Matchday Thread: Port Vale v Northampton T

[ELDERBEZZA]

I think first and foremost it was a brilliant game to watch, probably the best game this season and any neutrals would have left thinking they had their monies worth.

 

The big difference for me was they were better in each box, they defended much better than we did and they worked Jak much more than we worked their keeper, Jak made three great saves and Streete made one excellent block to keep us in it until their third went in when we were chasing the game.

 

Individually we are improving with Reg, Amoros, De Freitas, Kiko all getting better each game, Kelly had his best game so far and was surprised when he was subbed unless he'd got an injury. Thought their number 14 Hoskins had a very good game and was very lively.

 

Great game of football of which I saw much promise but disappointing if fair result.

 

Spot on Tosh! Excellent comments. My Xmas target of 34 points ,also, not looking good as I worry about us traditionally tailing off in the latter parts of previous seasons. We go again next week! !

[melv]

Sounds? So you didn't go, yet you come on here having a sly dig a at me and Beechy who both went.

You also say Rome wasn't built in a day, so why the hell did Smurf say if were not top 6 come Xmas then he'll introduce plan B? And didn't the chairman say after last season he wanted quality over quantity? Whether it sounded like we played well or not, the fact is were now 15th in the table and in a really bad run of form.

 

You should know by now not to believe everything that Smurf say's.He even say's thing's that he didn't say (e.g. on the coach at Exeter.)

[Conrad]

You should know by now not to believe everything that Smurf say's.He even say's thing's that he didn't say (e.g. on the coach at Exeter.)

 

Or the meeting with Belly 6 months after Bell died.

[osprey]

Entertaining game but we got found out by big centre halves and big forwards.

 

Street and Smith never got a handle on Richards and their No 10 - we were out jumped all afternoon at both ends of the ground. apart from that we played well but created few clear cut chances compared to the number they created. if i was a scout watching Streete and Smith yesterday it would have highlighted their weeknesses yesterday against a pair of solid experienced forwards

 

not all doom and gloom as we looked good going forward.

 

we need a target forward though and i dont think Reg is the one ( Cant get off the ground )and if we do lose Jones in January I would like to see an experienced forward come in with a more [physical presence- not easy to get though but using money we can save on paying Patterson we might be able to do something as teams will start shipping out players in the transfer window and we could drop on

 

one other point Northampton's Taylor can use a dead ball better than Vales Taylor - based on yesterday

 

other than that though an enjoyable game apart from the result

[man in the pub]

We played better than of late but lost . It was more like it from the start, something we seem to have finally woke up to. Having said that we still lost to a team who were on a poor run themselves which in itself gives concern. We need to end our poor run soon as we continue to fall down the table but at least the signs were more promising.

Ironically it is Bruno who needs to dust himself down and go again.

[Doha]

Jones was well below his usual high standards yesterday. It wasn't quite working for him on a sodden, slippery pitch although he did get a cracking shot away first half.

 

Can Shalaj play on the right? Jones should have been substituted instead of Kelly.

 

Unless it was for suspension or injury reasons, Tavares for Paterson was a mental substitution. He doesn't have a first touch.

 

This side runs before it can walk I think, we haven't squared away the basics before moving onto the advanced pretty passing triangles stuff. We played some really great stuff yesterday, quality crossfield balls reminiscent of Gary **** head Roberts, and yet we turned three throw-ins straight over to the opposition, passed directly to them several times, on two occasions the ball was allowed to bounce in our penalty area which is a defensive basic, Kiko and Smith were absolutely static for the first goal from the corner. Our set pieces, when they actually beat the first man, would then sail over everyone and go out for a throw on the other side of the pitch.

[TylerB]

Only on here could someone who didn't go to the game, and has probably not attended many games all season for one reason or another, have a sly dig at someone who did go the game. What a numpty.

 

I don't expect Vale to be like either Liverpool or Arsenal. But I do expect a little progress, realistic progress, and in regards to results and performances we've absolutely gone backwards since the beginning of the season. Playing well in patches against a side that had previous lost 4 games on the trot and had zero confidence isn't something I'm going to get excited about, the same as I wasn't thinking we had suddenly turned the corner after the recent home win against an absolutely abysmal side in from a league below in Hartlepool.

 

We have a stubborn manager who seems set in his ways that often makes the wrongs substitutions, has clear favourites and is also difficult to really route for seeing as he barely speaks to the media for whatever reason. That's along with assembling a massive, unbalanced squad. Not a lot to get excited about really, in my opinion, and the falling attendances seem to back that up.

[hamilboy]

Happy with yesterday's result then? We made the mighy Cobblers look like Barca

 

Think you are getting mixed up there you must be thinking of stoke playing the arsenal again.

[Bycarsbill]

Well i really enjoyed the game. It was a fair result. Jak was the MOM by a country mile so that is an indication of the chances they created. I cant recall their keeper having to make any quality saves.

 

We played with far more pace and purpose. The passing, the first touch was so much better. Amoros was excellent. Unfortunately we had very little goal threat. Reggie held the ball up well and despite scoring late on he wasnt a threat. Jones also had a bad day and it was notable that their attacks came down our right.

 

Set pieces were an issue again but we had such a small team out. The defending needs to be improved on the training ground this week.

 

It was an odd move to take Kelly off as he looked our more creative player and was working well with Kiko, who also had a good game. Every time Kelly got the ball i expected something to happen. I would have also brought on Turner rather than Pattison.

 

It was a far better performance than of late however despite that we could have been beaten by several more goals. I saw promise though for the first time in several weeks.

