two points about yesterday...

As these games are so important I wondered, and I'm sure it's already been discussed, but why doesn't the FA use officials from a higher standard.
The league is now finished and there were no PL or Championship games yesterday so why not get a more established team of officials for these games??

That brings me to point number two...
I live abroad as do a few others who visit this board. As such I do not attend games so the only time I can see them live is when they are on Sky and I can stream it. I rely on this board to view opinions and keep up to date with what's what. This doesn't make me less of a fan but I admit I do not watch the team nearly as much as 95% of the posters on here. And before I get tonnes of abuse, yes I used to live in Barnsley and yes I used to go all the time.

The occasion of yesterday needs to be put in to context. I don't want to be a Debbie Downer but we could have very easily be in 1-0 down at half time after Bradshaw missed that sitter. Plus Hammill's shot was going well wide before the deflection. Winnall's first goal likely going wide too, or at least possibly more saveable if not for that deflection.

We were good, we played well, we showed desire and quality. Walsall were poor, very poor. I'm not going to start proclaiming it to be the greatest performance of all time and that every player was 9 out of 10, Mawson for England etc.... Winnall, Mawson, Roberts, Davies, Isgrove were excellent. Fletcher had a decent game. I'm not sure anyone else was particularly excellent. They were solid and good enough. The goals, and the timing of them, knocked the stuffing out of Walsall and it showed. The first half, although we had a touch more quality, was quite even. The game could have gone either way.
They missed two big, big chances. one in the 2nd half when he blazed over was massive.

The importance of the game and the result is going to warp people's opinions of individual player's performances. I get that. It was a great, great result. But I won't put it up there along side Huddersfield 2nd leg, Swansea, Liverpool, Man Utd, Chelsea just yet.

 

The sky coverage didn't do the performance justice to be honest. It didn't show the work off the ball for example

 

Completely agree. I like to scan the pitch as moves progress and there were very few times where I was getting jittery as a Walsall move was in full flow. Before December I'd scan the pitch and have kittens every time the opposition got possession.

 

Might be me but I didn't think Walsall were poor. They matched us first half and looked dangerous throughout although we overpowered them second half. I thought Sawyers looked very good for them too. Thankfully when we go to our A game very few teams in this league can live with us.

 

Isgroves disallowed goal. makes "we could easily be one nil down" very strange, we should have been one nil up!!

 

Sawyers looks class. But he needs to be in the right team, not sure he'd fit in with our style of play for example. But in the right set up, he could play at a higher level, some of the passes he picked were top drawer.

 

Totally agree

 

He's a good player who wasn't great yesterday. I couldn't see where his best position was. Number 10 maybe (similar to Ryan Williams for us possibly?)

 

I'm not saying we're interested or he'd come, but I can't see how he'd fit in our set up. We press from the front and he's not got a 'press' in him. Comes alive when his team have the ball, but no interest in winning it back.

 

I think points about 'so and so missed and it could have been different' are moot - he did miss and the rest his history. My personal opinion is- the way we played- if we had gone one nil down then my 3-1 at 18/1 would have come in.

I'm a born pessimist - but we were very very good