Express & Star

Chris Marsh: Sure signs that Walsall starting to gel

You will hear a lot of managers at this time of year say their team still needs time to gel.

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They are absolutely right. But they still need to pick up results.

And that is why I was absolutely overjoyed Walsall got that late leveller against Forest Green Rovers on Saturday.

I can’t stress just how important that result and point is – and it will make a lot of people stand up and take notice.

What managers mean by the term ‘gelling’ is the players getting used to playing with each other.

It really takes time and – if I’m being honest – you only build that understanding in matches, training doesn’t quite cut it.

If you’re a striker, for example, you need to know if you’re playing with a winger who likes to send the ball in early, or if they are going to take an extra touch.

Are they a winger who cuts inside or do they like to go on the outside? Are they stronger on their right foot or left foot? Will they try and beat their man and hit the byline?

I’ll give you an example from back in my day.

When we went up from Division Three back in 1995, it was me and Scott Houghton on the wing and Kyle Lightbourne and Kevin Wilson upfront.

Now Houghton was naturally left-footed but was brilliant with his right which made him a nightmare to mark because he could go either way.

So Karl and Kevin learnt to look at what his marker was doing. If he was a fraction of a yard off, Houghton would whip it in with his right.

But if the defender got too tight, he would check back on to his left and swing it in.

With me, it was a little bit easier. They knew when I got the ball I was going to do a step-over – absolutely everyone in the ground knew that!

Then I’d send in a cross that was either David Beckham-esque – or it would hit the first man.

They always knew where the ball was going though. And that allowed them to time their runs just right.

It’s the same all over the pitch. Are you playing with a full-back that likes to drive forward with the ball or clip it over the top?

Have got a midfielder that is going to look to play the ball wide or in the channel. Are they going to run with it or play it first time?

Football is a game of fine margins and all these little details make a big difference.

We have signed so many players this summer so to get through the first two games unbeaten really is a fantastic start.

And there was a lot of pressure on that Forest Green game.

I have to admit I was always sceptical when people said they didn’t attend Walsall’s games because of former owner Jeff Bonser.

I’d always ask myself, is that really enough to not go and support your team?

But the attendance last weekend shows people really did stay away.

It was fantastic seeing all those queues just before kick-off of people buying tickets and getting into the stadium.

Since Leigh Pomlett’s takeover, there is such a feel-good factor around the club.

But that does come with its own pressure. Darrell Clarke and his players know they have to perform for those supporters.

When the clock ticked past 80 minutes, I just kept thinking ‘please score, please score – please don’t lose this game,’

If they had it wouldn’t have been the end of the world because we do still need that time to gel.

But to go on and get a result – it showed real character and gave everyone a huge lift.

It’s a new group of players but they still dug deep and got the job done.

We may be only two weeks into the season, but for me, there are so many positive signs already.

Long may it continue!