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Deleted Account #151676
#40169 Rick's Super Saddlers
Well folks it's all come down to one game, Back in August the only way most people would have predicted our final day trip to Stevenage to be significant would be if it was to decide relegation matters, As it happens it will decide if we end a decade of wandering the wilderness of England's two basement divisions or not.
The win over Sheffield United sparked a revival, sending us on a five game unbeaten run, which brings us to this;
A draw with Stevenage will be enough to see us cross the line and clinch one of the most unlikely promotions in football league history, We will need Bournemouth to slip up in order to take the actual title but I'm not in the slightest bit bothered about that as long as we are in the top two at the end of ninety minutes!
Did we manage it?
WE ARE GOING UP, SAY WE ARE GOING UP!!
Yes, It all looked like it may all go horribly wrong for us after going two down at the Lamex which left the door wide open for Swindon to nick second place, Thankfully as I nervously checked for news from their game against Crewe my lads relived our supporters fears by producing a magnificent second half performance, Nicky Featherstone's equiliser three minutes from time sent the away end into raptures as Bournemouth clinched the title and we follow them up to the Championship in second to conclude a truly breathtaking season at the Banks's stadium.
#39996 Rick's Super Saddlers
Another mediocre month has seen us again relinquish our lead at the top of the table and slide down to third in the table, Have we blown our big chance after working oh so hard?
The gap is only three points so the title is still very much attainable if we can use the magnificent 4-1 win over Sheffield United as a springboard, We were bolstered by the return of Ben Davies on the flank, The winger just makes us so much more creative when he is fit, I'm hoping he can supply the ammunition for a final push over the top. I'm not even too bothered if we win the title, Just as long as we secure second, I really don't fancy having to endure the play-off's.
The heavy 4-0 loss to West Midlands rivals Coventry was by far the lowest point of an otherwise wonderful season, We just didn't show up at the Ricoh, Nathan Cameron wasn't allowed to play as per his loan agreement with the Sky Blues which forced me to put 20 year old Matthew Preston in alongside Andy Butler, They did well enough but were let down by dreadful performances by their supporting fullbacks who time and again were left lagging behind the Coventry wingers. It was a game to forget for us. Conceding a late equiliser to Crawley certainly didn't lift morale and neither did going down 2-0 to struggling Hartlepool at home. Thankfully we picked up the aforementioned battling win over Sheffield United at Bramall lane which hopefully has put our bad patch to rest.
#39991 The Lower League Thread
It almost feels mean to beat Portsmouth nowadays though.
#39958 Free kicks
#39941 My Manager Face
haha no problem.
#39908 new to lower league management
With regards to operating status, Yes that will improve as you go up the league ladder.
#39907 Turn off match feeds
#39906 -10 potential
#39901 My Manager Face
<record from="YOUR PICTURES NAME" to="graphics/pictures/person/YOUR UID/portrait"/>
You can find your UID by going to the interface section of the preferences menu and checking show UID's.
#39880 Rick's Super Saddlers
February is usually a dour wet patch on the calender, and so it proved for us, a calamitous performance at home to Bournemouth cost us our place at the head of the League One table, We slipped to third after a mediocre display at struggling Yeovil before two goals in the last five minutes saw us come from behind to beat Bury and reclaim pole position with ten games to go.
I can't eloquently put into words just how frustrating our capitulation against Bournemouth was, After having lead for most of the first half my team simply collapsed and rolled over for the Cherries, Lee Barnard was merciless as communication between the defense and goalkeeper seemed to break down. New loan signing Liam Ridehalgh had a particularly shocking game and was dropped for the trip to Yeovil in favor of Malvind Benning who in turn also had a stinker. Left back is defiantly a priority for me come summer whether we clinch promotion or not.
It looked as if we were going to slip up again at home during the visit of Bury to the Banks's stadium as David Healy put the Shakers ahead after 20 minutes, George Bowerman had a 75th minute header ruled out when the referee adjudged the 21 year old to have fouled the goalkeeper. With just three minutes of the ninety remaining Bowerman again rallied forward and ended up rounding the keeper to equilise as he netted his 20th league goal of the campaign.
