Rob Fielding says “anyone watching the games knows the truth” Vale are heading to League Two and need a massive rebuild in the summer.
Rob Fielding writes…
The eternal optimists may say there’s still a chance of survival – but really – do you honestly see this side putting a run of wins together whilst at the same time other teams pick up none? The maths may still give Vale hope but anyone watching the games knows the truth.
It’s been a truly dreadful season. The same mistakes were repeated taking too long to sack the manager, a poor summer transfer window and so on. The worry is – what if they recruit poorly this summer, what if it isn’t simply a case of bouncing back via promotion, what if the fans turn en masse on the owners… there are potentially big problems ahead.
It’s been a truly dreadful season. The same mistakes were repeated – taking too long to sack the manager, a poor summer transfer window and so on. The worry is – what if they recruit poorly this summer, what if it isn’t simply a case of bouncing back via promotion, what if the fans turn en masse on the owners… there are potentially big problems ahead.
I certainly think it’s too soon to lay the blame at manager Jon Brady. Yes, the transfers have been hardly inspiring but what do you expect when the club is so far adrift at the bottom of the table? “Come join rock bottom of the table Vale” is hardly a clarion call for talented footballers to join, so Brady has had to rely on loans and free agents. Personally, I think the summer window will be a better time to assess his transfer acumen. Having said that, at least Brady isn’t tied in to one formation like his predecessor. He’s regularly opted for a back four which at least is an improvement. But he’s also not invulnerable either. He needs to come good in the summer or his spell could come to a rapid end.
However, the squad simply isn’t good enough to stay up. We have three keepers – one has terrible distribution, one has made some costly errors and the other has been farmed out on loan after an awful start to his Vale spell. Ironically, the one that will remain under contract for next season is the one loaned out because he’s deemed surplus to requirements. At the back we have a defence which cannot defend for ninety minutes. How the club must rue Moore’s bizarre decision to release Nathan Smith! He may not be the world’s best defender but he had experience of League One and would surely do a better job than some of those who remained. Meanwhile, upfront we have five forwards and not a single one has more than two League goals to their name this season.
So, ignore what the eternal optimists say about “wait till it’s mathematically impossible” with this bunch of players, Vale are down.
So what does the club need to do about it? Here’s some things I’d like them to consider:
- There are around seventeen players who end their loan spells or are out of contract in the summer. The club should consider whether any of them really deserve a new contract.
- Furthermore there are players contracted who appear to have no future at the club – Marko Marosi and Ruari Paton for instance. Do they get paid off?
- Vale need a smaller squad and that may also help with another issue – the youngsters are getting frozen out. It was noticeable that the likes of Jack Shorrock and Ben Lomax (and perhaps some others) have barely featured in the Trophy games. That competition is usually a chance to give them minutes. A reduced squad may give the homegrown youngsters more of a chance of playing
- The club may also want to look at their coaching staff numbers too. Perhaps they can also be culled down to a more realistic number for a League Two (because that’s what we’re going to be) club?
- The communications with the fans need working on too. Saying that the club “wanted to give it (Darren Moore’s spell) the best possible chance to be successful” is the wrong way of looking at things. Fans were asking why he hadn’t gone sooner not why he was kept on so long. It’s possibly as simple as stop the corporate buzzwords and simply engage in some straight talking with the fans.
- The focus of the football club HAS to be football first. Corporate and community are very important but if the team is suffering on the pitch then the whole ecosystem of the club suffers. What does that mean? I personally think it means football knowledge at board level as I wrote about earlier – if nothing else this would help with future managerial appointments (and the timing of sackings).
- The club need to prioritise the overall football infrastructure (whether that’s the playing surface, the gym and so on) over other non-footballing work at the club.
- Be consistent with transfer policy. In 2024, Vale attempted something new paying decent money for two non Football League strikers (Ruari Paton and Lorent Tolaj). Only one has brought a fee but that still means the endeavour has a 50% success rate and with the £1m fee banked Vale made money. But where were the similar signings this summer – in place for if one of the two strikers was sold? It’s a bizarre omission considering the idea was presumably to make money and sell them on. So, when Tolaj left that profit instead went on 30 year-old Devante Cole’s wages. And we’re back to square one – unlike say Peterborough who tried the non-league route for about ten years with great success.
