ValeForever.

Agreed probably not. But there's no way we planned on going into tonight's game with Will Ryder in the dugout. Oh to be a fly on the wall during that meeting yesterday.

Do we think there's a chance Crosby walked & we've called it a sacking to save face...

The more I think about it the more I believe we'll end up with Gary Bowyer. I don't want him, but I can 100% see it happening until the end of the season.

Correct.

For what it's worth (& we'll probably never know) I'm pretty convinced the original plan was to give AC the game tonight, hence why he took training yesterday. There was clearly a meeting after training & <ovf censored> has hit the proverbial fan. Crosby has lost his <ovf censored>, Scho has backed him up & Dunn has backed him as well. They've called out the disaster of a transfer window & they've all been tinned. Flickers has gone cap in hand to Will Ryder on the basis he's basically the only person left (other than the GK coach who we're yet to hear about) who can look after the side tonight, other than Flitcroft himself (which he was never going to do based on the abuse he would've received). There is no plan B. He's currently drawing up a list of options following Crosby's unexpected outburst yesterday. Ryder will be in charge at the weekend (Interim strikes me as being in place for a few games, not just one). The pressure is on, massively.

Clearly been a fall out behind the scenes. You can tell by the kind of language used in the announcements. Dunn gone as well, no thanks for his time at the club. All seems very non amicable. After stating 2 x weeks ago that relegation wasn't in his vocab, Flitcroft is now quoted as saying League 1 survival is our only priority. You couldn't make it up. If anybody needed any further evidence this guy is full of <ovf censored>, then this has to be it. Good luck to Ryder & Co tonight.

Steve Evans is not leaving a Stevenage promotion charge to come here is he. Let's be realistic. Plus he only works where there's money to spend so let's rule him out. My money is on Mark Bonner, but I would not be at all surprised if Flitcroft takes over until the end of the season.

Be surprised if we don't speak to Mark Bonner ex Cambridge. Highly thought of young up & coming manager.

Pete Wild is the only person who would excite me & I think we've got next to no chance of getting him. Ainsworth ain't coming here folks, absolutely no chance. He also doesn't play tippy tappy football. He plays the kind of football we should be playing to stand a decent chance at League 1 level. Up & at them, balls into the box, physical & in your face. Unfortunately our DOF has us wedded to a style & system that only works for those teams who have money to spend on genuine quality players. Rip it up & start again.

Flitcroft will take the reigns until the end of the season & things will explode.

Benning was <ovf censored>, and so is Grant. Wouldn't have either of them anywhere near the first 11. But we are where we are!

We literally announced his signing though. Why would we have offered him a contract if we didn't think he was good enough?

I was very confident that the Tommy McDermott post wouldn't be the last we heard from the club yesterday. I am flabbergasted that we haven't bought in a striker, genuinely. Feels very much like something slipped through the net last minute. I think they will use Mighten up top. We've taken a massive risk. It's going to be a ride between now & the end of the season. The kids have to step up & that's a huge risk.

Think this news probably solidifies the rumours about the young lad from Barnsley. Has played for the Polish national team at youth levels. On paper seems a sensible signing with Williams going back. You could tell from ACs interview at the weekend Rhys was absolutely nowhere near it. Does raise the question why he signed in the first place & definitely makes us look a bit desperate. It's going to have to be a busy afternoon/evening at the Vale. What a huge week this is for the club & our future direction. Signings needed & points required, urgently.

