Opinion: Moore has already made a difference but he’s hamstrung by squad deficiencies

Rob Fielding says that Darren Moore has already made some quick and welcome decisions to improve things on the pitch but they still may not be enough to save Vale’s season.

Rob Fielding writes…

The worry is – even with Moore’s welcome tweaks, Vale can’t win games because the squad lacks strength in key areas. In other words, even a good manager can’t get this squad, in its current make-up, to be successful…

I think the Port Vale players looked far more comfortable in their rejigged line-up on Tuesday night. Nathan Smith looked more comfortable in a back four, while the attacking trio of Chislett, Mighten and Weir looked lively. Weir is an interesting one. He’s been deployed in central midfield before but he looks far more threatening in an advanced role. One run produced one of Vale’s best efforts of the game.

It was a depressing night for Vale fans but I think we can at least take comfort in Darren Moore’s decisions so far. He’s taken next to no time to deploy a back four, bring in the dangerous Mighten from the start and give the off-the-pace Wilson a place on the bench. However, Moore remains massively hamstrung by Vale’s squad balance (yes, we’re onto that subject yet again)…

Ryan Loft is slowly winning over some fans with his workrate and effort in recent games. I would imagine that for most fans the minimum requirements for a player is to put a shift in. To his credit Loft is doing that and has worked hard. However, he is the focal point of the attack and in my view, he just isn’t going to score enough goals up there by himself. Loft worked his socks off on Tuesday but over the ninety minutes how many times did he force the keeper into a save? For that matter, how many times has he done that in the last half a dozen games? Credit to him for knuckling down and working hard but sadly Vale need someone to put the goalkeeper under pressure and score goals. He doesn’t look like that sort of player.

Neither for that matter does James Wilson who, on the positive side has managed a good run of games but on the negative side, hasn’t scored in eight games. The problem for Moore is he has no options other than Loft and Wilson. In that regard, he has to keep hammering square pegs into round holes. Persisting with strikers who in one case, is putting in one hundred percent effort but carries no goal threat and the other who possesses great talent but looks in need of a rest.

There’s a similar problem on the left of a back four. Vale lack an obvious choice to play there. Dan Jones started the game and would probably be first choice but he’s been out for a long time and the worry is that he may break down or not last the full ninety minutes. The other options are Conor Grant or young Jack Shorrock, both of whom are more suited to a more attacking role. Ironically, Mal Benning, who left the club in the summer would possibly have been a better fit but what’s done is done. Reading certainly seemed to have done their homework with persistent attacks on Vale’s left often overloading the left-back. Unfortunately, Vale look like they will have to “make do” with what they have in the squad to cover that position. I hope Jones stays fit as defensively he’s probably the best option.

Thankfully for Moore, he could have had the same issue on the right but thankfully that didn’t turn out to be the case. Mitch Clark, who can play right-back, is still coming back from injury so Moore brought in Tom Sang. Thankfully, Sang looked to do well in what is an unfamiliar position. His passing is an asset to have in the side but he also did the defensive work well, too. I bet the new manager is breathing a sigh of relief as if Sang hadn’t work his other options were few and far between. Again the limitations of Vale’s squad are clear.

I’m not going to bang on again about the club’s failures in January. My views on that have been expressed in other pieces. However, in previous weeks, some of the blame for Vale’s performances were laid at the feet of Andy Crosby. People would say that regardless of the squad, his formation, his tactics and in-game decisions were poor and partially to blame for Vale’s slump. After two games, it doesn’t look like that will the case with Darren Moore. He seems to have rapidly grasped what was wrong with the formation and style of play. The worry is – even with Moore’s welcome tweaks, Vale can’t win games because the squad lacks strength in key areas. In other words, even a good manager can’t get this squad, in its current make-up, to be successful.

It pains me to sound like a broken record, but despite a new manager who has already shown promise, I really worry that Vale’s relegation fate was sealed on the 1st February when the transfer window shut.

And I really hope I’m wrong.