Thetownend.com

We need some payback from the spanking we got in the home fixture. Will be tough.

Walsall 2-2 Swindon att: 6,333 (1,206 away)

It's already been confirmed we've sold more than 1000 tickets!

I know, that's why I've guessed at 1206  ;)

An almost totally imperceptible edit that :)

Also Walsall never seem to get much more than about 5,100 home fans for any game unless its in the cups so unlikely it will be close to 7k far closer to 6k they dont have the home support that we have for instance as we are averaging about 6,100 which is still excellent considering they have not been out of the top 3 all season and we havent even ventured into the top half of the table yet.

Reading their forum it seems their players looked tired last night, we didnt have a game so hopefully will be fresher.

We are also a totally different team now to when they thrashed us at home earlier in the season and they themselves have only won 2 of the last 8 games despite being 8 point clear at the top of the table still.

By compasiron we have lost just 2 games in the last 14.

A draw would be a good result but they are beatable if we play as a unti, but, they have only lost 1 home game all season and had 4 draws at the Bescot. Their 1 loss was a mystifying 6-2 home defeat to the bang average Fleetwood Town back in October.

I expect a very tough game and they've turned the corner again after that brief blip in form. We'll work hell of a lot harder than we did in the home game but I still don't see us getting anything.

2-0 Walsall

Conceded 2 in injury time last night.

My expert opinion - they’re shite.

Just like everyone else in L2.

Agreed, even Notts County are looking a bit shabby now

Walsall only had 2 shots on target all game, and have dropped points at home to Gills and Salford recently. We can certainly get something from this. Here's hoping.

 i will say , with some confidence, that we are going to win 3 - 1 .

1-1 att: 6,290 (1,145 Town)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJt50BUnXXc

Presser suggests we're going gung ho. Could be fun...

What have we got to lose?  Can't go up, can't go down.  Best make the next few months interesting, at least.

25 years ago today in 1999/2000 season we lost at home to Crewe 1-0 in the old Div 1 now Championship. It was in front of only 5,003 and we think today’s gates are low! Walsall drew at Man City that day, a team who were promoted along with Charlton and Ipswich. However Walsall’s 3 year stint at that level ended in relegation as did ours as we finished bottom. Not even Chris Hay’s goals could save us. Just thought some of you would appreciate a blast from the past!

Remember it well...a different world back then in so many ways. We drew 0-0 at Walsall on the opening day . We played pretty well IIRC and a young lad called James Williams played at sweeper and had an absolute blinder. I was hoping for great things from him but he didn't do a great deal after that.  Anyone remotely decent got flogged off that season but it didn't stop us achieving one of our most unlikely away wins....1-0 at Charlton when they were probably in their best run of form ever....

Pre match twiddling the thumbs in deepest darkest Shropshire.
Staying over with an old mate from college days.
A QPR fan, but has seen Swindon lose a few times over the years. Haven't we all.

Sadly the ethos of getting in the pub as early as possible on an away day isn't universally shared.
A shocking state of affairs & a sure sign of a civilization in decay.

Even the fearsome Tooting Beer Monster didn't fancy the 08:03 from Kings Cross to Doncaster last season.

Anyway, eta for beer in hand is expected to be 11:45.
It will have to do.

At least a visit to the very wonderful Wellington pub is still on the agenda, a staple for any visit to Brum.

I was glad that Holloway called out the booing of Freckleton at Harrogate.
To be fair it was only one person, maybe two max.
Would have been fun to see Holloway venture onto the terrace and frog march the offender(s) out of the ground.

At the end of the day, all of the regulars in defence have been responsible for giving goals away this season.
No need to single any of them out.

Freckleton could actually flourish as an uncomplicated defender under Holloway.
Jerel Ifil springs to mind as a player that might have improved a lot under this manager.

Will be interesting to see how we go against the league leaders today.
A very familiar opponent and very even record over 100+ league meetings.
Only one win in the last six encounters for us.
Walsall could well be aiming to match our 8 nil on aggregate in the play off season.
Don't think that they will manage it today.

