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The first and only thing that should be on the club's league two preparation list is giving Flitcroft his P45. Everything else is irrelevant until that's happened.

Personally I don't think the guy's up to the job. Every other club near us or below us, in the league, signed one, two or three strikers. Some on loan, some from lower leagues. Since their signing for others clubs, some have scored against us. Why on earth did we miss out on all these strikers that opposition clubs have mysteriously uncovered? There's got to be a reason, and sadly it can only be that the guy is out of his depth, and is not up to the job. I truly feel sorry for him with the abuse etc, but if you can't do what you're supposed to do, then there's only one answer.

Why does Flitcroft have to be part of this. He messed up Bury. He’s now hellbent of messing up Vale

If the Shannahan's think that relegation will be just a blip on a graph and we will bounce back straight away because Flitcroft and MRKT Insights on paper say it will happen, I can give them a bit of free advice with no strings attached........It is very very unlikely to happen.

Spotted at the darts in Brighton😂

So it’s time to start preparing for next season in League 2. Plant, Dipepa, Shorrock, Lomax and Walters (?) will develop more quickly, as they could be legitimate starters that are not being bedded in, they are active contributors getting better and better. Obviously getting ride of players who are not up to it who are under contract will be preferable - but if we can’t do that at least they’ll do less damage and be more useful and productive, which may lead to better confidence. I strongly think that although Darren has probably made mistakes, he will turn the team around with his own players gradually being recruited and the trash removed over time. Both he and Carol must have known his first full season could have realistically been in league 2, and now that’s the case he’ll have a rebuild that makes the fans feel comfortable again. I think he can do it and we can’t judge based on what he’s trying to do with the current team. I hope he doesn’t walk. Obviously the fans and the club will be caught in a divisive stand off until Flitcroft is gone. That will never ever change and Carol seems happy for that to be the case. That is a bigger stumbling block than any other, as the toxic atmosphere and the failed recruitment both stem from that role. Fail to sort that and we cannot rebuild fully, properly or durably. Apart from that, we need / need to: Retain key players: Ensure that crucial players remain with the club to maintain team cohesion and talent. Garrity, Chislett, Clark, Ripley will be cheat codes in L2. Strengthen squad balance: Acquire new players that don’t use this ‘utility’ model. Just get players who play where they are supposed to play, and others to cover that same position. Simple. Review coaching staff: Assess the coaching team and consider changes if necessary to improve tactics and player development. The injuries, tactics and inability to change have been terrible for years and it needs to be addressed. Financial stability: Manage finances carefully to avoid further setbacks and ensure the club's long-term sustainability. Engage with supporters: Maintain positive communication with fans to boost morale and retain support during challenging times especially. Stop improving facilities: Nobody cares about new training facilities and stadium infrastructure if the results are not shown on the pitch. Develop a clear short term strategy: Define short-term goals for the club and implement a coherent plan to achieve them. Long term plans mean nothing. We can have a general vision, but talking about the Championship at the bottom of L1 is somewhere between criminally ignorant and laughable. Foster a winning mentality: Instil confidence and determination within the team to strive for success and bounce back from relegation. This team has no character, few big personalities and no meanness. I don’t care about them being mates, I want them to win as a team and sometimes you need to embrace the dark arts to achieve that.

First priority has to be to make sure we don’t do a Forest Green. That requires signing some players with some leadership and fighting qualities, instead of having some nice metrics on Wyscout.

I wouldn’t let Flitcroft near the rebuild of the paddock bogs let alone a rebuild of the squad for next season. Sadly we are lumbered with a significant number of this lot for another year thanks to him. Given that state of affairs the first priority next season will be staying in the Football League.

It’s patently obvious he’s not up to the job. As much as we’ve highlighted our poor transfer dealings this January the real damage was done in the summer when players are actually readily available. We needed 2 strikers yet ended up having to re-sign James Wilson. Worse still, we recruited players to play a rigidly imposed style of play which left us with no flexibility to change and even less willingness to change. We gambled on recruiting “top” young talent on loan and as luck would have it two of these players came good, which inevitably meant they’d depart in January leaving a gaping hole, which we decided to fill by gambling again on yet more “top” young players. Unfortunately, it looks like we lost the bet this time. If you’ve attended any of the meetings you’ll know that Flitcroft talks the talk but one look at that team out on the pitch will tell you he doesn’t walk the walk. Ultimately Carol can dig her heels in as much as she likes but the guy is done for. It’s just a matter of when not if.

I'd keep Garrity & Ripley. I genuinely wouldn't be bothered if everybody else left the club. It won't happen obviously, but that shows the strength & ability of our current squad. NB: That doesn't include the young lads. They've done their best in very trying circumstances & should be applauded. However, they should be absolutely nowhere near our starting 11 at this level, or the level below.

I'm afraid Smith can do one aswell. No credits left in the bank for me after today, regardless of what league we are in.

First step is getting Flitcroft out. Can’t be trusted to recruit again after this season or we’ll end up in the national league.

It saddens me to think of some the players we will have under contract next season.

National League Ready 😬

I wonder what NLV, B&G, SC etc. feel about a peaceful protest asking for flitcroft to be removed - taking place before the next home game.

Basically do not allow David Flitcroft anywhere near player recruitment or dictating the football philosophy of the club. I’m assuming Carol will not sack the guy. Let him look after the kids, training facilities and any other stuff, and sink a few pints on match days in hospitality, which seems to be the norm.

more chance of platting snot

Striker from Iceland? What till is he on and doesn’t he have to work Saturdays?

