Four thoughts after Port Vale’s dreadful defeat to Walsall
Defence desperately needs changes – Rob Fielding shares his thoughts after another gloomy Saturday afternoon for the Valiants.
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Vale’s leaky defence desperately needs changes
That’s seven goals conceded in the last two away games. It’s eleven games without a cleansheet (and that includes games against Kings Lynn Town, Liverpool U21 and Wolves U21). There’s not much more to add other than it’s clearly unacceptable and things have to change. No-one is undroppable. Manager John Askey suggested as much in his post-match comments and surely there has to be changes at both centre-half and right-back for the next game? I would imagine Shaun Brisley and Adam Crookes will both start the next game but after a shaky display by Zak Mills will Askey bring Mitch Clark back from the cold as well?
Is the season over already?
I thought BBC Radio Stoke summariser Phil Sproson summed it up perfectly (which after all is what a summariser should do). Sproson said that you can forget the League Two play-offs if you’re conceding four goals a game. He’s right and with the FA Cup exit as well, this season looks to already be over for Vale. The bigger question is whether Port Vale’s owners stick with the Askey long-term plan or decide the only way to bring success is to make a change.
Small mercies but there were a few positives…
OK, it was an awful game for the defence but there were bright points elsewhere. Tom Pope showed his goal instincts in the lone striker’s role, Tom Conlon’s free-kicks are a potent weapon, Devante Rodney showed he could score tap-ins and not just long-range screamers, Alex Hurst showed promise on the wing once again. None of them make the defeat any less bitter but at least there’s a few positive things that Port Vale can take from it…
What now for Port Vale and John Askey?
I thought that by now, Port Vale have had enough horror seasons. We’ve had to endure Ribeiro, Brown and Aspin in recent years. Many of us had high hopes that those days were behind us and Vale would start to make steady, positive progress. Sadly, it was not to be this season and with one win in nine League games, we’re back to the “crisis club” times. John Askey looks to be a good, decent man but after this awful run there has to be questions about whether he is the right man for this job. His summer signings haven’t impressed. It’s an ageing squad. There’s a ‘forced’ rigidity to the 4-3-3 formation. Will Port Vale owners stick or twist? It’s a big question and one which could define the club’s direction in the coming years.
PjW
20th December 2020 @ 9:16 am
Shrewsbury had a reason, and we had to see why.
Keith Dawson
20th December 2020 @ 1:59 pm
Absolutely shocking defending, that’s all that can be said after what was a poor all round team performance.at Walsall. Let’s be honest Vale could have been 2 nil down before we woke up and scored 2 well taken goals. After half time it was a horror show, defenders all over the place, their substitutes running us ragged and scoring goals for fun. Even when we went ahead to make it 3-2 we never looked in control, some of the Vale players need to ask themselves if they are in the right profession. Let’s see what Boxing Day brings !!!
Ian Clarke
20th December 2020 @ 4:24 pm
All of us have had bad days and made mistakes at work. Footballers are no different. Leon Legge and Nathan Smith have done very well for Port Vale but footballers are under public scrutiny and have to come to terms with criticism and being dropped from the team. Very unusual however for a manager to publicly imply who the guilty parties were. The big picture is that Nathan has a great future in front of him while Leon has done well to play 2 games a week at the of 35. Successful teams tend to pick themselves. When Vale were promoted from this league in 1970 the back line was Ball Boulton Wilson King Sproson Green for pretty much all of the season. This season not withstanding injuries none of us know what Vales best team is. All 4 strikers have been used. Which one is first choice? The next 3 games are against sides below us and a decent haul of points will be needed to dampen supporters frustration.
Darryl
21st December 2020 @ 12:08 pm
Need to play Brisley and Crookes at center back and give Visser a run in goal. For me Scott Brown is letting in too many goals he should be saving on top of our bad defending. Maybe we should change to
3-5-2 formation with wingbacks.
Phil Yeomans
21st December 2020 @ 4:40 pm
The defensive performances have been there to see for the last half dozen games we need to replace both current full backs bring back Clarke and Crookes and replace Smith at centre half. Adopt a 4-4-2 formation and not get overun in midfield and retain Pope up front. Changes long overdue and squad players must be thinking what do they need to do to get an opportunity.
Syd Lawton
22nd December 2020 @ 4:18 pm
Going in to 2nd min of added on time Vale 4-0 up and we manage get a credible draw… Oh for the days of Ken Hancock, John Nicholson & Sir Roy Sproson!!! Come on Vale|
Geoff
25th December 2020 @ 6:24 pm
Im pretty sure that after last season Vale hoped to get another year from Leon, he is probably the best centre back header winner of the ball in our division but unfortunately is now being let down with his lack of pace .This means that Smith is being pushed and pulled out of position to cover him, this then has the knock on that someone then has to cover for Smith and so on .The result being players know where they are supposed to be but because of the above they too are being pulled out of position. This you can get away with occasionaly but when this happens often players are almost covering mistakes before they happen with the obvious results we see.
It takes a lot out of any team when they are without three or four first choice players as we have but playing two games a week this is something most teams will suffer at some stage or other. If we can have a little more luck with injuries then i believe we will turn this run around, although i believe mid table is probably our finishing position.