[Lincoln City (H) match thread - 24th Feb]

3 minutes ago, Powerline said:

I do agree. She didn’t sound well at all in that video. Quite concerned.

It's awful and she feels what we feel plus the £15M and time she has invested. It can't and won't continue. The whole lot is a mess bought about by 'pie-in -the -sky infrastructure investment at the cost of recruitment. I hope we have a go but do not even have the confidence that we can beat Fleetwood. Gonna get a big beating somewhere soon, probably Derby.

[An Open Letter from Carol]

23 minutes ago, Smallthorne clampet said:

Got to feel for her , but when you are in a hole - stop digging !

All very sad. I had heard that the events of the last x3 weeks or so had taken their toll. The longer the situation continues and results stay dire the more pressure will intensify on Carol and the board. We are grateful to the Shanahans but as many have tried to say, it's a mess and that mess is/ has largely been attributable to some of the poorest recruitment decisions seen at Port Vale in my lifetime. We can't all be wrong. Many are now contemplating not renewing season tickets next season. We don't look like creating anything from midfield or in wide positions and even if we did we do not have the required standard of striker to finish the chances. Today looked like Reading, don't fool yourself, this is poor, very poor. Football is 95% all about the product on the pitch.

[Ryan Loft.]

24 minutes ago, Spunk Trumpet said:

We have 2 months to save our season. Let’s all be honest here, this has become toxic. Rightly or wrongly. Fans think he’s garbage. He hasn’t scored a league goal. He doesn’t look like scoring a league goal. Fans slag him off. He storms straight down the tunnel. Let’s call a spade a spade here……. Pay him off or just keep him away from the matchday squad. For the sake of the club, the fans and himself.

It hasn’t worked. It won’t work. Not at this club anyway.

The whole situation is doing more harm than good.

The problem is we don't have anyone better. None are any good.

[Change of ownership]

1 hour ago, Dr Delgado said:

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in life it is that denial is a really powerful emotion. I really believe that this is where Carol is at in relation to our Director of Flufball. 
To sack him now would turn Carol’s Vale world upside down, as I see it, the situation way have to get a lot worse for anything to change. 
I can’t imagine how Carol would manage without Flitcroft, she would really want to ask him who she should replace him with, there’s no other football business brain in the club.

I would only want her to sell the club if I felt we were heading out of the football league. 
 

In the meantime I think I’ll have to calm myself down as I watch Carol & David set sail to the magical Isle of Denial, 

I think we have enough nous to get by should DF go. A Mr J Rudge is at hand along with DM and the learnings to date that carol surely has.

[Season ticket renewals]

55 minutes ago, valiant_593 said:

More looking to renew that i would have thought. Personally I won’t be, football has been dire, there’s a huge disconnect within the club and sadly my interest is really starting to go. No doubt this will be spun back on fans who don’t want to renew / have a season ticket next season with some arguments on budget but the club have brought this on themselves. Much better things to do on Saturdays that watch Ryan loft, Gavin Massey and Connor Grant attempt to play football. 

I moan but still renew our x2 ST's. However, this current situation is different. It feels as though as a fan base that we are being overlooked whilst DF has carte blanche to do as he sees fit. There are major concerns with the first team, recruitment has been abysmal but this appears to be insignificant to Carol and the board. There is an arrogance about the place where we as knowledgable fans go unheard to a large degree (we don't own the club and are not £12/ 15M light I guess?) It simply is not good enough, in the past we were fighting owners and were unified in that goal for the good of the club. Now, we have superb owners who we now begin to 'question'. The key is why do I and many others feel this way? We are still protective of the club and appreciate the Shanahan's - but what we see now is a threat to the club from a different direction. "It's all smoke and mirrors" with DF imo and will not end well for any of us, more so the owners financially. To be continually overlooked and ignored when pointing out obvious issues leads me to question my attendance.

[Flitcroft simple vote...]

