Jonny Drury and George Bennett return with the latest episode of the Bescot Beat!
As it has been for much of the season, it is another positive episode as the Saddlers sit top for Christmas, with still one game to go before the big day.
George and Jonny look at the latest win, discuss the standout stars from recent weeks and speculation linking Mat Sadler with a move away.
They also look at the promotion picture, answer your questions, and discuss which Walsall player would make the best Christmas dinner?
NOTE (Apologies Saddlers fans, we are working hard to rectify our podcast account, but it is taking a little longer than we hoped.
We are hopeful it will be resolved by the New Year!)
As it has been for much of the season, it is another positive episode as the Saddlers sit top for Christmas, with still one game to go before the big day.
George and Jonny look at the latest win, discuss the standout stars from recent weeks and speculation linking Mat Sadler with a move away.
They also look at the promotion picture, answer your questions, and discuss which Walsall player would make the best Christmas dinner?
NOTE (Apologies Saddlers fans, we are working hard to rectify our podcast account, but it is taking a little longer than we hoped.
We are hopeful it will be resolved by the New Year!)
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00Sadler's fans, welcome back to the latest episode of the Bescott Beat, brought to you
00:05by the Expressenstar. My name is Jonny Jury. I'm here with a very, very happy George Bennett,
00:11as are the Walsall fans, as they are going to be top of the League Two tree at Christmas.
00:16It is all rosy down at the Poundland Bescott Stadium. We'll be talking about the latest
00:20victory, looking ahead to Harrogate and talking about everything in between in the next 20
00:26to 30 minutes. George, how are you, mate? It just seems to be getting better and better
00:31and better for the Sadlers.
00:34Yes, indeed. Another really important victory on the weekend and it just feels prematurely
00:44perhaps to suggest some Sadler's fans may say, but it feels like something special is
00:48in the air at the Bescott right now. Whatever the second half of the season has to hold,
00:55you've just got to enjoy the moment because the form that they're showing has been incredible
00:59and long may it continue.
01:02Yes, long may it continue indeed. Hopefully it continues over Christmas and into the new
01:07year. As we said, we'll talk about them being top at Christmas, talk about Barrow, that
01:111-0 win over Barrow, talk about the speculation surrounding Matt Sadler's future and we'll
01:17have a look ahead to Harrogate on Saturday.
01:22George, as the Bescott listeners will know, you like to fire over a few statistics for
01:28me to read out and I've got some very, very good ones here. First time they've been top
01:34at Christmas since 2006, nearly 20 years ago that year they went on to win the league under
01:42Richard Money. Five of the last six Christmas table toppers have gone on to win the league
01:49and one that's maybe not as headline grabbing as those. More clean sheets, eight than in
01:54the whole of last season, which was only seven. The omens do look good, but from reading what
02:00Matt Sadler said, he's getting carried away the least out of anyone from a Walsall persuasion.
02:08Yes, exactly that. When I spoke to Liam Gordon last week, we spoke about a year before when
02:17Walsall were in no way near the position that they currently are. It was that calmness that
02:23Matt Sadler had and the belief that he showed in them that got them out of that period and
02:29helped propel them to what was a real playoff pursuit until they fell off towards the end.
02:36He'll be exactly the same in this situation, providing that composure, that level-headedness,
02:42which is exactly what Walsall need at a time like this when things aren't going quite so well. He's
02:47been that exact type and he'll be the same in this situation. I think probably the clean sheet
02:54stat is the most important one, though, because we saw a fair few games, barring that 6-2 defeat
02:59against Fleetwood this season, but last season we saw a fair few games where Walsall were
03:04prone to leaking heavily and that's very much not been the case this season, especially on the road
03:11as well, which has been key. But no, defensively, much, much improved this year.
03:17Yeah, they have been very, very tight and Saturday was no different. A narrow 1-0 win
03:23over Barrow. It seems that they can win in a lot of different ways as well, George. They've kind
03:28of blown teams away at times. They've got goals, they've got attacking midfielders who can score,
03:32they've got centre-forwards who can score, but they've got people who can keep it out
03:36at the other end. Was Saturday kind of how that went, on the face of it, a narrow 1-0 win?
