saintvaliant

But the recruitment team are going a great job and we have a good squad. 🤪

Feel marginally more optimistic after that tonight. Obviously disappointing to lose but we looked far more like a professional football team tonight than we have for a long while imo. Decent structure, played some ok stuff at times and on another day probably take a point but they’ve scored a worldie and then finished us when the game got stretched. With more time training and playing that system you would hope we improve but we still look short going forward no matter what training ground work we do. No complaints on the effort levels tonight but the reality is that 4 or 5 just aren’t good enough. That’s not their fault, it is what it is. There is only one man I hold responsible for the mess that we are in.

If that is a back 4 I might just cry tears of happiness.

Pretty much the same side I would try. I’d perhaps swap wings for Chis and Mighten to let Chis cut in on his right.

Carlisle, Fleetwood, Vale and either Shrews or Cheltenham. Fancy Charlton will have a run of 3 or 4 games at some point to pull them out of the mire.

Responsible for everything that touches the pitch but accountable for none of it.

Moore has said there is nothing in the links to Dwight Gayle.

The registration of a player and the squad list work slightly distinct from each other to the extent that you can be a registered player but not included on the squad list. You are only deemed “out of registration” between transfer windows if the registration expires or is cancelled before the end of the preceding window - I.e for the recent window by 11pm on Feb 1st. So Gayle could be registered by a club and play but Gregory cannot.

There are 3 midweeks in April we could try to push the game into rather than trying for the one that works for both Posh and Vale in March (which would be 19th March). Personally I’d rather play that game later than today on basis it gives Moore another game at the helm and by mid March we might have a couple of players back fit.

Get the rain dances going folks

So are those who live abroad or hundreds of miles away not supporters? What about those who walk a few hundred yards for home games but don’t bother with away games? Are they not supporters? What a sad, and frankly pathetic, way this thread has turned.

That’s one way of looking at it. Another way might be to explore why the club needs to have £1m injected to continue trading. I suspect paying off sacked managers and coaching staff, investing in grandiose off field facilities and having an on field product that is haemorrhaging customers probably don’t help. Nor does criticising those same customers for having the audacity to dare raise questions about the state of on field affairs.

Some valid points in the statement from the owner. Selective, but nevertheless valid. Most fans are undoubtedly grateful the club was saved from Smurf and we have undoubtedly progressed in terms of playing facilities. I think a lot of fans would contend that facilities for the average punter are no better, and in fact probably worse than 5 years ago. We’ve sold a few kids and managed to wangle the odd fee for fringe players. I’m not sure how many of the kids predate Flitcroft joining but let’s give them the benefit of the doubt there. However, undoubtedly the most important facts are completely absent from the statement: Last 46 league games: W11 D10 L25 GF 48 GA 75. GD -27 That would be 43 points and almost certain relegation. That is a torrid record. It has led to 2 managerial sackings. In April 2023, the owner stated the following: ”Football, so anything that touches the ball is Dave Flitcroft. So, the first team, the academy and also the pitch, the groundstaff will work for Dave. It is important that comes under director of football so the decisions about the pitch are made through a football lens. That is one change we wanted to make” So through what football lens is the last 46 league games any way near good enough? And why is it that two managers can be dismissed from their role but fans aren’t allowed to question the role of the DoF who is supposedly responsible for anything that touches the ball?

Particularly as we’ve already got one pending FA charge looming for the idiot who came onto the pitch at the Pompey game. Further offences this season would run a very real risk of point deductions.

Tolaj is out of contract in the summer

Denver Hume heading to Grimsby from Portsmouth apparently.

Good job Flitcroft has gone full time. Imagine what a mess we would be in if the DoF was only part time.

It is slightly disconcerting that others around us in the table seem to have found an ability to sign attacking options. Carlisle, Wycombe, Exeter, Charlton have all brought in attacking reinforcements. Maybe it isn’t impossible to land a striker after all?

Beryly Lubala has left Burton at the expiry of a short term deal. Career has never really got going, in part due to some legal issues, but scored 5 league goals in 17 starts for a struggling Burton side this season Given our lack of forwards it might be worth taking a punt on an 18m deal?

We need a miracle next week. Need at least 2 strikers and a LWB, all of whom need to be capable of making an immediate impact.

Tommy Widd surely holds the club record for earliest red card? Couple of mins into a 3-2 defeat at Birmingham in the late 90s if memory serves me right.

We could do a lot worse than taking a punt on Laurent Tolaj from Aldershot. Scored again tonight which gives him 14 or 15 for the season. Only signed a one year deal in the summer so would likely be available for a reasonable price (although them selling Josh Stokes to Bristol City might make them a harder proposition to buy from at the moment).

If Williams is fit, and stays fit, he should be an excellent addition with the pedigree he has. Balmer was a strange one. Very assured on debut but looked out of his depth throughout much of his loan.

If we are in for Young against Exeter then I suspect Exeter have the resources to outbid/pay Vale. They’ve done extremely well in recent years in the transfer market - this summer they apparently got £1m for Noumbe and £1m sell on from Ampadu going to Leeds from Chelsea.

And the summer isn’t? We very rarely sign anything other than other people’s cast offs because most players we sign are on free transfers from other clubs.