| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale 09:05 - Sep 11 with 14605 views | RochdaleAFC.com |
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| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 19:10 - Sep 12 with 4819 views | beat_the_bishop |
| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 17:25 - Sep 12 by JimmyRustler |
Great point but a poor performance again.
Waller in for Ramming and now Maguire’s fit, him in for Wilson?
Those two are quite clearly the weak links in the side.
I’d also try Brown up front and one of our many wingers in Brown’s former position. Mani needs dropping, even if it’s just to give him a kick up the @rse |
I agree. But these prem clubs put clauses in the loans I’m sure.
A backline of Moss, Flint, Maguire and Beckwith and Waller sat behind them in goal and my fingernails would be relieved.
The young loanee lads have been thrown to the Lions because of the situation. BUT, he told us he doesn’t do squad depth signings so we have every reason to be expecting them to perform.
Both our strikers need a goal urgently. I think if Brown grabs one he will get stronger. Mani, I just don’t think he is what we need right now, he isn’t intelligent enough for this level.
They worked hard today but it wasn’t pretty. But 3 points against Oldham and it’s a solid week. I just can’t see it. They seem to know how to do us every time. |  | | |
| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 19:11 - Sep 12 with 4811 views | richfoad32 |
| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 18:37 - Sep 12 by frenzied |
A beautiful ugly point….very happy with that |
Against one of the supposedly better teams in the division as well, Walsall are unbeaten albeit having drawn four of their games. Something to build on and will give the younger players a boost. Similar to the Colchester game although we couldn't see that through, it might be the template for the season unless Watson can solve the conundrum of how to make us more of an attacking threat.
Good to see EEL on the sidelines dishing out his fair share of encouragement and cajoling, I feel he's come in for a bit of unfair stick in some quarters lately. | | | |
| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 19:59 - Sep 12 with 4500 views | dannyuk |
We get the EFL trophy and NL Cup forced down our necks to expose prem youngsters to men's football because they're "good enough". I think we should expect them to perform as well as any other signing.
[Post edited 12 Sep 20:01]
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| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 21:41 - Sep 12 with 4089 views | js2006 |
In isolation you’d have thought this was a good point away from home at the start of the season. With the context of last Saturday I think it’s a great point. By no means were we particularly good but (and I don’t want to sound too much like a modern manager) the mentality to grind out that win after the low of last week shouldn’t be overlooked.
Others have mentioned it but Moss was outstanding, I’m yet to see the guy have a poor game in a dale shirt. I think the addition of Flint became apparent quite early on - we looked much more organised at the back. I still worry about how easy we appear to be played through in midfield.
We have quality players coming back in to the side and once Hayes, Smith, Middleton, Maguire and Flint are up to speed and have more minutes in their legs there’s cause for cautious optimism I think. | | | |
| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 02:44 - Sep 13 with 3625 views | D_Alien |
| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 19:11 - Sep 12 by richfoad32 |
Against one of the supposedly better teams in the division as well, Walsall are unbeaten albeit having drawn four of their games. Something to build on and will give the younger players a boost. Similar to the Colchester game although we couldn't see that through, it might be the template for the season unless Watson can solve the conundrum of how to make us more of an attacking threat.