With just two minutes stoppage time to be played surely we would have to settle for a drawn now? As if! With the referees whistle to his lips, winger Ben Davies cut inside the full back and curled a beautiful shot over the goalkeeper and into the top corner to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, lift the side back to 1st place and send WS1 into a state of euphoria.
Now that we have the title back in our grasp we have to now hold on, Easier said than done but with just ten games to go it is imperative we pick up our performance levels from this month.
In other news Bury and former Crystal Palace midfielder Tom Soares has agreed to join us in the summer which is a good capture for the club as he is a current International player with his native Barbados but still relatively young.
#39813 Rick's Super Saddlers
Well, after months of sitting on the fence I have now accepted that we are genuine title contenders and not just a flash in the pan, Largely due to the fact that 'little' perennial relegation battlers Walsall now occupy first place in League One!
My lads have performed magnificently and of course above all expectations so far this season and now with just thirteen games left to play we are in the driving seat, can we hold on to it? I'm under no illusions, it won't be easy and there will probably be set backs but if the players can maintain the form and show the kind of grit that got us here in the first play then why not? It's been almost a decade since the club was relegated from Division One, Since then they have plummeted to the depths of League Two and come back up, Will this be the season the Sadders finally stop having to endure being the butt of jokes from Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Wolves and West Brom fans?
The new year got off to a poor start as we let a lead slip against Brentford and went down 3-1 to the Bee's, However we bounced back in some style, Winning our other four games, including beating then top of the table Swindon.
George Bowerman has returned to form after going a bit quite in December by adding another six goals to his tally, Taking the youngster to 18 goals for the season, Just one behind Brentford's Clayton Donaldson in the golden boot race and earning himself young player of the month for the second time this season.
The Crewe game saw the deserved debut of 17 year old Jake Heath who hails from just down the road in Wolverhampton, Even though Jake has made the appalling choice of supporting the yellow stained shirts from his home town, his introduction was well received by Saddlers fans who have obviously been as impressed by his fantastic form in the reserves as I have, A bright prospect for the future.
Unfortunately I was unable to get left back Andy Taylor to agree to a new deal, He has now left the club after only having joined us back in the summer, Taylor had been a very solid defender who will be sorely missed, Youngster Malvind Benning will be his long term replacement but I don't think he's quite ready to step up just yet so I drafted in a loan until the end of the season;
Liam joins us from Huddersfield, He joins another Terrier in Anton Robinson at the Bescot. Florent Cuvellier also headed back up the M6 this month as his loan spell from Stoke came to an end at the start of the month, despite my best efforts we were unable to convince the Premier League team to allow the Belgian to stay until the end of the season, I thought his creativity may be missed however Nicky Featherstone has proved an adequate replacement so far, The aforementioned debut of Jake Heath also gives us another option in the creative midfielder department.
I've also been busy securing new deals for several first team players, Captain Andy Butler has agreed a one year extension, as have George Bowerman, Richard Taundry, Matthew Preston and Jamie Patterson. Ben Davies and Robin Shroot also agreed to make their loan moves from Derby and Stevenage permanent which is great news. On the other hand we still have some key players who as of yet have not agreed to stay on, Will Grigg being the biggest name but a worrying 15 first team players could be approached by other clubs with regards to a pre-contract deal, something needs to be done soon.
Our good form this month has earned me my first award;
I'm rather more concerned with a League One winners medal at this point but it's always nice to win something!
#39751 Rick's Super Saddlers
The festive period didn't begin too well as a draw with Colchester coupled with a defeat at MK Don's meant we had gone three games without a win for the first time since our disastrous start to the season where lost the opening four matches.
Thankfully we did manage nip the winless streak in the bud before things really began to deteriorate with wins over Doncaster and Preston in particular standing out as impressive.
In the table we are still hanging on in there with regards to the title race, we have however slipped a place allowing Coventry to sneak above us on goal difference and Swindon threatening to pull away, However as I mentioned before we face the Robins in January so we could well rope them back to within touching distance.
I've been impressed with Jamie Patterson's return to form, the striker had largely been a feature of the second string under me after a thourougly underwealming start to the season, However injuries to Will Grigg and Fabien Brandy forced me to give him a second chance, The youngster has seized the opportunity with both hands by scoring four goals in the two matches in which he has featured, Including a mouth watering hat-trick at Preston.