So, as the thin red line with stout hearts & determination prepared to face the Zulu onslaught at Rorke's Drift,
there should be no fear or trepidation in the away dressing room about keeping 11 Yam Yams at bay.
At one hundred yards, volley fire! Present! Aim! Fire!

Hope you have a great day WB :)

We sold 1,132 tickets in the end, Walsall forum suggests they've only sold 5k. They have a very consistent support.

Yes as I posted earlier in the thread they have a core support of just over 5k (seems the max for them at this level) but they seem to think they have sold about 5,500 for this and hope it could get near 6k but unlikely to surpass that figure.

1,100 isnt bad up front for us considering where we are in the table and we can have some walk ups too.

They brought 607 to the game at the CG earlier in the season, in our last 6 games at the Bescot we have averaged 1,360 for each of them, that does include a 2k and a 3.6k following.

I was in the 3.6k  :toocool:

I was at the Walsall away game that ensured our play-off place and I was also at the Walsall home game this season.

One of the best performances I've seen vs one of the very worst. Thank christ we've improved since then.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Gk9T-5YWcAApZhZ?format=jpg&name=large)

Delaney not fit?

Apt pic of Freckleton....

Still a couple of weeks away according to Ollie.

Walsall unchanged from their draw at Cheltenham on Tuesday.

Walsalls pitch looks patchy and really poor, lots of sand and bobbly looking.

Poundland stadium Poundland pitch.

Does anyone have any helpful advice if I'm facing "Too many concurrent sessions for the user" on ifollow?

Signed out and back in, no dice

Restart?

Try using a different browser.

Good header by Freckleton there.

Been all Walsall in the first 5 mins as expected.

Good defending by Clarke as they hit us on the counter with speed.

This pitch is shite

Town getting better as the game goes on.

Freckleton with his 2nd lax pass in a row.

Smith clears with a header from a long throw, 2nd corner for Walsall.

Walsall captain Matt pulling Tshimanga all over the place in our own box.

Town getting outmuscled a bit so far and Smith having a tough challenge against the CB.

Long FK to Smith in the box and he hits it on the volley just over the bar from the corner of the box, good effort.

Macgregor makes a good interception to stop a goal scoring chance.

Smith playing them at their own game, clever fouls.

Enjoying Radio Swindon's unusual coverage set up with a commentator, a Swindon summariser and a very audible Walsall fan adding his own comments.

Some good play by Town and MacGregor with a lovely run but we just cant get a shot in.

Yellow for Clarke for pulling back Matt.

Good high take by Ripley from a header accross goal.

Kilkenny cross blocked for a corner to Town.

Clarke getting a tactical yellow in the first half is now on the bingo card.

Great nick by Ofobroh but his pass was way too hard, good chance to hit them was lost.

Not too much working so far fro Nichols yet.

Town been the better side in the last 10 mins but pretty even. We are pressing well.

Freckleton tackles the winger giving them a corner.

Ripley with a point blank save with one arm and clears it.

Yellow for the Walsall striker.

Ripley really seems to be the type of GK you want at this level - so much more presence than anyone else we've seen recently. He might have a lower ceiling, but he certainly has a higher floor.

Dive by the Walsall player in the box, gives them a corner. Acrobatic dive.

I feel so much calmer with balls coming into the box with Ripley in there.  A GK that can actually catch the ball.

Cotterill gives away yet another free kick in our half.

Seems to a lot more of that this season or is it my imagination?

This, of course at this level he will make some mistakes but he looks way more confident than any keeper we have had in a while.

All part of the modern game isnt it, trying to con the ref.

Tshimanga wins another corner.

Corner headed out to Cotterill who hots it on the volley, its blocked for another corner.

Nichols hits the corner on the volley from 20 yards about 4 yards wide, good chance.

Walsall dont look great when we pressure them.

Ofoborh is playing really well but his final ball is way off so far, hes pressing and harrying them but even his short passes are loose so far.

Long FK to Smith and his header goes straight to the keeper from 15 yards.

That looked an obvious foul on Tshimanga as he broke with pace.

Freckleton deep cross goes over Smiths head into touch.

Who is this on co Comms?

Ross embleton

Walsall have a long shot well wide.

