Tom Pope.

[old sage]

If we are continuing the system we are playing now I think Pope would be ideal. Him and Dodds work so well together, they know each others game and have that instinct that can't necessarily be taught. Williamson isn't on the same wave length for me - he's good as an impact player but for me that's as far as it goes.

 

Further, Pope has great feet and can hold up the play very well. He's not a bad footballer either. The only thing he lacks is pace - but that's what your wingers are for.

 

And we are putting a hell of a lot of balls into the box still. For me, Pope suits our system very well and I [hopefully] look forward to when both he and Dodds are fully fit again.

 

*Looking forward to getting a minus 'score' for saying that Dodds is a good player...

A clear commonsense post Sir you will defo get some minuses now I have agreed with you but do I care I know that on this one we are correct but only time will prove us to be right.

[rayzer]

Looking at our upcoming games I can only seeing us getting four points before the end of February, dropping us in the mire again. I would be less worried if Pope was playing for us. You can what is coming though. Tomorrow's game being postponed, we sell Pope and he scores a couple of goals against us when it is played.

[valiant_593]

Your comments about football are always way off. Didnt we drop down the leagues when they all left? Richards is the exception but it wasn't as though he was prolific for us. If you think that selling your best players is the way to go then fair enough. It really isn't though. The chances of landing a player on the same wages that match the output of Pope are surely about one in ten.

 

Once again if we can keep pope then by all means keep him. But if he is certainly going in the summer for free then id prefer us to cash in. Thanks for the compliment also.

[valiant_593]

So an average player like yates is hard to replace but you think good players like pope will be easy to replace ??

 

Im not getting your logic at all

 

I have no issue if Pope leaves, he dragged us into league 1 and has been an excellent servant to the club, I am amazed that some people think it will be easy to find a replacement on less wages and for no fee though.

 

My own preference is that we keep Pope and then add one of these mythical cheap and free strikers to partner him

 

 

No Yates would be easier to replace. Didn't grimmer push him out of the side until he had to be moved to centre back? Adams was focused on signing centre backs that can play right back instead of a right back. Yates would be easy to replace. I agree that's my preference as well. I just can't see it happening. I just don't understand why we wouldn't be able to replace him. After all we found him didn't we? People said this about Richards and pope stepped up, surely someone else will do the same.

[cheshirevaliant]

No Yates would be easier to replace. Didn't grimmer push him out of the side until he had to be moved to centre back? Adams was focused on signing centre backs that can play right back instead of a right back. Yates would be easy to replace. I agree that's my preference as well. I just can't see it happening.

 

Whilst off topic, Grimmer wasn't very good at right back.

[valiant_593]

Whilst off topic, Grimmer wasn't very good at right back.

 

He was better at centre back admittedly but I thought he was alright at right back personally.

[Jinkin John Jeffers]

Losing season ticket sales bacuase one player might leave :pc2:

[mbycars]

If we are continuing the system we are playing now I think Pope would be ideal. Him and Dodds work so well together, they know each others game and have that instinct that can't necessarily be taught. Williamson isn't on the same wave length for me - he's good as an impact player but for me that's as far as it goes.

 

Further, Pope has great feet and can hold up the play very well. He's not a bad footballer either. The only thing he lacks is pace - but that's what your wingers are for.

 

And we are putting a hell of a lot of balls into the box still. For me, Pope suits our system very well and I [hopefully] look forward to when both he and Dodds are fully fit again.

 

*Looking forward to getting a minus 'score' for saying that Dodds is a good player...

 

I agree Tom and Doddsy could work together as they have done in the past and Tom is pretty good on the floor too. It looks like the system we play is going to be with one striker up front which means he would have to cover the full width of the pitch which without the speed of Ben to pick up balls played down the channels then Tom would be run ragged. If Dodds is out for the next 6 weeks then it could be a no go anyway until the last few weeks of the season. Like I said I like Tom and would prefer him to stay but not at any price.

[mattyboy]

Losing season ticket sales bacuase one player might leave :pc2:

 

Agreed - I even had a season ticket when Ville Viljanen was leading the line, and worse still, when with an injury crisis we played one up top, and that one was George O'Callaghan (Boxing Day 2000). We support the club first, and as a result we support whatever team, the club can put on the field. Good Luck to Tom if he moves, but life goes on!

[tisdeano]

Whilst off topic, Grimmer wasn't very good at right back.

 

Not as good as Yates, correct CV

[Robbie Earle's Perm]

16 in League 1 - first season - and 9 is it, this season to end Sept to me is a good return, proven goal scorer.

 

Like I say it may well be all done and dusted between Smurf and Pope already

 

I do see it as Smurf being a little bit stubborn and maybe ' biting off his nose to spite his face '

 

I also agree we have to manage the money we bring in but that is Pages job

 

He has a budget and he says who and how many players we have.

 

Like I said next season is a season of massive change for the VALE.

 

I really have my fingers crossed for the future.

 

So we are agreed then aside from the fact of what 'proven' is for this season as I doubt many would agree the tally of Pope and Williamson is 'proven' for this season :)

[boomer's vet]

What decent wingers have we been signing recently? JMW was good and Marshall was an excellent replacement, recently I cant think of any other wingers that needed replacing as most werent good enough, players like Haldane, Vincent, Moore this season. How am I implying that decent strikers are different to wingers?

 

We have had very good goalscorers recently, and each one has been replaced with another good player, with wingers that hasnt been the same case other than for this season.

 

you are talking mumbo jumbo. who are the recent good goalscorers we have had bar Pope? Hughes was bought in on a short-term basis to get us promoted on big wages. Long term goalscorers are hard to come by unless you pay good money. If you are happy with a strike force of Williamson, Campion, and the hope that we bring another goalscorer of Pope's ability then thank god you don't have any involvement with managing the club. Have you written this season off already just because we lost to Crewe ort something?

[PortVale4Life]

Good news this. Pope is past his best and had one good season. We play much better football without him. Saturday was painful when he came on just lumping it forward to him. Hope he takes Yates birchall and dodds with him.

[Robbie Earle's Perm]

Your comments about football are always way off. Didnt we drop down the leagues when they all left? Richards is the exception but it wasn't as though he was prolific for us. If you think that selling your best players is the way to go then fair enough. It really isn't though. The chances of landing a player on the same wages that match the output of Pope are surely about one in ten.

 

Drop down the leagueS is a bit dramatic, we dropped one division when Foyle, Sinnott and Glover had a nightmare season! ;)

[tisdeano]

I just don't understand why we wouldn't be able to replace him. After all we found him didn't we? People said this about Richards and pope stepped up, surely someone else will do the same.

 

I just dont understand why the club have failed to find better right back that Yates, who some consider as average, let alone a proven L1 goal scorer who many consider excellent