No fight and men against boys – four thoughts after Port Vale’s loss to Derby
Rob Fielding says it isn’t right to blame inexperienced teenaged players and the manager for Vale’s latest loss but the Director of Football and senior players do deserve criticism.
Rob Fielding writes…
Relegation looks the most likely result
There’s still a chance of survival of course but this defeat made it eleven games without a win for the Valiants. There will always be a hope that Vale can turn it around but surely to do that they need a resilient defence and a goal threat – two things they don’t seem to possess at the moment.
Of course a long awaited win may dramatically turn things around – and as Vale fans I think we all want the club to stay up. However, by far the likelier story right now is that Vale are set for League Two next season, although I dearly hope I’m proved wrong.
Men against boys – literally
The lack of depth in this Vale squad was illustrated in stark contrast on Saturday. The Valiants had to play Jack Shorrock, a sixteen year-old at left-back. I’ve seen some criticism of his performance but I think it’s too early in his career for the teenager to be seen as a first-team starter. Shorrock has great potential but Vale’s squad deficiencies could potentially derail promising careers by exposing them to the men’s game too early. Shorrock was joined in the starting line-up by 18 year-old James Plant and later 17 year-old Baylee Dipepa. In contrast, Derby County started with Dwight Gayle upfront while their bench contained the vastly experienced duo of Martyn Waghorn and Connor Hourihane.
The counter argument may be that blooding the youngsters will serve Vale well for the future but I disagree. Teenaged players surely need a gradual and gentle introduction – that’s why many end of season games see youngsters given their chance when there’s often nothing to play for. To start with two youngsters when the team is in the middle of a crucial relegation battle is, in my mind, putting too much pressure on them – but with Vale’s paper-thin squad I don’t think Darren Moore had much choice!
This isn’t Moore’s fault, we know who’s to blame
I personally think that given the lack of resources at his disposal, Darren Moore has done all he can. He’s switched from a back three to a back four at times showing flexibility in formation. He’s rotated players in and out. But there’s only so much he can do when faced with a squad that on Saturday lacked any senior left-sided fullbacks or any senior strikers.
It still bemuses me that the hierarchy at Vale Park felt that three senior strikers (with one of them the injury prone James Wilson) would be enough to see us through the season – let alone two senior strikers when Uche Ikpeazu picked up an injury in the New Year. Furthermore, with a grand total of five League goals from 52 appearances for the trio so far, who thought that would be enough firepower, even if all three stayed fit?
I’m yet again sounding like a broken record but the blame lies at the top – with the Director of Football. There’s been failures in three consecutive transfer windows, a botched managerial appointment and long-term contracts handed out which severely restrict any chance of a summer clear-out (Conor Grant, Alex Iacovitti, Jason Lowe and Ryan Loft being just four names contracted until the end of next season). If David Flitcroft is doing a grand job with the training ground and infrastructure then give him that title – Head of Football Development or similar – but hand the responsibility for transfers and contracts back to the manager.
The senior players need to show more fight
So I’ve looked at who I think isn’t to blame (the manager and the teenaged players) and who is (the Director of Football) but I think some criticism should also lie with the senior players. Take Funso Ojo, for instance. The 32 year-old is contracted for another two years (see my comments on contracts above) but seems a shadow of himself right now. To me, it was telling that in the absence of captain Nathan Smith, Ben Garrity, rather than nominated vice skipper Ojo, was handed the captain’s armband on Saturday.
Perhaps I’m doing Ojo a disservice and he’s still recovering from injury but as a senior player surely he has to display more fight? To set an example? He’s not the only one though. I though Ben Garrity showed passion but he was the exception as his team mates failed to show the commitment to the cause that we fans want to see. We may not have left-backs or strikers, but as fans we can at least expect our side to show some fight and not just succumb weakly. It’s one thing to lose a game you fought for, quite another to lose one where’s there’s been no desire shown.
Do you agree or disagree? I welcome your thoughts so please leave a comment.
