Saddlers Social: Walsall fans have their say

Ian Newbold

Happy New Year fellow Saddlers. 2020 can do one, but sadly 2021 hasn’t got off to a good start either.

The news that Rory Holden is out for the rest of the season is dreadful. Feels like that alone could effectively end our campaign here and condemn us to at least one more season of League Two football.

As it was, another Saturday another system. Looks like we set up to mirror a team used to playing 4-3-3. And while there was some decent individual moments, the team showed a clear lack of understanding and any coherent play.

Contrasting completely to Carlisle who looked like a much greater sum of their parts. They didn’t get out of second gear, didn’t need too. A very professional and and all too easy away win for the Cumbrians.

But what do you expect when you try to beat someone at their own game? Like so many have said, so often, we need to focus on our own game, our strongest XI and the best way to deploy them. Tinkering in League Two is far too subtle.

Nick Etheridge

These last two weeks have been very Walsall haven’t they? Just when you think the corner has been turned and we are about to push on, it’s back to square one again.

Following on from that brilliant four game winning streak you would have expected the lads to pick up a few points over the festive period. To come away with nothing is a real bitter pill to swallow.

The news that Rory Holden is probably going to miss the rest of the season puts whatever the opposite of a cherry is on the worst sort of cake imaginable. Without him in the side we really are short on quality and imagination in the final third. On Saturday we could have played until 2022 and still not mustered a noteworthy chance.

The club are in a real dilemma as to accepting that the season is to fizzle out, or trying to get someone in who can provide the same outlet that Rory does. Whether contributing to a loan or a free transfer we certainly won’t get anyone around the same level on a free loan. Either way it’s not great management that our season really hinges on one player.

James Kenealey

What on earth has happened here then?

It was only a couple of weeks ago that I wrote glowing praise of our performances, which had seen us pick up 14 points from 18 available and set us up for some play off-based Christmas crackers.

Instead, a handful of turkeys. As we pack the decorations away for another year, it’s looking awfully like we’re packing our season away with them. There’s really not been a lot to like from those last three performances.

Salford, albeit veritable moneybags at this level, looked worryingly comfortable containing us, fully deserving of their win and offering a Boxing Day experience in every respect a world away from our visit there 12 months ago – the last away game I attended to date, a fact which is likely to remain so for a long time yet.

Then there was Scunthorpe. It was a poor performance barring brief splutters of life throughout the game. Truth be told, had we have converted that penalty we could well have actually, incomprehensibly, won it. But we didn’t. Again. In well over two decades, I can’t remember a Walsall team being this bad at penalties.

Carlisle was a performance that may well have re-awoken my ‘Southend at home’ rage from earlier in the season were it not so glumly predicable. Just lacklustre across the park, devoid of ideas or identity.

I said in my last column that this team seem to be in the habit of having streaks. That fact is being borne out in front of us again. Three games to fully deflate any sense of optimism I might have allowed grow. Happy New Year.

Robert Dearn

We love a good run don’t we! We either seem to win a few in a row, draw a few in a row, or for the first time this season, lose a few in a row.

The concerning thing for me, is that these runs have all coincided with Rory Holden not being in the team. We really do depend on him, and now that he is out for the season, I am worried. No other player seems to be able to fit the void that he has left.

For the first time, I don’t know what I would do to try and fix it. As fans, we all have opinions, but I am struggling to see who, or what we could change to improve the form we are on, and actually score goals.

Chris Saunders

What a disappointing last few results and to top it off, poor performances. It really is worrying that without Rory Holden we just seem to fall apart in the attacking third and this means teams can just relax knowing we don’t pose much of a goal threat and work on breaking our defence down.

More worryingly, in either a change of style or maybe it’s just as we don’t trust our creative spark without Holden, we have started to play long ball football.

This is seriously counter productive and we just don’t have the players to do this. Sure Elijah Adebayo wins his fair share in the air but no one else is interested in trying to pick up the second ball.

Lastly, Jack Rose going off injured and missing out on Saturday completely shows the difference between him and Liam Roberts.

The defence in front of Rose look much more assured and comfortable than exactly the same players playing in front of Roberts. Rose is another we need back in the team and quick.