35 minutes ago, Nippy Naylor said:

I'm feeling exactly the same , 

Totally dejected and angry 

I'm struggling to believe that Carol and the board are willing to sacrifice so much for what are at the end of the day speculative points on academy success and team structure thereof. What matters most is maintaining the product on the pitch, the rest runs alongside or follows accordingly. I feel a kind of 'cheated'. It's like being ripped off but they are doing it in a nice way with all the positve 'spin'  - some may say bulls*it. Either way being taken for fools with bluster and the carte blanche backing of someone who simply has not overseen the first team recruitment to an adequate level is suicidal in terms of growing the business. There will be limited numbers taking up places within the new 'Campus' and the endearing RW suite. My £800-£1K may not be ,missed. See you in League 2 (or maybe not) - easier said than done. So deflated and indeed angry to watch as the good ship HMS Port Vale (formerly HMS P*ss this tinpot League) disappears beneath the EFL waves.

[Flitcroft simple vote...]

14 hours ago, Aguar61 said:

Plain and simple folks,yes or no....is Flitcroft leading us to ruin? 

 

 

 

YES. It will all end in tears for Carol, Kevin and the lot of us sadly.

[Reading (A) match thread - 20th Feb]

1 minute ago, nodge said:

He's simply got to get some free agents in to back the team up and give us a bit of depth

You would hope DM has contacts and things are in motion friend? Maybe even a left wing back? To do nothing is not an option with these players....

[Reading (A) match thread - 20th Feb]

3 minutes ago, Portvale4 said:

 

I agree.

Just to add, Exeter currently have 21 points from their last 15 games, which is 14th in the form table over that period. Before that, Exeter looked down and out, with fans turning against Caldwell. It just shows how a couple of decent results can change the momentum. 

It is 100% doable. We basically need to turn bottom four form into mid table form to stand any chance of survival. 

The numbers are there, we aren't Exeter and 6 wins in 53 games suggest the path in which we are following sadly. Massive ask to get 20 points with this squad.

[Reading (A) match thread - 20th Feb]

1 hour ago, Vtid said:

Amazing what a good nights sleep can do 😴 Not angry like I was at full time just really worried now. We were slightly better at some parts of the game last night which is a good sign & personally I would stick with that same formation for the next 2 home games especially. A clean sheet would have been huge last night but you could see after 60 mins what was coming. At the end of the day we are 2 points from safety with 15 games left. Whether we have been poor for months or not the facts are there’s still 45 points to play for. Including 2 games in hand which we all know are meaningless if we don’t win them or pick up points. It’s hard to see where the next clean sheet or win is coming from at the moment but with quite a few games & 1/3 of the season to go I have to remain hopeful. We have to believe Vale! Huge ask that’s for sure 💙

One thing that I have noticed of late is that after 60 mins we run out of steam. It was inevitable that Reading would score. We offered nothing really. Just looked a 'tired' below average outfit going through the motions as best thay can. Where is the data on all this Dave. More KPI required on the football pitch required, Is there an out of contract player out there who at least looks like being able to find the net at some point? Disappointed, disillusioned and feel hood-winked based around the  'feel-good'/ 'do good' HMS Port Vale FC ship that is going down faster than the Titanic.

[Reading (A) match thread - 20th Feb]

14 minutes ago, Portvale4 said:

A strange as it may sound, I am a tad more optimistic after last night following the switch to a back four, Moore’s post-match interview and the return of Garrity, etc. 

On paper, the final eight home games are winnable. They aren’t against any of the “big boys” in the division - Lincoln, Fleetwood, Shrewsbury, Oxford, Bristol Rovers, Exeter, Cambridge and Wycombe (yet to be rescheduled). 

If we are to stay up, we need a minimum of 15 points out of the 24 available at home. You then couple that with perhaps five points away from home and that puts us onto 51 points, which would have been enough last season. 

Let’s be honest, it’s an absolutely massive task. 