David Brown
3rd March 2024 @ 9:11 am
Seven league games into this season the Vale were 2nd place in League 1, with celebrated England Under 21 loan signings Arblaster and Devine strutting their talent as the team promised a much improved season. Fast forward to today and the season has imploded with the team seemingly on a one way ticket back to the bottom EFL division. Arblaster and Devine helped paper over the cracks of a cheaply assembled squad with little depth, and now there’s an over reliance on teenage talent to fill in the gaps. The first Vale relegation I witnessed was from the old Third Division in 1965. That too was due to complacency with squad management, but included the forced blooding of youth to replace tired older players past their sell by date. History repeating itself to an extent. Hopes and dreams of the 2022 promotion are fading fast, with the club’s owners finding out just how hard it is to continuously improve a football club. They’ve got plenty of questions to ask themselves. Where and from who will they find the answers?
Stephen Lowe
3rd March 2024 @ 10:19 am
The young lads should all be at least two years away from even being on the first team subs bench. Yes its unfair in them but it also weakens our team massively. Good luck to them all and lets hope they do make it one day but they are way off that at the moment.
Carol is happy though because our D O F is delivering the goods of producing our own acadamy players into the first team squad.
The other reason for having these young kids in the squad had been the ability of D O F to waste our so called decent league one budget. Us fans dont know what the budget is but we have spent lots of money on seasoned players who have totally let us down. We have taken risks with players fitness and given long contracts too. All this leaves very little to spend elsewhere on the squad.
We then sign chancers who have not played at league one level, who have not worked out. We then have to blood our own youngsters, far too early. We then bring loan players in and again, without the two massive exceptions, we have taken a chance and its not worked out,
Our seasoned professionals are letting us down badly. Some really do appear to have given up. No surprise. If all the fans are totally unhappy with the set up and the results produced then the players may also be tearing their hair out day in day out.
” we will have players in Jan window, LWB and Striker ” The fact we failed may well be down to exceptional terms wanted etc etc but surely we have to bring in someone up front instead of relying on a young academy lad
My own view is that Carol has a lovely vision. Flitcroft told her everything she wanted to hear, and still does. He can do no wrong ! He has. He has done almost everything wrong for on the pitch issues. That is all we fans really care about and are really upset about.
Next season, in league two, there will be a huge drop in income from your supporters Carol. Tickets, merchandise everything. Unless we see big changes yet again. D.M. hopefully is the man but he has to be given the resources, that being money. It will all be down to support from the board on that one. Carol and her team will need to win back the support from the fans.
Oh and Carol will need to move Flitcroft away from our club, now please
Marco polo
3rd March 2024 @ 10:45 am
At the moment we’re down cause the Games in hand r against teams like Portsmouth, so League and Moore the same ? I only hope not, and we can’t blame the current manager , it’s the structure and lack of a Transfer window policy .
Paul Cooke
3rd March 2024 @ 11:23 am
No shots, no pride only Ben Garritty anywhere near good. Chislet a poor version of Louis Dodds. Did Ojo think we were at home playing in White! he was hopeless. The kids tried their best and are not to blame. It was another embarrassing effort in front a large away following. I asked for both DOF and Crosby to go after Fleetwood massacre on a previous thread. I wonder if Crosby would have got more than a single point from the 5 games Moore has been in charge? Who knows. League 2 here we come!
Colin Taylor
3rd March 2024 @ 11:42 am
From the first game of the season the poor defence and the lack of a striker was there for all to see.
So if we are all honest it should not come as any surprise to see our current league position.
After the home game against Fleetwood, it confirmed that in my opinion, we our the worst team in the league.
If things don’t change with player recruitment it’s frightening on what league we could be looking at this time next year.
Any manager is only as good as the players he has at the club.
Unfortunately none of our present players are of league one standard.
The blame must rest on the person responsible for player recruitment.
