Saddlers Social: Walsall fans are thrilled by four wins in a row

Ian Newbold

Are we still in League Two?

It certainly hasn’t felt like it these last four games. They’ve been enjoyable to watch, there’s been far fewer howlers and some top quality individual performances too.

Holden with a hat-trick of assists on Saturday is outstanding at this level, any really. I know wins raise spirits and can add a rose colour to spectacles, but I wasn’t that miffed when Vale took the lead again later on as I was enjoying the football anyway this weekend.

I felt the same when Bolton took the lead last week. Football is all about winning, but not the be all and end all for all supporters. Keep playing like this and we’ll be fine, and fun to watch.

Merry Christmas fellow Saddlers.

Nick Etheridge

Well, where do you start with that? Following on from a midweek victory where we had to hang on, even though we looked fairly in control for the majority of the game, Vale were always going to be a tough test. The first half was strange where again, we always looked in control and kept them pretty much at arms length so to go in at the interval two goals down was a strange one. Even stranger still was the team emerging at half time with four changes! The nature of Darrell Clarke means he’ll always split opinion but even his staunchest of followers must have been shaking their heads as the performance didn’t really warrant the mass changes

Fast forward to the end of the second half and it was an absolute master stroke. Mat Sadler shored up the left hand side meaning Hayden White could move to right back where he had his best game for us. Danny Guthrie dictated the play in the middle, with Jake Scrimshaw and Caolan Lavery a real nuisance. It’s excellent to see that we have some strength in depth this season, even thought it’s still a relatively small squad

One thing that has been noticeably different for me in the last few weeks has been that the players seem much fitter.

Instead of turning up for the first half of games and dropping off in the second, we’ve been able to keep up that high press for the majority of the game.

It’s taken the pressure off the defence and pushed the whole team further up the pitch.

If we can continue to do this for the remainder of the season then there’s no reason why we can’t sustain this current run of form and aim for the play-offs, or even higher.

Dan Price

At half-time on Saturday I thought that was genuinely the winning streak over and heading in to the Christmas period on a loss.

The four subs at half-time was a surprise to see to be honest because if that doesn’t work then yet again the fans are starting to ask questions around the decisions being made, but this was an absolute masterclass.

If you asked me of all the players on the pitch which two would walk off with a brace then Jake Scrimshaw and Dane Scarr would have been pretty far down the list, but it shows that we have attacking threats all around the squad.

From the interview I saw with Scrimshaw you could genuinely see how much it meant scoring those goals so hopefully now we see more of that from him.

If anyone would have said six weeks ago we would have been one place out of the play-offs on goal difference then I would have thought you’d had one Banks’s too many. I would like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year and hope to see you all inside the Banks’s in the new year.

James Kenealey

Like everyone else, I’ve missed going to games since right from when all this started, but I think last Saturday is the first time that I’ve truly felt shortchanged by not being able to have been there. Coming from behind twice to beat Vale of all teams in a seven-goal thriller? The place would have been rocking and it would have been a great antidote to this miserable year. Special mention to Jake Scrimshaw and his excellent finishes.

I also never thought I would ever miss standing at the freezing Boundary Park on a Tuesday night in December, but this year has done strange things to us all. The performances in these aforementioned games have really impressed me. It seems we’ve finally shown what we’re capable of and everything seems to have clicked. We’re top of the form table, which feels a long way away from Southend at home.

There’s so much more movement an fluidity and danger moving forwards now and some of the passing has been a delight (see: Bates to McDonald in the run up to our winner at Oldham). We also look like a side that’s become difficult to beat and will keep coming back at you. In, let’s be honest, a league not renown for it’s sprawling and free-flowing football, these qualities are key and we have a great opportunity coming up against Salford and then struggling Scunthorpe. Get four points out of these games and its game on for 2021.

Much improved lads, well done. Merry Christmas everyone.

Chris Saunders

An exciting game of football and three points always makes for a successful weekend from a fans perspective. Games like Port Vale really hammer home how sad it is that fans aren’t currently allowed.

