smithie

He gets run out of town by teams in red and white, don't worry.

Of course those people are supporters. But people who choose to stay away in our hour of need aren't.

No one's denying people the right to criticize. But if you call yourself a supporter and don't attend, what support does that offer?

So not really supporting are they?

There wouldn't be many takers for that unhinged DJ if we were in the Champions League. Absolutely deafening bilge every week.

Pett and Conlon would certainly strengthen us in midfield.

Aside from the toilets issue (which I'm told are being fixed in the summer), what else is "a crumbling, gigantic wreck" about the ground? Every time I come these days I think how great it looks. The scoreboard, despite not having appropriate surrounding material, has filled that corner so well. The Lorne St stand looks very impressive and the new pitch combine to make it one of the best stadiums in the division. There's plenty to be down on the owners about at present but the ground really isn't one of them in my opinion.

Maybe it irks Carol a bit that she's lauded much more in the media than she is by the Vale fans. I also think she has been taken aback a bit by some of the grief Andy Crosby and his side came in for this season, particularly the reaction after the Cheltenham defeat back in October. I got the feeling Crosby drew up the drawbridge after that, and distanced himself a little from the fans - the joyful jigs in front of the Hamil after the highs of beating Reading and then the great fun of beating Crewe turned to dutiful acknowledgement of the fans and nothing more. She in turn probably felt criticized as he was her appointment. Pure conjecture of course!

I wonder how many T-Zones and ice baths there are at Cambridge, Burton and Bristol Rovers etc.

I like how the tone is set from the off with it starting "Valiants" as opposed to "Dear Valiants" 😁 It's a fairly robust defence of herself in terms of her and Kevin being the only people brave or daft enough to buy the club, and to me that's fair enough. She's probably bitten her tongue many times, but has clearly reached what she feels is the line that can't be crossed. It's also a defence of her running the club as a community-serving operation rather than just a football club, and no-one in their right mind would criticize the efforts made during the pandemic. But again, food parcels are exactly what are perceived by the average fan as secondary to the most important thing, namely the football team on matchdays. The benefits of the T-Zone and the players' ice-baths are hard to quantify at the moment to put it politely. There's barely one line rallying the support and calling for backing and unity which is quite surprising. I think Carol's been hurt by seeing the unpleasant side of Vale fans, and may well privately be wanting out now that the fun of 2022 and Wembley has gone. All we can do is hope that she finds the right man to keep us up. Quite frankly that's all I'm bothered about now.

I think it's beyond dispute that the owner doesn't identify with Vale fan culture. Our crowd's strength (not always, but sometimes) was to be vociferous and hostile, and making things unpleasant and uncomfortable for visiting teams and fans. Most right-in-the-head people would say that's the essence of home advantage, and some of our best atmospheres have been with a large and noisy away support. So what do we do? Of course, we kill all that off with the Hamil move and now we're left with an eerie quiet around the ground that is actually embarrassing to be amongst. Ironically, in pursuit of this cuddly family-football crowd they've made it just about as unexciting as it could be for any kids who would probably love the noise and occasional bad language. I'm not just saying this because of current results but gosh it's dull going to the games these days.

Good luck with part 2. There'll be no OVF left. 😄

Just a reminder that anyone can contact the club directly with their concerns - it's certainly something I would do if I felt sufficiently strongly about it Contact Us | Port Vale WWW.PORT-VALE.CO.UK

Yes, l think it would be unreasonable. For those of us old enough to remember, club staff were never under this scrutiny before the internet came along. The world has gone mad.

He can score as many as he wants tomorrow, they won't count towards Saturday.

Why have we got so many lights on? We've got no money.

I don't think many will ghost past Kasper.

Save that one for Saturday when we're 2 up.

Or Valiant Clubcall 0898 at 50p per minute.

I'd imagine that's always a risk with young lads from bigger clubs, they must be in danger of having am inflated ego and consider any step downwards to be unbecoming of their status. I still remember that plonker Alex Nimely!

Some of the soiling going on on here is just downright mad! How did people cope pre-internet? In those days people just waited to see what was announced on Radio Stoke or printed in The Sentinel or they saw new signings at the next match they went to. The world has gone mad.

We might see Sturge on vs Cod on Saturday.

That's maybe what's planned for Dan Jones.

Whilst they're not bigger clubs they may well have bigger budgets - which is probably what he meant.

On Saturday the DJ was having a one-man rave with very loud Drum N Bass music. The music he plays and general vibe seems at odds with the fan zone. It's possibly because I'm of a certain age but I've never understood why it's so loud when people are trying to enjoy a pint and a chat.