Walsall v Brentford - Make Or Break Time Starts?

By Neil Ravenscroft
September 23 2004

The results of one game rarely, if ever, have that much impact on a season, but the home game against Brentford on Saturday is the start of a series of fixtures that will have a very big say in where Walsall finish this season.

Walsall have only played two team in the top ten of Division 1 so far this season, in the shape of Doncaster Rovers and Chesterfield, but the next five league games are against fifth place Brentford on Saturday, Colchester, Huddersfield, Wrexham and runaway league leaders Luton Town, making five games against teams in the top ten, with only the LDV Cup Tie versus Rushden and Diamonds to relieve the pressure. This is a run of games which could make or break the club's season, as, at the end of it, we could be firmly ensconced in the bottom four, or, hopefully, on a better run and comfortably back in touch with the play off spots. In the process, this could also be the run which makes or breaks Paul Merson's attempt to make it in football management, as a poor return from these fixtures will almost certainly lead to the fan's impatience being too great for the club owner to ignore. So, what about Brentford?

Well, the good news for all is that they are complete rubbish away from home. They have played four away games and have gained only one point, that being in a 2 – 2 draw at lowly Torquay. Their other three have been at Chesterfield, Peterborough and Bristol City, and they scored 2 and conceded 10 in those three games. Granted, our defensive record away from home isn't a lot better, but our scoring record certainly is and their defensive woes must surely mean a win on Saturday for the Saddlers.

At this early stage, it appears that Merson has no injury worries, other than the persistent one to Nathan Jameson, the one youngster yet to be given a chance. His only problem would seem to be what formation to use and which eleven to pick. So far this season, he has stuck rigidly to his favoured 4 3 1 2, and, I suspect, we are unlikely to see anything different on Saturday, as the personnel available tend to preclude a change to 4 4 2. This may make Brentford's former England winger John Salako a key figure, and how we cope with him a key element of the game, given our lack of width.

In the Brentford squad, we are also likely to see "popular" former Saddler Jamie Lawrence and former loanee Deon Burton, which will make the crowd reactions interesting.

My prediction? A relatively easy 3 – 1 to the Saddlers, as, given Brentford's abysmal form away from home, would anything else be acceptable?