Looks like Andy Crosbys arm holding that sign 🤣

I can't believe having like many of you here I've seen us lose 4-1 at home to Macc. Plenty of other humiliations. Was it 6-2 v Lincoln the other year. This feels worse. What makes this all the less unpalatable is that it was all so preventable. Many fans ( and we all think we're experts ) saw this coming in October and November. Another poster rightly put the Boro game was the final straw. A humongous night for the club to get a massive pay day in a 2 legged semi final , we didn't have an attempt on target. Simply astonishing. The club has buried it's head in the sand and I got suckered by the podcast DF did. He literally could sell sand to the Arabs. Burton away will be my only game this season. I've had it . Ruining my moods , my weekend and even my sleep ( drama queen alert ). I'll renew my 2 season tickets and be back in August but I'm drained by it all for this season. Two runs of firstly 11 and now 12 and still climbing, without a win has sucked the life out of me. What used to be my weekend treat, is now an absolute chore and sense that I have to be there. I'm not putting myself through it any more and will come with renewed optimism that we might win a few more games in League 2. Hopefully Flitcroft is sacked by then.

If Carol thinks that Flitcroft built a promotion team once and he can do it again. Well, I'd point out that that promotion came after a fifth place finish in League Two. Clarke and Crosby were an excellent manager and coach respectively who pushed the players to play at the best of their abilities. Then the confidence and connectedness of the play-off success got them to a decent point tally in League One, securing a place in the division before a drop off that, barring a short Arblaster and Devine inspired run, has continued to this day. Wembley 2022 was fantastic but it was following a fifth place finish. Four teams were better than us over the course of a 46 game regular season. The director of football didn't get us through the play-offs.

I'm not sure if you're exactly aware of this Valiiant, but this thread is indeed for the "Happy Clapper clique" - I'm fairly sure the thread title is a bit of a givaway. Also, you don't need to name us, we know who we are thanks. I think you will also find there were over 5000 fans there today, some were Happy Clappers, some weren't but they all have been "accepting utter crap" for the majority of this season and last - are those that aren't Happy Clappers also to blame (in many ways) ?

Where are all the happy clappers tonight? F###ing wet wipes! You will get the club you deserve.

None of those lads are good enough even in league 2. If that's who we are building a team around National League is beckoning Sent from my XQ-CC54 using onevalefan mobile app

That Icelandic striker be here soon. Keep the faith.

It did make me chuckle (then cry a bit) in Flitcroft's podcast when he was on about PL2 strikers and he stated something like we identified 6 strikers at that level that would score goals at league 1 level and the rest wouldn't. I did wonder when scoring goals at league one became an objective for him when signing strikers.

Taken from Wikipedia Backed by ambitious owner Stewart Day, Flitcroft signed experienced players such as Kelvin Etuhu, Nicky Adams, Ryan Lowe and Shwan Jalal; Flitcroft said that "we’re in League Two, but we try and behave like a Championship club".[62] The club spent £100,000 on improving the pitch and dressing rooms, whilst long-distance coach journeys were replaced by flights Sound familiar ? And we all know where Bury ended up.

Didn't you read Carols letter, it's the fans fault.

Every chance Ripley, Garrity & Chislett will be gone. Chislett can’t even get into the starting 11 right now and he’s one of the few actual goal scorers in the squad. Other teams would’ve already been looking at Garrity simply because of his goal return from midfield, in a poor side at that. Ripley is a decent keeper at this level, despite in all likelihood having consecutive relegations on his CV.

He's arguably cost us any chance v Lincoln and today . Although I'd admit we still have to clear the corner after his near disastrous balls up. Sorry no sentiment in football. Thanks and bye.

If he is still here at Vale, give him a stand painting job that takes all year to do and nothing else. Loads of crayons, but remember to give him a new box every day as he will probably eat them or lose them.

Said it here lots of times. This forum has a Happy Clapper clique, and I don't need to name them, and them constantly accepting utter crap and also patting Carol on the back along the way no matter what she does, they're as much to blame in many ways for this absolute <ovf censored> show.

He's already shown that given money he over spends he wrecked Bury and now he's trashing Vale. Sent from my SM-A217F using onevalefan mobile app

With Flitcroft still pulling the strings let's just stay above the bottom 2. Flitcroft Out.

You seem agitated bud, you need to chill.

Yeah all of that really. You fancy being out new director of football?

Either way Fraudcroft has failed in his duties on continuous Jan transfer windows hence put us right in the shyte 🤔

I think you will find Wickham lives in a 'close' [emoji6]

It's not like Charlton need him they already have 3 of the best strikers in the division in may,ladapo and leaburn. I think regarding Connor Wickham I bet the feeling several clubs have tried sign him but he's waited it out till he gets a decent sized club like Charlton paying stupid wages to him every week.

He surely must have been worth trying to sign, If we didn't at least approach him or his agent that would be shocking. 😲

Again……adding nothing to the debate. Have you run out of anything to say? Total guesswork we are going down!! You are showing yourself to be the tool, it will be a miracle we stay up, even the bookies are totally guessing we are going down. You’re just making yourself look like a right knob going on the attack without even giving any opinion.

Hahahaha...you're a tool! Everything you've posted as "fair presumption" is total guesswork! Where have you seen your attendance figures?...crystal ball or crystal <ovf censored>? I would certainly question the away figure, as we seem to be doing well there - as for making predictions without reason, I think it's you who has your head up your arse? As for posting something useful - you have no idea how to start doing that!