Saddlers' Strikers - Walsall firing on all cylinders!
Tai Sodje's four goals for the Saddlers over the last week or so means that the three main 'strikers' at the club have now opened their accounts for the season - with some in style too.
The striker position is one that, naturally as a league two club, has haunted Walsall for years - whether it be losing loan players in great form (see Nathan Lowe, Freddie Draper, Danny Johnson..), to players signed permanently never finding their shooting boots or even breaking the bank for a friend of a friend (yes, I'm looking at you Jason Demetriou) who would go on to rack up an astonishing 1 (one) goal for Walsall. However, this season Walsall approached the striker market differently - retaining Aaron Pressley, and signing Andrew Dallas and Tai Sodje on permanent deals from the lower leagues.
And going into the start of this season, I think many fans had serious reservations about these striker options. And understandably so - Pressley last season never found goalscoring form, and recruitment from the National League signing two strikers with.. also not great scoring records. Where were the goals going to come from?
And yet, only a few months later, we seem to have an answer - and one that was right in front of us all along. Aaron Pressley has been the spearhead of the Walsall attack so far this season, and Lee Grant's tactics have clearly helped the striker to find his feet - operating much better with runners beyond him whether that be Clarke, Smith, Sodje or anyone else. He has held up play superbly, found his winger/strike partner and moved into a goalscoring position already on many occasions this season, proving to be a real fox-in-the-box with four of his seven goals so far this season coming as headers, all in and around the six yard box. In fact, he hasn't scored from outside the box once. He is outperforming his xG by over 1, further highlighting his impressive form in front of net.
This form has been rewarded, with him already having played nearly 900 minutes for the Reds this season, starting every game that he has played. Furthermore, his defensive efforts have also been amazing with a massive 43 defensive contributions so far this season - an incredible effort from the big man.
Many imagined at the start of the season, that Andrew Dallas would be the out-and-out number 9 for the Saddlers' this season - a completely different brand of footballer. And this hasn't quite turned out to be the case for Pressley's fellow Scot - mostly due to Pressley's form and actually no fault of his own. The former Southend man has registered one goal and one assist so far this season in half as many minutes as Pressley, but also poses a different kind of threat with his pressing and intensity, making 16 recoveries so far this season.
It feels like I cannot talk about Dallas, however, without mentioning just how good his goal was. A pearl of strike, first time from the edge of the box, that curled away from the 'Keeper's reach and nestled beautifully in the far top corner of the net. A genuine goal of the season contender, so if we get a few more of those I think that would fill most Saddlers' fans appetites alongside his colleagues better goalscoring form.
Third and finally, Tai Sodje arguably had the toughest start to the season of the three - with more scattered minutes due to Pressley and Dallas playing well together. Sodje is also younger than the two other forwards, so it is easy to imagine that he is a player brought in with the next few seasons in mind. A Manchester City academy product, Sodje had only played one season of senior football before joining the Saddlers which, in my opinion, shows he has clear potential to go even higher.
And his stats in front of goal only compliment this - despite his limited minutes (particularly at the start of the season) - his headed goal is one of six headed shots that he has had, one of the highest in league two - and scoring 2 league goals from just 2.32xG proves once again that he has been clinical in front of goal. In his last three matches, he has recorded a fotmob rating of 8.9, 7.6 and 7.6 showing the way he has grown into his role.
And, once again, it would be impossible to mention Tai Sodje without mentioning global superstar Jed Ward, and the phenomenal sidewinder pass that found Sodje through on goal, as he drove past former Red Manny Monthe to slot past the Oldham 'keeper this past midweek. No words could possibly describe the quality of the run, ball, control and finish that saw the Saddlers go from back to front in a flash.
The question is - who do you think should be our starting strike partnership? Pressley/Dallas? Pressley/Sodje? Or Dallas/Sodje? Let us know below.
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