January will be important in more than just big matches, Both Flo Cuvellier and Ben Davies's loan deals end during the month, If we can't renew these loans I can easily see us sliding down the table as both have been vital to our startling performance thus far.
I'm also on the lookout for a new goalkeeper on the transfer market after effectively retiring Saddlers legend Jimmy Walker, 'Wacka' returned from a broken hand which had kept him out for two months, only to re-break it in his comeback game for the reserves, The 39 year old will now become my goalkeeping coach as I'm keen to keep one of the clubs Favorite son's at the Bescot.
#39112 The Next High Profile Paedo?
#39010 Rick's Super Saddlers
4-4-2
My default formation, Very simple but still probably the best tactic in football, I like to have my full-back's press up and overlap the wingers, In order to keep the side anchored I set both of my centre backs to the following;
4-2-3-1
A great formation if you are struggling to break a team down, especially if they have holding midfield players, The two advanced midfielders and the inside forward really help bypass anchormen and five man defenses, The downside is obviously having such a gap between your midfield and back four so the two box to box players need to have good stamina and determination to help out defensively which thankfully both Anton Robinson and Adam Chambers do.
Using the 'play through defense' shout works wonders with this tactic as either Grigg or Bowerman will play on the defenders shoulders as the three supporting players combine to play them through.
4-1-2-1-2
This is my way of countering teams with one or more advanced midfielders, it also prevents any deep lying play-makers from launching attacks as Flo Cuvellier can close them down, This is a very narrow formation so it is a good option to switch too just to see out games and despite the lack of wingers it's surprising how well opposition wide players are shackled as Davies, Robinson and Chambers work their socks off to close down. None the less I use the retain possession and work ball into the box shouts to avoid losing the ball unnecessarily and risking a counter down the flanks.
#38998 Rick's Super Saddlers
Will Grigg (#9) scores against Leyton Orient
Another page on the calender turned and we are still right up there in the league and still looking like title challengers despite our pre-season billing as doomed to relegation, Are we just a flash in the pan or the real deal? Honestly I don't know at the moment but if we can maintain this kind of momentum then surely the teams around us will have to take us seriously.
If last month was George Bowerman's month, This month it is Will Grigg who lends his name to the accolade, The Northern Ireland international has netted five times in November, taking his tally so far this term to eight, Three behind his strike partner who's form has dropped somewhat recently.
On loan winger Ben Davies has also been a key player this month, assisting as well as chalking up a couple of strikes of his own, His contract with Derby County is up this summer and I would dearly love to add him to my squad permanently.
Between the sticks Fulham loanee Jesse Joronan did a reasonable job in the four games in which he donned the gloves for us but I was pleased to welcome back David Grof and Liam Roberts against Leyton Orient, First choice keeper Jimmy Walker is also almost back to health so I have sent the young Fin Joronan back to Craven Cottage.
Going out of the FA cup to League Two side Aldershot was rather infuriating, especially as we had the lead for most of the game before my heavily rotated side capitulated under pressure, This exit means we have now fallen at the first hurdle in all three cup competitions. Although I am of course focused on maintaining our staggering league position it is still a bit disappointing not to get a run and some prize money in any of the knockout competitions.
Conceding an injury time equiliser to hated rivals Shrewsbury was also gutting, We had battled back from 2-1 down only to blow it with virtually the last kick of the game, Ah well, you live and learn right?
So as I alluded to earlier, we are still clinging onto second place in nPower league one as we head into the festive season, We also have a game in hand over leaders Swindon so we could cut their lead to just two points, and with a game against the Robins coming up in January we could even be top of the pile before long!
Deservedly Will Grigg has collected some accolades this month;
#38996 Rick's Super Saddlers
George Bowerman
October 2012 shall henceforth be known in the Black country as George Bowerman month, The twenty year old has been in blistering form this month, netting an impressive nine goals in seven games, including a stunning five strikes in a single game against Bury. Those nine goals combined with his two early efforts make him League one's leading scorer at the moment. Clearly we are looking at the Midlands Messi here!<3
It was a bit disappointing to go out of the JPT at the first hurdle as in our current vein of form I felt it was a winnable competition, However with several of my key players rested Tranmere we able to come away with the win.
