THE CONCRETE ROUNDABOUT (TCR)

THE CAZBAR BIG GAME PREVIEW – WALSALL
Where to start or probably more relevant, when will this end, well while I can’t offer you any solutions, I can only highlight our short comings and faults.

Firstly, it is mysterious how a team looking so good on paper that has been so hotly tipped by the great and the good, all of a sudden turns into a lethargic outfit with all the forward motion of a tractor stuck in first gear once it gets onto a football pitch.

Williamson talks a good game, but his team doesn’t play the same way, and that’s an important point, he can’t hide behind inheriting a team as an excuse anymore, this is a team of his choosing and whilst I don’t hold with sacking managers you have to say his popularity in the boardroom and with the fans must be dropping quicker than Keir Starmer’s with the electorate, and with the AFC game on the horizon that could well be the line in the sand he cannot cross, if his team replicates the Salford performance at NPL next weekend that could be the end for him.

Obviously we have no idea how our new owners view this situation, but I cannot see their tolerance levels being the same as Pete’s who in my opinion on one or two occasions never swung the axe quick enough, Pete’s reasoning may well have been driven by how much it would cost to sack a manager, but I think it’s fair to say with billionaire owners, that will not cross their minds and Williamson will be replaced by a man of their choosing and he won’t be plucked from Non-League football.

What I am struggling to get my head around is how many of these players that looked so good last season, signed for us and now look bloody awful, many of them looking nothing like their former selves from last season, every game you can expect one or two to not hit their usual heights, but all of them is no coincidence, it must be the way they are told to play, and that’s what I don’t get, why buy a player for a particular attribute, and then apparently suppress it, it makes no sense, and Kelly is a classic example of that as he looks a shadow of the player that took us apart in the playoffs.

One other thing before I get going with the preview, we are overrun with midfielders once again, we seem to have sorted out the keeper, but the area of concern is the strikers, and not for the first time, Hendry looks poor and before anyone mentions Harrison and Dennis, let’s not forget last season they were bit part players playing second fiddle to a novice teenager, we can only hope that our deadline day signings give us a threat upfront.

Right…moving on, we face Walsall on Saturday, and they look to have hit the ground running.

Below are our usual stats to get us started.

MK Dons (19th) – P 4, W 1, D 0, L 3, GF 4, GA 5, Pts 3.
Walsall (2nd) – P 4, W 3, D 0, L 2, GF 7, GA 2, Pts 9.
MK Dons (H) (12th) – P 2, W 1, D 0, L 1, GF 4, GA 2, Pts 3.
Walsall (A) (6th) – P 2, W 1, D 0, L 1, GF 4, GA 1, Pts 3.

And more stats, below are Walsall’s league results so far.

Walsall 1 Morecambe 0
Swindon 0 Walsall 4
Tranmere 1 Walsall 0
Walsall 2 Cheltenham 1

Not a bad set of results, but currently Morecambe are 24th, Swindon 23rd, and Cheltenham 20th, with only Tranmere doing well in 8th, so I guess the question is are those results flattering for Walsall, I guess we will soon find out.

The man in charge is a former Saddlers player at Walsall is Mat Sadler…. very fitting. He’s been there since April 2023, firstly as an Interim Manager following the departure of Michael Flynn, but a month later he was appointed Head Coach on a permanent basis.

His stats show him as being above average with a Win Ratio of 39.6% and a playing record of P 63, W 25, D 15, L 23.

The goal threat is 18-year-old Stoke City loanee Nathan Lowe who already has 3 goals to his name, and it could have been 4 as he missed a penalty against Huddersfield in the League Cup but made up for it with a brace to advance Walsall into the 3rd Round
Whilst Lowe is the goal threat, the supply line comes mainly through wingbacks Taylor Allen) and Connor Barrett both with 4 assists in all comps and shows Walsall have a clear plan in terms of style. Barrett seems to be very dangerous and is well at home with both feet and can go round the outside or cut back inside and seems a bit of a handful and has a decent turn of speed. Something else to be concerned about is their long throw specialist who can launch it into the six-yard box with ease, and their corners are generally inswingers placed right under the crossbar….so really nothing to concern yourself about.

I watched a strong Walsall side on Tuesday night visiting Birmingham City in the EFL Trophy and I was impressed with the work rate of the Walsall players, and they had to put a shift in as at times Brum had 80% possession. For the record it finished 1-1 with our man Barrett providing the assist for the Saddler’s goal, Walsall won the penalty shoot-out 4-3.

I’m also going to throw a wild card into the equation in the shape of Jamille Matt. At 34 he’s getting on a bit as a striker, but he pulls the strings at Walsall and he’s a big lad that needs close attention.

We have an extensive history against Walsall, the details of which with Dons scorers are shown below.

