Supporters on the OVF forum have been giving their reaction to the sorry defeat to Walsall on Saturday afternoon
Here are a selection of their comments on that 4-3 loss to Walsall
The annoying thing for me is that the midfield and attack are starting to click a little with the form of Hurst and Rodney. And at the same time the defence is as solid a a trifle. Get a new manager in, and a solid replacement for Legge or Smith and we will soon stabilise…
Mikey
I don’t think Askey can turn this around now, the problem is any new manager will still have the same players. The whole back five need replacing…
Boslem’s Brazil
I was unsure about John Askey and genuinely thought he’d turn November’s run around but I don’t think he can turn it round now. That defence, including Browny, is an embarrassment, all four goals were sub Sunday league defending, it was cringeworthy… I think we’ve got a little gem in Hursty and Rodders will come good, I’m sure, but today was a day that made me realise promotion or play-offs is unreachable with this team and I know there is a long way to go…
ClntonBoulton
It’s more to do with the complete inability to react to a quadruple sub, after failing to react to a triple sub last week. The starting 11 was correct, and the fans correct in calling for it; hence the 2-0 lead at half-time. We were good for a chunk of the first-half. Again, Askey was inert in reacting to a changing game and allowed the entire game (and his defence) to collapse in front of him, taking off his goalscorer and saving his other subs till the 85th minute. That’s the concern; not the line-up. It’s bad enough being sleepy for one week, but consecutive games is inexcusable. The tide had clearly turned and we did nothing…
Joe B
The players must take responsibility and I think we should be looking round which managers are available and clear out the coaches – it just not working. 21 points thrown away!
Geoff1
Vale don’t seem to have leaders on the pitch, it is very quiet. We have experience on the pitch and it does seem quiet as you can hear the opposition players shouting, but not many Vale players…
PVFC764
Anyone else feel like it’s groundhog day? The same issues are killing this season. Do the players actually defend on training? Seen better at Sunday league for some of it. Askey is never gonna change nor will his ‘bottle it’ style of football. Grateful for the memories like Citeh away but that’s the past and its time to move on…
BoslemPortVale91
Real worry is relegation now for me; if we can’t arrest this slide the longer it goes on without a run of wins the more dire the situation becomes. It all just feels very 2016/17, started like a train then the wins just stopped and we slid down and down. 5 points in 9 games is relegation form, bottom of the league form even and needs to turn around soon…
valefan16
The players don’t seem motivated. They don’t want to put their bodies on the line to keep a clean sheet. Is Askey going to be able to change this? The tactics aren’t working. Has Askey got the know how to adapt or change these? We need a plan B in a game. Has Askey ever changed to a plan B. Has he even got one?
Walter
Just watched the goals back again, and more disastrous than on first viewing. From the back four only Fitzpatrick anything like acceptable yesterday…
Bald Eagle
A few weeks ago a midst the six defeats in a row people said see where we are at Christmas. Happy now?
valiant_593
It’s embarrassing. We’ve lost the second half 4-1 when cruising 2-0 at half-time. Their manager made four subs at half-time, Askey is clueless in his response, he doesn’t know what to do when the opposition manager changes tactics during a game. That’s his job…
Valiant Steve
Agree or disagree? Post a comment below:
I don’t think the Manager can handle the second division with his lack of using subs and team management , he doesn’t read the movement of the game as the other teams Management do.
Sorry to say a time for change of the complete management team , send them all back to none league , if we don’t act soon we will be fighting a relegation battle .
James
Our two main central defenders have usually been quite solid ,but this season they have had cover at times the bad decision making and marking that our two full backs have provided. The left back problem has now been corrected with the introduction of Fitzpatrick but we now have a problem with the right back position since the introduction of Mills whose positional play, marking ,and decision making is very poor and stops our two central defenders from concentrating totally on their jobs. Also our midfielders shouldn’t have to be told that when we are defending corners that they should be defending also.So Messrs Joyce etc should be told that they should be doing their share of tackling and ball winning also.
I agree with most of the comments, we are non existence in defending, we haven’t got a leader and organiser at the back, you look at other teams, their coaches and managers are always talking to players on the line, our staff are almost non existent and silent, we desperately need leaders on and off the pitch if changes aren’t made soon I fear the worst, on the bright side I think Hurst and Rodney are going to be a asset, we need a centre half and a midfield player in January
I would ask who on the bench would change a game difficult to see