Matchday Thread: Port Vale v Peterborough Utd

[paulvaliant]

Here's my view.

 

If Tanser is better than Kiko then I will eat my hat. Purkiss and Guy should be dropped for the next game and Eagles should never put on another Vale shirt.

 

We are too wide open playing 4-4-2 and need to change to 3 at the back.

 

Play Knops has a sweeper - being Dutch he's probably grown up with it. Kiko one wing-back and somebody else on the other. ADF, Foley and Pugh in midfield and two strikers.

 

And make sure both strikers play up top not this crap where we have one up and Hooper out wide.

[Rampant Zebra]

I think we missed Thomas today, and Grant of course...

[Hagrid]

Am I right in thinking we haven't won a game all season in which Grant hasn't played for us?

[philpvfc]

Am I right in thinking we haven't won a game all season in which Grant hasn't played for us?

 

Believe so. Might end up at the end of the season with that fact.

[smithie]

Am I right in thinking we haven't won a game all season in which Grant hasn't played for us?

 

We haven't won since last year !

[Rampant Zebra]

You are right! I am not sure if we won any last season when he wasn't playing either...

[TheSage]

The first thing you need to do to win a game is to compete physically, in the tackle and in the air, and win your 50:50 battles.

 

To do that you need a few hard, experienced, tall, physical pros who have been there, done it and got the tee shirt. We had no-one out there today who could do this.

 

Grant strolled around and no-one got past him. Their number 5 won every high ball. Their two strikers held up the ball better than our anonymous two and we never, ever got a proper grip in midfield, save for ten minutes around the hour mark.

 

It's fine having promising young lads in the team but we need to get the ball first and they were far more professional than us all game - working the referee, wasting time, going down injured, etc. and running down the clock. It was men against boys.

[valiant steve]

Smith was clearly not fit today and spent the majority of the game limping. He was still our best player throughout and (other than Foley in the first half) no-one else looked remotely in form.

Walker should have been subbed for Reggie or Forrester after 50 minutes or so. Shopaholico or whatever his name is was our most dangerous player and they doubled up on him creating a bit of space behind them. Sadly, Hooper never looked interested in running into this space! Eagles looks like a ballet dancer prancing around in his white ballet shoes! The midfield looked like a Bruno midfield. We had some midfielders running around here and there with no particular formation or coherehence. The full backs both look exposed as a result of this shambolic midfield situation. Brown is a midfielder- surely he can organise four players to play in midfield out of the 20 or so midfielders we have in the squad? Remi had a rare off day so no criticism there as he has been one of our best players this season.

5 4 1 away next week is what I'd play. Having said that, have we got five defenders in our huge squad? That all too familiar depressed feeling on a Saturday night. Wish we could always play on a Friday!

[cpade]

You are right! I am not sure if we won any last season when he wasn't playing either...

 

Is that true ?? If so, we're well & truly screwed

[Santa]

You are right! I am not sure if we won any last season when he wasn't playing either...

Pretty sure Brown played in place of Grant for Bury at home and Blackpool away over Christmas / New Year and we won both.

[cpade]

Your loyalty to that failure Bruno is commendable, but sometimes in life you have to accept you backed the wrong horse and stop trying to make these pathetic comparisons to justify your mistake.

 

The reason we are in this mess is Bruno's inability as a manager and the pathetic players he brought in. Brown has a monumental task, moulding a side out of loan players in tandem with losing his best and most consistent players, to keep us in this division. If he manages to keep us up it will be an exceptional achievement. Let's give him the same time afforded to rubbish Riberio to see if he can at least manage to hold on to league one status.

 

Omg .... Yes let's give him the same time as Bruno to see if he can do it .. Fingers crossed ... Only at the vale !!

 

Get hasslebank in now before it's too late. Should have happened 6 games ago.

 

Smurf said at the start of the season brown wasn't ready to manage ... So he is now is he?

[raywalkersbananakick]

Omg .... Yes let's give him the same time as Bruno to see if he can do it .. Fingers crossed ... Only at the vale !!

 

Get hasslebank in now before it's too late. Should have happened 6 games ago.

 

Smurf said at the start of the season brown wasn't ready to manage ... So he is now is he?

And u trust Smurfs judgement lol

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using the onevalefan mobile app

[leedsvaliant]

That was bad. Really bad. To lose 3-0 against as poor a peterborough side that i can remember for a long while says it all. I think their keeper touched it about 3 times with his hands. It smacked of a team who had ran out of ideas long before the end.

The keeper looked ok but can't kick, tanser looks like a school kid who has won a prize to play, about 4 stone wet through. The two central defenders are good players but need someone alongside them to do the ugly work, rough people up a bit and get a head on a few high balls, it's too easy for experienced strikers to dominate them. Purkiss was appalling and looks slower than ever.

The new lad from qpr showed glimpses but then was bizarrely taken off. The lad from derby and defreitas had really poor games and looked lost. Hooper was played out wide where he can't play and walker barely touched the ball. Foley tried but looked rusty.

They didnt have many chances but used all their experience and professionalism to slow the game down and play a poor referee well.

Weve got a big problem as right now we need a few experienced heads and in reality we havent got any. It resembled a school team at times. We need battlers and what we have is developing talent who have no affinity for the club.

I wanted to believe in smurthwaite and that he was the man to take us forward but it just seems like we're heading into a spiral of decline. The ground looks tired, the staff and players look disinterested and the fans show little enthusiasm ( and who can blame them). It almost feels that norman should just sell up and we start from scratch.

[Erniemossrules]

Michael Brown seems to have a downer on Bruno's boys.

Can't see how Kiko is worse than Tanser and Amoros not in for Grant. Even Tavares on his day is better than the midfielders played today. For Gods sake all we seemed to do was play long balls into the centre which their centre half easily headed away.

Any news why Thomas didnt plays?

We also missed Ryan Taylor's set pieces.So this is plan B sell your best players bring in young kids and end up like Crewe struggling to stay in Div2.

Norman will be happy to give the club away if this continues.

[Sandyford_Lion]

If anyone tells me that we are not in a relegation battle or that we don't miss players like Pope, Dodds, O'Connor & Dicko than I'll have you certified.

 

I think Brown got the substitutions wrong today and should have subbed the ineffective front two but he's had to shop in Lidl and has been dealt an appalling hand by Smurf and Bruno. We might regret terribly not strengthening before Tuesday because the squad as I've said previously is desperately short on experience, physicality and defensive cover.

 

Young lads are fine when you are winning but need help when the chips are down, like today.

We won nothing in the air all match but Pope of course can be replaced for half the money.

I thought the keeper did ok. Their last two goals didn't matter. The game was over by then.

 

And, don't shoot the messenger, but we missed Grant in front of the back four today. We were wide open in midfield and DF and CG were both poor.

 

Positives? I think the keeper did ok. Foley tried very hard as usual. Shadipo showed flashes. But we need 8-9 lads getting 8/10 and many of them didn't deserve more than a 5 today.

 

I hesitate to single him out but Purkiss was shocking. But we have no-one to replace him.

 

I hope we don't have cause to regret our lack of activity on deadline today because we look woefully thin at the back and lack a physical presence and leadership.

 

Thanks Mr Chairman and Bruno for putting us in this unholy mess. It's been an absolute shambles since last August.

 

So true. Wish I had written this

 

Chairman and a manager put us in this message.

It needs a NEW chairman to get us out of it.

 

Feel sorry for Brown but I don't see him keeping us in this division

 

Squad is so poor and that after how many signings in the last 7 months. iTs disgraceful

 

Transfer deadline week was a shocker for us and I don't see the squad being good enough skill wise let alone physically