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Avoiding the crap on the first couple of replies the obvious answer is that she hasn’t given him or us a competitive budget to work with. This is why she doesn’t put the blame on him because he was trying to build a competitive league 1 team on a mid table league 2 budget. If it was any other way wouldn’t she have got rid of him given the circumstances? The most obvious answer is usually the right one. Forget all this she’s been hoodwinked or gaslit. They are just ridiculous accusations.

There is probably validity in what you say but at the moment this team needs our support. As a Vale fan, I have to try and encourage the team to win, to do their best and try to achieve what some people believe is the impossible. The Flitcroft situation is frustrating but to me not as compelling as maintaining our L1 status. I ask myself where are my efforts best served, ousting Flitcroft or supporting the team? There were no shirkers that I could see on the pitch last night so as long as the players give 100%, from now until the end of the season, regardless of their ability levels, then the least I can do as a fan is match that.

Rudgey is nearly 80 and has other things to bother about.

Some of you don't half love wallowing in your pits of perpetual misery! [emoji1787] We got a point and a clean sheet. Yes well probably still go down, but each game is new. Win on Saturday and there's more hope.

What would you like to talk about: Stirring on field performances? Latest signings?

Cannot believe you still think we have a chance to stay up. We were down weeks ago, and I have seen nothing lately to change that opinion.

No I will always support the vale till the day I die I will even support vale if vale down to the conference League . They are my club and alway will be . I will be having a season ticket and parking ticket for next season . I love the vale and proud of our vale badge though and though . It would be wonderful if vale could win and get 3 points and keep a clean sheet against Oxford . Come on the vale .

How the hell have they managed to funk up all the goodwill and forward momentum we gained during the promotion year - its just beyond belief the error after error after error - like most, iv worked in organisations where the top level "management" takes some believing, but this brings a whole new level of b@lls up to the table - shocking, really shocking - and im a happy clapper FFS🤣🤣🤣

Just back in from the game. We did okay first half - had chances to get our noses in front. Scrappy game though, not much quality, and the longer it went on the more I thought we might buckle. At least they put their bodies in the way tonight, though it is painful watching Sang trying to stop their wingers putting in crosses. To his credit though, he also has a good cross in him, and put in a couple of balls tonight that were begging for a bustling striker like Ellis Harrison to get on the end of. To sum up - not as bad as we have been of late, but oh for a goalscorer to put these chances away. Took a mate who is a Brentford fan - he's seen the Vale twice, both times at Orient, both games 0 - 0. I've asked him to come to every away game from now on, just for the clean sheets.

Avoiding the crap you’ve spurted, Carol has given plenty of support in bringing players in and we have seen plenty of players come in. She has just allowed DF to waste more of her money by bringing in a whole coaching staff - no one can say she hasn’t supported fully those doing their jobs. Unfortunately she has put her trust in the wrong man.

the majority have taken a far too simplistic view of all this and turned it into a witch hunt , we don't know the complete ins n outs of it and at the end of the day carol isn't daft . fans are right to be concerned given our league position , last weeks meeting was a good clear of the air, i trust carol/kevin etc to make the correct decisions going forward. the vitriol and name calling is just baying mob mentality , successful business people don't cave in or make decisions based on baying mobs .

Does Carol & Co really want Vale to stay in L1 or do they have an ulterior motive ? Project Carol is about to hit the iceberg and still they do nothing ! Charlton sign Wickham on a short-term deal and he comes off the bench to set up the winner, he's been without a club for months Why didn't we get hold of him ? Not looking the best for Shrewsbury but what have they done ? Gone and signed x2 out of contract players, are they any good ? Don't know but at least they are doing something. Something is better than nothing WHY are we not looking to get in at least a couple of out of contract players in because we can't score and we can't defend very well and nothing will change until something different is done !

Another thread talking about the same <ovf censored> 🙈

That's not tenable

If it was as simple as that there’s no way we’d be replacing Crosby and his staff with Darren Moore and his, we’d have no choice but to go for a cheaper option. Also, Flitcroft himself said we missed out on countless targets, 9 strikers(?), the vast majority not down to money. In fact in the last 2 January windows we’ve hung on for players until the 11th hour only to see the deals fall through leaving us up 💩creek because we’ve had no contingency plan in place. That’s rank bad planning. There will have been strikers out there to fit any budget, there are rumours that Uche is on a fair wedge plus we seemingly paid money for Loft who the DoF said we’d been monitoring for months. Carol would’ve had little if any say in either deal other than perhaps deciding they were both very nice chaps with all the right values before she signed the cheques.