Clarke probably needs to be subbed here, he's going to get a red.

Hes probably our best defender today.

Sobowale will be subbed in at H.T.

So nearly a Yellow for MacGregor.

Oh I agree entirely, but he's also walking a very thin tightrope.

"You only let him off because he's 12"

True story.

Kilkenny shot is blocked 20 yards out.

Kilkenny to Cotterill in the box but he cant get a shot in, corner to Town.

1 min added.

HT 0-0

I thought we played really well at nullifying them and maybe even edging it on chances.

A very competitive game. Tough one to referee!

Was an ok half. Limited them, and vice versa

Decent game, slightly more quality from Walsall than us with the ball, but Walsall look far more vulnerable than us without the ball, which has resulted in the scoreline.  Will be an interesting second half.

Thought we just slightly edged that, though 0-0 is certainly fair. Shit pitch doesn’t seem to suit either side much.

At least 6s/10 all round so far.

COYMint Greens

Please, no Harrogate 2nd half. Thanks.

Freckleton has done OK that half on a real dodgy pitch.

Like last week, dodgy start (passing) then grew into it.

Would still put Sobo ahead of him myself.

MacGregor wins a tackle and finds Ofoborh but his shot from 25 yards is high and wide.

Great tracking back by Smith tackling in our box.

Pace of the game has livened up in the last 5 mins.

Ripley with a low solid save from a cross, held on to it and didnt push it round the post like Bycroft does.

The game is being played at 100mph so far this half, by both teams.

Cotterill always looks scared to head the ball even when its a few inches over his head.

Great defending by Tshimanga, saved us in the 6 yard box.

Not for the first time. He’s done very well defensively.

Perhaps time go for the Sobo for Clarke sub?

Edit: Maybe not nice ball forward to start that move!

Overhead kick by them just wide but there was a foul in the build up.

I would take Cotterill off and push MacGregor wide right with Sobo at RB.

1-0 Cotterill!

What do I know!

Have it!

Get in!!

GET IN YA BEAUTY

Boooooom!

Get in

Ollie mentioned in he pre match presser that he had something up his sleeve….any sign yet😁

Now the worry is Clarke and Ofoborh getting tired

Just his arms.....

Freckleton does his best to try and give them a goal but he got away with it!

Nice.  Who erlse do you think should come off Venks!

You never know with him!

Nichols!

Hoping they (Walsall) will tire more. We have had the longer break.

Tshimanga with a low shot but its an easy save.

They tired on Tuesday at Cheltenham apparently letting in 2 last minute goals.

Long way too go here. We've battled for this position.

Walsall fans going mad at MacGregor for the tangle in our box.

They panicked on Tuesday. Struggled with a sub that was physical and could head the ball.

Yellow for Ofoborh after a stupid pass by Freckleton which was way too short.

Tshimanga cuts inside and shoots from the edge of the box, fairly simple save. Corner.

Cotterill half volleys over the bar from 18 yards from the corner.

Cross by Walsall goes past everyone in the box.

Embleton calling Tshimanga as Tishmanga

Good calm defendng by Freckleton in the 6 yard box.

More good defnding by Freckleton there.

It aint very pretty but fucking hell its pretty damn effective by Town.

Walsall bring on ex Shitheads winger Adomah.

They made this change on Tuesday. Adomah was quality.

He is old but hes a good player still.

Nicholls and Ofabohr look knackered

Adomah shot from distance saved by Ripley.

And MacGregor TBH.

McGregor done largely well but he's had a really tough afternoon - one of those you'll learn a lot from you'd think.

Clarke down holding his leg.

Some great some not so great but yes great experience and hes done pretty well all game.

Sobowale on for Clarke.

Glatzel on for Cotterill.

MacGregor gone to LB and Sobo at RB.

Musical chairs at the back, Sobo RB, McG left Freckleton to the middle.

C'mon Glatz

Brilliant defending by MacGregor.

Shame Tshimanga didnt have a go there.

Tishmanga!

Might be time to get Butterworth on for Nichol for some extra pace up front.

Corner to them.

Good defending by Freckleton.

