In the latest of his regular offerings Hillary Street-Ender takes a look back at last weekend's Sky Bet League One clash with Coventry City, and discusses the Saddlers' recent spell of good form, before considering what impact a lengthy injury to top-scorer Tom Bradshaw could have on our chances of making it to the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final.
The Coventry game was a microcosm of our season so
far with there being much that was good in our performance and much that
frustrated. Mention had been made of the condition of the pitch and, yes, it
was a bit boggy and slightly cut up in places but we’re not talking the
Baseball Ground circa 1973 and I’m sure Deano will have played on worse
surfaces back in the day. It wasn’t ideal but seemed not to have too much of an
adverse effect on proceedings and the game we saw – goalless though it finished
- was far from a boring one and could
probably best be described as absorbing rather than exciting. Our back four was
only occasionally troubled and the ever more reliable O’Donnell dealt
comfortably with whatever came through to him in a match that saw him troubled
far more than we troubled Sky Blues custodian Allsop, for all the possession we
enjoyed and pressure we exerted. It’s very much to the credit of Deano, Richard
and the lads that we have the best defensive record in the entire division but
it’s difficult to know exactly what to read into that. Are we so solid at the
back despite the absence of Andy Butler or because of it? What role has our
mid-field played in our stinginess? Are Chambers, Cain and company more
effective now in stopping opponents in the middle of the park than has
previously been the case? And if they are is this primarily down to the
presence of Cain, as we do seem to have tightened up even more than normal
since he came in from Leicester, conceding just five goals in nine games since
he arrived? For me the conundrum in our defence is Downing. The presence of
Butler always seemed to me to bring the best out of young Paul and he seems
less sure of himself now that Deano appears to have settled on pairing him with
James Chambers. He doesn’t look as assured yet we’re conceding fewer goals than
ever. ‘tis a funny old game. Our back four will, of course, have great
confidence in O’Donnell, a man who has continued to improve before our very
eyes for the entire time he’s been with us to the extent that we now think
nothing of it when he pulls off yet another blinding save, the one in the dying
minutes of the first half at the Ricoh Arena being just another to add to the
list. He’s a young man who’s probably playing better than at any time in his
career, meaning he’ll have caught the eyes of other teams, meaning that the
coming transfer window could be a worrying time for us Saddlers because we’re
all aware of what usually happens when other clubs flash the cash. Fingers
crossed for him to remain with us, but you wouldn’t be all that surprised to
see him go…….
No pressure, Tom……
By: Hillary Street-Ender.
Another to have really impressed over the last
couple of months is young Romaine and I fear we may have to keep a wary eye on
him during January too. I feel he’s playing his best football for us right now.
His participation in the Caribbean Cup seems to have bolstered his confidence
and all that’s good about our attacking play goes through him. The ball now
sticks better on reaching him and he’s leading our opponents a merry dance,
clearly being identified as our danger man in that position between mid-field
and striker. When we get our quick-passing game going he’s beginning to look
unplayable and looks the one player we have capable of picking out the
devastating pass that can set up a gilt-edged chance. It’s a great pity that we
have just the one player who has the nous to get into the right position for
that pass and it’s even more of a pity that that player has repeatedly been out
injured. Cook has been asked to play the Bradshaw role of late but their
startling similarity in appearance and mobility sadly doesn’t stretch to
penalty area savvy. Our only real conduit of creativity comes when Sawyers and
Bradshaw are out there together and it’s highly probable that we’d have netted
at least another half-dozen times had Bradders not suffered one injury after
another. There was many an occasion at the Ricoh when we nearly worked a decent
opening and many a game this season where we nearly achieved a win and we have
nearly everything a team needs to compete at the right end of the league, which
is where supporter frustration kicks in. When we’re at our best we’re as good
as there is in the third division but to be at our best we need Bradshaw to be
out there and, through no fault if his own, he’s not been out there nearly
often enough. We’ve done well without him of late but he represents our only
proper cutting edge and it’s no exaggeration to say that out chance of finally
reaching Wembley rests largely on his shoulders.
By: Hillary Street-Ender.