On the pitch it was a comedy of errors and longer-term problems remain off it. Rob Fielding shares his thoughts after the loss to Walsall.
Agree or disagree? Share your thoughts by posting a comment at the bottom of the article.
Captain Conlon a class apart
So, let’s start with probably the sole positive from that game. The captaincy seems to have pushed midfielder Tom Conlon on to another level. The 24 year-old was buzzing around everywhere in the game and looked both the best provider and biggest goal threat. The Potteries lad looks to be thriving with the extra responsibility and was by some considerable distance the best Vale performer on the pitch on Saturday.
Brown’s worst game for the Valiants?
And now onto the negatives… Scott Brown has been a great servant for Port Vale but that was probably his most error-strewn game in a Vale shirt. This was a game both keepers will forget as Walsall stopper Liam Roberts will also be disappointed he didn’t save Conlon’s free-kick. Meanwhile, Brown will be 36 in three months and this season arguably hasn’t matched the reliable heights of his other two campaigns. The veteran is out of contract in the summer and the question will need to be asked whether it’s time for a younger man in the summer or to keep faith with the veteran stopper?
Same problems up top and at the back
It’s beginning to sound like a broken record but this match had all the failings we have come to expect of Vale this season. Little quality service into the lone striker upfront while individual errors and nervy defending once again saw opponents hitting the net multiple times. The Valiants are missing several key players in the likes of Devante Rodney and co but major surgery is still clearly needed. Top of the list should be a new centre-half if the defensive issues are to be addressed.
More exits on the cards?
The Valiants have already dropped Theo Robinson and Harry McKirdy from their League squad and with interest in Robinson it’s possible one or both may be gone by the end of the month. However, will there be even more departures? Leon Legge was conspicuous by his absence from the squad while BBC Radio Stoke reported that there has also been interest in striker Mark Cullen. Meanwhile (and more on that below) Vale have to entrust transfer business to an interim boss who is currently isolating. It’s a big ask for rookie Danny Pugh to ensure any departing players are replaced with players of (at least) equal or (even better) greater value.
The bigger picture – who will manage all of this?
If you’ve read this far you can see the problems – there could still be several moves in January as major surgery is needed to address defensive and attacking issues. Meanwhile, at the end of the season, decisions need to be made on veterans like Scott Brown, Luke Joyce and Leon Legge – all out of contract. However, the question of who is going to do all of this is still to be addressed.
Presumably, with eight days of the transfer window to go, Port Vale will now keep faith with Danny Pugh for the rest of the season. There is some logic in Vale’s owners (in light of the financial strain of this season) going with the cheaper option of leaving Pugh in charge for now. It’s effectively writing off this season then looking to rebuild next season.
However, it is a gamble if Vale start plummeting down the table and there’s also the issue of a new manager being appointed in the summer but inheriting a load of January signings made by another bloke. There may be trouble ahead if a new manager has alternative thoughts to Pugh but is saddled with several unwanted signings on long-term contracts. Let’s hope that in hindsight the decision not to bring in a new permanent replacement for John Askey quickly isn’t one the club come to regret.
An additional thought, away from the performance on the pitch
I would agree with several posters in the forum that it was surprising that there appeared to be no tribute or acknowledgement of the passing of two huge Port Vale characters. This week fans were shocked to learn of the sad passing of fan Charlie Holland and winger John Jeffers (not to mention the passing of Clinton Boulton earlier this month) and it was a surprise to see no minute’s silence or black armbands being worn on Saturday.
Away from the game, if you want to play casinos online you may want to check out casinos that accept credit cards like these.
Agree or disagree? Share your thoughts by posting a comment at the bottom of the article.
I completely agree with the final point. Where was the tribute from the club?
Dreadful on and off the pitch what on earth is going on? What should have been a good season has become a nightmare.
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse it did. When the news came through that the game had survived the weather due to the efforts of Steve Speed and his team we were all looking forward to what we hoped would be a show of continued improvement. Sadly it would seem the management forgot to tell the players, we started okay but their first goal came courtesy of the bumbling Brown and Smith comedy duo and quickly distinguished those hopes. Adebayo must be sharing his goal scoring bonus with the Vale defence given how easy it was for him. There was a brief reprieve when Conlon’s well struck free kick went straight though their keeper and so at half time the score was even. There for the taking was the message I sent to my son at the half time break, how little did I know!!! Shocking defending by Fitzpatrick allowed Walsall to put the ball into our box for the unmarked Adebayo to double his bouus money, too easy!!! Their third goal took some believing, Fitzpatrick under no real pressure played the ball back to Brown who slightly distracted by the advancing Adebayo took his eye off the ball and it duly ended up in the net, disaster!!! Frank Sinclair then makes some changes so we go 2 up top, we huff and puff but we aren’t capable of blowing anything down and certainly not Walsall’s defence. Another poor performance, Conlon , Taylor and Guthrie the only players that I thought put a decent shift in. So where are we, slipping down the league at an alarming rate of knots the next 2 games against Scunthorpe and Southend take on a new importance, we must win both!!! Come on Vale, let’s get it sorted out, as Columbo used to say “one more thing before I go” next time it’s snowing and we haven’t got everyone available let’s not bust our balls to get the game on!!!
It’s not in hindsight but questions were asked regarding the recruitment of players and the majority have not been good enough and with regular players being unavailable for various reasons it has led to a major disastrous run of results. The two full backs playing against Walsall are poor and again the formation leaves one up front. It must be hoped we can survive the rest of the season and recruit a manager who will rebuild which must mean an exit of players in order to bring new players in.
One up front does not work. Yet again, that was the formation for the majority of the game. Brain dead from the current management team/whoever is picking the team and “tactics”!
Something is going on and it needs sorting out
We are now looking at our 4th poor season in 5 years. Very hard on the owners while remarkably we still have 4000 plus supporters who continue to back the team. The defensive side of our game is the most concerning. The first thing Micky Adams did at Vale, and going further back, Gordon Lee, was reduce the amount of opposition goals going into our net. Without that you have nothing to build on. Going forward you would think a front 3 of Amoo, Guthrie and Worrall backed up by Conlan and Taylor would give the opposition some problems. We sure need to win one of our next 2 games against fellow strugglers. 4 points would give us the boost we desperately need.
Looked like a non league side