Tshimanga finds Kilkenny down the wing and his cross goes over the top of everyone.

Ripley with another good save as they counter.

Scramble clear from the corner.

Trebuchet short of a siege now.

They shoot just wide with a deflection, corner to them.

Freckleton with a good leap to head clear.

MotM could be any of the back five really.

Some good fortune and good defending the last few minutes here at the back.

Indeed, but for me its been Ofoborh despite his few wayward passes hes been brilliant.

Freckleton gets away with a mistake but still clears it.

4 mins added.

4 mins. Not sure about that.

Ofoborh and Kilkenny as a pair I really like, just perfectly complementary

Absolutely!

Cain on for Tshimanga.

Tshimanga had a great game TBH good defending too.

Tshimanga worked his fucking bollocks off today

Easy take by Ripley and he falls onto the ball.

Ripley claims another cross with ease.

Love that cross straight in to Ripleys hands

1 min left.

Game on Tuesday is going to be a big ask after this.

Come on Town!

Fuck me how far have we come.

Whistle ref?

FT 1-0

What a fucking win! a total team performance by all of them, not high quality but great.

Wow.

Poundland stadium, poundland leaders.

Ian Holloways Red and white army

Top of the league, your having a laugh....

Fantastic well done to Ollie and the boys👏
No mention of the Town fans at all🤔

 Massive team performance. We have come on a long way under Holloway

Great win that

And Ofoborh, you fucking celebrate if you want! fuck em!

That was a team spirit win, if that makes sense. 8/10 or better to a man.

Agree totally.

Good luck to the recovery team ahead of Salford Tuesday but what a shift there.

Wow. What a result.

Keep on believing! What a keeper!

Massive win, we are now as close to automatic promotion (not happening) as we are to relegation (also not happening).

Bloody lovely

Impressive away display that. Didn’t realise their home record was quite as good as it is either. Well done lads.

Payback achieved  :D

Att: 6,910 (Town not given yet)

What a difference those extra couple of wins early in the season would have made.   We seem unstoppable at the moment,  long may it continue.

not quite the 3-1 I had in mind but I never doubted that a win was on the cards. Keep grinding and we really can mix it with Bromley and Salford.

Im quietly confident that were not going down.

1 more win to be sure....

I'm pretty sure Salford had a game today as well....and they have to travel to us🤔

Salford lost a bruising game against Bradford.

Sure, but we've absolutely run ourselves into the round today. If we look anything like energetic on Tuesday it's a huge tribute to the fitness.

Absolutely gutted not to be in that away end. Very jealous.

Not a single performance below a 7 today from any of the team.

100% effort is all you can ask and this team give it all every game.

We are currently as good as anybody in this league. It’s just a massive shame it’s probably too late.

McGregor for 18 years old. No words. Going to the top.

Ofoborh an absolute warrior. Smith superb.

Not been a lot to smile about these past 2 years but that’s really cheered me up this evening.

3rd defeat in a row for the Ammies.

Agreed but bear in mind, Holloway seems to be pretty proficient at switching players in and out as well....

I hope the people around him are sensible and when he gets his move this summer it's to somewhere that he'll actually be able to continue improving. I'd love to see him playing regularly in the Championship in a couple of seasons.

He had a good game but plenty more to work on

Hes only 18 of course theres lots to work on, nobody has suggested hes the finished article yet.

Have to mention Ross Embleton on co-comms with Andrew Hawes, great job!

I've not said any one thinks he is the finished article, just giving another view

Imagine where we'd be now if we'd appointed Holloway instead of Kennedy....that appointment effectively wasted a season. Loving where we're at now though (on the playing side obviously)...

Based on results since that 4-0 at Colchester, we’re in the top 3. Over a period of around 15 games that’s massive, especially considering all that went before.

Be interesting to know who did the recruitment then.

…because based on what Holloway has got out of them you’d say our summer recruitment wasn’t too bad.

I assume it wasn’t Kennedy. If it was (and I don’t think anyone thinks it was) he could do a job within recruitment!!

Why would you want to see that?

Jamie Russell I assume...

Jamie Russell and Les Caffrey

Because you know full well this lot will sell at the first decent offer

Les is still on the scene isn't he?