- The club also needs a clear overall footballing succession plan. That means for good AND bad situations. For instance, if Jon Brady doesn’t work out are the club looking at potential successors just in case? If the club (and let’s really hope not) do struggle next season are there contract release clauses? It’s that philosophy of plan for the worse and hope for the best. At the moment the club only seems capable (and look at the procrastination over the Moore exit) of the “hope for the best” part.
- If you do the above and the football improves then the other stuff (the corporate and community) can follow.
There’s probably more ideas and quite possibly better ones but I’ll confess – I’m writing this article while I’m pretty angry, fuming even, at the state of the club I have supported for over 40 years. Ironically I’m about to ask for your feedback, disagreements and comments on this piece – and perhaps that’s something the club could also consider – actually asking the fanbase (not just a select few) who support the club what they think and want from their club next season. After all, they probably won’t be any worse than the club’s own decisions this season.
So, what do you think. Do post a comment with your view below.
Totally agree!
Totally agree with the observation that we need a stable situation on the pitch and corporate will naturally follow.
We are destined for relegation so let’s get some of the youngsters blooded with some minutes on the field.
Great appraisal, totally Agree, matt Hancock, and other staff to go, clear out the decks and let Brady manage his own recruits. Ps and hope the fans don’t revolt!
Let’s just have a go for the remainder of the season. The cautious, defensive tactics got us promoted last season, but has failed this season. I’d rather see us lose 4-1 than 4-0. It’s hard to believe we kept Arsenal to 2-0 earlier this season. Draws are no use, we may as well try to win the games left. An attacking approach may change the mood. In the 2nd half vs Blackpool, we went 424 and scored 5.
You have summed this up perfectly, I agree 100%
Totally agree Rob, in every aspect.
I read these articles and seems to me that it never addresses the issue that is staring me in the face every time I watch the Vale. The players simply are not capable of passing the ball to one another. Last nights game against Stockport was a classic example of a team playing football against a team trying to get rid of the football. Under Moore and now under Brady we consistently kick the ball in a general direction with no thought about the intended receiver. Either Moore & Brady have the same philosophy about how to win games or the players are not good enough. I think it’s because they are not good enough and Moore & Brady realise it. This obviously points to the recruitment. During last nights game when Stockport had the ball there was always options for the man in possession with players showing for the ball, giving multiple options for a pass. We can rue the fact that our strikers have not scored many but how can they score any if no one can give them the ball. I honestly believe that this team is the worst football team I have ever seen at the Vale. It’s a sad situation when we should be celebrating 150 years and I’m wishing we played like Stockport County!
This detailed blog covers the important issues that face the club. When you consider it all, it’s remarkable just how much has gone wrong over the last six months. Mismanagement at different levels has ruined pre season hopes. The cost of relegation will worry the club’s owners. It can take years to build up average home attendances, but a sure way to dent them is to be relegated. It’s not just the commercial impact of falling season ticket sales either. Away support from visiting League 2 clubs will significantly dwindle, negatively impacting finances and match day atmosphere with some paltry followings in the Bycars. Recent seasons have seen Vale slowly build home gates to average around 7,500. A poor start to the anticipated League 2 season could see gates plummet 4,500, or less. That said, they were far lower for John Rudge’s 1984-85 first bottom tier season. By League 2 standards Vale have a fine stadium, but smaller gates will do nothing for the club or supporter morale. The pricing structure for home games could be reviewed. The club is renowned for its service to the community. Next season It may be time to call in some favors to boost gates and help the club in difficult times.
Totally agree Rob, we don’t have a nucleus of players coming through the club either from our academy or as development players from non-league or higher level academies. That creates teams not a collection of individuals like last night.
Well said Rob I’m 80yrs old been going since 1952 until recently because of health issues & can’t remember playing side being in such a bad shape, as for Mr Brady we need to judge him next season glad to hear he got stuck into the rabble masquerading as professional PORT.VALE players but he must shoulder some responsibility for team selection last night smacked of no interest of a potential wembley date which would have been a small consolation for the suffering fan’s & vital finance for the club,dreading Saturdays cup tie and as for retained list that should be down to Brady for comings & goings as for myself I would get rid of all apart from Heneghan Headley Waine Ojo Lomax Gordon G.Hall & definitely Jack Shorrock the best young footballer on the books who is in danger of his carrer ruined he was touted as being a financial saviour with loads of clubs looking admiring at his potential now at Vale seems he would be lucky to get the job as turnstile operator !!!Anyway onwards & ??? UTV
Bang on the money! Lots of comments from the panel that I’m in 100 pet cent agreement with. Take note the powers that be!
