal in recent weeks.
“If you go over the ones we have conceded against Rochdale, Colchester and Swindon it’s disappointing when you concede like that.
“Especially from set pieces like Saturday, people have jobs to do and when you switch off we have to do something about it.
“It’s disappointing, the players are really disappointed but there’s no excuse for goals we conceded.”
A win against fellow strugglers Leyton Orient tomorrow would ease the pressure on the manager who has vowed to rescue the club’s start to the season, which is on the brink of crisis.
Hutchings added: “It’s up to us to find answers and it’s what we’ll be looking at.”
Latest Blog — A week is a long time in football
This time last week we were staring down the barrel, third from bottom with a worse record than at the same stage last year, writes Saddlers blogger Mark Jones.
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Ultimately Chris you are the manager and must take the flack.
Confidence is low, you are the manager, motivate them.
Im off to Orient tomorrow night, please let it be worth it.
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We havent kept a clean sheet in 20 competitive games Chris. During that time we have had the following personnel play in defence:
Westlake, Weston, Smith, Vincent, McDonald, Lancashire, Lescott, McGivern, Sansara & Hughes.
With the exception of Weston, and the youngsters Westlake, Smith and Sansara – they’re your players, your choice – YOU sort them out.
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Didn’t there used to be fans in those seats in the photo Chris?
I agree. You’re the manager – sort it out. Never heard of players getting the sack because of poor performances, only the managers!
But then again, you’ve been there longer enough to have sorted it and I don’t see it getting any better.
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The waffle we hear from one of the worst managers we’ve had at Walsall (since i’ve been going anyway – nearly 30 years) is an absolute joke!
Hutchings, you are clueless on how to motivate a team and how to organise a team… the basics of being a manager. I’m personally sick of hearing the excuses that ‘we need a little bit of luck’ and ‘we’ve been playing well’?? It’s all garbage! One minute ‘Confidence is high’, the next its ‘possibly a bit low’??!
Clueless…
We’re stuck with a money-grabbing Chairman and an awful manager… not a great position for any club to be in. Oh I forgot, we’ve got ‘superb training facilities’ so we’ll be ok!
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Chris,
I’d blame the bloke whose job it is to organise them.
Taxi for Christopher
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u brought the players in Chris it Ur side so it Ur responsibility
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Sorry to say it this early, but we’re gone. Looking at the goals we’re conceding, it’s a joke. Next thing we’ll be in a box of Milk Tray with all the other soft centres. And it’s not like we don’t get bodies back – but maybe that’s sometimes the problem: it goes Laurel and Hardy because they get in each other’s way and don’t know which man is theirs.
At the end of the day, according to Jeff Stelling Hartlepool had taken one point at home all season until Saturday…and it was pretty clear anyway that they’d be down among the dead men this season. Some will say any away game is hard and maybe that’s so…but if we lose to a team that hadn’t won at home this season, we’re in massive trouble. Confidence has wobbled and gone, too, making matters worse.
All in all, I can’t see it getting turned around this season (though, for all the talk of promotion pushes, etc, I pencilled us in for a bottom half-dozen finish before a ball was kicked, to be honest).
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‘Saddlers fans rip into sloppy boss’ after the coaching, preparation, tactics and overall assembly of the squad was branded a ‘joke’.
You’ve done your best Hutch but its time to go. If you do it now it gives us a slight chance of salvaging something (ie staying up)out of the season.
If you don’t then oblivion beckons.
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Chris.
looking at most of the goals we concede.
i blame the goalkeeping.
Jonny Brain is not a quality keeper.
Any other keeper and we would be in the play off positions.
Defence, midfield and strike force are good.
Change the keeper to a more talkative one, who can shout at his defence and sometimes come off his line>
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We have players playing for us who should be capable of making sure we are vying for promotion not relegation. However, when we have a non league goalkeeper playing between th posts that’s when the problems begin. sorry, Chris, but it is time to stop thinking about people’s feelings and change the keeper. Give Bevan a chance!
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There was a poll over the weekend asking if he should go?
There was an overwhelming majority of fans that said, “YES”
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you got to blame the defence….marking not good im affraid…..better get it sorted…but maybe too late…if they lose tomorrow i can see bonser with his axe…..should have kept clayton ince….
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i think it is time for mr bonsor to act he said after paul merson i wont let this happen again well if he thinks anything about the club then he should act before it’s to late chris has lost it he broke the team up that got us to tenth did not strenthen the midfield the whole team is weaker but he say’s the new team stronger i dont know where he get’s that from he needs to give Bevan his chance brain is a joke second rate so please act before you leave it to late again
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Hutch this is why i stay away sloppy management, sloppy board ( until it comes to money for himself then certainly not sloppy), and sloppy players who follow the sloppy management.
I used to fill one of those empty seats with a season ticket with a few others , but i wont be back until the regime of Bonsor has gone!!! So looks like i wont return with my two boys for a long time UTS.
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Top to bottom problems.
Johnny Brain inspires no confidence in the fans, so give Bevin a go.
Defence, sloppy, slow and dull witted. we have 4 defenders incapable of reading passes. The Full backs (except Lescott) are good going fowards but can’t defend.
Midfield, last season Matt Richards was easily our weakest midfielder, this season he is the best (and i don’t think he has improved)
Strikers – Byfield is past it, and Nichols could not score in a brothel. Macken is good but we lack a target man, who can hold and shift the ball.
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said it all 14 out 6 in say no more bye bye Hutch..
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Sadly have to agree
Team does not inspire confidence, Manager seems inept at changing a game.
defence is a joke, why do we see the midfield wandering back when we try to attack, they should be sprinting back.
a good team has a good keeper[sorry Jonny, you are not it] Central defence[something is lacking here. Centre mid[nothing there either]
Front man, why punt high balls to our small front men.
When we do pass along the floor its much better, but that very rare
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We see this poor start every season cos we have so many new faces and with DB, SJ and RT all out (all of whom were part of the development last season) we are really struggling!
You know, like many, I was really confident and excited when CH and MOC took the reigns. I thought he must know a thing or two, after he managed under Paul Jewel for so long and he must have good contacts to bring in some bright young talent and even one or two older heads…….and yes he has done that, but at the the moment the players don’t look like they have ever played the game before!
SOMETHING SERIOUSLY WRONG!
I agree about the GK….the trouble is I also don’t think that Bevan is the answer, but he now deserves a chance to command the box and take the jersey.
On MOC, I thought his personality would bring bite and he would have us run ourselves into the ground, chasing balls and making runs, but alas this just hasn’t materialised.
Like everyone above, I think the axe has to be close. Unless we get minimum four points from the next 2 games, I am afraid we have to change before it is too late.
To be honest even if we win the next 2 games, it is going to take a mighty run of form to put us back where we really ought to be!
IT JUST HASN’T CLICKED………Not sure it now will under the CH!
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