Walsall 4-0 Mansfield Town (League Two) Sat 30 Sep Another splendid victory at Bescot brought the curtain down on an outstanding month for the Saddlers, but it was a classic tale of two halves. Mansfield, struggling in the lower reaches of the table, set out their stall to frustrate us during the opening 45 and their five-man midfield did just that. If truth be told, the sound of the half-time whistle actually triggered a chorus of boos from some sections of the Floors-2-Go Stand.
 | | Craig Pead in his Coventry days |
I couldn’t quite believe their senseless reaction: are they so egotistic that they honestly expect us to roll teams over every week? How pathetic. Being top of the table, some of the sides in our division will come to Bescot and play for a point. Everyone needs to realise that especially the fickle minority. Within six minutes of the restart we were ahead – Mark Wright volleying home after Craig Pead’s shot was palmed into his path by Stags stopper Jason White. It was a moment to forget for White with 62 minutes on the clock when Dean Keates’ dipping free-kick squirmed under his body and rolled at the speed of an ageing turtle into the back of the net. Oh dear! Keates made it three with an exquisite header on 76 and defender Anthony Gerrard took a leaf out of his cousin’s book late on to cap a miserable afternoon for the Nottinghamshire outfit. Shrewsbury Town 1-1 Walsall (League Two) Tue 26 Sep How Shrewsbury didn’t win this one I do not know.
 | | Money: Just like watching Madrid? |
We played some scintillating stuff to begin with (Dick Dosh even likened our style to Spanish giants Real Madrid) but overall our Shropshire neighbours were without doubt the better side. By pushing us further and further back, the Shrews effectively stopped us from playing our game, and their manager, Gary Peters, should take credit for that. Poor finishing saw the hosts spurn chance after chance in the second-half but Dosh’s men managed to hang on for a valuable draw.
 | | Hector Sam |
It was an entertaining contest with both sets of supporters exchanging the pleasantries you would expect to hear at a local derby. Saddlers fans started the night in good voice, but unsurprisingly the atmosphere amongst the travelling contingent soon deflated once Neil Sorvel had cancelled out Tony Bedeau’s early opener. Nonetheless, we battled hard for a point and that’s a characteristic we’ll need this season, especially on the road. Next up at Bescot are Mansfield Town; let’s hope we can wrap up September with victory over the Stags. Bristol Rovers 1-2 Walsall (League Two) Sat 23 Sep “We are top of the league, say we are top of the league!”
 | | Saddlers' season to celebrate? |
Everyone knows a football season is a marathon not a sprint but it’s difficult not to get excited about our excellent position in the table. And we haven’t got there by chance: seven victories, two draws and a solitary defeat has made us the team to beat in League Two. Our performance at the Memorial Ground was certainly not one of the best we have produced this season, but the last time we picked up three points on our travels was at Rochdale on the opening day – and that’s something we have to be pleased about. Scott Dann, who slotted into the back four in place of Craig Pead, broke the deadlock on eight minutes to register his third goal in as many appearances. Now that’s a record Thierry Henry would be proud of! We doubled our lead before half-time when Dan Fox sent an unstoppable header into the roof of the net. Rovers dominated after the break but Dann’s defensive partnership with Chris Westwood stood firm until Andy Sandell’s late consolation. Walsall 1-3 Bolton Wanderers (Carling Cup) Tue 19 Sep
 | | Walsall's Michael Dobson |
Not since our brilliant 4-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion, on the opening day of the 2003/2004 season, have I felt so proud to support Walsall FC. We were absolutely superb and the scoreline flattered our Premiership opponents who, for long periods, were totally outplayed. Sam Allardyce showed us respect by starting nearly all of Wanderers’ household names. But not even the likes of Gary Speed, Stelios Giannakopoulos, Ivan Campo and Nicolas Anelka could change the game in Bolton’s favour. Big Sam was forced to throw on Kevin Nolan and the ever-popular El-Hadji Diouf with the super Saddlers well on top on the second-half. Nolan broke the deadlock against the run of play and the travelling contingent were probably guilty of presuming there would be no comeback.