Good to see EEL on the sidelines dishing out his fair share of encouragement and cajoling, I feel he's come in for a bit of unfair stick in some quarters lately. |
It's really quite straightforward: a player who's a defensive liability in the EFL just can't be a leader on the pitch. No amount of "cajoling from the sidelines" can overcome that. Same with Mani D up front, unless he can up his game
It's a harsh business, and sentiment gets you relegated |  |
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| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 06:58 - Sep 13 with 3454 views | richfoad32 |
| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 02:44 - Sep 13 by D_Alien |
It's really quite straightforward: a player who's a defensive liability in the EFL just can't be a leader on the pitch. No amount of "cajoling from the sidelines" can overcome that. Same with Mani D up front, unless he can up his game
It's a harsh business, and sentiment gets you relegated |
I was referring more to social media, where he seems to have been made the scapegoat and target of sneering comments for our poor start. Reminds me why I should avoid it, plenty of condescending people on there as well. It may transpire he's not up to it any more but at least he's not sulking and I just think the guy has been a solid pro for us and worthy of more respect, apologies if that's being sentimental. [Post edited 13 Sep 7:31]
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| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 07:47 - Sep 13 with 3362 views | D_Alien |
| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 06:58 - Sep 13 by richfoad32 |
I was referring more to social media, where he seems to have been made the scapegoat and target of sneering comments for our poor start. Reminds me why I should avoid it, plenty of condescending people on there as well. It may transpire he's not up to it any more but at least he's not sulking and I just think the guy has been a solid pro for us and worthy of more respect, apologies if that's being sentimental. [Post edited 13 Sep 7:31]
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No disrespect is involved on my part; as i said, a straightforward footballing opinion
If disrespect is being shown elsewhere, i agree it's out of order, and no need to apologise for calling it out
[Post edited 13 Sep 11:17]
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| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 08:01 - Sep 13 with 3317 views | 442Dale |
| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 06:58 - Sep 13 by richfoad32 |
I was referring more to social media, where he seems to have been made the scapegoat and target of sneering comments for our poor start. Reminds me why I should avoid it, plenty of condescending people on there as well. It may transpire he's not up to it any more but at least he's not sulking and I just think the guy has been a solid pro for us and worthy of more respect, apologies if that's being sentimental. [Post edited 13 Sep 7:31]
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He’s definitely worthy of more respect. We saw similar when he returned from his long spell out with injury the season before last. The disrespect was laughable, especially as he then went on to prove doubters wrong by leading the team to such heights in 26/27.
For all his limitations, and there are obviously some as he’s been a lower league defender for most of his career, it’s obvious that he’s an excellent professional who others follow because of the example he sets. |  |
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| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 08:52 - Sep 13 with 3216 views | Bazzanne |
While I am ever hopefully we can at least consolidate our league 2 status, that was a hard watch yesterday. I agree the defence was better, but throwing your body about to block is not really football, and that's what we did for the majority of the game. I W in one of his first interviews said we could expect attacking football. My mums toy poodle was more threatening than our forwards. You can't score goals if you have 8 or nine players camped in your own half, It's hard to see where the goals are going to come from so far. There can't be many worse teams than us in this league at the moment. | | | |
| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 11:27 - Sep 13 with 2861 views | dawlishdale |
| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 08:52 - Sep 13 by Bazzanne |
While I am ever hopefully we can at least consolidate our league 2 status, that was a hard watch yesterday. I agree the defence was better, but throwing your body about to block is not really football, and that's what we did for the majority of the game. I W in one of his first interviews said we could expect attacking football. My mums toy poodle was more threatening than our forwards. You can't score goals if you have 8 or nine players camped in your own half, It's hard to see where the goals are going to come from so far. There can't be many worse teams than us in this league at the moment. |
Pleased with a point and a clean sheet, but it was awful stuff for the fans to watch. Plenty of effort from the defenders; Moss and Flint especially, but there are several players just not performing. On another day we would have lost by 2 or 3 goals whilst seldom threatening to score. Hopefully, 1 or 2 of the injuries will soon clear up and we will see an improvement in the coming weeks.
I still just can't see what IW is trying to do shape wise and it makes a mockery of his appointment promise to play attacking entertaining football. Wilson and Mani are not good enough for this level I'm afraid whilst Ramming (a decent shot stopper) just doesn't command his 6 yard box well enough. I'm hopeful that Gilmour will improve but he seems slower than last year and less able to win the ball in midfield without giving free kicks away.
Having now listened to the fans forum, I think the Board know all too well how the supporters feel, but are on the defensive because they made a poor call in appointing IW.
Annoying, because much of the off field operation is progressing really well. | | | |
| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 11:30 - Sep 13 with 2850 views | SaxonDale |
I actually left the ground yesterday more confident that we can retain our League status than I have been previously.
Defensively, I thought we were fairly solid. Flint is clearly a very good player at this level and will only improve with more game time. We’re still prone to moments of madness - the two-minute spell where we gave the ball away three times in our own third being the most obvious example- but individually I thought all of our defenders looked decent. Hopefully, it’s simply a case of replacing one of the more inexperienced players with someone with a bit more experience to tighten things up further. I’d presume Maguire comes in for Wilson.