03:43Was that a result where they've kind of grounded out and looked, when you're top of the table,
03:49you ooze confidence and those wins could be vital come the end of the season?
03:54Yeah, exactly that. I think how they performed as a unit, especially off the ball, has been key.
04:01I mean, even in the games where they did run riot, I remember in the first 20 minutes they
04:05were soaking up pressure against Swindon. They did the same in the first half against Salford.
04:10And then, you know, when they've got that ability to pull the trigger, they've been
04:13relentless at times. But other times, maybe the goals haven't quite come so freely. I mean,
04:20you've only got to look at as recently as that EFL Trophy game against Reading,
04:24where Walsall had 33 shots. The vital equaliser arrived right at the end, so they eventually
04:31got their reward. And yeah, I think Saturday's performance, Matt Sadler said,
04:37wasn't vintage, it wasn't necessarily free-flowing, but it was a good performance.
04:42And yeah, I 100% agree with that sentiment, because probably for the first 20 minutes,
04:47it was a relatively scrappy affair. Barrow definitely had more of the ball.
04:52Walsall didn't really sort of impose any level of authority on the game.
04:58And you just felt around the 20-minute mark, I think there was a moment where Taylor Allen
05:01sort of charged down the left-hand side, and it was the first time that Walsall had kind of really
05:05breached that Barrow back line and earned Walsall a corner. And they started to press forward then,
05:10and I think Jamil Matt had a shot at goal. Liam Gordon drove inside and unleashed one wide with
05:18his weaker foot from range, and you just felt that maybe the tables were starting to turn a little.
05:24Yeah, shortly after that, the opening goal arrived. We've seen Harry Williams' long throw lead
05:31to a few chances, but rarely a goal, and Barrow unable to clear their lines from his throw.
05:38Ryan Slick unselfishly teed up Allen, and it's five goals now this season for Taylor Allen from
05:43left-centre-back. I think it's seven goals in the calendar year for him now, so we've talked so much
05:52about his remarkable transformation, and yeah, it just continues to go from strength to strength.
05:56He was fantastic defensively as well. Walsall had other chances as well. I mean, Nathan Lowe was
06:03played through by Charlie Lakin, who I must say, and Matt Sandler pointed out himself,
06:07we'll speak about him a little bit more, in a while was a standout player on the pitch,
06:11I would say. Fantastic performance from him, and his long ball over the top set up a chance
06:17for Nathan Lowe, who was probably better positioned to square to Jamil Matt, who was
06:23making a run into that six-yard box, and he hit the side net, and then Jamie Jellis also tested
06:28Paul Farman. So, you know, Walsall had chances to extend their lead, and they really restricted
06:34Barrow to very little. I think Tommy Simpkin had a really good save to make from Emile Akwas'
06:39half-volley just before the break, and in the second half, it was more out of caution, really,
06:44where he tipped a header over from Robbie Gotts. So, yeah, it was a defensively supreme performance
06:50by Walsall. The back three were solid. David Akabuye, in a rich vein of form at the minute,
06:55playing really well. Harry Williams looked back to his best after his concussion, which kept him
07:00out in November. Like I said, Taylor Allen, a really good defensive performance for him,
07:06as well as going forward with his goal, but the midfield as well. Jack Ewing grew into the game
07:12when he had his fourth league start of the season. It took him a little while to kind of get to grips
07:16with things, but I thought he improved. And, yeah, Charlie Lakin, in terms of that protection,
07:20was just a live wire. And, yeah, good to see Jamie Jellis back as well.
07:27Yeah, it seems that, you know, they're firing in every position at the moment. Big question,
07:31George. Can they maintain this? Can they, you know, maybe not maintain being top of the table?