She's wearing blinkers😎 She cant see the wood for the trees🌲🌳 Doesn't want to listen to us common folk who know nothing about owning football club,and loads of other excuses 🤔🤣🤣

Lots of positives from last night but still a feeling of 'too little too late'. As my good friend Topher accurately mused in the stand last night 'we have to work 10x harder than anyone else to score a goal'. The defensive shape was a lot better and the defenders did what we want them to do - head it and kick it and win first contacts. This is not the time for Smith, Jesse or anyone else to be fannying about with it so hopefully last night was a sign of things to come. We also forget that at this level, a big unexpected hoof up the field or down the line can panic opposition defences as we saw on a few occasions last night. Special mention to Jesse Debrah who I've been really critical of, but he looked the part last night by going back to basics. Massey and Mighton caused them issues with their pace and direct running. Massey is much maligned but was our biggest threat last night and we lost a lot of momentum when he was subbed. Bad choice from Moore, for me. Dipepa was excellent off the bench and actually held up the ball better than Wilson had done in that 2nd half. I've heard it said that 'he shouldn't be anywhere near the team' and other derogatory comments, but from what he showed last night he has a part to play in our unlikely survival bid. More negatively, Wilson's miss was criminal (the highlights don't show it amazingly but he tried a Di-Canio-esque scissor kick when just getting any body part on the ball would've been a certain goal), and then in the 2nd half he completely gave up and their best chance came from Willo just not even trying to hold up the ball and it coming straight back at us. So frustrating when we all know what he is capable of to see him playing with such a lack of confidence. I'm hoping that - like the end of the promotion season - he decides to do this alone, but I haven't seen any signs of it. Dan Jones is still a liability. I said the shape was better but his lapse of concentration playing everyone onside almost cost us in the end. He was also very lucky not to concede a penalty in the first half when he got completely the wrong side of his man and then barged him over. Again, doesn't look that bad on the highlights but in the ground it looked like a stonewall peno. Overall, the feeling that we're getting relegated from such a poor league stings. We played a side who are on the edges of the play-offs last night and they were garbage. I fundamentally disagree with people who say we'll struggle with this group of players in L2 next season - with the right application and a goalscorer added I think we'd be contenders to come straight back up. Still holding onto a slight hope that it comes down to that final game against Cambridge and we stay up in spectacular fashion. Or maybe I've not quite sobered up.

Are you married? If so can you pass my deepest sympathy to your missus for having to live with such a miserable bugger!

Carol said she needed someone who understood football to help her run the club. Perhaps she has become over-dependent on DF and wonders what will happen if he isn’t there to lean on. I may be talking absolute rubbish - usually do.

If he keeps us up given where we are right now it’ll be an amazing achievement. I think the 5 year deal was almost an admission from the club that we were likely to go down and gave an assurance to Moore that he’d be given time to rebuild if the worst should happen.

If you look at the highest earners at the vale Uche is on £4500. & Ojo £4300 Wages have been wasted on mediocrity The blame lies at the door of Fraudcroft

All I can say it’s a good point and at least the players gave their all! We have never been league one ready since we came up, the odd game we have done well but overall we have been generally poor. I would like us to stay up but I think it’s too little too late. It’s a shame really because we will loose many of the extra fans we gained.

It is a shame that DF didn't follow the pattern of ambitious, but with limited ability, managers in the corporate world. Stay in a post for two years, ride the good work of the previous manager initially and then jump ship before your incompetence becomes too obvious.

im not buying into this " oh look weve turned a corner ". im firmly in the Flitcroft out camp. First team is a mess and has been for 18 months. Not even staying up now will convince me otherwise.

3 wins in 32, not won in 2024 and Vale fans wake up this morning with a new sense of optimism. Flitcroft Out.

I disagree, tonight in his correct position he was one of our best performers.