A REST MY CASE (DF)
Martin Rogerson
3rd March 2024 @ 12:09 pm
It is hard as a supporter to what’s happening with the struggling squad however, just step back and look how the junior players are been treated, remember they are young, constant critism will drag them down, get behind them win or not, keep behind them. We have been here before, yes OK if we down a league then next season is going to be full of excitement like last season, let up on them it’s not helping
Tony parr
3rd March 2024 @ 2:21 pm
DF you are ruined our club taken us to division 2 and yet carol still thinks you are wonderful Carol forget the awards look what’s happening on the pitch and whose responsible for it
Simon Turner
3rd March 2024 @ 3:33 pm
This season has been a disaster for all the reasons we know. However, we have been relegated many times before and I expect Carol to give Darren Moore a good budget which will enable Vale to challenge quickly for promotion next season. I hope Flitcroft is not there next season but if he is, he must redeem himself quickly
Phil Yeomans
3rd March 2024 @ 5:33 pm
If DF is responsible for all that is football he should have gone months ago. It pains me to say it but league 2 is inevitable and the manager and younger players are not to blame to see good players like Ojo hardly breaking sweat is embarrassing and a number of defeats would have been worse if not for Connor Ripleys saves. Hard work to achieve promotion has been wasted.
Vale fan
4th March 2024 @ 4:35 am
As for me I agree with most things said in these reports, I however have saved quite a good sum of money NOT supporting Flitcroft.So Carol has not got rid of him, then she knows what is going on, then she is destroying Port Vale from within, she should go as well, I’ve supported Vale over 64 yours and I’ve never seen a shambles like this lot She should go as well
Pj
4th March 2024 @ 6:51 am
Eh! Carol ! The Emperor has no clothes! Ruddy well wake up.
Norman Hollins
4th March 2024 @ 1:17 pm
As everyone knows,the problem at Port Vale stems from recruitment or should I say lack of and I agree wholeheartedly with the comments regarding Flitcroft. However, whist I do not necessarily blame the manager, he has to accept responsibility for his actions. He did not have to play Shorrock, Plant or Dipepa when he had Smith, Clark and Lowe on the bench, he does not need to change the team and formation for every game which is unsettling when we are in a relegation battle and he needs to become more tactically aware. He has only been here a short while but his record of P5 W0 D1 L4 GF4 GA12 speaks volumes and I am afraid smacks of relegation. One further point,was Flitcroft involved in his appointment?
Hirsty
4th March 2024 @ 2:33 pm
Darren Moore will get you relegated with his defensive negative football, he would have taken us down at HTFC if we hadn’t sacked him.
derek ray
4th March 2024 @ 6:47 pm
We still need get behind this team, a win can change things and drag Shrewsbury in the mix, then hopefully we can kick on, I know it looks hard but we are not down yet fingers crossed. Don’t think it was the time to bring in moore with the window shut, but he can still bring in out of contract players in, carol might have to get her purse out to get someone decent
In got be someone out there
Andy
5th March 2024 @ 9:36 am
I’ve been a Vale fan since the early 70’s and at the moment really frustrated by the self inflicted mess we’ve got ourselves in to.
I’m afraid the writing was on the wall last season, playing with wing backs which leaves 3 centre backs being pulled out of position making the opposition more likely to score when we attack.
Surely, when you’ve got 2 teenage loan players who were the first names on the teamsheet you had to ask yourself, where are the senior players? Along with many other fans, we knew once they left in January we would struggle.
As for up front, ask the dof about that. It’s time for a massive re think on recruitment and the way the team is run.
Ian Mountford
6th March 2024 @ 1:04 am
Forrester was sold before a ball was kick, Harrison was soon to follow, Benning also departed. Replacements included Debrah, Hurst and Ikpeazu who along with Wilson left us with 4 unfit or injury prone players. Desperate for the squad to be strengthened in January we then lost our 4 loanees which included Arblaster and Devine. Cass and Conlon were moved on this whilst both Ojo and Garrity were injured, And then we brought in another 4 young loanees. One tottered off back to Liverpool without kicking a ball, while Gore returned to Man Utd with just 50minutes under his belt. So instead of strengthening our lacklustre goal shy squad we went into the 2nd half of the season minus 4 players! The entire season has been nothing short of a disaster. Over £1 million has come into the club this season due to sales with next to nothing going in the opposite direction. Then when we thought things couldn’t get any worse we sack the manager, and bring in Darren Moore with his entire coaching staff who had a worse record than Crosby .