Opinion: everything is going right for Port Vale during purple patch
Rob Fielding says he can’t see anything for fans to criticise as the club goes goal crazy, brings in the cup cash and key players return from injury…
Rob Fielding writes…
Just what is going on at Vale Park? We don’t have that many great spells to reflect on in recent years – but this is clearly one.
There have been plenty of questions about the Valiants this season and this spell seems to answer every one thrown at them…
Question: How will Vale play without top scorer Jamie Proctor who has picked up an injury which rules him out for several weeks?
Answer: No problem, the side has scored eighteen goals in the last five games, winning four of the five.
Question: With Proctor and Rodney injured, where will the goals come from if another forward gets injured?
Answer: Everywhere. It’s not just forwards scoring right now – midfield and defence have also been chipping in. Aaron Martin and Mal Benning both have two goals apiece while captain Tom Conlon has four from midfield. The Valiants now have SIXTEEN different scorers in all competitions.
Question: Is loanee George Lloyd a goal threat?
Answer: Lloyd has scored two goals in his last two games.
Question: OK, so it’s all well scoring all these goals but what about the defence?
Answer: Well, Vale have been tight at the back too. They’ve conceded just three times in their last five games. Lucas Covolan is looking more assured in goal as he adjusts to regular League football. The defensive ranks are also set to be boosted by the welcome return of Leon Legge, which will only add to Vale’s defensive strength.
Question: Will the Vale’s squad strength hold up if we get any injuries?
Answer: It looks like it. This run has been achieved despite Proctor, Rodney, Legge, Ryan Johnson and Alex Hurst all being sidelined. Rather than a natural first choice and understudy, Vale often have fierce competition for places. For instance, Tom Pett and Brad Walker are battling out for the defensive midfield role, Ben Garrity and Jake Taylor are duking it out for the box-to-box midfield role. While Pett and Garrity are the men in possession right now, it doesn’t mean Walker and Taylor are understudies and picking either of them wouldn’t weaken the team. Darrell Clarke has also built a side where players can cover multiple positions (James Gibbons has cropped up as rightback, right wingback, left wingback and in a back three; Danny Amos has played in a back three, as a leftback and as a rightback) which means there’s plenty of flexibility and cover in the Vale squad.
Question: Won’t teams eventually find Vale out?
Answer: Well, perhaps not. Clarke has been cleverly mixing and matching personnel and formations to the opposition. It must be tricky to deal with if you’re the opposition manager. Will David Worrall be wingback or right of a front three? Will it be James Gibbons on the right or the left? A 4-3-3 or a 3-5-2? It all means opposition teams cannot spend hours on the training pitch working on set routines to counter the Vale formation because they won’t be sure which one it will be.
Question: So is it rattling the opponents?
Answer: It seems so. Both Crawley’s John Yems and Accrington’s John Coleman seemed to lose their cool after losing heavily to the Valiants in recent weeks.
Question: Is the club picking up positive headlines in the press?
Answer: Yes, three manager of month nominations for Darrell Clarke plus an eyebrow raising thrashing of League One Accrington. A TV game against Bradford will help too.
Question: Are the club finances OK?
Answer: The club banked over £20,000 for their FA Cup first round win, is set to pick up £30,000 from Sky for their televised clash with Bradford plus around £40,000 from the Football League Trophy so far. If the side continues to sit in the top three, it’s entirely possible to see more Vale games selected for TV coverage during the rest of the season. Attendances have been good and if the club continues with this form into 2022, it’s likely attendances will rise further. There’s also still the possibility of a possible cup windfall.
Question: What about the January transfer window? Could the club lose key players?
Answer: Well, yes they could but several of the key players (Conlon, Proctor, Wilson etc) are under contract beyond the summer. It’s going to take big bids to persuade Vale to sell. Dennis Politic has been linked with a potential recall to Bolton but while Politic has impressed, this is no one-man team and I feel the Vale would manage even if the loanee left. If the team’s form continues, there’s also an incentive for players to stay. They will no doubt be impressed by manager and owners and see the potential to have success with a club that is moving in the right direction. Vale have banked some money and could see January as a chance to boost their squad still further – so rather than being a period when the squad is weakened it could actually be strengthened instead.
Question: Fair enough, so with all that good news, what are Vale’s chances of winning something this season?
Answer: The side are still in two cup competitions and riding high in the League. As far as the FA Cup goes, the most the club will probably be hoping for is to beat Burton and get a money spinning third round draw and hoping for a giantkilling. There’s more chance of progress in the Football League Trophy but the main focus will be success in League Two. The club are eager to avoid any talk of promotion, but we’re fifteen games in, sitting in second place and in sublime form. This supreme spell isn’t going to last forever but while it does, we can all dream of success for the Valiants.
Question: Oh come on, there must be SOMETHING Vale fans can moan about right now?
Answer: If there is, I’m struggling to think what it could be right now. On the playing side we have an innovative and motivated manager; a reinvigorated and powerful squad; we’re playing entertaining football; resources and personnel have gone into the playing side and there’s a long term plan regarding the Academy and training ground. Off the pitch, we have revered local owners, who have won the community club of the year award, who are investing in the club and who are embedding it in the community and forging links with local companies. I’m really struggling to find anything there that Vale fans shouldn’t be wildly optimistic about…
Edited 11th November to amend comment about the contract expiry of key Vale players.
Matt Bentley
10th November 2021 @ 2:31 pm
I can think of one moan……and the article is spot on, there really isn’t much to moan about however since doing up the catering kiosk in Railway paddock the addition of separate windows with no queueing system has been a bind. It’s a niche moan however some proper barriers so we all know where we are would see better queuing and you might even make it to the toilets if you’re lucky too. I hear no ends of moans on the same object, so hopefully it will be improved. Certainly if there was another choice (clearly there isn’t we are all stuck there then it would be disastrous for sales.
Sam
10th November 2021 @ 8:41 pm
Good article Rob. Minor point, I think Smith is out of contract at the end of the season.
BHF
10th November 2021 @ 10:27 pm
I’m wildly optimistic this season myself and I don’t want to rain on your parade but the club really need to get the scanners working more regularly on the Railway Stand Turnstiles.
Not sure what it’s like in other stands ?
Rob Fielding
11th November 2021 @ 7:57 am
Sam, Yes, you’re correct and I will amend it.
Trev Hankey
11th November 2021 @ 8:00 am
A truely down to earth assessment of what is happening at this great football club I have supported for over sixty years, may it continue and give everyone connected at the club from the top to the fantastic supporters many more years of enjoyment, love reading your annalises Rob well written. UTV
Peter junge
11th November 2021 @ 10:49 am
I have been a Vale fan 40 years and this one of the best. I can’t get there often due to where I live and job but I m loving current form