07:37The statistics look good, like the one we said earlier, the top five of the last six Christmas
07:40table toppers have gone on to win the division. Can they sustain it and earn automatic promotion?
07:49And do you think now, you know, he's not, the players and the manager haven't come out and say
07:54it publicly, but do you think that is in Matt Sadler's mind now? You know, we've proven we're
07:59halfway, we're almost halfway through the season now. We've proven that we can mix it at the top.
08:03We've got a healthy lead going into Christmas. Do you think he will be looking at automatic
08:08promotion now as the target, given how things have gone?
08:11Yeah, I think, you know, between the sort of four walls, Essenton and Bescott,
08:16of course, that will be the aim now. I mean, Walsall have proven in these early stages of
08:19the season that they put themselves right in the mix. So, you know, it's clearly going to be the
08:24aim. He's not going to come out publicly and say that, Matt Sadler, because, you know, he wants to
08:28kind of maintain composure and ensure that no level of complacency creeps in, and understandably so.
08:35But yeah, in the back of everyone's minds, they're right up there now. I mean,
08:39you know, we talk about that four-point lead at the top, a game in hand as well on second place,
08:44Port Vale. So, in a really strong position, and you think they have some good results over
08:50Christmas, then it's going to be a great platform to take into 2025. In terms of maintaining that
08:59form, I mean, it's all about how can they deal with the pressure. And I mean, in games this
09:03season, they've already proven that. I mean, after that 4-0 defeat against Charlton, for example,
09:08in the Cup, it could have possibly been the start of a poor run for Walsall. I mean, they came into
09:15that week then having to face two fellow promotion hopefuls in Notts County and Port Vale. And by the
09:21end of that week, they'd come away with six points. The 6-2 defeat against Fleetwood, I mean,
09:26Walsall had had a really good start to the season, and that really could have marked the start of
09:31their demise. A defeat like that was a humiliation when you consider how good a form Walsall were in
09:37before that. And since then, there's 10 matches unbeaten in the league. So, every time they've
09:42kind of maybe had to answer any level of criticism, although there's been very little this season
09:47because of the form that they've been in, any time they have had questions asked of them,
09:51they've responded. And I think that will leave them in good stead for the rest of the season.
09:56Yeah, let's hope so. You mentioned Charlie Lake in there, and we've also got on the list Jamie
10:02Jellis back from a calf injury, came on as a second-half substitute. Two players there who
10:06have absolutely excelled this season. Who has been more key to Walsall's form, George? Or have they
10:13both got an equal part to play?
10:16Very different players, but yeah, I think equally as important in their own ways. I mean,
10:22we've seen with Jamie Jellis' goals and a player that I would love to see his stats in terms of
10:28how much ground he covers because his ability to close down the opposing defences, chase loss
10:37calls is absolutely crucial. And then having the ability at the top end of the pitch to mix it up
10:41with his volley against Grimsby and his Bergkamp-esque touch and goal against Colchester
10:49with the opener in that game. So we talk about non-league finds, Jamie Jellis is the epitomisation
10:56of that. An incredible signing, an incredible find in January earlier this year. In terms of
11:01Charlie Lake, it was a really shrewd signing, actually, because you come off the back of
11:06Isaac Hutchinson's departure and you're looking at Charlie Lake in terms of eight goals, five
11:10assists for Sutton in the second half of last season on his loan. And you're thinking, well,
11:14he's going to come in and replace the goals and the assists that Isaac Hutchinson got last season.
