Six thoughts after the win over Barnsley – a rare event, a Trophy win with potential long-term consequences

Rob Fielding thinks there are plenty of positives to be taken from the midweek Trophy win over Barnsley.

Rob Fielding writes…

Byers looked different class

After such average form, I felt that was one of George Byers’ best games for the club. He cruised through the game, posed a goal threat and looked to barely break sweat when covering for his defence. This is very much the midfielder we all wanted to see when Darren Moore signed him. More please!

Play Paton in a run of games

Earlier this season, Moore made (in my view) a fundamental error in dropping Ruari Paton after his double in the FA Cup first round. This time around, in a quirk of the fixtures, he won’t need to. With another cup game on Saturday, there’s every chance of Paton getting a second start in a row. I certainly hope that’s the case as the Irishman’s determination and goal threat shone through on Tuesday. He may or may not be League One standard, but he deserves a run of games so we can judge him. Let’s start by playing him again on Saturday and then, if he continues to impress, starting him in a run of League games too.

Will Vale miss Garrity?

Football is a brutal world. From being proclaimed as “best in the world” there’s an argument right now that the Vale midfield is actually stronger for the absence of Ben Garrity. That’s not to argue for a professional footballer to be injured. However, as far as I can see the captain looks to have been restricted by injury for some time and a Garrity operating at 50/60% isn’t the same Garrity who took the club by storm when he first arrived. So, I really hope that after so many injury upsets this break allows Ben to fully recover and come back as the player we know he has been. However, in the meantime, Vale are well stocked in the central midfield area – arguably Croasdale, Ojo, Walters, Hall (G) and Byers all make the team ahead of Ben at the moment.

A rare event, a Trophy win with potential long-term consequences?

After all the cynicism of what a Trophy win would prove, the manner and the scoreline suggest this was actually of some significance. It showed that Vale can play on the front foot, can carry a goal threat and that players are willing to perform for Darren Moore. I wrote about a week ago that only a massive upturn in form could save the manager now. Well, a comprehensive FA Cup win on Saturday would further ease the pressure. If that form can then be carried into the League it may just be enough to half the “Moore out” protests. We’ll see – there’s a lot of ifs in there – chief among them whether Vale can translate cup form into League form.

Stop the wholesale changes

Like many Vale fans I was impressed with the side’s attacking intentions during the game on Tuesday. Yes, it was only the Trophy but it was against a strong, on paper at least, Barnsley side. I get that Darren Moore will probably want to make some changes for the next League game (Devante Cole being reintroduced, for instance) but I hope there are not wholesale changes. There’s plenty of reasons to stick with the majority of players who played on Tuesday:

• Keep the back four especially with Vale’s dearth of wingback options. Of those men still standing, Kyle John performs well as a “classic” full-back and Jaheim Headley surprised me by doing the same on the left. Meanwhile, Connor Hall looked more comfortable in a back pairing.
• The partnership of Byers (more on him later) and Walters looked comfortable
• The four attacking players all did well.
• After his shaky form on Saturday, Joe Gauci’s position may also be under threat from Ben Amos too

So, I hope that, while Moore will inevitably tinker a little, that he keeps the formation and allows partnerships (e.g. Debrah and Hall; Byers and Walters) to gain an understanding by playing a run of games.

Echoes of last season?

And on the note of stopping the wholesale changes… are we seeing a repeat of last season? After persisting again and again with the endless rotation and devotion to a back three and wingbacks, has Darren Moore seen the light and is set to change midway through the campaign? If he has then arguably he has given himself a chance to turn the season around. There are strong echoes of a similar situation:

• Last season, Lorent Tolaj progressed from an average first-half to becoming a key performer in the second-half of the season. This time could that striker be Ruari Paton?
• Last season, after a dreadful run of games, Moore stopped the continuous rotation and allowed players a run of games. Last season that meant keeping Rhys Walters in central midfield. Could that be the case again this season?
• Last season, Moore made a key defensive change in replacing Connor Ripley with Ben Amos. Could he do the same and replace Gauci with Amos?
• Finally, there’s a formation change. Last season it was ditching a front three for a pairing upfront. Could this season be the diching of a back three for a back four?

It may be a bit of stretch as comparison but one thing is for sure – last season, Vale’s form picked up after personnel changes were made and a (fairly) regular starting eleven came into being. After all the chopping and changing to no avail this season, Moore would be well advised to try the same thing again.

What do think? Fair points or a load of rubbish? Share your thoughts by posting a comment below.