2004/05 – Dons 1 Walsall 1 (Kamara)
2004/05 – Walsall 0 Dons 0
2005/06 – Walsall 1 Dons 1 (Edds)
2005/06 – Dons 2 Walsall 1 (McLeod, Wilbraham’s)
2006/07 – Walsall 0 Dons 0
2006/07 – Dons 1 Walsall 1 (McLeod)
2008/09 – Walsall 0 Dons 3 (Johnson, Gerba, Wright)
2008/09 – Dons 0 Walsall 1
2009/10 – Dons 1 Walsall 0 (Easter)
2009/10 – Walsall 2 Dons 1 (Powell)
2010/11 – Walsall 1 Dons 2 (S Baldock, Woodards)
2010/11 – Dons 1 Walsall 1 (Leven)
2011/12 – Walsall 0 Dons 2 (Lewington, Ibehre)
2011/12 – Dons 0 Walsall 1
2012/13 – Walsall 1 Dons 0
2012/13 – Dons 2 Walsall 4 (Lowe, Bowditch)
2013/14 – Dons 1 Walsall 0 (S Williams)
2013/14 – Walsall 0 Dons 3 (McLeod 2, Reeves)
2014/15 – Dons 0 Walsall 3
2014/15 – Walsall 1 Dons 1 (Grigg)
2016/17 – Dons 1 Walsall 1 (Bowditch)
2016/17 – Walsall 1 Dons 4 (Muirhead, Reeves, O’Keefe, Barnes)
2017/18 – Dons 1 Walsall 1 (Aneke)
2017/18 – Walsall 1 Dons 0
2022/23 – Walsall 0 Dons 2 (FLT) (Lawrence, Holland)
2023/24 – Walsall 0 Dons 0
2023/24 – Dons 5 Walsall 0 (Tezgel, Dean 2, Gilbey, Tomlinson)

That totals up at P 27, W 10, D 10, L 7, GF 35, GA 23.

The match betting is already following a pattern with odds layers wary that the Dons just might wake up and play to their potential, so there is a bit of value there whatever your opinion, but really it is a game not to have on your Acc.

MK Dons 13/10, Draw 11/4, Walsall 23/10

So, then the million-dollar question, what’s going to happen, well one thing for sure, Walsall will set up the same as the other 3 teams that have beaten us in the league, it’s up to us to change things round as currently Williamson’s tactics seem to have come out of a Blackadder Goes Forth script where he hopes doing the same thing repeatedly will have different results, it doesn’t.

I really don’t get some of these modern day managers as they seem so stubborn and come what may will play their blueprint style and refuse to budge, surely managers willing to adapt to the game and the situation are the ones that are going to come out on top the majority of the time, currently our style is cutting our own throats and handing the game on a plate to the opposition.

Finally, this is not something new this season, this is how last season tailed off, and as someone else put it this week, this is not just a bad start it’s a continuation from the end of last season, we have become even more predictable, too slow, too one dimensional, and furthermore it is dross football, frustrating and an uncomfortable watch and will not have fans scurrying back to SMK and that point must have been high on the agenda for our new owners, I cannot see them tolerating this for much longer.

I’m not brave enough to make a prediction as I am questioning those results for Walsall, have they been lucky enough to play the dross of LG 2 first, whatever it is, a win is a win, and of course the confidence that brings.

See you on Saturday……Keep the faith.

WD

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Read the MELTDOWN after every game, no bullshit, just giving it straight

A very big game.

Was Salford a blip after a good Carlisle win? Or was Carlisle the blip? Not long to wait to find the answer.

Some positives- the goalie and defence look much better these last two games, we don’t look like conceding every 2 minutes as we did in the previous 8 or so games.

Lots of negatives though made clear here. A few players have been, on the whole, woeful. Wearne tops that list and is surely dropped for Saturday. Works hard, but has looked every inch a non league player since March. Hendry not quite in the woeful bucket but his finishing is a concern, he lacks pace and spends a lot of time with his back to goal. In short he looks an easy player to defend against, and that is a worry. Early days for Kelly but in his games so far he falls into the Devoy, Robson, Matt Smith, Kemp camp of being a tidy footballer who keep things ticking but has no real impact on the game. Leigh hasn’t looked the part at all so far, and Pritchard has barely been on the grass

Gilbey looks our only real threat, and big hopes now on White to replace Wearne and improve us.

The reason they all are good for other clubs is the way they are coached. Nothing more. Nothing less. Williamson is clueless. If we go behind today (god forbid) nothing tactically will change. Whilst we create chances he will think nothing is wrong. I really do hope I am wrong but I have seen enough of Williamson to show how out of his depth he really is.

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It's the hope that kills you