Can’t be another 1-1, but I’ll go for it anyway.
Rowe 4026

1 1.
Marquis

walsall2 rovers0 crowd 3421

1-0 Whiteman and 4000 there

3.1 defeat. Beeston first goal. Crowd 3690

1-1 Beestin. 3875.

Walsall 2 Rovers1 Anderson to score crowd3561

1-1 draw-rowe with goal - 3776 hardy fans braving the winter missry!!

Sad news about Ryan Mason - I thought the lad had real potential.
I think we will lose tonight, but as ever the optimist, I'm saying Rovers 2 Walsall 1 with Beestin to score if he starts, otherwise Marquis. Crowd 3949
Donaldo, thank for your good wishes. Unfortunately I had a horrible weekend and finished in Urgent Care yesterday. I was diagnosed with bronchitis and an acute flare up of asthma. As a teen in Donny I suffered a lot from this (you know, the days of "clean" air!) but thought I'd grown out of it - the RAF let me be a pilot for a couple of years before eyesight problems.
Hopefully with modern drugs I'll get over it quickly.
The best remedy will be a win this evening.

Walsall 1-1 Rovers
Marquis to score.
Crowd 3883

Half-time; if Saturday was sub-par, this is sub-sub-sub par. It is amazing how we can make an average team look good! I'm not sure I'm up to the second half.

Micky: The UK strain certainly attacks the chest too and of course you allude to the ex-Spurs Mason. Thanks to modern medicinal diagnostics he at least can be sure that the risk of further skull fracture is identified.

Stuart McCalls available 🤔

I did not watch the second half. We made a little comeback to avoid total embarrassment, but I suspect the score flattered us - the Free Press certainly thinks so!
It seems Azza wants to dump Fergie. I do not think so even though he said before the game that this season was a little like last season where to me it is beginning to look like two years ago - as I think Hound was worried about a few games ago.
Who would you all play? At the moment I do not think Kongolo is worth a start. I thought Baudry was travelling but was not on the bench - should he start on Saturday - probably better as a substitute?
What about strikers? - in the first half today they got no real service. When they did, they were not great. Beestin gets knocked off the ball too easily (the ref could have done more - he gave Walsall plenty of fouls for similar challenges), and Marquis' passing was poor.
Can we recall Mandeville?

Kongolo even drew criticism from Butler who was summarising and more than once too. At his best he is similar to Emanuel-Thomas, who could also seem to disappear in games, but too often moves seem to break down with Kongolo's involvement so I agree with Micky. Blair seems to have been poor defensively and even McCullough seemed to get beaten.

The Walsall press called us "dire" and "dithering" and we have a mountain to climb

I have looked at Col U's match reports on days when Rovers have been playing and as far as I can see, Mandeville has been an unused sub thus far, so he is gaining very little where he is.

I really dont know why we resigned kongolo.
He maybe a raw talent but I dont think he is ready for league 1 as yet.
Too many positional changes ?
Garret looked good at left back but seems DF isnt so sure.
Like him or dont like him but mason is our best rb at the moment.
I like Mandy but he seems to have done "A Butler " with DF.
Whats the situation with Williams?.
We just seem to be shuffling the same players all over midfield in different positions and tasks.

Not at all Mickey it was more of a "p take" than actually wanting a change.

A few weeks ago everything was rosy we were winning games being unbeaten then a few injuries has again dragged us down the league.

I don't feel the new centre halves are anything special. The sooner we can get one or 2 of the usual trio back the better

Rowe needs to be played wide left and Garrett into left back.

Scrap this 3 at the back to 442 and don't even consider starting Kongolo.

No diamond just back to basics and go from there. I sincerely hope we are working on set pieces and also shooting from distance!

The players know they are letting themselves down and Fergie knows himself things need to change quickly. We simply cannot have a repeat of 2 years ago . 2 more defeats and I feel a change could occur.

I suppose the squad reflects DF's preference for constructive ability and in his mind Mason epitomises that, but defenders need the opposing bias and apart from Butler and Marquis to a degree, none, even Baudry, have the Stock or Wellens stopper attitude.

Defence is a mixture of skill and hard tackling which even SOD recognised especially at this level and somehow we have to find it by toughening up most of the defenders.

Azza.
Spot on

Having seen the extended highlights I felt almost embarrassed to support the team.

They played as though football is a non-contact sport; in fact, it was as though non-too-fit spectators dressed in green and black were allowed on to the pitch to observe at close quarters what the team in red were doing. Occasionally they would almost get in their way causing them minor inconvenience. Sometimes the ball would come to one of these spectators and he would kick it and the red team would run after it and resume kicking it to each other. A spectator wearing an all-green costume stood in front of the goal and would sometimes jump towards the ball as it came in his direction, occasionally reaching it before it went into the net behind him, but often content just to look on as it passed him and then to become really angry with those in green and black around him.

Despite their close-up view, those on green and black did not seem to be enjoying themselves until towards the end when they started to kick the ball to each other and this so shocked the red team that the ball went into their net twice.

