Walsall Report Card

By: Dr Fishy
Date: 10/03/2002

DR FISHY has compiled match statistics and a report card for the Grimsby Town side that drew 2-2 with Walsall in such tragic circumstances.

Coyne: Before we were pegged back to 2-2 I feared that Coyne had been relied upon too much that afternoon already. Still, he did his job well and blocked anything that came his way. He made a few decent saves and tipped a cross away at one point.

Grade: B

McDermott: The captain appeared to have had a quiet game. I can't really remember anything of note to comment about as most of our forward play went down the left or middle. Linked up well with Butterfield again.

Grade: C

Gallimore: He got an assist on his return to the side, providing the cross from which Groves scored. He also tried a free kick from 35 yards out (with the wind behind him) but failed miserably. He had a good game at the back.

Grade: C+

Todd: In the first half he seemed to win quite a few headers in defence but didn't win so much in the second half. He looked to have trouble containing Byfield on occasions but still his class shone through at times. Not as convincing as usual, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

Grade: C+

Groves: Here's a player whose good form has coincided with Town's good recent run. He was on the score sheet again and was always dangerous at set pieces. However, like Todd, I wasn't entirely convinced with his defending, especially the high balls Walsall kept feeding forward.

Grade: B-

Butterfield: Gave the ball away a few times (although to his credit he won it back a few times too). It was one of those games where nothing opened up in front of him and he was mainly left redundant on the right side of midfield.

Grade: C

Campbell: This player really is in a bit of poor form. He may be carrying an injury, to me it seems he's never really recovered from the injury he had at the start of the season. A sideways passer of the ball and hasn't taken anyone on in ages. Looks unfit.

Grade: C-

Burnett: It's the same old story with the Golden Goal scorer; when Town do well, he puts in a good display, when Town tend to do badly he stands around in the middle of the pitch looking lost. He still needs the crowd to shout, "man on!" whenever he receives the ball because his awareness is so poor.

Grade: C Pouton: At last, a player I can write a positive account on. He set up the second goal with a cross from his LEFT foot (yes, I know!) but refused to use it otherwise all game. His runs from midfield created chances and he even gave us some of his famous step-overs.

Grade: B

Allen: While he was on the pitch Town looked good coming forward. With the ball on the ground he opened up play and brought others into the attack. Linked up well with Boulding, it was just a pity that he had to leave the field with an injury.

Grade: B-

Boulding: Two giant centre-backs were there for Quick Mick to take on, although with the conditions like they were, chances of that happening were minimal. He opened up the defence just after the hour and actually laid the ball off for Allen!

Grade: C+

SUBS

Coldicott: It wasn't the player's fault that after he entered the game we conceded two goals. It was just a poor substitution to make at the time as an extra midfielder made no difference because we weren't overran in that area.

Best part of Town's performance

It was a very scrappy game where the wind didn't allow either team to get the ball on the ground and play (but you get the feeling that Walsall don't use the ground, by the looks of it they were big hoofers). However, as last week against Palace showed, going forward with Allen and Boulding playing off each other, they're more than a match for any central defensive pairing in this division.

Areas for improvement

The choice of sub was poor, but the management team can only learn from that. We have an inability to kill a game off and as last week showed against Palace (even at 4-0 up) we conceded two goals, which could have sparked off a revival. Against Walsall we defended too deep and put ourselves under much unnecessary pressure. At 2-0 we should have kept the system at 4-4-2 and given Rowan a chance, or even Jevons.

Entertainment scale

Before the 80th minute I would have said a 6 or a 7 (the wind didn't help the game at all) but the last 10 minutes weren't something I would like to witness again, so for that reason I give the game a 5.

Grade Guide

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