Rob Fielding reflects on an away point at Orient, noting the absence of John Askey’s summer signings, a return to 4-4-2 and a welcome return to the ranks for veteran Leon Legge.
Rob Fielding writes…
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Summer signings absent from squad
There was naturally much interest in what side Darrell Clarke would put out. It caught my eye that several of the much criticised summer signings by John Askey didn’t make this squad at all. David Fitzpatrick, Zak Mills, Danny Whitehead and Theo Robinson were not selected while Harry McKirdy and Dino Visser are not in the League squad at all. It meant that the impressive Devante Rodney was the only summer signing in the eighteen. It’s probably too soon to judge which players Clarke will release but perhaps it’s a very early indicator of his thinking as well as the quality of Vale’s “squad strengthening” over the summer.
A return to 4-4-2
For me, it was a welcome return to 4-4-2. Kurtis Guthrie is imposing and hard working but for me he’s often more of a provider than a scorer and needs another central striker to play off him. So, I was pleased to see Clarke’s formation which I felt offered the right balance between attack and defence. Both Vale’s wingers (until David Worrall was forced off injured) looked bright at times and the lively Devante Rodney was perhaps unlucky not to add to this season’s goal tally. It will be interesting to see if Clarke keeps faith with the formation at Vale Park and whether the wide open spaces of the Vale pitch will suit the wing-based approach.
Guthrie just needs a goal
I don’t think anyone can criticise Kurtis Guthrie’s workrate but the big man could clearly do with a goal. Guthrie had a couple of half chances but looked just a little off the pace when it came to reacting to crosses and chances. It’s fair enough, the player hasn’t played for a while before the Vale move and is probably still gaining match sharpness. While he’s not looking that sharp in terms of chances, he is at least putting a real shift in each game. However, a few more games and a little more sharpness and the big targetman could still be a potent forward for the club. Guthrie appears to be something of a streaky striker, by that I mean he has runs of goals, and I think one goal for Vale could lead to a similar goalscoring run. Let’s hope so.
Legge back from the cold
I would imagine every Vale fan respects Leon Legge as a person. His work highlighting epilepsy and the way he represents himself at Vale Park is a credit to him. The problem this season is that some mistakes have crept into his game, perhaps as the veteran slows a little. Add in a reported appearance clause which would add another year to his stay in Burslem and sightings of Leon in recent weeks have been few and far between. So, it was great to see him back on the pitch and commanding the Vale defence in the closing minutes. It was also a canny move by Darrell Clarke to replace debutant Mustapha Olagunji who, after a steady start, was having a somewhat wobbly patch in the second-half. Legge played a valuable part in Vale securing an away point. He may no longer be an automatic selection but with his vast experience, he can still offer something in the closing games of the season.
Agree or disagree with these views? Share your thoughts by posting a comment at the end of the article.
I agree Guthrie worked hard. He just needs a goal….
I’ve hoped for months that we play a 4-4-2 formation which finally happened against Orient, the involvement of Legge was interesting and showed good judgment in bringing him on at the right time although he lacks the pace someone playing just behind him as a “sweeper” would solve the problem. I fully agree Rob that the summer recruitment in the main was a disaster and proved the case by the absentees. Hopefully the formation remains the same for Tuesday nights game.
What an interesting week, a new Director of Football and a new Manager but the problem hasn’t gone away, I am sure that you will agree having watched yesterday’s game we stiil haven’t got a potent strike force, bless Guthrie, he is probably only capable of scoring 2 goals a season and not the 22 that Vale need. At least grit and determination was there to see but it’s that bit of class and style that we are lacking, you can’t make chicken soup out of chicken shit. So let’s look forward to Tuesday, Stevenage have improved of late and will come to Vale Park to do battle, I think we can match them in this department, shame Mr Pope isn’t fit, say what you like about this guy but he is the best centre forward that Port Vale own, and by a long way!!! Keep the faith, with clubs around like Grimsby, Barrow and Southend we should survive, that is of course if the season is played out?
Not sure why we’re still getting comments like “we need a 22 goal a season (striker)”? We’re 4th highest scorers in our League, with 2 of the 3 who’ve scored more than us, being in the top 8 places. It’s our defence that has let us down – the same defence we counted on last season, and made us difficult to beat.
If we can tighten up the defence…make us hard to beat again…our midfield will benefit from the added confidence, which will benefit the forwards. There’s enough goals in this vale side to climb that table – it doesn’t worry me that we don’t have a prolific striker.