11:19And that's very much not been the case. And I guess probably I was just as guilty as kind of
11:25judging him on that in terms of his output in the final third. And when you actually kind of
11:31take a closer look at his game, it's the things he does off the ball, doing the dirty work. I mean,
11:39I watched him very closely the other day and I've seen a fair few fans say that he was the man of
11:44the match. And I agreed with that. I think I gave my nine of my players ratings. I mean,
11:50every single time chasing back, covering his teammates, getting vital clearances,
11:57even helping start attacks and his work in the press as well. I think, you know,
12:03maybe took him a little bit of time, although Matt Sadler showed faith in him by playing him
12:08regularly, took him a little bit of time just to get to grips with things. But I think now we're
12:11really seeing him turn into an important player for Walsall. And in recent games, he's been
12:16absolutely essential. So, yeah, in terms of those two midfield slots, him and Gellis have been
12:20fantastic this season. Has that acquisition of Walsall stronger in that area? You mentioned
12:30Isaac Hutchinson there and how big of a loss he was going to be, but it kind of hasn't really
12:35been felt, has it? It hasn't at all. I think collectively that midfield has helped compensate
12:42for the departure. And then, you know, they're strong in other areas. I mean, Isaac Hutchinson
12:47was very much kind of the focal point and maybe when he was having an off day, Walsall would
12:52possibly have an off day. But now they've got other match winners. I mean, you know, we talk
12:57about Taylor Allen's goals this season. You've got Nathan Lowe with 12 up front, Jamil Matts
13:02on six and having a real impact. And I spoke to Matt Sadler about Jamil Matt because last season
13:08he was having to manage his minutes and with constant sort of little injury problems that
13:15were maybe just depriving him the opportunity to complete 90 minutes. And at the start of the
13:20season, I was kind of, for my predicted lineups, putting him in on a Saturday and taking him out
13:25on a Tuesday. But he's going back to back now and he just kind of rediscovered at the age of 35
13:31this incredible level of fitness. And, you know, when I spoke to Matt Sadler, he said it's all down
13:35to Jamil Matt and his attitude and his mentality. So, you know, you've got him performing at the
13:40top end of the pitch. Then you've got jealous Connor Barrett and his creativity. So, you know,
13:49plenty of sort of avenues that are chipping in. Then you've got the likes of Albert Adoma,
13:54Danny Johnson coming off the bench, even Jack Earing come off and scored twice in September
13:59against Colchester. So there's a real variety there now as well with Walsall. And yeah, I feel
14:06like, you know, as a collective they've comfortably helped replace and exceed what Hutchinson was
14:14providing last season. Yeah, there's certainly not feeling the effects of that. Just elsewhere,
14:21George EFL trophy round of 16. Walsall will take on either Peterborough or Northampton after their
14:27progression against Reading. It seems that the cup form is maybe helping the league form at the
14:35moment. Yeah, definitely. I think it helps create momentum. And also when you consider the fact if
14:41Matt Sadler is going to have to chop and change at any point because of injuries or just purely
14:45with rotation, especially when you consider the Christmas fixture schedule coming up, which is
14:50going to be very hectic. It gives him that opportunity to maybe see players that aren't
14:55playing week in, week out at the moment. I mean, you know, someone that's really benefited from
15:01the EFL trophy, for example, has been Danny Johnson. Not had a league start since January,
15:07but, you know, two goals in the EFL trophy and a run of games for him, which has really helped.
15:13And Albert Adoma's played regularly. Evan Weir, we're not seeing a great deal of him at all in
15:20League Two, but I thought he was very impressive against Reading. So, yeah, it just gives a chance
15:26to give opportunities to players that are maybe struggling for minutes. I mean,
15:32the best example is, and we'll get on to kind of his injury in a minute, is George Hall
15:40was kind of making cameos off the bench in the league, got assists against Grimsby and Crewe.
15:45And Matt Sadler had to really ease him into the fold and got that start against Shrewsbury,
15:52scored in the three-nil win, and then had a run of three successive league starts and started
15:58to look as if he was picking up a real spell of form. So he's a shining example of how beneficial
16:04minutes and starts in that competition can be.