I was born in Boslem and was taken to the Vale from age 4, 71 years ago. Am I really that old? Totally agree with Rob’s comments. I have not lived anywhere near the Potteries since 1969, but when I can I support the lads, having travelled to outposts like Scarborough, Grimsby, Newport , Wycombe, Rotherham, Scunthorpe et al. What happened to the idea that you win a match by scoring goals. At the moment the players we have who are supposed to be scoring are not being given quality ball. Think back to our most successful years when we had the likes of Guppy crossing balls into the box with defenders facing the wong way because he had gone past them. It wasn’t a case of hoof the ball forward and hope. And why so many injuries – are players too fit, perhaps worn out by over training doing runs and weights. The sides of the 50s and 60s trained by playing football and were capable of playing three games in a week. Rotation was almost unheard of. Pick the best side and stick with it, only bringing in replacements in through injury. If the
rest of the squad don’t like that, tough, they can go and play non-league. With the way the team has been managed this last year or so we have to remember that in league 2 we are only a poor season away from being non-league ourselves. Ask Scarborough, Lincoln, Grimsby … how easy it is to get back. Massive clearout needed. Non-league scouting needs to be upped. Trust youngsters and bring in youngsters. Play to traditional Vale strengths and let the opposition worry about us for a change. Apologies to all for this ramble, but I do care.
All good points Rob. Really worrying that the players are happy to throw in performances like that and it’s not the first time this season we’ve seen gutless pathetic efforts from this lot. Yes we’re down but Brady has this season to decide who he keeps and who he gets rid of let’s hope he makes some good decisions and we can rebuild in the summer. If we don’t off load vast majority this squad will see us into non-league.
Now where’s the copy & paste tab again 😉
Totally agree to all the sentiments Rob. That said we shouldn’t undermine the good work the club has done for the local community work – some of these things happening DO matter to a lot of people and a good reminder that life & community is meaningful. Guys just think back to the idiot Smurf and how he tried to screw the club its fans for all its worth. Think the message would be to try and do the on-field work as well as the off-field work – thats the coaching and playing staff’s challenge. Lets not throw babies out with the bath water by calling to sack everyone all of the time – we’re better than that?!
I fully agree with all your comments Rob my concern is that we will continue to make the same mistakes of poor club management, poor recruitment and lack of communication to the fans. Will I be back next year for league football.
…………of course.
I’ve been whinging for years about the number of employees down the Vale, I’ve also complained about the ridiculous amount of coaches, after all we are league two bound. Let’s get somethings into perspective the club lost over£7.2 million over the last two seasons. Over 10 years that will be £36million! To the Shanahan fans out there, that’s totally unmanageable and will finish the club. People are crying out for a football brain on the board, we had one in Mr Garlick, but the Shanahans chose to pay him off and bring in it Hancock who knows nothing about football. The Shanahans chose to pay off and rid themselves of Steve Speed, then bring in a new groundsman and a ground maintenance manager. We’ve got the worst pitch we’ve had in 40years, and the Railway toilets get condemned. We’ve got people to look after the players families, we’ve even got a phycologist now, it’s a bleeding league 1–2 football club. This cry for a football brain on the board, the owner are making stupid decision after stupid decision. You don’t need a football brain to understand you can not continue to have a squad of 35-40 players, season after season especially when they’re loosing £3.5 a season. That’s bad management, bad business, and stupidity. The only argument I will get back from the Shanahan supporters is “be careful what you wish for” While I’m great full to the Shanahans for buying the club, All’s I personally wish for from the is owners is, run the football club firstly as a football club, and run the club as near as possible within the clubs financial boundaries! I very much doubt if the likes of Stevenage / Burton / Lincoln ect, ect ,run these sort of losses up, especially with the disastrous returns on the football pitch that we have had.
I actually think the fact that “the owners are making stupid decision after stupid decision” is EXACTLY the reason you need a football brain on the board! It may not address issues off-field but it could (only could, it’s not guaranteed) address some of the poor decisions on it such as five year contracts, a bloated coaching staff, poor managerial appointments and so on.