Whilst for us fans the rollercoaster of a game gave us many emotions and ultimately ended with ecstasy of getting the win, I’m sure Darrell Clarke will be slightly concerned still by defensive weaknesses and mistakes. I do hope he only looks at tweaks in this area however as I feel he will lose some of the attacking fluidity we have found. We at last look a real force going forward and that is the sort of trait that gets you promotion, especially in the lack of a mean defence and 1-0 wins.

Finally, Clarke made wholesale half time changes and the gamble came off, I know some criticism has come that he is desperate and should get it right to begin with. On the other hand isn’t it nice to have a manager with a sense of adventure and just enjoy the ride and see where it takes us?

Robert Dearn

What a fight back! I never thought I would say I am proud after conceding three goals, but I am! The team are fighting for every point they can get, and the fans will always get behind a side that does so.

I want to single out a couple of players that I think have shone recently. The first is Liam Kinsella. He has been the heartbeat and energy in midfield. His desire to win the ball, make the pass, break up play or push the side forward is always apparent. He has been performing well and it is no surprise that Kinsella has been at the top of his game too. If he plays well, the team does.

The other, is more obvious, but important too. Wes McDonald had been criticised earlier in the season, however he has pushed through, and is now at the top of his game. I think he deserves praise for getting through his rough patch. It is not easy, and it shows the character of the side.

Stuart Cox

Four wins on the bounce? Have we really? The way we were playing a month ago you wouldn’t have put money on that. Along with many others I was hoping for the same 11 to start on Saturday and they did….and we were two down at half time.

I don’t think we played badly at all in the first 45 and was surprised with the changes but we looked a different team second half. Before Saturday, Jake Scrimshaw had looked lively but hadn’t looked like he could lead the line and get the goals for us but on Saturday he caused them all sorts of problems and took his goals superbly well.

I’m sure he’s cemented his place for Boxing Day. We are now a few weeks from that special time for all Walsall fans – the January transfer window….Usually the time that any hope we have each year disappears in the flash of a sale or non-signing.

The chairman has a bit of a dilemma here – do we stick with what we’ve got and hope that our current form continues and pushes us up the table? Or does he push the boat out and get a couple of players in to help that push even further?

For me we really need an out and out winger on the right. Cameron Norman has shown himself to be useful down that side but he is a right-back. Wes McDonald has begun to show that magic on the left – if we had someone doing that on the opposite site too we could really cause problems. What’s Wracky doing these days?! Let’s hope that this time next week we are in a play-off spot after a fifth win on the bounce. Now that would be a Merry Christmas!

Rob Harvey

Four wins in a row, who’d have predicted that a month or so ago?

Words fail me to try and explain Saturday’s game but what a game it was. It had everything you could want and it was very entertaining, made all the sweeter by coming from behind twice!

We are starting to look like a real team in this division now, and having lost only three games in 20 league games is no mean feat in any division. We have started to turn draws into wins, and if we can keep our squad together through January and beyond then who knows what we could achieve. We are starting to look like a Darrell Clarke squad now I believe. On this note, I have always thought there was something about Jake Scrimshaw, and given he now has his first professional goals and looks a much better player than two months ago, I’d hope we are in discussions about taking him until the end of the season.

On Darrell Clarke, he’s a bit of a madman but personally I love that about him. Four substitutes at half time of a game is a bold move and it paid off for him in the greatest way. If that hadn’t have happened then you can only imagine the ridicule he would be given. Interestingly I was listening to a podcast today that discussed Darrell Clarke and the aforementioned substitutions (Foxtpunter is the name of the podcast), and it was interesting to listen to. Give it a go if you get time.

Moving forward we have some great games to look forward to over Christmas, Salford away, Scunthorpe and Carlisle at home. If we can pass through these games with a minimum of five points then I think we are in for a good second half of the season where hopefully some of the fans can be back to witness a good push for the play-offs at the very least.

I hope everyone reading this has a very Merry Christmas and that 2021 is much better for us all. Keep safe everyone. UTS!