Casual Fan - shocked

[FATBOYSTEVE]

Here to be shot at that I know, I am nothing more than a causal fan who attended Vale on Saturday and have to say I was shocked by a few things from my last visit.

 

1. The level of performance from the Players (no longer look hungry)

2. The style of play seems to have gone

3. The crowd and atmosphere was the worst I have ever known

 

Some things that remain

 

1. Clueless uninspired subs at times where the effect on the match will be nil

2. A manager who needs to be bolder and braver when chasing a win

3. seemingly playing to draw

 

On the evidence in front of me I feel it may be a long time before i go again, are the Vale now fair weather players, do the crowd no longer want to inspire the team and would the last person to care shut the door...... I know circumstances are not great but the product for me has gone rapidly stale lets hope Wallsall don't like the wet and cold as much as us.

 

I think you have summed up very well why a lot of us do what the team does regularly that is turn up occasionaly. I stopped the home and away habit after coming to the same conclusions as you have and the fact that it costs to much these days to throw money away even if the chairmen gets on ya coach after another debacle and apologises personally

[Fosse69]

You might want to try taking your blinkers off every once in a while.

On which aspect? I don't know anybody who can get money for free. The ground is a separate asset from the football club. Will be sold when a buyer comes along with enough dosh. I cannot see anyone wanting to just buy the football club. Coventry are a glaring example of not having a ground.

[Fosse69]

I personally enjoyed Saturday's game in dreadful conditions,I go every match and yes we can be good and bad at times but name a team who arnt and that includes the over rated and overpaid premier league.

So did the little lad by me, never seen him before, but his dad must have decided now is the time to start.

[PVTony]

On which aspect? I don't know anybody who can get money for free. The ground is a separate asset from the football club. Will be sold when a buyer comes along with enough dosh. I cannot see anyone wanting to just buy the football club.

Coventry are a glaring example of not having a ground.

Certainly are a glaring example of (turmoil caused by) not having their own ground.

The long-running row between Coventry City and the owners of the Ricoh Arena began when the club refused to pay what they saw as unreasonable rent for use of the stadium. This led into an increasingly bitter wrangle which saw the club play their home games in Northampton for over a season until returning home in September 2014.

[Guest]

In a way the opening poster is right ,the feel good factor has gone in the stands ,league position ain't to bad considering the level of support we have .

On what I've seen which bar the Blackpool Shrewsbury and Scunthorpe home games in the league at home and only been one away game ( Burton) the team r ok but lack the magic in the final third ( suppose that would cost a fortune).

Is it inexcusable for a ground which holds 18000 seats not have a cheap end ,what was it sat 3700 home fans .

U need compete with those cheap keep the same price season ticket holders who ain't had to find more money down stoke since 2007.

How u do that determines the support u get .

For example a season ticket holder can bring his non supporting of football m8 along for a tenner, he ain't likely bring his m8 if it's 23 quid as where's the carrot.

I have been going for years but even i ain't that keen when the weather's bad .

I'll say it again the way we finished last season was never going get folk rushing to the ground to renew season tickets or more importantly want to get one for the first time ,in fact it did the opposite .

[pjg1876]

Some short memories here. We are half way up league 1, having played some great football at times this year. Yes, we are inconsistent at times, but only the top 2/3 in the league won't be. Where do people expect us to be? Is the problem the level of expectation rather than the manager

 

In my opinion, expectation is too high because of Smurf's daft comments about championship football. You only have to look at what has happened to Yeovil going up to that league on small gates. Until ALL fans back the club week in week out at Vale Park, we will never be able to rise to Smurf's previous dream of the dizzy heights and these casual fans who turn up every now and again should also take account of Saturday's appalling conditions, pre-Christmas shopping, the turmoil of the previous week and past home performances this season before making daft comments. I'm not quite sure how many different excuses Vale fans have for not attending games at Vale Park but surely no other club can have such ingenious supporters. Beggars belief sometimes, I won't go but if I do I expect to see the quality of Barcelona at a windswept and drenched Vale Park. Rant over !

[Hagrid]

If the opening poster is a casual fan I'd hazard a guess most football he sees is on the TV and is holding Vale against the standards of the premier league and champions league. Vale did okay on Saturday, controlled the majority of the game and we're unlucky not to win it.

 

As for Old Sage slating Smurf... When you put £3m of your own money in I'll listen to you. Smurthwaite has been fantastic for Vale on the whole. I fear comments like that will only serve to drive him out and leave us in real trouble.

 

Yes Smurf has his moments, and the comments about JFH were disastrous, but he's the man who has propped us up. You can't blame him for low attendances, they've been low all season despite winning and scoring goals at home.

 

He hasn't put in £3 million though has he?

 

He's been forced to loan us £3 million to cover the losses the club makes monthly due to his own incompetence when it comes to running a profitable business, and he intends to have every single penny back.

[old sage]

He hasn't put in £3 million though has he?

 

He's been forced to loan us £3 million to cover the losses the club makes monthly due to his own incompetence when it comes to running a profitable business, and he intends to have every single penny back.

Exactly Hagrid. Smurthwaite has done plenty of damage during his tenure. He split the club from the ground which could spell disaster in the future. He has told us how he has put millions in which I do wonder if he has exaggerated this figure but in reality he has obviously only lent us the money and some bow down to him as if he is the messiah, which he most certainly isn't.

[Fosse69]

In a way the opening poster is right ,the feel good factor has gone in the stands ,league position ain't to bad considering the level of support we have .