Our only league defeat came at the hands of West Midlands rivals Coventry City in heartbreaking circumstances, My boys battled back from two goals down only to let the Sky Blues back into the game and take the points. The absence of a established goalkeeper didn't help, Both Wacka and David Grof were out injured, forcing me to debut 17 year old local lad Liam Roberts between the posts, He did a reasonable job both against Coventry and Crawley but is still far from the finished article, besides which he has now broken his wrist.>
In the league we have shot up the table, right up to second, behind only our neighbors Coventry, Not bad for a side who just two months ago were in the relegation zone eh?
Undoubtable the key to our turn around has been that man Bowerman's goals, but behind him Flo Cuvellier has been providing him with chance after chance, as have wingers Robin Shroot and Ben Davies, At the back Andy Butler and Nathan Cameron have formed a near air tight defense to give us a real backbone and drive.
When the good people at nPower were asked to pick their player of the month they really didn't have to think too hard...
Here's a quick look at the man of the hour;
Can we stay in our current position? Honestly I highly doubt it but if my players can keep up their current form levels then who knows? Certainly if we continue in this way it won't be too long before we can put that old ghost of relegation well and truly to the back of our mind.
#38995 Rick's Super Saddlers
From one extreme to another. After failing to pick up a single point last month we certainly needed to improve in September to avoid being marooned in the relegation zone even at this early stage, However I never foresaw the rather incredible turn around our form has undergone this month.
With morale low I wasn't relishing the prospect of visiting Notts County who are one of our closest geographic rivals in this division, Until half time it was pretty much one way traffic with the home side bossing the game, However shortly after the restart Fabian Brandy managed to accelerate away from his marker to fire us into the lead against the run of play, The former Manchester United man used our new found momentum to devastating effect when he doubled the lead eight minutes later with an almost identical goal to more or less seal the points for us, That didn't stop debutante Ben Davies from getting his name on the score sheet though as the winger coolly clipped the ball in late on.
Things didn't look good when we went behind after less than 20 minutes to promotion contenders Preston, However against the odds we didn't falter and equilised 13 minutes after through young striker George Bowerman, from there on it was a very even affair as both teams had good chances to win, however a draw was probably fair.
Our new confidence and resilience was evident again in our next two fixtures as we battled back from a goal down against both Portsmouth and Swindon with Ben Davies scoring in each, It looks as if he may well be a fantastic loanee.
With us now in the top half of the table I was hoping for another good result against Bournemouth, However we seemed to run out of steam on the South coast, succumbing as we did to a 2-1 defeat, We did come close to a comeback, however Fabien Brandy's late equiliser was ruled out for offside.
A point with Brenford prevented us losing back to back games before we followed up with a good win at home to Oldham, Winger Robin Shroot giving us an early lead with his first goal for the club.
So after that fantastic month we have maneuvered ourselves out of the relegation places all the way up to tenth If we can finish the season there I will be very happy with my first term in charge.
#38994 Rick's Super Saddlers
My first month in charge of the Saddlers has not gone to plan at all as we succumbed to defeat in all four of our opening fixtures.
We just didn't get off the ground against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, We allowed the Blades far to much time on the ball and were duly punished for it as we head out of the League cup having fallen at the first hurdle.
We weren't too bad against Colchester in the opening league game of the season, However sloppy defending from Dean Holden twice allowed the Essex club in and cost us dearly, A late James Chambers strike gave us a a glimour of hope with eight minutes to go but even with my unconventional 4-2-3-1 formation applied Colchester held firm to deny us a share of the points.
I again shuffled the formation for the trip to Scunthorpe, This time employing 4-1-2-1-2 in the hope of neutralizing the Iron's own unorthodox tactic, For quite a while it was working fine until again a ridicously defensive error cost us, An awful back pass was seized upon by Mike Grella who made no mistake in rounding a helpless Jimmy Walker, From there on the home team were in almost complete control.
Finally i reverted back to good ol' 4-4-2 for the visit of Doncaster which supplied the most encouraging results off all my experimentation as we more than matched the visitors until Richard Taundry went from goal scoring hero to villain by giving away a late penalty as we again shot ourselves in the foot.