For all of Walsall’s possession, I can’t remember them really playing through us, and I thought our defensive structure was generally much more solid. Considering they’re a team expected to be around the play-offs, I didn’t think we were caused too many problems by them. It’s also two clean sheets from six games, and we were only a few minutes away from making it three from six had we held out against Colchester. Whether that says more about the quality of opposition, or our defensive shape is up for debate.
There are still plenty of things that need to improve, though. Their number 8 was dictating a lot of the play in the first half because he was drifting between defence and midfield with nobody picking him up. Our midfield looks overstretched at times, and the opposition seem to be running past them too easily for my liking. I think we need Adeeko playing as the DM, but hopefully that starts to improve once we have more CMs available.
We could also address that by having one of the full-backs move inside to support the midfield, but that can probably only happen once the defence is more settled and everyone understands their roles better.
I also thought Taylor’s substitution should have happened about five minutes earlier, as he was clearly flat on his feet and was becoming a liability defensively. Again, though, I’ll give the benefit of the doubt and assume it was partly down to managing Smith’s minutes.
There are still too many aimless clearances up front, but hopefully that’s just about ensuring the team has enough time to get back into its defensive structure, and something that will develop as confidence improves. I’d also like to see the players force the forward pass less often. There are times when it works, and I think it could become an exciting part of our game, but too often we’re just throwing away possession, and our players must be running an incredible amount because of it.
I don’t think we should have been in this position in the first place, but ultimately I can see a few green shoots of improvement. The next few games are key to building on that. |  | | |
| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 12:02 - Sep 13 with 2769 views | Edindale |
There were some encouraging signs defensively, but as has been mentioned our inability to keep possession and lack of goal threat is a concern. Totally agree that we should not be in this predicament.
Neither Brown or Mani will be prolific this season and that needs to be addressed ASAP. Once Hayes and our other more attacking wingers are fully fit we may have more goal opportunities. I am assuming that we are already exploring non registered players and thinking about what deals might be done in the January window.
Who plays at 10 is a concern. Also it may be that we need to play with a 'false 9' to utilise our more effective players. The alternative might be to throw someone like EEL / Sherring up front at least for a part of games, to see if the ball sticks or can be won further up the pitch (not least because it doesn't look like Sherring will play at centre back). We need plans B and C especially if we concede first rather than persisting with tactics that are not working.
Hopefully we get a result next week against Oldham who lost at home yesterday and by all accounts were very poor. Nonetheless it is a local derby and I just hope our boys are up for it.
UTD | | | |
| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 14:18 - Sep 13 with 2500 views | isitme |
I am assuming that we are already exploring non registered players and thinking about what deals might be done in the January window.
I suspect targets will already be lined up for January and I would also expect some outgoings as well. A striker and an experienced centre half are probably on the shopping list, although a fit Maguire may lesson the experienced aspect. I think there will be money there for signings. |  | | |
| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 16:11 - Sep 13 with 2296 views | jonahwhereru |
We really had to grind to get the draw yesterday. We were not good. However it’s was night and day compared to Newport. That said we cannot expect to get many points away from home performing at that level. When the opposition get 24 attempts on goal in a game with 9 on target (BBC) you are going to concede in the vast majority of those games. When that happens we are not currently good enough to get back in a game.
So something/s need to change. I will leave the formation and tactics to those more qualified than me, but clearly we are not able to repel the opposition for long enough periods to grab a real hold, other than against Shrewsbury. The other option is of course the gaining of match fitness for those who are not at that stage. As that happens results may improve, but how many are good enough to be obvious starters. The three wingers almost definitely are (given their appearances in L1) but you aren’t going to play them 3 in the same side. Beckwith and East are not certain starters at this level and neither is Rodney or Pettit. Can we use the squad to fashion a team capable, and bench capable of finishing 22nd or above? I think we can, but we will need good stewardship, and a bit of luck of which we are due.
