The visit of
Wycombe provided more ups and downs than the average James Bond film as the
Saddlers managed to defy gravity with their form. At times we were hot, red hot and at times we
were desperate, properly desperate. The
back four minus Ian Roper looked very shaky and the midfield minus Keates
looked shot in the last twenty minutes.
Simpson would surely be more at ease in a bath of sharks than trying to
go past a full back and Wrack blows hot and cold more often than a dodgy hairdryer.
The front two
look good when the ball is fed to them, Rammell seems willing to die for the
cause every week. As for Gary Porter
I’ve given up on him. He is a shell of
the player he was and how he got a two year deal heaven knows. In many ways he is symbolic of the disaster
that was last season. For me his two year deal was about 101 weeks too long.
Every Boxing
day brings out a sizeable crowd and with it the Mr Hyde in the Saddlers. One nil up and if not coasting then we were at worst pretty comfortable. Quite how we managed to mess up the chance of three points and the much
coveted top spot is anyone's guess. Fulham had won 2 - 0 in a
midday kick off and we only had to win and score three to take top spot. In reality we simply had to win. We managed neither.
The opening goal followed good work by Marsh down the right and a sweet finish by Rammell. This really should have been doubled in a flash as Otta crashed one against the bar before Wrack messed up when he
should have done better. We were creating enough to have won at a canter but
just couldn’t find that second game killer goal.
The second
half came as soon as the first half went and unfortunately it took our form
with it. By now we were having the game dictated to us by Wycombe and it was
hardly a surprise when the visitors levelled matters. The shock was a mistake by Richard Green that
led to the goal with the unusually named Jerome McSporran notching.
We
immediately picked up the tempo in search of another and almost without delay
won a penalty with Rammell being adjudged to have been fouled in the far corner
of the box. Maybe a tad harsh on the
defender but hey who cares? Pingu
stepped up and blasted over ala Chris Waddle and joined the 1998 Bescot twelve
yard hall of shame.
Wycombe took
heart from this and grabbed the lead when another example of 1997/98 defending
reared it’s ugly head. The self
destruct button had been pressed and if we were going
to take top spot we were going to have to spin this game on its head. We
almost did.
Rammell
levelled matters with a kind of solo scramble at the back stick and I thought
he had won it with a header following a free kick and an Otta flick. However a loathsome cretin of a linesman flagged for
offside and the goal was ruled out before it had even been chalked on.
The game petered out as both sides looked too tired to push for a third goal and to be frank the only winner from this one were Fulham.
The game petered out as both sides looked too tired to push for a third goal and to be frank the only winner from this one were Fulham.