Some absolute weapons on here tonight 🤣

Answering the question 'Why', I think Carol is obviously an astute business woman. But she is not a football person, and clearly doesn't have much of a clue about running a football club. She needs someone experienced in running a club on board, to steer the football side of things. And she's chosen Flitcroft to be that person. Which is unfortunate. People with football in their veins, who've followed their team since first kicking a football, can see and appreciate things pretty clearly, can recognise a big mistake when one is made. I don't think Carol has this ability, so she needs a Flitcroft. Which is unfortunate. She needs to chop off the ship's rudder and steer it herself whilst finding a new one. I suspect she finds this a daunting prospect. So the club continues to float along, seemingly rudderless, with The DoF 'steering'. Which is unfortunate....

Certainly yes.

Just shows how massive those points dropped v Fleetwood and Shrewsbury were

The problem is and we all know it,when we have a chance to close the gap we more often than not fail to deliver What I am more confident of is that IF DM is backed and also allowed to bring HIS own players in then we might just be able to have a go at League 2 next season

Again!

I know that our annual turnover is £7.9m and all the things you've listed will contribute a tiny % towards that. I also know the going 'price' for a league one standard striker and a league one standard manager, with the 'value' of both being the increased chance of remaining in this league. I believe the drop off in EFL consolidation payments is around 700k from league one to league two. Gotta sell a lot of pizza in the fanzone to fill that hole. It's a shame the club have prioritized investing in infrastructure with an incredibly low ROI versus making the right call on the pitch, where the real money is to be made and lost.

Its 80% chance down but got to keep going, if we can get a win Saturday the dynamic changes and with form on sides above we probably need 14 points. Would need an upturn but somehow other teams above us are dropping like a stone so its keeping the door slightly ajar.

The Wonder of You on Facebook is a delightful read this morning. Many comments saying it will go down to the very last game against Cambridge. "Ripley is by far the best keeper in the league" But my favourite comment so far is " Vale would be bottom of the league without Ripley"

Yoko Ono could put a better shift in than funso Ojo at the moment

Trying to win some money or not I do find it a bit odd that you bet on your own team to be relegated,no matter how much i could win i could never bring myself to do that...... but i guess that's just me

I don't know But I trust what Spunk Trumpet posted about the wages. 👍

I doubt it. The players are phenomenal remember.

They would have to have 11 Warwick Davis' to be worse then we are.

This is down to which team is worse on the day. Who makes the biggest mistakes and if the players can take advantage of those mistakes. You read fans comments on their forums and they say they are bad, very much like our fans are doing. Big game - will the players turn up or go missing.

Perhaps a little dim, but also leveraging my first class degree in economics to question your claims. Your theory only works if the demand previously outstripped supply. Are you really implying that previously the club were turning away corporate business over the summer months because we didn't have enough function suites? Are you also saying that on multiple occasions this summer we'll have a packed Robbie's on the same day as packed function suite? I struggle to believe that. Totally get that it brings in an extra £90k/season through extra corporate bums on seats (although a % of that will have been coming into the club as these fans sat in other stands previously) but to suggest that Robbie's will be a major driver of revenue (doubling, in fact) over the summer is far-fetched.

So where are we now after last night?..... Still 3rd favourites to go down at 2/5 same odds as before kickoff. We really messed up those home games against Cods and Salop. 2 points against Fleetwood and even a draw with Shrewsbury and we would be sitting so much better. All IFs and Buts but we cannot keep saying 'last chance saloon' We simply have to beat Oxford and not lose at Burton to keep the season alive. Flitcroft Out.

And this is the problem, IF and yes that a very big IF we managed to stay up DF is going nowhere and I wouldn't trust him to get this squad to anything like acceptable. May be better in the long term to go down but still not convinced Carol would sack him anyway so we're screwed regardless.

Shouldn't that have been "Do u need a cuddle?"

Of course they are playing for something, they are 5 points off the play offs. You are one negative drain. I’m happy to report that all the virtue signallers are feeling some hope from tonight, all 200 odd down in London, all those watching on ifollow, those listening to the radio and anyone else who believes for their team. I think you might just be short of a cuddle or two. Good things can happen to you too, honest.

Decent performance. Could have won. Could have lost. Loads more effort. Should have had a stonewall penalty. Something to build on but the bricks are running out.

200 SVA [emoji123] bless em [emoji120]

So do we blame Moore for the last two January windows, and the lack of signings. Made worse by letting Pett, Worrall, Charsley, Cass, Hall, Benning etc go with no replacements in place. Moore could perhaps be blamed for some of the performances of late, but boy has he inherited a bag of tripe. Thanks Carol and Flitters for that.