Matchday thread: Port Vale v Rochdale

[SuperValiant1876]

You need to grow up fella.

I never once mentioned we were a pub team, just concerned at the direction we were going in.

We are 3 games into a 43 game season. Its a great start. I am chuffed to bits.

I cant remember having any problem with you on here. Why call me out after a win? If you believe i want us to fail you dont have much going on up top at all.

We may yet go down. We may yet go up. We may yet have a midtable finish. Who knows? The season is very, very young. And calling out your fellow vale fans is pretty petulant.

When this board was in meltdown after a March defeat to Bristol Rovers sent us to third, in the promotion season, i was in a very small minority backing Micky and the lads.

So how about a truce called between those fans who have "concerns" (we are still only three games in) and those fans who think everything is rosy?

Lets be honest, it does this messageboard, or the club, any good at all.

We all need to stand together without the pathetic, petty little comments. Myself included.

 

Happy to try a truce. We will see how long it lasts after a defeat. I was in that small minority after the Bristol rovers defeat too if it's possible to look back.

[Trentham Lakes Valiant]

First time I've been able to see them this season and I'm actually a little bit excited. Grant was immense and took so much pressure off our back 5. Smith and Knopps look quality. Bit disappointed with Foley in the first half but he played well in 2nd. Forrester was fantastic playing on his own. Tavares made me come a little bit with that move. Daft penalty miss by Hooper made for a very tense finish but, on reflection, enhanced my enjoyment. If there is any money left, a 'seasoned striker' and a wide man to provide the ammo could see us confound everyone

[The Kalamazoo Kid]

...calling out your fellow vale fans is pretty petulant.

 

Spot on. There are a certain few on here that just can't wait to have a pop at other fans and rip into their opinions if they don't blow smoke up the collective club's jacksy! (spouting crap such as "grow up", "we don't need you stay away" and even "f off to Stoke", etc.)

 

IMO its these superior, thought-police types that have seen this messageboard become more and more pathetic over recent seasons, and many of the posters who's opinions are worth reading have disappeared completely or post far less often these days.

 

A truce on all sides would be long-overdue and very welcome!

[geosname]

Didnt stay up to read the match reports so cant comment.... but a good result.

Not sure why there is concern about attendance... mid august, kids off, holiday season, midweek match, rochdale?... Its not great but not disastrous under the circumstances

[Santa]

All three games have been a bit unusual, but not in a negative way. It's like it's Vale that we're watching but at the same time it's not Vale. Strange times these.

 

I've not worked us out yet so I'm not surprised few opposition sides have.

 

Anyway, I really enjoyed tonight, it was an entertaining game to watch. One or two things still need ironing out but I've been pleasantly surprised by what I've seen so far.

[fuzzyvalefan]

Michael is very quiet this evening.

 

Very similar to Saturday, albeit less of a battle and more of a football match, as would be expected against Rochdale- a team who try to play football as opposed to the classless Southend who came to Vale Park to try and kick lumps out of us.

 

First half- played some tidy football without much of a cutting edge. Both teams missed a sitter, Forrester's header for us and a neat little move for them just before HT which was put wide (can't remember the player involved, sorry!).

 

Second half- upped the tempo the desired 10% and looked more dangerous. Cracking goal and should have been more comfortable than it was if JJ had have popped the pen home.

 

 

My ratings:

 

Alnwick: 7, Not loads to do but was very tidy and smothered everything offered to him. One really good save in the first half.

 

Purkiss: 7, Good to see him back. Very solid defensively as usual, a little wayward in his passing on occasion but a decent performance nonetheless.

 

Knops: 8, Solid and dependable in everything he had to do defensively. Passing is outstanding. A real find.

 

Streete: 8, Looks like a new player. His natural ability has now been galvanized by a newfound confidence that I believe has been achieved by the boss putting his trust in him. Is forming an exciting partnership with Smith.

 

Smith: 9 MOTM, absolutely immaculate. Firstly, he is very solid defensively but his real asset is his ability on the ball and the confidence and calmness that he displays in possession. Always looking to get the ball short from Alnwick and almost always finds his man with the pass. Oozes class.

 

Grant: 8, another masterclass from Granty but come on, we expect it now!

 

Foley: 7, Not as effective as Saturday but his energy and willingness to run with the ball adds an extra dimension to the midfield.

 

Tavares: 7, Quiet first half but much better second. His natural ability is obvious and there was one little flick in the second half which was magnificent. A lot more to come from him I feel, but a decent performance regardless.

 

Thomas: 7, Could pretty much copy and paste from the last 2 league games. Worked hard, good in possession, occasional touch of class, solid performance.

 

Hooper: 7, slightly decisive perhaps but he is being asked to play slightly out of position and is really working hard at it. Always a physical presence and always a hard worker. Penalty was bloody awful but i like his attitude and he will learn from it i'm sure.

