Swifty, on 19 March 2016 - 12:51 AM, said:
Walsall fan in peace.
Not sure about the talk of "scum" and "thugs". We are top of the fair play league and after 37 games that probably has some merit. So it is quite a fanciful notion and completely out of character to think like some of the contributors here that it was a pre-planned ploy to lure an inexperienced lad into swinging a punch. I honestly think we work on lots of things in training but not that!
Having looked at it a few times, our scorer Mantom was keen to join us lot to celebrate an important goal. His path was blocked by Tom Bradshaw who was moving towards him to celebrate. Mantom side-stepped Bradshaw which took him into Hird. This halted Mantoms' momentum to the point where he was caught by his team-mates thus meaning Hird was unwittingly caught in a five man momentum that moved him towards our fans. I'll just take off my red-tinted specs a minute to say that one of our players (Demetriou -our number 2) was the one who could have released Hird and it looks like it is Demetriou who consciously keeps Hird in the group as it moves towards our fans. Demetriou should have been booked -no question. It wasn't violent, it was ungentlemanly and naughty. Unfortunately the only truly violent act was perpetrated by Donahue. Right in front of us. He swung a punch and aimed a kick (notably at Demetriou)and with the linesman keeping a very beady eye on things he had to go. Silly. Your sixth red of a campaign that has yet to see a Walsall player dismissed.
Always enjoy my trips to your place. Preferred Saltergate, but I'm an old fashioned bloke who enjoyed his football the way it used to be served.
Good luck for the rest of the season, although I note one or two of you are wishing us ill following this bizarre event -and that's what it was -an oddity I've never seen before and doubt I will again. A shame it drew some red mist, a dismissal and evidently some ill-feeling.
Simple question mate - the ball entered the net near Tommy Lee's right hand post, Manton and his extras were over to Sam Hird's and Tommy Lee's right making the natural place to celebrate in front of their own fans would be near Tommy Lee's right hand post so why did they en masse decide to move the length of the goals to the hoardings past the left hand post gathering up Hird in their charge?
Also, who was the player that clearly raised his arm and pushed his hand into Donohue's face - don't you think that should have been a sending off?
The linesman, with his beady eye, seems to have not seen what initiated the problem nor the raised hand into Donohue's - selective vision perhaps - whilst the referee told Hird he didn't see what happened!
Then, for Bradshaw to rub salt into the wounds of an already irate group of players by simulating injury, and for the referee to fall for it and stop play, was totally uncalled for.
Other than that, thanks for your opinion, I wish you well for the rest of the season, but I do hope you see that yellow and red cards are determined by referees who sometimes see, or don't see, things as they are. You might have had the rub of the green in that respect this season whilst we certainly haven't.