If Moore can pull it off, get that bloody statue up…

 

14 minutes ago, Portvale4 said:

A strange as it may sound, I am a tad more optimistic after last night following the switch to a back four, Moore’s post-match interview and the return of Garrity, etc. 

On paper, the final eight home games are winnable. They aren’t against any of the “big boys” in the division - Lincoln, Fleetwood, Shrewsbury, Oxford, Bristol Rovers, Exeter, Cambridge and Wycombe (yet to be rescheduled). 

If we are to stay up, we need a minimum of 15 points out of the 24 available at home. You then couple that with perhaps five points away from home and that puts us onto 51 points, which would have been enough last season. 

Let’s be honest, it’s an absolutely massive task. 

If Moore can pull it off, get that bloody statue up…

I can't see where the next win is coming from, never mind 20 points. Unless Garrity gets the goals we've no chance.

[Flitcroft simple vote...]

2 minutes ago, Wrex said:

Flitcroft was sacked after a run of 11 games without a win that coincided with a series of injuries to first team players such as Tom Pope, Danny Mayor and Nathan Cameron.[71][72]

If what I witnessed last night is anything to go by then DF and the owners have a lot to answer for. I've had enough for sure. Poor, very poor.

[Reading (A) match thread - 20th Feb]

Just now, JoeB2 said:

Think you should all take a good look at yourselves.

Flitcroft nearly signed 9 players and he absolutely smashed every single target Carol retrospectively set for him the other week.

This abuse simply must stop.

 

Vale nearly stayed in League 2

[Reading (A) match thread - 20th Feb]

Just now, pvfc1994 said:

What I'd give to have Benning back. Grant is w*nk.

Agree totally. Grant just not up to it for whatever reason.

[January Transfers and Rumours]

14 hours ago, Nippy Naylor said:

I Agree with you 

Deeney would defo be a good fit for us right now

Troy Deeney would be massive for us, really can't see it. Smacks of a Lee Hughes 'vibe' (that's the in-word these days is it not?)😀

[David Flitcroft Out]

Just listened to the latest DF Podcast, confirmed my thoughts from the fans forum. DF speaks with confidence and conviction and could easily "talk the hind legs off a donkey" so to speak. However, having met many people in industry over the last 40 years who spoke in a similar vain when promising the earth and trying to re-invent the wheel, I am left feeling very sceptical indeed. This could be due to my lack of self belief or could be due to many years experience of similar characteristics and living in the real world. He talks of Crosby being set targets and not meeting them. Who set DF's targets - Carol? If so it seems that these were of a financial (profit based) nature rather than success in terms of recruitment and success on the pitch (as per Crosby). He again talked of 6/7 scenarios in the January window regarding striker recruitment, mentioning on many occasions that we were "close". If this was the case and the previous 3 windows followed a similar trend, then from around 24-28 attempted signings we made x2 (Thomas/ Taylor). If Crosby failed to deliver on his target which I assume was points by December (say 25 games) then DF has obviously not been set recruitment targets 'on the pitch', merely to maximise current profit via youth on/ off the pitch. Profit from the 'Campus' must be high on his checklist too. I still can't get it out of my head to not recruit a striker of any note in two years - IS FAILURE in anyone's book. Fundamental errors (or a plan to cut costs) have resulted in us having a considerably weaker sqaud in key positions imo. If I'm honest, Ripley, Chislett and OJo have been an improvement but there has been a decline in wing-back positions for sure. I hope I'm wrong and yes, I so want to be but I am yet to be convinced.  Darren Moore is a proven manager but he surely will struggle with this squad. Moan over. You reap what you sow in football.

[New Manager is ?]

Wow!

Was not expecting this!!

Perhaps the disgruntled fanbase have been heard to a degree.

Credit to Carol and all who made this happen.

Lets get out of this mess on the pitch this season now.

Has the governor got his boots?

UTV

 

[January Transfers and Rumours]

Just now, jeffers said:

How can we afford relegation 

We can't but your question really needs directing at our DOF and owner. Perhaps they will 'bite-the-bullet' with Moore and a striker?