 | | Another Keates cracker... |
Fives minutes later Bescot erupted when Martin Butler deservedly headed us level. We continued to dominate proceedings and it seemed only a matter of time before we scored the winner our display warranted. However, two goals in the final four minutes sent Wanderers into round three. Talk about injustice! It was devastating to come so close to an old fashioned giant-killing but supporters witnessed a terrific performance full of pride and passion. Michael Dobson won the midfield battle with Speed, Kris Taylor kept Stelios quiet, Chris Westwood was superb, Daniel Fox was effective, Hector Sam worked his socks off, Clayton Ince made some stupendous saves, Mark Wright always looked dangerous, Craig Pead was solid, Dean Keates battled ceaselessly, Butler caused problems, Ishmel Demontagnac was explosive, and Ian Roper had Anelka in his back pocket! Therefore, it was impossible to pick a man-of-the-match. In hindsight, victory would have undoubtedly been overshadowed by the Panorama controversy which has since been talk of the terrace. Hopefully we will prolong the fervour and get our away record back on track at Bristol Rovers this weekend. Walsall 2-0 Macclesfield Town (League Two) Sat 17 Sep It’s a sign of a good team when they win despite not playing well. This wasn’t a poor performance, but we were a shadow of the side who demolished Peterborough on Tuesday. The result was our fifth successive home victory and that’s something we should be ecstatic about after the misery of last season. Macclesfield battled for 90 minutes and will go home feeling their performance deserved more. Currently rock bottom of the Football League after amassing just two points from their opening nine fixtures, these are troubled times for the Silkmen. However, they proved tough opposition and would have left Bescot with at least a point for their efforts if they were a bit more ruthless in front of goal. It was great to see Hector Sam break his goalscoring duck, and there’s no doubt that this will give his confidence a timely boost ahead of our mouth-watering Carling Cup clash with Bolton Wanderers. Mr Allardyce has hinted that he’ll rest some of his key players, which comes as no surprise, but rumour has it Nicolas Anelka will start. He won’t like being marked by Ian Roper that’s for sure! Bring on the Trotters! Walsall 5-0 Peterborough (League Two) Tue 12 Aug Now that’s what I call bouncing back with a bang! I can’t quite decide whether it was us who were brilliant or our opponents who were abysmal. I conjecture a bit of both, but nonetheless this was a good old Saddlers spanking! I’m not exaggerating when I say the final score could have been something like 15-0! Keith Alexander’s pre-match team talk was completely worthless after only 27 minutes: Daniel Fox’s opener was unstoppable, but Michael Dobson won’t score an easier double in his entire career. Peterborough started the season so well; what has happened to them? Four wins out of four at the end of August is the stuff dreams are made of, especially when you take into account the year Posh have had. But Alexander’s men were absolutely hopeless, and the humiliating scoreline has prompted owner Barry Fry to release a damning statement. I bet Peterborough’s players might be asked to reimburse the loyal supporters who made the midweek jaunt to Bescot after such a nauseating performance. From a Walsall fans point of view, the fact Paul Merson was in attendance takes the gloss off such a memorable evening of football. Does the man have any idea just how unpopular he is? There were more than “five idiots behind the goal at Brentford” who wanted you out Mr Merson; it’s about time you realised that. Surely you can’t publicly slate the club and its fans after taking us backwards for two years and somehow expect us to forget? If you’ve got any respect left for us Paul, show some decency and stay away. I know I’m speaking on behalf of the supporters when I say you’re not welcome. Grimsby Town 2-1 Walsall (League Two) Sat 9 Sep Oh dear, is the honeymoon period over? Obviously it’s very disappointing to see us lose our unbeaten record, but it’s the way that it departed which has left supporters scratching their heads. We went in at the interval fortunate to still be on level terms with Grimsby throwing our respective league positions out of the window. The Mariners battered us (excuse the shameful pun) and quite frankly the end result was nothing less than we deserved. However, matters were very quickly put into perspective when news filtered through that former player Matt Gatsby had tragically collapsed and died whilst playing for non-league Hinckley United. Gatsby started his career at Bescot and, although never a regular for the Saddlers, will always be remembered as the substitute who laid the ball off to Darren Byfield for our unforgettable play-off winner at the Millennium Stadium. He passed away doing what he loved, but my thoughts are with his family and friends at this very sad time. RIP Matt. Barnet 1-1 Walsall (League Two) Sat 2 Sep With the new season only a matter of weeks old, it’s difficult to determine whether a result like this is two points dropped or one point gained. I don’t expect Barnet to be challenging for promotion, but I feel Underhill and its famous slope will be one of the trickiest places to visit for teams in League Two. We returned with a point and, as we were trailing at half-time, it’s more of a case of one point gained courtesy of a deflected Dean Keates leveller. It’s the second time in the space of a fortnight that we’ve come from behind to salvage a draw on our travels – this to me shows that we are a side playing with a lot of self-belief. This is no great surprise considering the positive attitude which Richard Money has brought to the club. I certainly don’t mind drawing our away games as long as we’re able to pick up three points at home. So far that’s the case and it’s the kind of form which will undoubtedly see us go up. However, if Swindon maintain their winning run the title will probably be decided by Christmas! They appear invincible, but fingers crossed it’s only a matter of time before they taste defeat. | 
