Mon 30th November

Fulham lost on Saturday and therefore we’re second in the table.  It’s FA Cup time next weekend and if the Cottagers slip up at Tomorrow night we’ll be in the automatic places for a fortnight.  Perhaps even Ceefax will have updated the tables by then.  Then again maybe not.

RG was delighted with Saturday's result and performance but was again reluctant to use the two dreaded P words.  Good man. 

We’ve still need those elusive last thirteen points to avoid the drop and you can’t start thinking of doing anything else until you get to 52 points.  Negative ?  I am a Walsall supporter after all.

Sun 29th November

West Brom win “the Black Country Derby” (on Birmingham soil) and therefore assume the mantle of second best team in the Black Country.  No matter how hard these pair try there is and shall ever be only one team in the Black Country.  Funny how you can’t find a wolves fan when you want one isn’t it.  Just like in the mid to late 1980’s with the only difference being that there weren’t any wolves supporters then.

Sat 28th November - Bournemouth

No Rammell, no Brissett, the continued absence of Viveash and we still managed to win. 

Disappointment filled the air as Monsier Boli was absent injured (yeah right!) and delight replaced it as Darren Wrack righted all last seasons wrongs. Strangely the words 'disappointment', ''Boli' & 'Roger' have an eerily familiar ring to them. Which is quite a feat for such a talented marksman.

In the end this was very tight game of pretty high quality, punctuated by some wasteful finishing by the visitors and decided by a cracking Saddlers goal. 

Platt and Watson came in for the suspended front two and Roper continued in the place of Ada.  Platt had his best all-round game for the Saddlers and Roper continues to defy his critics with another performance that leaves the number six shirt up for grabs when Ada gets fit.  He was superb and virtually eliminated a very tricky and irritating customer in Mark Stein.

Defence generally ruled and one goal was always looked likely win this and it duly did on 68 minutes.  A great interchange between Marsh and Platt following a neat dummy by Wrack left Dazzer with a clear shooting chance. In a virtual carbon copy finish as the Blackpool winner he spotted the gap, chose his spot and drilled the ball in at the near post.  His seventh of the season and he’d probably be in double figures had it not been for those earlier penalty abbohrations. 

Strangely the Cherries fans were somewhat subdued on their return to their cars.  Perhaps they’re only mouthy when there’s 9000 of them.  I do hope they had a nice trip home.

Fri 27th November

A bit of a grudge game tomorrow as Bournemouth,  our conquerors in last year's Auto Windshield Southern Final,  come to town.  The return visit from Dean Court following last March's glorious failure will live with me for a long time.  Three hours of tarmac,  150 odd miles of trees, country lanes and the three lads in the car who never spoke a word during the drive home.  Even a European exit for Villa failed to raise a whimper of delight. 

We didn’t deserve to go out like that.  The problem was the 2-0 reverse in the home leg and for a poor away side we were always going to struggle to overcome that.

 

However the Bournemouth fans' on pitch celebrations following our Dean Court defeat were so over the top it was untrue.  Celebrating a debut trip to Wembley is understandably obligatory but celebrating by delighting in our misery was a step too far.

No doubt that many of the revellers were probably making their first visit to Dean Court that night. Glory boys with chips on their shoulders.  Perhaps they should be renamed Born mouthy.  Oh and Roger Boli plays for them.

Thu 26th November

It appears to be keep your heads down time at Chateau Bescot as they’re all training hard and keeping quiet.  No mouthing off about how good we are and no mention of either of the the two P words. 

Want another good sign? There's only 16 points still required to realistically avoid relegation. You can't beat a bit of positivity!

Mon 23rd November

The players were apparently pig sick after Saturday’s result.  The E&S quotes Wracky and Marshy who are both mightily peeved, which bodes well for both the short and mid-term future.  We really are going the right way and it has been quite a while since I have felt so positive about the future.

Sat 21st November - Macclesfield

At half time I honestly thought this one was in the bag. Walter Otta had fired home in first half stoppage time and although we were facing a stiffish wind in the second period I just couldn’t see a lacklustre Macclesfield breaking us down.  Our first half display was stunning.  Passing and movement that took me back the best part of fifteen years to Buckley’s Babes.

We fully deserved our mid way lead but again patience was the key as we kept plugging away at a hard working but limited home side.  Wrack intercepting a pass from a Macc corner, carrying the ball from our box to theirs before squaring to Tarka to slide the ball under the keeper.

The second half assault began very early and was sustained for the whole of the very long 45 minutes. We held out for 28 of those minutes until Tomlinson seized on a shot that Walker could only parry and, despite looking iffishly offside, equalised. 

The last fifteen minutes were tense as the Saddlers tried to both hold on to a point and if possible sneak a winner.  Neither side could be parted however and we had to settle for a point.  The disappointment both on the field and in the away terraces serves to show how far this side has come since August. 

There wasn’t any booing but most people saw this as two points lost rather than one gained - so it appeared did the players. 

Following a retched season of away performances last term this disappointment is a good sign.  Man of the match was probably Richard Green but Roper and Walker (one magnificent save) pushed him all the way.

Fri 20th November

The night before we re-visit Moss Rose. We’re probably already onto a loser here because many of the fans will remember last year and expect much the same. Rammell plays his last game before his one game suspension and Brissett before his Di Canio-esque ban. 7-0, it can’t possibly happen again, can it ?