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Preview: Walsall v Grimsby
By: Kevin Dolan
Date: 14/01/2007
AFTER four games without a goal or a point, Alan Buckley faces another of his old teams as Grimsby Town make the daunting trip to leaders Walsall in front of the Sky cameras.
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Home > 2006-2007 Season > Previews > Walsall (a) |
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A yo-yo team for most of the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, Walsall relegated Town from Division One in 2003, before suffering the same fate themselves the following season. Paul Merson, who had been caretaker for the end of that relegation, was then confirmed as manager and steadied the club to 14th the next season before getting The Saddlers in the top half of League 1 at the turn of last year.
However, the 2nd half of last season ended up being a nightmare. The club won two of their last 21 games, plummeted towards the relegation zone and ended up finishing bottom of League 1. Through those five months, five different people took charge. Merson was sacked in February after initially being asked to resign, leaving Mick Halsall as caretaker. Kevan Broadhurst was then surprisingly appointed, but won only 1 of the first 11 games, culminating in the club’s relegation and his sacking. Mark Kinsella then oversaw the final two irrelevant games before ex-Scunthorpe manager Richard Money was appointed at the beginning of May despite spending over 10 years out of the English game.
Money has made a superb start to his Walsall career and they are currently top of League 2, three points ahead of the chasing pack and with games in hand. They have been in the automatic promotion places nearly all season, losing only twice (away to Town and at home to Swindon). Their home form has been particularly strong, winning their first seven of the season and keeping clean sheets in the first nine. The Saddlers comfortably have the best goal difference in the season (+25 compared to Town’s -21), although conversely they have only managed to score more than two goals on two occasions.
The Saddlers’ consistency so far this season is evident in the spine of the team; eight players have started 20+ games so far this season (out of 26). Slightly surprisingly, Walsall do not have one major goalscorer and their top scorer is Martin Butler with 7, while Hector Sam (left), who signed from Port Vale in the summer, and Dean Keates both have 6 goals. Ex-Mariner Darren Wrack has been recovering from a calf injury and will be major threat considering Town’s current record with ex-players.
Walsall major strength lies in defence, conceding only five goals in their 13 homes matches, and Ian Roper has been a regular for the majority of the last 10 years amassing nearly 300 appearances. Dominant in the air, Roper has also scored three times this season, doubling his career tally in the process. He is likely to be one of the few players who appeared the last time the teams met in the west midlands.
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A trip to The Bescot Stadium usually ends in defeat for the Mariners, and their nightmare record includes only two wins ever and one draw in their last 16 visits. P 61 W 22 D 10 L 29 F 86 A 90 Walsall Head-to-Head (69th on The Opposition Ladder)
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Last Meeting | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The last time The Mariners visited Walsall was during the middle of the 2002/03 season when both teams were in the bottom six of Division One.
Walsall Team: Walker, Pollet (Ainsworth, 57), Hay, Roper, Bazeley, Corica (Aranalde, 57), O'Connor, Sonner, Wrack, Leitao, Junior (Simpson, 87)
Grimsby Team: Coyne, McDermott (Santos, 45), Ford, Gavin, Gallimore, Campbell, Pouton, Coldicott, Barnard (Soames, 77), Oster, Livingstone Attendance: 5,888 Â Â Report
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Click on the link for directions to the Bescot Stadium (left).
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Click on the link for pubs close to the Bescot Stadium.
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This site is by the fans, for the fans, and we will consider articles on any subject relating to the Mariners whether it be related to current news, a nostalgic look back in the past, a story about a player, a game or games in the past, something about Blundell Park or football in general. Click here to submit your article!
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