Poolie Kev's Column: Walsall

Who he?
By Poolie Kev
August 24 2005

In a column written before last night's win over Darlington, Poolie Kev brings us his thoughts on Walsall and Chris Westwood's reception - and discovers an interesting "fact" about the Playoff Final that will come as a surprise to the many thousands that travelled to Cardiff.

Birthday weekend, and obviously that meant that matchday was only one of the jewels in the crown that was Kev’s weekend. In fabulous sunshine and negotiating the building site that is the A1, roadworks from Pontefract to Boroughbridge I kid you not, and inevitably some tit wearing a deerstalker in either a Corsa or a Micra doing 35mph through them, it took me two hours exactly before I pulled up in the Millhouse Car Park. After a quick birthday celebratory couple watching ManUtd (on Sky?? Surely not,,,,,I wonder who’s on tomorrow) v Villa, and pausing only to collect the admirable Victoria Parklife, what a good read that is these days, and a CD of the Monkey Hangerz, I joined the hoards queuing for the Town End. Three minutes later I was in.

Now I don’t mean to sound hard-bitten, dismissive or cynical but that’s how I am and so that’s how it comes out. The dewy eyed devotion with which Chris Westwood was received on Saturday was, personally speaking, almost vomit inducing. Yes he was a star for us, except when gifting Walsall their first goal at the Vic last season, (Hmmm, chinny reckon…..) and yes, he’s a lovely man, and yes also, he was great example to the kids in training and a model pro. But he’s gone, however difficult that decision was, he made it. Thanks Chris, goodbye. The fawning adulation and the ‘Westy, give us a wave’s’ were frankly surprising and I really think most people didn’t mind when he scored. Except of course the bloke behind me shouting ‘Westwood, you lost us the play-offs…..’ Got to love him, hey??

The game itself was intriguing. The Pools players seemed to come invigorated with the same urgency and enthusiasm that the ball boys show and Walsall looked slick, busy and skilled. Whatever Scotty said at half-time needs saying at five to three and then we’ll play anyone off the park. The amount of attention Adam Boyd gets when he’s on the ball is tribute to his skill and imagination but I think we have to realise that whilst he’s a prodigious talent, his role has now changed from hitman to decoy. There have been three men round him in the three games I’ve seen him play in so far this season.

So, as the Town End roared (or muttered, depending where you were standing) bring on the Darlo. Now I’ve been as bad as anyone when it comes to heaping scorn on the lower placed and thinly supported Hodgy prodigies and the words ‘skin’ and ‘banana’ have been noticeably absent from the conversations I have had. If we come out half asleep like Saturday and they, God forbid, grab an early one, we could be well in the soft and smelly. So let’s not be complacent or dismissive until we’re two up and then we can release three seasons of vitriol and sarcasm in a mass show of what life’s like in a superior league. And let’s charge them an extra pound for a pie in the away end.

On a final note and quite co-incidentally, one of my birthday gift’s from Mrs Kev is the sterling read that is the Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2004/2005. In the early pages there is a day by day diary of last season and having unwrapped my gift I eagerly turned to the page covering 29th May 2005. This is a quotation of what I found: Play-offs: Sheff Wednesday recover to beat Tranmere in extra time. Have a word Geoff, please……… Editor? Glenda Rollin.

The old name for multi tasking was scatterbrained.