Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2017 2:48 pm
Posts: 4814
Location: In the Armchair.
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THE CAZBAR BIG GAME PREVIEW – WALSALLMuch has been said over the last few days regarding the fixture on Saturday, which in my eyes has been coming for a long time, this is not just an outburst over one thing or one game, it’s a culmination of events over more than a season, and as much as anything it’s frustrations with the club and not just Alexander.
I’ve seen comments saying you cannot expect Alexander to get it right overnight, no you can’t, but let’s be fair, he’s been here since May of this year, and with most of the players since July. He’s had a full Transfer Window, a full pre-season, 13 games in all competitions and had the players in for training for over 2 months, which also included a European training camp, so hardly overnight then, and in all that time I think many of us are struggling to see any identity, or I’m loathed to say…. a plan.
To look at one aspect of our game, we play it long and high when the opposition have giants in defence, and on the floor when they don’t, and regardless of that, our forwards are not strong with high balls anyway, never mind the size of opposition defenders.
That is just one element of our tactical play, but should we be surprised at this confusing mess played out before us, well not according to Alexander’s former employers fans, Fleetwood, Salford, and Motherwell as it appears to be a common trait with Alexander teams, and if you ever get a spare 10 minutes I suggest you explore the forums of the above mentioned teams, the comparisons between what they saw and what we are now witnessing are alarmingly similar.
Is sacking Alexander premature, again possibly, but you have to ask yourself why did Motherwell sack Alexander in July two weeks into the Scottish season, in October by Salford with them 5th in the League, and in September by Fleetwood….it certainly takes some fathoming, and I have to say if I was the one deciding on new managers, and I saw that on a prospective managers CV, I would have been concerned if he was the right fit for our club, and all the evidence so far suggests he’s not.
Will Pete sack him, I doubt it, for one thing it will be another admission he has got it wrong again, but with discontent spreading like wildfire amongst the fans, it won’t take much more to tip the balance further, Alexsander knows things have got to change and fast, and that starts on Tuesday night at Walsall.
Win on Tuesday night and he buys a bit more time, nothing more than that, lose and the noise from the fans is just going to get overwhelming, and I will be surprised if Pete doesn’t get the engine running on the bus…...you know, the one we throw managers under.
So, Walsall then, a tricky little fixture against a team with a near identical record to us this season, the only real difference being current form with them picking up 9 points last month and us just 2 points.
In early team news according to one of their forums they do have a bit of an injury crisis with just two fit centre halves, and an influential player is suspended.
Below is the current league positions and records of both clubs plus the Walsall home record and our away record.
Walsall (13th) – P 10, W 4, D 2, L 4, GF 15, GA 17, Pts 14.
Dons (11th) – P 10, W 4, D 2, L 4, GF 16, GA 16, Pts 14.
Walsall (H) (17th) – P 4, W 2, D 1, L 1, GF 5, GA 5, Pts 7.
Dons (A) (8th) – P 5, W 2, D 1, L 2, GF 11, GA 11. Pts 7.
Below is the home record of Walsall this season in the League, their most recent home fixture being shown first.
Walsall 1 AFC Kingston 3
Walsall 1 Colchester 0
Walsall 1 Grimsby Town 1
Walsall 2 Stockport County 1
Top scorer and possible Saddlers dangerman is 19 year old Freddie Draper who is on loan from Lincoln City where he was their Academy Player of the Year in 2021/22 season. In his 9 league games played he currently has 4 goals to his name with a couple of assists thrown in for good measure, but Republic of Ireland international Oisin McEntee is the top assists man with 3 so far.
The Gaffer at Walsall, the aptly named Mathew Sadler is someone we haven’t faced before as a manager with this being his first appointment, and that only since May 2023. His stats stand at P 15, W 5, D 3, L 7 giving him the Win Ratio of 33.33 %.
We may well have faced Sadler during his 19 year playing career as a defender for a lengthy list of teams including Birmingham when they were in the Premiership, but also includes, Northampton Town, Watford, Stockport County, Shrewsbury Town, Walsall, Crawley Town, Rotherham, and Oldham Athletic. In total he played 574 games and scored 12 goals.
Historically the trend continues with very little between us and Walsall although we hve a slight edge. The full record is shown below.
2004/05 – Dons 1 Walsall 1 (Kamara)
2004/05 – Walsall 0 Dons 0
2005/06 – Walsall 1 Dons 1 (Edds)
2005/06 – Dons 2 Walsall 1 (McLeod, Wilbraham’s)
2006/07 – Walsall 0 Dons 0
2006/07 – Dons 1 Walsall 1 (McLeod)
2008/09 – Walsall 0 Dons 3 (Johnson, Gerba, Wright)
2008/09 – Dons 0 Walsall 1
2009/10 – Dons 1 Walsall 0 (Easter)
2009/10 – Walsall 2 Dons 1 (Powell)
2010/11 – Walsall 1 Dons 2 (S Baldock, Woodards)
2010/11 – Dons 1 Walsall 1 (Leven)
2011/12 – Walsall 0 Dons 2 (Lewington, Ibehre)
2011/12 – Dons 0 Walsall 1
2012/13 – Walsall 1 Dons 0
2012/13 – Dons 2 Walsall 4 (Lowe, Bowditch)
2013/14 – Dons 1 Walsall 0 (S Williams)
2013/14 – Walsall 0 Dons 3 (McLeod 2, Reeves)
2014/15 – Dons 0 Walsall 3
2014/15 – Walsall 1 Dons 1 (Grigg)
2016/17 – Dons 1 Walsall 1 (Bowditch)
2016/17 – Walsall 1 Dons 4 (Muirhead, Reeves, O’Keefe, Barnes)
2017/18 – Dons 1 Walsall 1 (Aneke)
2017/18 – Walsall 1 Dons 0
2022/23 – Walsall 0 Dons 2 (FLT) (Lawrence, Holland)
That totals up at P 25, W 9, D 9, L 7, GF 30, GA 23.
The bookies have this one close as well with hardly a fag paper between the two teams.
Walsall 28/17, Draw, 5/2, MK Dons 13/8.
So, its prediction time, well I’m sure we all hope for a reaction from the players, but everything points to a draw. Walsall seem to play in a similar fashion to Harrogate Town, happy to concede possession and take advantage when opportunities are presented to them, just ask Bradford fans who watched their team dominate the game at home last weekend against Walsall and still lost 3-1 and then booed the players and manager off the field at the end of the game…. sound familiar.
Until next time.  WD
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Read the MELTDOWN after every game, no bullshit, just giving it straight
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