16:07Elsewhere, Matt Sadler linked with vacant positions in the Football League. It's hardly
16:16surprising, given he's top of the table, and it seems that we're very much in managerial
16:20sacking season at the moment, up and down the Football League. What did you make of his response
16:26to it, George? I would be very surprised if he was to leave. You know, he's been linked with some
16:32higher jobs, certainly Millwall being one. But what did you make of his reaction and what would
16:39your prediction be on it? Is it a case of he's on a journey, on a really good project at Walsall,
16:44and nothing's going to derail that at the moment? Yeah, I think so. I mean, I thought his response
16:50to my question on Saturday was convincing enough in the fact that, you know,
16:54football's football. There will always be talk. And yeah, you know, he said, when you're doing
17:01well, that's going to be the case. There's going to be that attraction. And he says, you know,
17:07he hopes that his players are kind of attracting that same sort of talk and attention with the
17:11form that they're showing, because it's a reflection of the performances that they're
17:16putting in on the pitch. But yeah, Matt Sadler has talked about his long-term ambitions and
17:22the project and his vision for future. And I would be very surprised if he kind of, you know,
17:27before the job, the job sort of happened, at least in terms of in respect of this season in
17:32League Two, that he would jump ship. And I feel that his response was convincing enough, you know,
17:37in terms of he's fully focused on what he's got on his hands at Walsall. So yeah, I think, yeah,
17:45the future's with Matt Sadler. And yeah, I was convinced by the response that,
17:52that, yeah, he's, he's focused on, on League Two and Walsall.
17:57Sadler's fans will be hoping that is the case. Let's get some questions from you,
18:01Sadler's fans. We've got a couple in. Onion Knight has asked a few on the January trance
18:06window. He's asked a couple. First one is how important is January looking now,
18:10considering the players on loan can be recalled. I know Walsall fans are scarred by the last
18:15couple of seasons and George Hall has an injury, hopefully not long, given he has worked towards
18:20full fitness. This is a setback. How important is, well, we'll merge them together. And he's
18:26also said, where would you strengthen in the January window? How important is January?
18:32George, will, will Travella be looking at it going, look, we're at the top, anything we can
18:35do to bolster Walsall now? They're probably, they haven't been in as good a position to achieve
18:41promotion for a number of years. So is it time now to just kind of strike while the iron's hot,
18:46so to speak? Yeah, I think the January window very much depends on kind of whether there are
18:54any, any recalls. I mean, Walsall, the last two trance wins, like you said, have kind of been
19:01struck with that with Danny Johnson and Freddie Draper and Walsall. I hope that that kind of
19:07won't happen again with, with Nathan Lowe, because I feel like Walsall are very much equipped to
19:12continue their progression without him, but clearly his form on the pitch and his goals
19:18puts you in a much stronger position to go and achieve that end goal of promotion. So yeah,
19:23it very much, it very much depends on kind of whether, whether any of the loan players are
19:27recalled. If not, in terms of the answer to your question of strengthening in the transfer window,
19:35it's actually, it's difficult to say where they could improve. I mean, you look at the goalkeeping
19:41department was very steady with Simpkin and Hornby at the moment. Defensively, they look
19:47extremely strong. I mean, Osher McEntee and Donovan Daniels are struggling for, for minutes
19:53again. And then you've got Rico Brown who played it right wing back in, in the EFL trophy the other
20:00night. So he's an option there for Connor Barrett. Evan Weir's an option at left wing back for Liam
20:05Gordon. We've spoken about the eights. So again, extremely strong there. So yeah, I guess in terms
20:14of, in terms of that improvement, it's difficult to look where they could improve. But obviously if,
20:20if they were to, to lose anyone in January, then clearly that's when you'll be looking to,
20:25to strengthen, to, to replace those players. But no, I feel Walsall squad at the moment is
20:30in a really strong position. Yeah. Hopefully the, the parent clubs don't come circling like they did
20:37in the last couple of years. Oh, another question bit off football topic. Yellow Ribbon podcast
20:41asks, which Walsall player would you trust most to cook the Christmas dinner? Oh, that's a,
20:46that's a good question. I'll leave it to you, George, because you know,
20:49these players a lot more than I do. Who's, who's the most responsible? Who do you think could be,
20:54would be good in the kitchen? Calm head, you know, get it all done. Juggling,
20:59juggling so many different things. Who, who would you trust to cook your Christmas dinner?
