Port Vale manager Darren Moore says that players such as Rhys Walters, Funso Ojo, Ben Waine and Jack Shorrock still have an important role to play despite missing out on the matchday squad at Barnsley.
Moore surprised fans by not including the likes of Walters and Ojo in his squad but he was justified in his changes as Vale ran out impressive 2-0 winners.
He spoke to the local media to explain his choices explaining why Ryan Croasdale dropped to the bench and why Walters and Ojo missed out altogether. Moore said: “They are just really unfortunate to miss out today. The work Rhys (Walters) put in during the week with Ryan (Croasdale) against Arsenal… they put in huge numbers. There were only two days to recover and that just wasn’t enough. And with Funso, I just wanted to go with the extra attacker on the bench so he just missed out. It was nothing but that.”
However, the Vale manager says that with a long season ahead of them, the missing players will still have a hugely important role to fill adding: “We have a week to work now and then we have another three-game week with Northampton, Accrington and Wimbledon. One thing I can guarantee is they will come back into it and they will be involved.”
Missing men
The players who missed out on Saturday’s squad
- Ben Amos – the experienced keeper is still recovering from injury
- Rhys Walters – the young midfielder dropped out after playing against Arsenal
- Funso Ojo – a sub against Arsenal but not in the squad this weekend
- Jack Shorrock – the 18 year-old last featured in the FLT tie against Leeds U21
- Ben Lomax – the young defender has not made a League squad this season
- Ben Waine – the New Zealand International last played against Leeds U21 in the FLT
- Jayden Stockley – the targetman appears to be being eased back into action
- Kyle John – currently recovering from injury
- Mitch Clark – another who is injured
- Liam Gordon – the third wingback to be injured
competition for places, and talent missing out on the first 11 – what a luxury!!
Each supporter has opinion on team selection. So too Moore, who has strength in depth throughout his squad. This affords him choices to field competitive line ups, despite injuries, suspension and form loss. With this squad there will always be popular players left out on match days. The challenge for Moore is keeping all his players committed to the cause, when there’s constant pressure and expectation for results. The club has invested heavily to give Moore the luxury of a strong squad. Competition for team selection should keep players motivated, and prevent complacency. It’s a fact that promotion was achieved last season with regular team changes. It’s the way Moore manages, not missing opportunities to freshen up his team. His other promotion, leading Sheffield Wednesday to the Championship, indicates a successful formula.
David Brown, I don’t think Huddersfield fans would agree with you, and the fact that Vale were relegated without a whimper and struggled up until Christmas last season, doesn’t indicate it’s a successful formula. His team selection at Rotherham cost us, as have his substitutions when late goals were conceded. He’s made a couple of good signings, especially in Cole and Brown which has given us pace and the ability to attack through the middle of the park instead of just lumping balls in from wide positions. It was a good performance at Barnsley, but he’s a long way to go to convince me he knows what he’s doing, especially if these constant changes affect morale.
Well David, while it’s important that we do not get carried away following our 3 league wins on the bounce and an excellent performance against Arsenal, I do feel that we can and should feel positive about what lies ahead. It wasn’t long ago that we really struggled as we did not have any strikers with Wilson etc being injured and not available. We seem to have excellent cover in all areas and the quality of the summer signings excites me. What a breath of fresh air it has been since Carol & Kevin took over the club. Darren Clarke certainly got us on the right track and things are looking positive under Darren Moore. Andy Crosby did OK. Just a pity his name wasn’t Darren. UTV.