Rob, in all fairness if the manager needs help from a football brain on the board, then he should not be a football manager. He is being paid to be the football brain, and if he has got anything about him he would not relish someone telling him or advise him on how to do his job. The five year deal ( I’m still reliably told that Moore only gets 12 months pay off, and the five year contract was to protect the Vale from someone poaching Moore whilst under contract without us being compensated). The question of being top heavy in coaches, as well as being top heavy in employees throughout the club,both come under bad house keeping. You can not keep spending money which the club is not generating. You don’t need a football brain to tell you that JUST A BRAIN! The Shanahans and HANCOCK are to me brain dead to keep the workforce both in players and none footballing staff as high as it is with no way to finance this. As for your suggestion the football brain on the board would be needed to help select new managers, can the club really afford another £100k a season added to our debt just to help select a manager every couple of seasons? If you want a director of football then that needs to be at the expense of HANCOCK. He’s come into this club to head the business side of the club, a business that is loosing £3.5 million a year!!
Ian,
I think you are still misunderstanding me – I don’t see a head of football helping a manager, he would sit above him. You keep repeating this ‘manager shouldn’t need help’ point which isn’t what I’m arguing.
I don’t think it’s just appointments he would be responsible for either (I was being overly simplistic in my explanation). I think there’s other things such as the youth team, infrastructure etc. On the 100k salary point – if the job is fairly simple (board advisor) then clearly the salary should suit the responsibilities and therefore not be 100k. Surely that’s fairly simple business economics to make the salary fit the amount of work?
However, I can also come round to this post replacing the current CEO (perhaps then justifying a bigger wage and perhaps being more attractive than a smaller,reduced football advisor role) and that the club owners need to be more savvy too. I also agree with the bad housekeeping point.
I think we are both in broad agreement that change and improvements are needed, we perhaps just differ in how to do it.
Rob
Rob , we do differ . I was brought up by a dad who worked down the pit and a mum who worked on the pots, and from a young age you were taught, you can not have what you can’t afford. This is why the business side of the club needs sorting because that dictates what budget the playing side gets. I do understand what you are suggesting, but I also think a football manager should be allowed to put a team together below him, and they answer to him alone. As on the playing side, the bigger the squad the less quality you get. The more jobs you have on the management side the lower the salaries the poorer the quality. We are basically a league two team losing money hand over fist and any money we have needs to go on players and not another bum sat in some office. I think we should leave it there because we are going in circles. You have a good weekend and keep the good work up.
Ian,
Final word on this. I think we do agree. We are both Vale supporters. We both see problems at the club. We both want them fixed so the club can be more successful. Where we disagree on what should be done to fix them. But fundamentally, we do agree there are issues and they need fixing.
UTV!
I think the most important factor for all die hard vale fans is to have hope and perpetuity for the club we all love. I along with my son who lives in Wimbledon thought we had that vision nine months ago when we were promoted at Wimbledon in April. That emotion and vision evaporated in October when we had sold Toljai and Lee Bradbury had moved on to pastures new during the close season. We Vale Fans need hope at this low point in our history which must be to ensure we at least hold our own in League 2 next season to ensure our continuity as EFL club. We all need to pull together to support the new manager and the owners to ensure our long term survival and make sure Port Vale are playing at Vale Park for years to come.
I agree with a lot you have wrote rob. But to me we all thought getting moore was a good thing but did not take long to realise we were wrong, he was clueless on setting a side up, kept bringing in players on free transfers or players with no club to fill in the gaps, trying the wing backs what we can not play. So we should of moved him on way back but the board stood by him because they are clueless on the football side of things, brady is hear now so let’s see if he can change things, we have got give him time to see what he can do. Do I think he is the right man ? time will tell but he is working with alot of moores misfits. But I will say I would pay for good scout’s to bring I good non league players. Because I don’t think we will buy good players or would they want to come. If we go down that would be the time for good non league players to come. This is where most of them start, so fingers crossed
Up the vale
Probly the best way to go down bottom so early so pathetic so embarrassing then there can’t be any doubt that none of the players at the club deserve contract extension only Archer on loan deserves to stay and theres no chance of that , contracted players God Help Us . Best of luck Mr Brady !