Walsall Match Thread

[AsTallAsLions]

 

Davis and Kodjia both looked toxic tonight. We don't really seem to know what to do with forwards tbh. With Grabbs gone and Jimmy Danger basically done by the looks of things, do we have any actual proper goalscoring strikers left? Doesn't look it to me

Let's not write Kodjia off yet eh?

RHM will overtaken Davis this season I think. Davis did very well initially but I'm not sure how good he'll end up being. RHM looks the real deal to me

Then again I did think delfouneso looked good

Isn't RHM injured? (Again?)

Another recurring theme with our strikers is injuries, just when we need a bit of consistency.

[paul_e]

For me Davis can be a very good player but I'm not sure he believes it himself right now.  He needs a few goals, at any level, to get some confidence back because right now he almost looks scared to get the ball in the box and it's really harming his game, there's a nervousness to him that wasn't there before.

[SoccerHQ]

If he gets an early goal in the next game, he might be a different player but tonight, he looked really ordinary.  He has a great chance of playing every game this season if we are selling players. We really need him firing again.

Davis will never be prolific goalscorer imo. However he does have quality with his hold up and link up play as we saw when he first played last season.

Anyone know why Hogan wasn't involved tonight?

[Toronto Villa]

Hogan is still injured. It’s why he wasn’t in Portugal or was sent home. Or something like that.

[andrew08]

I enjoyed that. I tend not to do pre season games but with Wifey away in Spain and the kids at a sleepover I decided to go. I haven’t been to Bescot since  Stanley Matthews....... opened the ground.

Jack played well, as he should against these, De Laet looked good as did a few others. Kodja has always been a goal scorer only and when he doesn’t score he looks lazy and disinterested, he also has the longest left hand injury ever😀.

It’s a shame this team won’t stay together. With the World Cup players coming back we’d give it another go I think. Bruce needs to swallow his pride and reintegrate Ross McCormack because that’s just plain daft and if Richards can only play one game a week can he at least do so.

A good evening of stressless footy. Oh yes and 3 at the back... that will last untill we kick off at Hull.

[mr underhill]

Wehave an uncanny knack of ruining most forwards or buy forwards who should be in another team.

[in exile]

I thought Hutton, Lansbury and Kodjia were poor

[Dave P]

I thought Hutton, Lansbury and Kodjia were poor

Lansbury is a strange one.  He is very unlikely to be sold this summer so should be a player who is first choice come the season starting.  I genuinely believe we need a tune out of him this year.

[Clark W Griswold]

It was a good performance, I thought they were all good although Kodjia did look on a bit of a different wavelength to the others who were playing a good high tempo, pass and move team game. He still likes to do his own thing a bit which can be a good thing but not in that situation. It might suit Hogan more playing like that, along the ground to feet.

[darren woolley]

A nice routine win for us good to get more game time under there belt.

[Dave P]

I do fear Hogan is like Gestede in that he becomes a much better player in our eyes when not in the team.

[boozey182]

I only caught bits of it on Youtube, but I was quite impressed. The most notable thing for me was that we were passing AND moving into space. The nature of the match meant that we had much more space and time on the ball, but it seemed like a clear intention to keep the ball moving, which I found very encouraging. Of course, Jack was the catalyst for everything, so how that will work if/when he goes might the big issue.

Green looked sharp when he came on. He looked incredibly quick, which I think goes to emphasise our lack of pace in the rest of the squad more than anything. We really lack energy, pace and presence in midfield but that isn't a new problem. Hopefully we can get a loan or two once the club is sold...

Overall, I thought we looked alright. Depressingly, I think a couple of meetings in dark board rooms this week will have a much larger impact on how the team does next year than anything we might be able to extrapolate from what happened on the pitch last night.

[brontebilly]

3 centre halves that include Elphick and Hutton will be a disaster against better sides...

[Mister E]

3 centre halves that include Elphick and Hutton will be a disaster against better sides...

I've suggested before that Hutton would make a good CB: he's quick, strong and heads well. The only risk is whether his positional game is up to it.
He may even end up as captain of the team this season ...

[Clark W Griswold]

3 centre halves that include Elphick and Hutton will be a disaster against better sides...

I've suggested before that Hutton would make a good CB: he's quick, strong and heads well. The only risk is whether his positional game is up to it.
He may even end up as captain of the team this season ...

The right sided of 3 centre backs would suit him well but I'd be a little worried about him as one of two centre backs.