 

Forrester: 7, nearly gave him an 8 but really should have scored that first half header. As a centre forward he seems to have an exciting mix of power, pace, strength and positional awareness. Time will tell whether he has the natural goalscorer instinct but early signs are promising.

 

 

SUBS:

 

De Freitas: 7, looks an exciting player with a trick or two. Asked to drop back to left back following Knops knock and did a solid job.

 

Jones: 7, a very exciting cameo. Seems to have pace and directness as well as a trick of two. Looking forward to seeing more of him.

 

Mbamba: 7, looks awkward at times but showed pace and awareness in his right wing cameo. May well ultimately end up as this seasons sub appearance specialist to stretch tired defences.

[Michael]

Good win that Rochdale are a very well set up side and I'm over the moon for Smithy getting a goal. The clean sheets are the biggest thing for me because it wasn't long ago we went on that awful run win lose or draw we conceded, makes u realise just how bad the likes of Duffy, McGivern and Dicko were. Also a quick mention for Alnwick, I reckon I'm his biggest critic and said I really don't rate him at all due to his inability to come for a cross but sounded like hes commanding his area much better, long may it continue.

[onestepatatime]

One very appy Valiant here!

 

Still early days I know, but come on we are starting to look like a very, very good team. Where is all this pessimism over all the so called cheap signings?

 

In Alnwick(super last night. Never seen him so vocal and in total control of the defence), Smith, street, Grant, Foley and Tavares we have a back bone as good as anything in division 1.

 

Forrester, Knopps, Defrietas and now the newbie Jones are giving us signs that improvement is definitely being made all over the pitch.

 

Won't get too carried away , yet, but refreshing to say the least that we are being entertained now in a way most would have not believed at the start of the season.

 

Oh and one last special mention for the ref and his 2 assistants- pathetic! Hadn't a clue between the 3 of them.

 

Come on Valiants, see you all at Swindon!

[carpetman123]

Referees first league game tonight and it showed!!! Terrible performance let too many fouls go unpunished and blew when the fouled team had possession !!! Why is it we always get them!!

[Valiant62]

A couple of very handy wins there, ground out rather than taytering the opposition but looking very solid at the back even with seemingly restricted choices in the fullback positions. An improvement we could look to make is around a left sided lopsidedness. First half last night Alnick wasexclusively passing out to Smith or Knop and Thomas was getting tied up, though Forrester was running the channels well.

JJ didn't have the best of games in a slightly unfamiliar role and there maybe isn't the same confidence in Streete on the ball but I still think our best first half chance came from a JJ cross.

Secnd half something I loved in an omg I'm not sure we should be doing that sort of way was late on, defending a one goal lead when we got a free kick near the half way line and sent Streete and Smith up for it, - on the front foot or what?

[Class personified]

I was delighted with the performance last night. The defence looks solid, the midfield offers them great protection plus has energy, creativity and has a degree of spite about them. My worry was the forward line. However, Forrester has something about him and Jones had an exciting cameo introduction. Hooper worked hard but is playing out of position whilst I prefer Defrietas directness as opposed to Thomas's rather pedestrian approach. It's good to see also that Bruno's halftime team talks seem to galvanise the lads whereas I always thought that Page used to send them and us to sleep. Highlight of the night was Tavares party trick. Cmon the Vale.

[Guppy 4 England]

Where are them doubters , must be filling up on humble pie.

[PV1973]

Great start to the season. Its early days to get carried away yet but it definitely gives us something to build on. Both home first halves we seemed slow to start which is a concern but 7 points from 9 is more than we expected I think its fair to say.

[sapperclarke]

I really enjoyed the game and find it intriguing how Bruno goes about his work. He's either been very lucky or is incredibly astute tactically. For the third league game in a row his substitutions had a really positive influence on the game and he's not afraid to use them from 55 mins on. I thought the back 4 and keeper were brilliant and the rest of the team excellent defensively and took another huge step in the right direction by being more creative than Saturday going forward. I'm a big fan of Grant but thought he had a really poor 1st half - he was close to a second yellow and the 2 chances Rochdale had were a result of him not tracking his man (no 40) as he was too busy following the ball ...... It looked like both Smith and Alnwick collared him about it ..... He was immense in the second half so fair play .... My unsung hero would be Remie Streete - he has been outstanding but has gone a little unnoticed with the emergence of Nathan Smith ..... OPTIMISTIC!!!!!

[Tosh]

Well we were all a bit worried about the new players coming in but so far individually we look much better than last season, better at left back and certainly better in central defence, Forrester will be a better option than Leitch-Smith and what a great cameo from Jones last night, we're also better in midfield with the addition of Tavares. We aren't quite clicking at times but you can see the work in progress and I do see us getting better as a team. It's still very early but the signs look quite good for now.