Yep

Good...

Spent a few years together at Bournemouth so the partnership had already been made - good to see them both playing consistently after a few years with minimal games.

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDKq__0Vq-w

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO3XgwnmMw4&pp=ygULd2FsbHNhbGwgZmM%3D

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFqKnRPu3eM

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljoJjU_GJpo

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjtarqvEDmQ

I’d obviously prefer that we keep him. He’s not played enough to be in a position to demand a move, and his value is only going in one direction. We should keep him for as long as we can. I understand the sentiment that some may enjoy seeing our players doing well elsewhere, but personally, I couldn’t care less where anyone goes after us. How much did you enjoy Lukas Jutkiewicz’s career, for example?

I think the additions that Holloway made to bring in some experience has helped the rest of the squad.  Ripley has made a big difference, Nichols as well.

Thanks for posting those clips JQ.... enjoyed them 👍

First team to keep a clean sheet at Walsall’s ground in the league for 27 games (3-0 loss in Feb 2024).

I think we’d all prefer to keep him, but let’s be realistic here, this is Clem era Swindon Town and he will 100% sell him.

We're a 4th division club. Clem era or not if a club higher up the pyramid come in for a player he's is going to be sold. Same as every other club at this level.

McGregor has played enough this year that clubs will look at him in terms of what's his potential. So the best case for us is he goes somewhere where he stands a chance of breaking into their first team in the next few seasons. Then with luck he develops enough that a 7+ figure transfer happens & we get a decent wedge in a sell on fee.

👌👌

Superb effort & a dare I say it a deserved win against a somewhat lacklustre looking Walsall.

A real shame that we aren't 3 months into the season instead of 7.

Hypothetically if we did sell McGregor in the summer - its vital & beneficial to all parties that as part of the deal he has a season long loan here.

The absolute best thing for his football development is playing regular first team football. Even if it’s only L2.

If we don't keep Holloway next season it'd be criminal. I've said before but whilst I had my reservations he's done a fantastic job turning the team around. Watching the game I could barely recognise the players from the first half of the season. Do we still have shortcomings, yes, but for so long we've been served up such utter dross week in week out, and gaslighted both on and off the pitch, it's nice to finally have the on pitch stuff heading in the right direction.

Carry the momentum into next season, DON'T bin off 3/4 of the squad and staff, and then let's see where we're at this time next year shall we? If we keep this up, knocking on the door of L1 again, finally.

The momentum will hopefully help us keep our better players as well next season.

We’re a weird team, though. At times we look dreadful and hack it anywhere, then we can put a fantastic multi pass move together and look world beaters (L2 notwithstanding).

It was obvious yesterday - especially with Kabongo - that players stepped up to compensate for missing Drinan’s impressive work rate.

Im happy to be proven wrong about Holloway, at first i thought it was a disastrous appointment, but football wise he has won me over. Still cant stand the media soundbites but i’ll overlook that..

I hope he signs a new deal and is provided with what he is promised etc, otherwise we will end up being back to square one.

Trouble i have, is the owner has never changed the way he does things, so why would he start now?

Still boycotting till the ownership fuck off mind.

If you actually listen to Holloway talk about football though - the guy clearly knows this game inside out. He says some mental stuff but he knows football.

This board are extremely competent in sabotaging anything good we've got so hopefully we can keep Holloway. We may even have a shot at the top 7 next season with the momentum we're currently carrying (assuming we finish the season strongly). The important thing for Holloway is he's won the fans over, the away end yesterday after the game felt DiCanio era esque.

My worry is that Rovers struggles continue and they poach him.

Football wise i agree, the chicken nugget stuff and crap like that is what annoys me

Holloway is like 95% sensible, logical, sound football chatter & 5% stupid soundbites but it’s the latter that will get picked up by the media & go viral…

But is arguably part of his character which enables him to genuinely connect with players and ultimately motivate them in a way that has ensured a remarkable transformation on the pitch?

In a nutshell, this is probably the ingredients to succeed at this level. Be solid and organised at the back, know when to get rid of it, and play your football in the right areas. When was the last time we gave away a really dopey goal? I.e from a backpass or the keeper doing something daft on the ball for example?

