[Ale and the Vale Podcast]

Hi Lads,
Maybe a point worth mentioning this week. I bought a 10 game flexI ticket back in the summer, this week I’ve received an e-mail from the club stating that I’ll be able to get the final 11 home games, starting with Walsall on Saturday,free via iFollow codes. Not sure how well this has been communicated by the club other than directly messaging supporters, in case some out there haven’t checked their inboxes.
UTV! Dave.

[Ale and the Vale Podcast]

Another great podcast lads.

Where do I start with that shower of sh**e last night.  Having calmed down a little and had a think over the past 24 hours, I personally think you can break down our current predicament into three key points:

- Is the manager's performance under scrutiny and is that scrutiny justified?

YES and a resounding YES.  Because the feel good factor of the club has undoubtedly helped over the course of the majority of Askey's tenure, this does not mean that the manager cannot be criticised for what are, at best, abject performances.  And those performances are coming from a squad of players that I genuinely rate in this division as good enough to mount a challenge at the top end of the table. However we have not looked anything like the team we were last season, so I'd suggest to anyone that either teams have sussed out "1 Tactic John", we have drastically under achieved so far, or a bit of both. There's no question any more for me, John Askey's tenure as Port Vale manager is soon to be concluded, as it seems to me that things have run their natural course between him and the club.

- Do the players have to shoulder some of that responsibility and are they equally as culpable as the manager?

I'd have to say that yes they do have to shoulder responsibility for their own performances, however it's the manager that picks the team and will set them up to play against opposition.  It is clear to me that the players are attempting to play Askey ball, but cannot make it work, particularly when teams set up to play counter attack against us.  For 4 games running, we have not looked likely to hurt teams and the manager has not found a way for us to break opposition down.  There is a definite hunger and desire from opposition teams at the moment, who smell blood on a wounded animal and know how to hurt us.  That is galling for me, given the quality we have in the squad.  A special mention for our strikers, 3 of whom we do not play a style that accomodates their own game.  Another season of reliance on a 35 year old centre forward is regression and not progress.

- Do the board consider our current predicament as worthy of a "crisis" regarding the managers position?

Given the clear expectation level (We do not want to be 8th again!) It would seem unlikely to me, given the quite vehiment criticism from a growing number of fans on social media, that the board are not currently discussing the clubs position as a whole, including that of the manager.  It may well be that Carol and the board want Askey to stay in the role, however I think it's time that the club engage with media and supporters a little more and tell us, as they seem to have gone uncharacteristically quiet of late, which you guys quite rightfully brought up on the pod. My personal view is that the managers position has to be under discussion, and a decision either way won't be far away if our current form was to continue. If it does continue, then the board will have to act if they are to match their own ambitions, and look to appoint another manager.

I'm definitively in the Askey Out camp now, and though no one wants to see anyone lose their job, especially at a time like this, there should be no sentiment in football, its a results business and business is quite frankly shocking at present.

Dave.