What an unbelievable bit of media that is from the club. The bloke normally announces the biggest transfers in World football. Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar etc. He has 30 million followers. Brilliant exposure for the club. The bloke is a huge name in World football. The fact he has tweeted about us 3 x this past week is quite astonishing. It really does feel like some of the hard work is beginning to pay off in terms of changing people's perceptions of Port Vale as a football club. It was always going to take somebody taking a punt on us to get the ball rolling, & I think we got that shot when Spurs gave us Alfie. We clearly did a great job with him, as well as Ollie, & it has started the ball rolling. We are in a great position to be able to pretty much guarantee these players first team football at League 1 level & we now have the evidence to back those claims up. The tide is turning & we are clearly making progressive steps. I think there's lots of things behind the scenes that are playing a part. The loan lads all live in a house together, they have the foodie footballer going in & walking them through how to cook their own nutritious meals, look after themselves & help with recovery. We've now got the T-Zone, the ice baths, the family area where their parents & friends can enjoy the match. They are really well looked after. I also think our run in the Youth Cup last year will have really helped. I went to the Liverpool game where we somehow got beat 1-0. We played them off the park for large parts of that game. No doubt they will have been impressed with what they witnessed & word travels fast in footballing circles. If you'd have told me before the season that we'd have 3 current England under 20 players joining us on loan this season, in addition to a lad that's played in Liverpool's 1st team & Champions League football, I'd have laughed it off. Massive credit to the club for starting to turn the tide & change opinions to help improve us. I'm really excited for the future. I think if we can stabilise & keep making small improvements & progress in the next couple of years, we'll be in a really good position to have a go at sniffing around the higher echelons of League 1.

Dan Gore training with Vale today apparently. You cannot help but be impressed by the difference in our loans this season compared to last. Alfie & Ollie have both done well for us & now we've drafted in what looks to be another couple of England youth players who you'd expect to be at a similar level to Alfie & Ollie. Weir as well, on paper is a super signing when you look at his stats in a poor Morecambe side last year. Really impressive. We just need a few perms through the door now to really strengthen us.

He's just assisted Barrow's first goal. Shock.

Very promising when Fabrizio is tweeting about it...

This Jake Young rumour seems to have gained some noise the past 24 hours for some reason. Has somebody claimed to be in the know? I'd be very surprised if he ends up with us based on the fee Bradford are supposedly asking. Very very surprised. The Dale Taylor one is more likely for me, we were definitely in for him over the summer & although he's done okay, he might want to move back closer to home. He also knows Crosby from the under 21s. Seems like Uche is a done deal. As I've said before, if we've made 100K from that deal then massive kudos to the recruitment team for basically generating money out of thin air. I thought Crosby's interview yesterday was very telling when he said there have been enquiries for a number of our players. I'm not doom mongering but you'd have to think that Garrity is right at the top of that list based on his goals & performances. I wouldn't be at all surprised if teams have enquired about Chislett as well. His goals & assists have been really impressive after moving up to this level. Let's hope we can keep hold of both until next season. Next couple of weeks should be interesting. I'd expect us to be quite busy in the market with both ins & outs.

I think it's fair to say before the Charlton game, most Vale fans would've driven Uche to the Valley themselves. This sudden clamour that we can't do without after 1 x solid performance is mind boggling. If we get money for him, it's an absolutely unbelievable bit of business by the Vale.

Peterborough signed Ricky Miller.

I think he has every right to play the injury card based on how he's been treated at Bradford. They shipped him out on loan to Swindon because Mark Hughes didn't fancy him & he proceeded to tear up League 2. They've now recalled him hoping for the same in a Bradford shirt & the lad clearly wants to leave his options open based on League 1 clubs sniffing around him. Fair play to him I say, would be pleasantly surprised & delighted if he rocked up at Vale.

Jake Young "pulled up in training" for Bradford on Friday, so he couldn't play any part on Saturday for them. Very interestingly, if he had played for Bradford on Saturday, he'd have been ineligible to play for another football league club this season having already played for Swindon. He's clearly sniffing a move!

I'm not sure we will see Garrity again this season. Sounds like he has been playing with a knock for some time & it has eventually caught up with him. A hugh loss to us. He has been outstanding for us since he joined the club, potentially goes down as one of our best signings in terms of importance, based on the fact we had zero expectations when he signed for the club. Credit to himself & the recruitment team. He's probably made the decision to fix it permanently, rather than get bandaged up & come back in a rush. Maybe squeeze a few games in before the end of the season to test his recovery, but not back full tilt until next season, if we can keep hold of him in the summer. He will 100% have suitors. Big shoes to fill. If you'd have asked me 3 weeks ago which 4 players I'd not want to lose from our starting 11, it would've been Arblaster, Ojo, Garrity & Ripley. 3 of those now gone/out for the foreseeable. A real test.

Tribunal. Which is probably why we gave him game time, as it should help up the fee they pay to us.