Your best-ever Vale XI...

[Howjy04]

In fact ,with the odd exception,we've had some of the best players in the lower leagues,ever.

[hamilboy]

How about this vale reserve side

 

 

Jim O'neill

 

Simon Mills Neil Aspin Lee Harwood Alan Tankard

 

Robbie Earle Ian Bogie

 

Brian Jackson Arthur Longbottom Ernie Moss Cliff Portwood

 

would not mind paying to see that reserve side playing for the vale again.

[southport vale]

What a great thread having supported the Vale for over 50 years some of the names mentioned bring back happy memories and even Michaels contribution some horrible memories. I couldn't even pick a team from the endless list the Rudge years the best in my time my dad was a Dicky Cunliffe fan. My early years we had Terry Miles, Harry Poole, Terry Alcock, Albert Cheeseborough, John Rowland and Sammy Morgan. My personal favourite Tommy McLaren and the best box to box man Ian Taylor. No mention for Jimmy Greenhoff and the best corner taker Paul Maguire. Bob Hazell, Bernie Slaven and the Crewe pair Geoff Hunter and Tony Naylor. The flying wingers McCarthy and Guppy. Looking back we have had some talent over the years.

[JOHNNYAITCH]

GK Musselwhite

RB Webb

LB Hughes

CB Aspin

CB Swan

RM Ainsworth

CM Walker

CM Earle

LM Guppy

ST Beckford

ST Brian Mills

 

Subs

Glover

Taylor

Foyle

Jeffers

O'Callaghan

 

Wahey..someone else picks Swanny!! Much underrated IMO

[JOHNNYAITCH]

What a great thread having supported the Vale for over 50 years some of the names mentioned bring back happy memories and even Michaels contribution some horrible memories. I couldn't even pick a team from the endless list the Rudge years the best in my time my dad was a Dicky Cunliffe fan. My early years we had Terry Miles, Harry Poole, Terry Alcock, Albert Cheeseborough, John Rowland and Sammy Morgan. My personal favourite Tommy McLaren and the best box to box man Ian Taylor. No mention for Jimmy Greenhoff and the best corner taker Paul Maguire. Bob Hazell, Bernie Slaven and the Crewe pair Geoff Hunter and Tony Naylor. The flying wingers McCarthy and Guppy. Looking back we have had some talent over the years.

 

I didn't see most of them play but that brought a tear to my eye

[TheSage]

It is a great thread for thinking back and realising how lucky we've been over the years to see so many good players.

Peter Swan was excellent for us. He was a huge threat in both boxes and complimented Glover really well. I once stood next to him and had similar thoughts to Bill Shankly when he saw Ron Yeates. A man mountain, very powerful and very tall.

 

Another fact that I sometimes ponder is that we appreciate the good times all the more because for most of the past 50 years we've been scraping the bottom.

 

A few others to throw into the ring - Stevie Fox, Ken Beamish, Woodward & Williams up front, Terry Bailey, Neville Southall (on loan) was arguably the best keeper I've seen in a Vale shirt if only briefly, Tony Rougier, that one remarkable season for Stephen McPhee. The list is endless.

[Andy Proctor]

Goodlad carragher tankard porter aspin gardner mccarthy ian taylor foyle naylor guppy

[JRC]

Only players I have seen:

GK Mark Harrison

RB Simon Mills

CB Gardner

CB Glover

LB D Hughes

CM B Horton

CM I Taylor

CM R Earle

RW M Chamberlain

LW S Guppy

CF M Foyle

 

Subs

M Goodlad

N Aspin

R Walker

D Beckford

S Brooker

S McPhee

G Ainsworth

[Class personified]

Chris Neal

Alan Webb Aspo Deano Darren Hughes

Jon McCarthy Robbie Earle Ray Walker Steve Guppy

Andy Jones Martin Foyle

 

Subs. Mussie Ian Taylor Chris Sulley Michael Walsh Tony Naylor Simon Mills Gareth Ainsworth

 

Manager Rudgie

 

Nobody would beat us with this team

[Yukon]

Goodlad

Mills Aspin© Glover Tankard

McCarthy Porter Earle Guppy

Foyle Naylor

 

Subs: Neal, Darren Hughes, Swan, Van der Laan, Walker, Ainsworth, Beckford

 

Manager: Rudge

 

Just missed out- Grew, Pilkington, Gardner, Carragher, Taylor, Bridge-Wilkinson, Pope, Jeffers

[George]

Chris Neal as our best ever goalkeeper?! Selecting him for the bench is bad enough, but number 1?? Jebus. He's not even the best goalkeeper to play for us in the last two seasons.

 

Musslewhite

Goodlad

Grew

Alnwick

Neal

Van Hooston

Anyon

Pilkington

The fat little one who's name I can't remember.

 

That's the order for keepers in the time I've been supporting us.

[ELDERBEZZA]

No mention of Selwyn Whalley or Wilson:laugh:

[Yukon]

Chris Neal as our best ever goalkeeper?! Selecting him for the bench is bad enough, but number 1?? Jebus. He's not even the best goalkeeper to play for us in the last two seasons.

 

Musslewhite

Goodlad

Grew

Alnwick

Neal

Van Hooston

Anyon

Pilkington

The fat little one who's name I can't remember.

 

That's the order for keepers in the time I've been supporting us.

 

Musslewhite was terrifying, it was Van Heusden, the "fat little one" was Chris "whopper" Martin and you forgot Trevor Wood!

[mr.hobblesworth]

I've tried to do a best ever XI but only from 2000 onwards/ no Rudge players. It's quite difficult. So far, I can only think of

 

Alnwick/ Goodlad

 

Pilkington Smith/ Streete Lee Collins

 

Littlejohn MBW Brammer Grant

 

Constantine Pope

 

Subs

 

Alnwick/ Goodlad Dodds McPhee Brooker Paynter

[The Kalamazoo Kid]

Musslewhite was terrifying

 

Indeed he was. As a point-blank, reaction shot-stopper he was fantastic and put in many man-of-the-match displays, but if he had to make a decision on anything you could almost hear the cogs whirring in his head! Plus he often seemed to have grease on his gloves when crosses came in.

 

I'd put Jim Arnold, Goodlad, Grew and Neal in front of him (with Alex Williams and Southall up there too although they didn't play that many games due to injury/loan spell respectively), as I had far more confidence in all of them than Musselwhite, who I was always half-expecting/waiting to drop a b0ll0ck!