So the table doesn't make for good reading for Saddlers supporters, particuarly as we're forcast to go down in the media;
After all this doom and gloom I had to use deadline day to try and lift spirits by bringing in one or two new faces who can make a difference, which I believe I have done;
Signed from local rival Coventry on loan, I hope the big lad can help snuff out all the defensive mistakes we have been making this season.
A big signing for the club, albeit on loan, Davies will hopefully provide the ammunition that Ashley Hemmings has failed with on the left flank, Davies combined with Robin Shroot who is now back to match fitness should really give us some width.
#38993 Rick's Super Saddlers
My preparations for 2012/13 are now complete and have given some very positive indications;
No defeats in our five games is encouraging stuff, particularly impressive was our resilience against Cheltenham where we thrice came from behind to earn a draw. Beating Welsh champions TNS was also a good result as we gear up for the new campaign.
Transfer wise I have been very conservative with my use of the clubs fragile finances and have opted to instead make use of the loan market;
A former Birmingham City winger who has spent time with fellow Midland clubs Burton Albion and Cheltenham before joining his current club Stevenage. Unfortunately after linking up with us he promptly went and got injured for two months.
Experienced midfielder who was part of the Huddersfield side which won promotion to the Championship last season, However he now finds himself in the Terriers reserve side.
I haven't allowed anyone to leave the Banks's stadium permanently, I' keen to keep the squad together as a unit, at least to start with.
With all our friendly's now out of the way we can now look forward to our opening game, A League cup tie with Sheffield United at Bramall lane, Certainly this is not an easy first game for me but a good challenge. Following the Sheffield game we welcome Colchester to the Black country for our opening league game before a trip to Scunthorpe three days later.
#38992 Rick's Super Saddlers
Welcome ladies and gentlemen to my attempt at turning Walsall into a quality side who shall eventually return to the Championship, The highest level the Saddlers have ever achieved, Here is the initial squad I have at my disposal in my first year at the Banks's stadium;
Goalkeepers
Jimmy 'Wacka' Walker is a Walsall legend with over 500 appearances in the Saddlers goal, However at 39 I need to think about replacing him sooner rather than later, Hungarian stopper David Grof is a good shot stopper but is prone to the odd lapse of concentration.
Defenders
Central defense is not a worry at all for me, Inspirational captain Andy Butler should form a brick wall with new signing Dean Holden, Paul Downing and local born teenager Matt Preston provide decent rotation options in the middle.
I have two solid full backs in Andy Taylor and James Chambers but I would have reservations about having to field rookie Malvind Benning in league games should Taylor get injured, Behind Chambers at RB there is Ben Purkiss and Richard Taundry, I would however prefer to utilize Taundry in midfield.
Midfielders
Probably the weakest area of my team, Belgian Flo Cuvellier is undoubtedly the star, The Stoke City loanee provides creativity which is sadly lacking elsewhere in this department.
I will have to look for wingers on both sides as James Baxendale, Ashley Hemmings and Jake Jones just aren't the finished articles for me and will struggle if forced into the spotlight right now.
Forwards
We possess plenty of firepower and have the potential for goals if Cuvellier and the other midfielders can maintain a good supply line, Will Grigg is a Northern Irish international who knows where the goal is and former Manchester United trainee Fabian Brandy has explosive pace which many League one defenses will struggle to cope with.
Jamie Paterson and George Bowerman are young but are already experienced first teamers with several goals to their names.
To conclude I believe my squad is a very reasonable one, It will need some strengthening in certain positions such as left back and on the wings but I am confident we have more than enough quality to stay clear of another relegation battle. Famous last words?
#38974 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Sorry to hear that matey.
#38899 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Not the best start to 2013.
#38897 Favourite Sporting Moments of 2012
I won't hear slander of my backup wife.
#38670 Favourite Sporting Moments of 2012
Jessica Ennis's arse.
#38319 The Night Thread Mk. IX
I think we're just going to the local pub, as I don't drive going to one of the cities isn't really an option as we'd have to fork out for a hotel for two nights as there won't be any transport back to my village on New Years day.
#38318 So, challenge mode
#37846 The Joke Thread
#37375 The Night Thread Mk. IX
#37297 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Aye, I like all the challenges they have there, There used to be another site run by Caleyjag especially for FM challenges which I used to like, You could get a little sig that displayed which ones you had completed. We should do it here on Susie.
#37296 Transfer Rumours 2013/14