21:03If you had to pick one of the Sadler's squad? Yeah, I may know them from a footballing perspective.
21:11I don't know about, I've never been around any of their houses for dinner. So
21:16that's a tough one. Let's get, let's, let's get, let's go with the, let's go with the club captain
21:23and be on a safe one here. I'm going for Donovan Daniels. Yeah. Donovan Daniels. Do you know what?
21:29I'll, I'll dip in there because I don't really know many of the players. I haven't interviewed
21:32many of the players. I've interviewed Matt Sadler a few times. I think Matt Sadler would be a dab
21:35hand in the kitchen, you know, sensible, you know, very responsible. You know, the man in charge,
21:43he's juggling so many different things in the dugout for Walsall. I think he,
21:46I think he'd be all right in the kitchen. I think he'd be a pretty safe pair of hands.
21:50You watch, if he listens to this, he'll probably tell you on Saturday that he can't cook or
21:53something. But yeah, there's, there's your answer to that. Sadler's fans, thank you very much for
21:59your questions. Almost out of time, but we're just going to talk about Harrogate on Saturday.
22:04Jamil, Matt's suspended. Who's going to lead the line, George?
22:13Very good question. I mean, yeah, Jamil, Matt and Nathan Lowe have kind of been that, that
22:19staple on the side really in recent months. So Matt Sadler's going to, going to have to clearly
22:25rethink that one for Saturday. And yeah, it's a difficult one really, because the two options
22:32that you're going to look at is Albert Adoma or Danny Johnson. And with Albert Adoma, you're going
22:38to have a guaranteed runner who's going to cover lots of ground and work hard. With Danny Johnson,
22:44you've got someone who can, has a knack of putting the ball in the back of the net. So,
22:49I mean, talking about how important the AFL trophy has been for Danny Johnson,
22:53in terms of staking a claim, I mean, he's got two goals in that competition, scored twice off the
22:58bench with limited game time in League Two. So to keep him happy, really, it would probably be a
23:05good opportunity to present him with a start. Like I said earlier in the podcast, he's not started in
23:10the league since the 3-1 defeat against Stockport in January. So yeah, he spoke about, you know,
23:17coming back with a fresh mind, the fact that he's been doing Pilates, trying to sort of
23:22get in the right physical mindset and shape to play Sadler's pressing style.
23:30And it could be an opportunity for himself to prove that in the league on Saturday. So yeah,
23:35I'd go with Danny Johnson, but clearly the two options are Adoma or Dejan.
23:40Yeah, the other one is kind of will Jamie Jellis start? Came off the bench,
23:44obviously on Saturday in the win over Barrow. Can you see him being thrown back in given how
23:49of a key player he's been this season?
23:52I would say so. I mean, I wouldn't have expected for any second for him to come straight back into
23:57the starting lineup against Barrow. You know, he's ready in contention for that game, but I always
24:01felt that it was one where he was going to sort of come off the bench and play like he did in the
24:06end. And now he's going to have another week of training under his belt, obviously fresh from
24:12half an hour or so on the pitch the other day. I feel like, yeah, probably the time's right now
24:16for him to come back into the starting 11. It was a good chance for Jack Earing. I felt like
24:22it took him a little bit of a while to really warm into the game. And once he did, I thought
24:27he improved and produced a fairly good performance, actually. But yeah, I would expect Jellis to be
24:33giving the nod on the weekend. There we go. Sadler's fans ahead to Harrogate.
24:412-0 win last term. Walsall's only away clean sheet of the season. That is not the case this
24:45year. They are absolutely flying, keeping the ball out the back of the net and putting it in
24:50at the other end. Hopefully they can do that and, you never know, extend their lead into
24:53the festive period. Sadler's fans, this is our last podcast before Christmas. We will be back
24:58between Christmas and New Year, looking ahead to the January transfer window. So have a very
25:03merry Christmas from me and from George. Until next time, goodbye.