[January Transfers and Rumours]

2 hours ago, Rockape99 said:

Yeah we could but out of them only Gale is near match fit  , the others would be fit by end of march 

How would we afford Gale?

[New Manager is ?]

35 minutes ago, Diego Maradona said:

Genuine question: Why would Moore come Vale?

Would love it but can we afford him?

[New Manager is ?]

1 hour ago, Bimbleabout said:

Oh! Here we go makes sense for Tuesday night tbf

Moving a lot quicker than they have on the Striker front!!!

[New Manager is ?]

On 09/02/2024 at 18:03, valerule4ever said:

Well that would go down well with Vale fans then! Not!

I was at that game and seem to recall it being shocking from Robinson

Perhaps someone should bring this to the attention of our beloved leaders?

[New Manager is ?]

4 minutes ago, CambridgeDon said:

And so did Cambridge, signing ex-Forest Lyle Taylor (3 goals and one assist now in 4 games) and Macauley Bonne on loan from Ipswich, two excellent signings. This followed the appointment of Neil Harris in early December so that he could look over the squad and bring in some extra firepower. I should add that this was after Cambridge, on smaller gates than the Vale, had recruited 3 new forwards in the summer to replace Knibbs and Smith who, already this season, have scored 24 goals and three assists in 90 games. 

The more you look objectively at the evidence, the more it puts our recruitment in the shade.

Let's not beat about the bush - recruitment has been poor beyond belief. On that basis DF deserves to be removed from situ. However, if the agenda is the fact that we are skint and focussing on other areas of the business to make money then that's the way they are going. It is false economy as losing League 1 status will destroy the much misaligned Premier League loan strategy. What is the cost of losing revenue from 2K supporters and the EFL money? It is difficult to be critical of the Shanahan's but what we are doing on the pitch recruitment wise is wrong - so wrong. I also have a feeling budget will restrict any new manager appointment.

[An Open Letter from Carol]

1 hour ago, Rampant Zebra said:

We are in the relegation positions in the league table and have an unbalanced and threadbare squad plus no manager. Football is a results led business and we are not achieving them. Flitcroft is supposed to be responsible for all football related matters.

Pretty much sums it up

[New Manager is ?]

27 minutes ago, Killersrevenge44 said:

Agreed.

 

But sadly the letter tells fans a host of truths-:

 

1. We will do what we want. We own the club and we know what we are doing.

 

2. I employed DF and I was correct. Don't tell me otherwise.

3. DF sets the agenda for the football side (Like he did at Bury😒

4.Don't expect Ainsworth or anyone that cots 'real money'

5.The plan is set in stone...relegation or no relegation

 

It tells us what we need to know. Many times in business I have witnessed organisations 'chasing the dream' and status via plans laid out by sales persons effectively. All sense of perspective and common sense goes out of the window and employees and customers go beside the wayside. Carol was very dominant at the forum, a change since the early days where she was gathering support. I do recall even Smurthwaite not 'being comfortable' with her for some reason? Maybe more than met his match! There is a big danger of alienating the fanbase, she won't care as she's transfixed on 'the plan/ the process'. For me, I find it astonishing that it looks like "my way or the highway" but that is the owners prerogative. What worries me and I don't wish to undermine the intelligence of Carol/ Kevin and the board but it could be a bit like an addiction - say gambling - You have a system and stick to it, when you begin to lose you still chase your tail believing the plan (system) will all come good in the end, particularly if you know of no alternative and are constantly being sold the dream with a few 'cash incentive sweetners' like the sale of youth along the way. DF is a skilled talker and has a vast knowledge of the game, it doesn't mean he's right. If he was so good then why did he/ need to 'rock-up' at "Poor Old Port Vale" in the 1st place? I'll be staggered if we survive in League 1 this season. Perhaps a few likely beatings against Stevenage and Peterboro can awaken the real world in which we live? Never thought I'd see this, so sad. I do hope the plan/ process works but I for one will not be betting on it!