 

I think you hit the nail on the head with your comment about the smallness of our team in relation to most others in our division. Set piece defending has become a problem. Remie and Nathan Smith are excellent up & coming central defenders with lots of future potential, but are still young, still learning their trade at this level and for me, a tad too short in height when it comes to set-pieces and taller opponents.

 

From an objective view point it was an open, entertaining game, but I thought Rob Page out-thought Bruno yesterday. Right from the start, he and Marc Richards used their inside-track knowledge and having won the toss immediately chose to attack the Hamil end--just a small detail, but nonetheless, purposefully disruptive and showing that they knew their opponents a little better than we apeared to be! Northampton's counter-attacking was fast and penetrative--something we seem to miss out on.

[Paul6754]

Possibly the stupidest post I have ever read. Berating smurf

 

Well you must be one hell of a fine fellow. What Smurf did in June/July would be disgsusting to the majority of Vale fans, would you have liked that done to you at your place of work, the answere would be no and if it had happened you'd have squealed like a little pig.

 

then saying its only because people like Smith and streete stepped up to the plate. Well if he hadn't appointed Bruno these lads wouldn't have been given a chance.

 

Total rubbish, McGivern had been let go and there was every chance Page or a new manager would have give both a chance, you have no evidence or basis to say that. Rob Page sent Smith on loan to Torquay for a purpose, think about it.

 

Also we would not have been able to afford Alex Jones or Ryan Taylor. So thank god smurf ducked off page .

 

Again total rubbish, Page or a new manager most certainly wouldn't have bought in so many players who are not up to league 1 standard and hence there would have been funds to buy quality players like Jones and Taylor.

 

Your reply is as stupid as stupid gets.

[Paul6754]

It sounds like you prefer defensive football with duffy and magivern as your main defenders

 

Those are your words not mine and for the record no I don't but it's fair to say a successful football team is built on a solid defense.

 

we have got a far better team now and for the future that page ever gave us.

 

"Far better team now", really how do you come to that conclusion. I want a team for the right now to challenge for the play-offs etc, had enough of waiting for the team of the future.

 

If you think page is that good go and ask notts county supporters what the think of dickenson,duffy,o,conner they are really flying high in the division below us.Yesterday we were very unlucky to lose we played really good football that was a pleasure to watch something that i could not say about page when he was in charge of us with certain players back from injury we will be alright we have some very good young players something we have not had for years certainly not under pages reign.

 

The last time I looked it took 11 players to make up a football team, to blame Notts County's woes on three ex Vale players is a little ridiculous. I thought the likes of Alnwick, Streete, Smith and Kelly were present at Vale Park under the previous management.

[SuperValiant1876]

 

Again total rubbish, Page or a new manager most certainly wouldn't have bought in so many players who are not up to league 1 standard .

 

Campion? Junior? Slew? Greenidge? Luer? O'Sullivan? Panaytio whatever his name was? Most managers make good and bad signings. Bruno seems no different so far in that respect.

[LancyTony]

"Page's boring style of football", so you didn't like the style of a manager who played two up top at home and one up top away and bought a team to Vale Park today who played two up top and won the game yet you seem so enamoured with a manager who plays one up top home and away, regularly plays players out of position and is tactically inept. Do you actually understand what's going on?

Page inherited a team that had just won promotion at a canter, and carried that momentum on into their first few games - think that doesn't happen? Leicester ended their fight against relegation in spectacular style, and carried that momentum on to win the Premier League; players have sometimes been played out of position because of injuries: Kiko was bought in as left back, but missed loads because of injury; the wingers Bruno brought in need more time so other players have had to fill in - and despite people saying Jones needs to play through the middle, he is most effective coming in from the right. Big...BIG teams have played without a recognized striker, without it doing them harm. it isn't so long ago that people on here were saying, correctly, that Bruno tends to assess the first half, and changes things for the second - so his tactics aren't inept - and many of you were saying that Page had no idea how to set a team up, so don't start praising him, now. As for "do you actually understand what's going on?" - yes, I do...I'm expressing my opinion, you ****!

[Paul6754]

Sounds? So you didn't go, yet you come on here having a sly dig a at me and Beechy who both went.

You also say Rome wasn't built in a day, so why the hell did Smurf say if were not top 6 come Xmas then he'll introduce plan B? And didn't the chairman say after last season he wanted quality over quantity? Whether it sounded like we played well or not, the fact is were now 15th in the table and in a really bad run of form.

 

Some people just don't get the bigger picture. After consolidating Vale's status in Lge 1 the expectation for this season, and the Chairman even said the same, was quality over quantity and to push on for the play-offs etc. What the fans got was totally the opposite barring a few signings and back to square 1 and building for the future. Well this Vale fan and I suspect yourself and a few more aswell have had enoughj of building Rome and want a team for right now to challenge for the play-offs.

 

I just hope PVFC can get to 51 points this season.

[ELDERBEZZA]

Those are your words not mine and for the record no I don't but it's fair to say a successful football team is built on a solid defense.

 

 

 

"Far better team now", really how do you come to that conclusion. I want a team for the right now to challenge for the play-offs etc, had enough of waiting for the team of the future.

 

 

 

The last time I looked it took 11 players to make up a football team, to blame Notts County's woes on three ex Vale players is a little ridiculous. I thought the likes of Alnwick, Streete, Smith and Kelly were present at Vale Park under the previous management.

Exactly! I know that the manager at Notts County isn't too popular with the players!