A very special mention for Connor Ripley who has only conceded 1 goal in his first 3 games for the club.

The whole defence looks way more comfortable with a competent and confident keeper behind them, he comes to claim crosses, makes saves and can actually catch a ball.

Hes the keeper we have been calling for - for a few seasons now.

It's going to be an interesting summer. A couple of additions and a couple of ejections (hall) and the squad is good to go.

I did not think I'd be saying that at all. Smith was right, I was wrong, this isn't a relegation squad after all.

But we haven't kept hold of a single squad since Clem took over

The good thing is that it is a whole squad improvement - we don't have a Kemp or Young or Payne who is just critical and we couldn't do without.

Probably interest in Wright and Smith but neither feel like they couldn't be replaced if they had to be

Thats not just us as a club though, its pretty common accross all clubs at this level, very few clubs ever keep the neucleus of the previous seasons squad any more.

All too regularly players are on single year contracts now and if the team finish in high midtable (which appears to be our trajectory) then understandably several players will try their luck at a different club if they have done fairly well in the season. Its not always down to the club but often the player wishes to further his career elsewhere.

I think a lot of summer is going to be based on who will sign new deals & who might go else where for more money / a longer contract / a better location based on half a season of decent play.

Apart from the likes of Uwakthing (been so long I’ve forgotten how to spell his name) I’d be happy if all the others stayed - which is exactly the opposite of what we were all saying in December.

Our any of our loanees OOC in the summer? …and potential additions for next season aside from Nichols?

He is crap at star jumps though 😎

Thank God!

Great all round battling performance from everyone, Holloway has to take credit as they all seem to be playing for him.

Not mentioned anywhere else but thought the ref and his assistants had a good ones as well, and it is not often I say that!

From the Walsall forum, you would think they had lost out on promotion after that result and not still be 4 points clear at the top with 10+ goal difference ahead of 2nd place and only their 2nd home defeat of the season.

I love how every fan says their opponents were shit.

Yes, every club in league two and most of league one are shit! To get out of this league, you just have to be a little bit less shit than the other team

The way we play right now is effective and to our strengths.

It's probably not the prettiest or most dynamic (though we have moments), which I think leads to these type of comments.

3 points, who cares.

Their form is troubling. Especially considering Doncaster and Bradford are doing very well at the moment too.

They talk with a Brummie accent even if they’re in denial :D

Hallelujah

Trouble is your side could look poor because we haven't given them much to shout about. Saw a couple of our one touch moves in the highlights and that was decent football. Just because they are top of the league they think they're Barca  :D

For top of the league though, they were pretty fucking shit weren't they. If you'd of landed from mars you'd of thought that was 2 mid table teams slogging it out on that pitch.

They seem to miss Lowe massively. Who is now warming the Stoke City bench.

These January recalls are shite. If it's season long, it's season long. Else, just say it's a 6 month loan. Does my head in.

Walsall in the midst of a massive bottle job…

Anyone know why they put some Town fans in the corner of the side stand when there was lots of empty seats in the left hand corner behind the goal🤔

Havent read back.

Was going ad then stuff happened and i couldnt.

Listened to the first half and the passionate Exec box behind the Comms getting pissed off...that was amusing.

Came out of my appointment just as the final whistle went.

Superb result....just superb.

This thing about the difference Holloway has made.....
Many years ago, I was involved with Hereford Utd in the old 4th Div, when Ian Bowyer was manager. The way he treated players was appalling, not just critical but acidic and sarcastic as well. They were scared stiff of him and consequently achieved virtually nothing. As soon as he went and Colin Addison came in, who respected and encouraged them, things rapidly changed for the better. The psychology in the dressing room is so fundamental. Players that want to play fot the manager make a different team.

Our IT guy up in Bradford is a die hard home and away Saddlers ST holder. Sent an email this morning as I was having some issues. His reply. No, unless you return the three points you stole. 🤣🤣🤣🤣. Kept me waiting on purpose the sod. Still he did come good and we had a laugh when I phoned him to thank him.