Back in the serious world of the DPL, it is fortunate that we are not estimating what the quality of the performance will be because none of us would surely have forecast such a calamity. Perhaps we are just glad that we were not there to be embarrassed.

I omitted to remark and congratulate the perceptive powers of Uthred as he glided into the lead on Saturday, so well done

Walsall 4: Rovers 2 (Rowe) 3514
………………..….Crowd Scorer Score Result Bonus Total Pts B/F Cumltve
Donaldo ………… 1 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 3 ……. 0 ……. 4 ……. 118 ……. 122
PDXMickey ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 130 ……. 130
Yorks Lad …….. 5 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 3 ……. 0 ……. 8 ……. 90 ……… 98
BVZ. ……..…….. 4 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 3 ……. 0 ……. 7 ……. 106 ……… 113
Crazy …….……… 2 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 2 ……. 93 ……… 95
Uthred …….…… 5 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 3 ……. 0 ……. 8 ……. 134 ……. 142
Mooligan …..…. 2 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 2 ……. 112 ……. 114
King Chmprr …. 0 …… 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 58 ……… 58
Small Azza ……. 0 …… 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 93 ……. 93
Aussie Lad. ……. 0 …… 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 …… 0 …….. 5 ……… 5
Azza ……..…..… 1 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 1 ……. 101 ….. 102
Cheltenham …. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……… 0
Nookie ……….… 0 ……. 3 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 3 ……. 53 ….…… 56
Selby …….……… 3 ……. 3 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 …... 6 ……. 97 ……… 103
Lanza …….….. 0 …….. 0 ……. 0 …… 0 ……. 0 ..…... 0 ……. 16 ……… 16
……………..……. 23 …….. 6 ……. 0 ….. 12 ……. 0 …... 41 … 1206 ….. 1247

Congratulations to Uthred for taking the lead - I'm now looking over my shoulder at you, Donaldo!
Can you confirm crowd scoring, please? I thought within 500 you got one point - if so I sneaked one as I was 435 too high. Thanks.

PDXM: I did look for your prediction, but missed it entirely - sorry. Revised results below.

You would probably remember Jackie Teasdale, a very able 50s half back who died at 88 recently and was another Rovers man who got injured on a FA representative tour of South Africa and had to retire prematurely.

Other nostalgia concerns the report on the OS that Syd Bycroft, the sort of defender that we could do with now, ex Captain and even briefly joint manager, will be inducted on Saturday into the Rovers "Hall of Fame" - how they love these in your country - and will receive this award together with Harry Gregg and various others on the pitch before the Fleetwood match.

The club's hard-working 9-5 media team never duck a challenge, but it will certainly test their mettle if, as they say, all of these legends will receive this award in person. The fact is that Syd died in his late 80s or early 90s well over ten years ago! But it is probably a bit too much to expect them to go into the detail of actually finding out that he was just a little bit more than a "defender" and no longer alive.

Walsall 4: Rovers 2 (Rowe) 3514
………………..….Crowd Scorer Score Result Bonus Total Pts B/F Cumltve
Donaldo ………… 1 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 3 ……. 0 ……. 4 ……. 118 ……. 122
PDXMickey ……. 1 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 1 ……. 130 ……. 131
Yorks Lad …….. 5 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 3 ……. 0 ……. 8 ……. 90 ……… 98
BVZ. ……..…….. 4 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 3 ……. 0 ……. 7 ……. 106 ……… 113
Crazy …….……… 2 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 2 ……. 93 ……… 95
Uthred …….…… 5 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 3 ……. 0 ……. 8 ……. 134 ……. 142
Mooligan …..…. 2 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 2 ……. 112 ……. 114
King Chmprr …. 0 …… 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 58 ……… 58
Small Azza ……. 0 …… 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 93 ……. 93
Aussie Lad. ……. 0 …… 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 …… 0 …….. 5 ……… 5
Azza ……..…..… 1 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 1 ……. 101 ….. 102
Cheltenham …. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……… 0
Nookie ……….… 0 ……. 3 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 3 ……. 53 ….…… 56
Selby …….……… 3 ……. 3 ……. 0 ……. 0 ……. 0 …... 6 ……. 97 ……… 103
Lanza …….….. 0 …….. 0 ……. 0 …… 0 ……. 0 ..…... 0 ……. 16 ……… 16
……………..……. 24 …….. 6 ……. 0 ….. 12 ……. 0 …... 42 … 1206 ….. 1248

Thanks, Donaldo - you do a great job and only miss very few.
I well remember Teasdale and Bycroft. Was it Syd who went to a local team in the old Midland League when he left the Rovers? I remember someone of that era playing against the Rovers Reserves.
I understand that Harry Gregg will only be "there" for the "Hall of Fame"on video.

I thought too that there was a Midland League connection and he has a page in Wikipedia which provides the information and plus an amusing quote about a match against Notts County when he was up against Tommy Lawton. I do remember Tommy Lawton scoring against us and I think we lost that one.