UTD | | | |
| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 16:36 - Sep 13 with 2241 views | 442Dale |
It’s really apparent how much momentum and confidence play a part. York had the whole drama around their manager change and the loss of key players from last season yet they’re doing really well.
Their starting XI has limited EFL experience, only Banks, Newby and Fallowfield with significant numbers(I think) - Flint probably has more appearances in the league than their whole team!
Players like Fallowfield, Grey and Newby weren’t regular starters last season but are this time around, yet all three are making big impacts a division higher. They have a young keeper on loan too.
The difference is they still seem to be playing the same way as last season with how they set up. And Stones is still to return. | |
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| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 12:33 - Sep 14 with 1515 views | KnavesmireBob |
Yep agreed there's loads of continuity at York vs last season - on Saturday only Boyes and their loan keeper McNally weren't there last year, and they're currently without the injured Stones and Boateng plus no Fagan-Walcott so arguably less strong on paper than when in the NL.
Keen to see Smith, Middleton and Hayes getting regular starts soon. Keen to see Taylor in the 10 with Brown coming off the bench for Mani when he starts to tire. Keen to see Maguire and Beckwith settled in the back 4 alongside Tasker and Flint. Think our squad quality is more than good enough, not perfect by any means, but we've made it hard for ourselves so far and York are a good example of getting results by keeping it relatively simple. | | | |
| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 17:00 - Sep 14 with 1218 views | Dale_4_Life |
Encouraging result but the performance still leaves questions unanswered.
The commitment and organization in defense was there for us to see but on another day Walsall take a few of the chances they created (we allowed?) and more pressure builds.
Another leap forward and a battling character filled performance on Saturday v Oldham will go a long way in settling my nerves.
Not great by a long shot but a few green shoots. | | | |
| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 17:05 - Sep 14 with 1208 views | isitme |
| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 12:33 - Sep 14 by KnavesmireBob |
Yep agreed there's loads of continuity at York vs last season - on Saturday only Boyes and their loan keeper McNally weren't there last year, and they're currently without the injured Stones and Boateng plus no Fagan-Walcott so arguably less strong on paper than when in the NL.
Keen to see Smith, Middleton and Hayes getting regular starts soon. Keen to see Taylor in the 10 with Brown coming off the bench for Mani when he starts to tire. Keen to see Maguire and Beckwith settled in the back 4 alongside Tasker and Flint. Think our squad quality is more than good enough, not perfect by any means, but we've made it hard for ourselves so far and York are a good example of getting results by keeping it relatively simple. |
All fair points. A settled back four and keeper would help with continuity and fit and firing wide players would give us plenty of options and impact from the bench. My main concern is have we got enough in midfield and up top before we can strengthen in January? | | | |
| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 20:03 - Sep 14 with 962 views | fermin |
| Refwatch - Walsall v Rochdale on 12:33 - Sep 14 by KnavesmireBob |
Yep agreed there's loads of continuity at York vs last season - on Saturday only Boyes and their loan keeper McNally weren't there last year, and they're currently without the injured Stones and Boateng plus no Fagan-Walcott so arguably less strong on paper than when in the NL.
Keen to see Smith, Middleton and Hayes getting regular starts soon. Keen to see Taylor in the 10 with Brown coming off the bench for Mani when he starts to tire. Keen to see Maguire and Beckwith settled in the back 4 alongside Tasker and Flint. Think our squad quality is more than good enough, not perfect by any means, but we've made it hard for ourselves so far and York are a good example of getting results by keeping it relatively simple. |
I have not seen any games yet this season so I can only go on what I have seen others say on here. Looking back at the retained list https://rochdaleafc.co.uk/reta over which there was little disagreement, I reckon at least half of those on the list of those retained under contract are now considered not up to League Two standard on here, including Mani D.
This suggests that last season we did very well to keep up with York if most of their squad is doing well in League 2, and I think this was clear from the end of last season when we got of jail any number of times. Hence, it is not surprising that we have had to recruit a lot of players, which will inevitably take time to gel, especially with all the injuries. I am hoping that when we can get more of the injured/unfit players more used to training and playing together then we will see an improvement - Saturday would be a good time for this! |  | | |
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