I kinda feel as though I can comment on the game itself from a slightly higher vantage point than the majority of our supporters, who it seems were quite happy to exchange £20 for the oppertunity to scream "wife beater!" at Darren Byfield for an excruciating hour and a half rather than pay any attention whatsoever to the game. Additionally, I happened to be sat in front of some kid with touretts who picked up on this trend and proceeded to shout "wife beater!" at every single player, including those wearing a white shirt. Was quite funny for a while but began to grate on me after they equalised for obvious reasons.
Struggling for a MOTM. Gonna go with Darren Byfield, just to piss people off.
Must have missed those, what with the home side's red and our snot green :lol: Byfield didn't get stick from the outset, but I read elsewhere that he'd been mouthing 'going down' at us and then there was an incident where he shoved Ash into a post, which got us on his back. Didn't see the mouthing myself, but if we play like that second half again, he's probably right.
When the team was announced, everyone got a cheer, save Gordon. Walsall didn't start well and with the off-field distractions between their board and fans, if Rovers had been up for it, we could have taken the game by the scruff of the neck. Too many players didn't seem up for it today and not all of them could claim fitness issues like Bas. Mentally some were playing like we were down already.
I've stuck up for Les in the past, but it was clear he's starting to alienate some of the fans by his decisions. Given the players who were unavailable, coupled with the poor performance at Swindon, he should have looked at changing the personnel to shake them out of their complacency. Instead one change, a barely fit Savage for the banned Gornell.
Gordon wasn't to blame for either goal, but his defending was poor and he offers nothing going forward. Having been booked in the first half, he was lucky to escape a second yellow for a trip near our corner flag, but still Les didn't take him off. Ash Taylor came off with a head injury and Labadie did offer something different. Kithson came on with about 15 minutes left, one or two nice touches but no threat. I know Curran was an injury doubt, but he seemed stronger than Bas, so a surprise he was subbed. Throughout the game we lacked width, Gordon incapable and Broomes unwilling to attack down the flanks. If Les was forced to play Gordon, he could still have given a wide option by replacing Edds with Mahon, Shuker or even Zoum in a wide midfield role.