On what I've seen which bar the Blackpool Shrewsbury and Scunthorpe home games in the league at home and only been one away game ( Burton) the team r ok but lack the magic in the final third ( suppose that would cost a fortune).

Is it inexcusable for a ground which holds 18000 seats not have a cheap end ,what was it sat 3700 home fans .

U need compete with those cheap keep the same price season ticket holders who ain't had to find more money down stoke since 2007.

How u do that determines the support u get .

For example a season ticket holder can bring his non supporting of football m8 along for a tenner, he ain't likely bring his m8 if it's 23 quid as where's the carrot.

I have been going for years but even i ain't that keen when the weather's bad .

I'll say it again the way we finished last season was never going get folk rushing to the ground to renew season tickets or more importantly want to get one for the first time ,in fact it did the opposite .

Is that how they fill the ground? Don't think Leicester do that.

[barry]

On which aspect? I don't know anybody who can get money for free. The ground is a separate asset from the football club. Will be sold when a buyer comes along with enough dosh. I cannot see anyone wanting to just buy the football club. Coventry are a glaring example of not having a ground.

 

If you believe there is someone out there who'll chuck £4m at buying an average League One football club I'm afraid your living in cloud cuckoo land. We are in a very precarious position and it's all down to storming Norman whichever way you wish to paint it.

[Yukon]

The vast majority of this thread is embarrassing. Only Jean, Rob, Fosse & Santa have said anything educated and/or without agenda

[Fosse69]

If you believe there is someone out there who'll chuck £4m at buying an average League One football club I'm afraid your living in cloud cuckoo land. We are in a very precarious position and it's all down to storming Norman whichever way you wish to paint it.

 

I am not living in a cloud, Norman will sell at some time, probably at a lower price than he wants in order to cut his losses. Next season will be on a lower budget, we could go back to where we were when he took over, am I being too optimistic? Alternatively we could be taken over and stabilize. Can he show that commercial income has increased?

[geosname]

As mr trumpet reminded us a while back... there arent thousands of fans not turning up... there is a hardcore of about 3,500 who will turn up whenever possible... there is an unknown number who will turn up when they fancy it, when vale are on a winning streak or when chasing promotion in the top 3/4.... Thats what the club has to live with until it can change it.

Being good for a couple of matches then bad wont attract them.

[Spunk Trumpet]

The football this season has been light years ahead of recent seasons.

Personally, I think we play more fluently with Foley and Grant in the middle, but the manager clearly disagrees.

As is frequently said on MOTD the strikers need to be closer together. Too frequently, we have one up front with no support. Very few players, Birchall excepted, make any effort to burst into the box from deep.

Some of the crosses on Saturday were begging for someone like Pope, but we had no-one on the end of them.

 

I disagree.

I think supporters and in particular the chairman are blinded by certain performances.

I am sick of hearing about how good we were in a handful of games. We cannot live off that.

Ive been over for 6 games this season and if its the best football for years then im the pope.

Pretty on the eye at times but as exciting as a Stoke victory.

 

Matches ive been are Crewe. Nicey nice. No end product.

Burnley. Great team performance. However as a spectacle it wasnt exciting football. We were the better team, yes, but hardly threatened the goal.

West Brom. Fantastic effort. But for Alnwick would have lost comfortably. But that is no disgrace.

Bury. Shocking. Not one shot on target.

Chesterfield. Farce of a first ten minutes because of the pitch. Hardly edge of the seat stuff after that.

Blackpool. Dire for 80 mins. Subs changed the game.

 

My point being is quite frankly, most weeks, the football is lethargic, tippy tappy, dross.

Ive missed the Wigan, Sheff Utd, Doncaster games, which many fans cling to, just like the same fans think we are a 7000+ average side.

People have short memories.

Under Micky Adams in our promotion season our football was a million times better and more exciting than some of this seasons dross.

Chances. Goals. Pace. Penetration. We had it all. Now we seem to be happy because we play the game at snail pace but keep the ball and it looks nice!

Doesnt it tell you why the crowd is so flat? Its boring. Apart from one game in 7 we are boring to watch. Slow and naive.

Now, the league table will tell you we are doing ok (certainly not punching above our weight, mind) but personally i would love to see us take it to teams just like we did in our promotion season.

Peterborough have made a philsophy of this as a football club and are reaping the rewards. The chairman demands it.

 

We are on tv Sunday. We will more than likely stink the place out. I hope im wrong. Then we go to coventry. Not lost at home. It will be 90 minutes of ****ting ourselves and defending. Its the way the manager likes to set us up. Then when we keep the ball more than we probably would have done in years gone by but ultimately lose by the odd goal we will be fooled (not me) into how the lads gave everything against top of the table teams, when in reality we never gave it a go. Just look at our away setup and in particular Exeter.

This is the whole issue with Page.

 

The next 3 games will either make or break our season in my opinion but i cannot see a victory amongst them with the current negative setup.

And as ill be flying in for two of them, ill be more than happy to be proved wrong.

[Spunk Trumpet]

Incidentally, prior to this season we have contested third tier football 25 seasons out of the previous 50. Since 1965.

In that time we have averaged more than 6000 on only 4 occasions. Twice during the great days of the 90s, in our promotion season in 89 and in our first season back after promotion two years ago.

 

Our attendances hold up really well historically, considering we now have to compete with a premier league club down the road whose ticket prices are superb value for money and (says through gritted teeth) are probably amongst the best run clubs in English football today.