The club that i love

[Eddie Hitler]

Is Smurf on holiday?

[Mario]

Lose this next match and we are in for a bumpy and fearful ride towards the relegation places and I have no doubt that Brown will be the ready-made scapegoat for a chairman who blames everybody and everything else but never seems to learn anything.

 

Ive got to say that this my big fear,I realised last night my blood pressure was going through the roof and I realised nothing I can do will alter the muddled thinking at Vale Park.

 

If Smurthwaite does make Brown a scapegoat for his own failures then after 53 plus years 45 having a season ticket I think I will give it a miss, its becoming a pointless exercise watching football amateurs mess and meddle with the club.

[JAMO-IN-MEXICO]

I gave the vale £69 cash yesterday to start off my 17/18 ST . Didn't even get a thank you. I may as well have bought a cream egg from Woolies for all the sense of occasion it gave me. I can't think of a time I won't be doing that but it's a long time since I looked forward to a vale game. I still go away a fair bit but I think the last win I saw was Walsall 2-0. Did we really finish 4 pts off the Championship playoffs in 97? Or was it all a dream? I'm not looking for miracles but following any team relies heavily on hope whether it's us, Stafford rangers or Norwich. I have lost hope.

I'll be there satdee to see granty sent off but I emit be hoping we win - I'll just watch what happens then go home.

[Fosse69]

Is Smurf on holiday?

Self employed.

[rsb]

I gave the vale £69 cash yesterday to start off my 17/18 ST . Didn't even get a thank you. I may as well have bought a cream egg from Woolies for all the sense of occasion it gave me. I can't think of a time I won't be doing that but it's a long time since I looked forward to a vale game. I still go away a fair bit but I think the last win I saw was Walsall 2-0. Did we really finish 4 pts off the Championship playoffs in 97? Or was it all a dream? I'm not looking for miracles but following any team relies heavily on hope whether it's us, Stafford rangers or Norwich. I have lost hope.

I'll be there satdee to see granty sent off but I emit be hoping we win - I'll just watch what happens then go home.

 

What makes you think grant will get sent off there are no vale players that will put a tackle in. what is the up take on installment payment season ticket I will wait till may before committing to purchase a season ticket as I do not want to pay £269 to watch L 2 football and like you have been a season ticket holder for years.

[darren1810]

None of us know how much we were offering players, and nor do we know the mind-set of the players. We were hardly going to push the boat out when this is probably a patch-and-plaster solution for keeping us up.

 

Look at it this way; If Michael Brown makes a good fist of it between now and the end of April then optimism can quite rightly be high for next season. If Sheff U and Bolton bugger off upwards and Rotherham/Burton come down, it makes next year's league wide open.

 

Rotherham have just bid 900K for Bogle i believe, what makes you think we can compete with that ?

[Guest]

Sat afternoon and going the Vale with my nephew and lad ( all season ticket holders )isnt the same any more .

The Vale for years now have not delivered ,i dont expect promotion but i expect c a team full of players fighting for every ball ,believing they will win against supposedly bigger and better clubs .

Like last week im thinking go on Vale be big be strong now winning at top of the league but no they end up unsurprisingly losing the game and all the positives r pointless .

I remember loads of times going watch Vale with me dad and seeing a midfielder trying to get beyond the forwards and score,now u lucky if they brave enough go out of there own half .

I agree with what the OP is saying i think personally Smurf wont pay but long term not paying for quality will reap a very dorty reward.

I hope Pugh is brilliant i hope the goalie is competent and i hope Vale r very good again .

Will i renew my season ticket ,probably yes because i love Vale but will i moan if i feel what im watching is not upto the standard i expect Yes .

Everything about the club at present is poor but the last home game i saw something ,i saw life ,i saw plays running harder ,i saw believe and i come away happy with our young guns ( although some r not ours ) .

I think given chance Brown could be another Rudgie .

Utv

[smithie]

Rotherham have just bid 900K for Bogle i believe, what makes you think we can compete with that ?

 

We can't compete financially, but big-money signings don't always equate to promotion.

[Essex Vale]

I first saw Vale in 1961 and I am a fan for ever. I do not share the negativity, we have had far darker days than these. I am quite optimistic about Michael Brown, he will make some mistakes but he will, I think and hope, be a success. The Chairman has created much of the current angst but he will not be Chairman for ever. In fairness to him not everything he has done has been bad. For those we profess to love the club I liken this to how we would act if a member of our family was in trouble due to their own stupidity. We would not disown them, we would support them, tell them that we love them, and work with them to get out of the mire.

 

Port Vale will always be important to me and no matter how frustrated I am I never lose sight of the fact that I am a supporter, that means offering support, blind optimism, and 100% commitment. Come on Vale, the darkest hour is just before dawn. In 1968 we were kicked out of the league and we were on our backside. In 1969 we started the season in record breaking style and won promotion.

 

In 1983 we had less than 10 points by Boxing Day, we almost escaped relegation, but that season was the last one of decline before the most glorious period in our history.

 

Never lose the faith, that is what being a football fan, especially Port Vale, is all about. Those two landmark seasons saw us appoint first time managers with no track record. If Michael Brown can achieve what Gordon Lee and John Rudge did, then he will be high on our list of heroes. Give it a bit of time, meanwhile, let's show support.

[philpvfc]

I agree with every word. Except Boxing Day 3-2 at Maine Road, that was 1-0. 3-2 was the season after in November. Sorry.

 

We beat them one Boxing Day at there's, think it was 2-0. Maybe the year before the 0-1. I can definitely remember being there twice to see them win within a short space of time.

[Yukon]

I first saw Vale in 1961 and I am a fan for ever. I do not share the negativity, we have had far darker days than these. I am quite optimistic about Michael Brown, he will make some mistakes but he will, I think and hope, be a success. The Chairman has created much of the current angst but he will not be Chairman for ever. In fairness to him not everything he has done has been bad. For those we profess to love the club I liken this to how we would act if a member of our family was in trouble due to their own stupidity. We would not disown them, we would support them, tell them that we love them, and work with them to get out of the mire.

 

Port Vale will always be important to me and no matter how frustrated I am I never lose sight of the fact that I am a supporter, that means offering support, blind optimism, and 100% commitment. Come on Vale, the darkest hour is just before dawn. In 1968 we were kicked out of the league and we were on our backside. In 1969 we started the season in record breaking style and won promotion.

 

In 1983 we had less than 10 points by Boxing Day, we almost escaped relegation, but that season was the last one of decline before the most glorious period in our history.

 

Never lose the faith, that is what being a football fan, especially Port Vale, is all about. Those two landmark seasons saw us appoint first time managers with no track record. If Michael Brown can achieve what Gordon Lee and John Rudge did, then he will be high on our list of heroes. Give it a bit of time, meanwhile, let's show support.

 

I get the "darker times" point but that's not the issue as far as I'm concerned. The club feels soulless at the moment and extremely far removed from what it once was. I've seen plenty of struggle in my 27 + years watching the Vale but at least frustration and fear of relegation are better than total apathy

[Family Stand Terrier]

We beat them one Boxing Day at there's, think it was 2-0. Maybe the year before the 0-1. I can definitely remember being there twice to see them win within a short space of time.

Wasn't disagreeing with us beating them one boxing day. It was the 3-2 score I was referring to. The score was 1-0. Foyle header from a corner. Remember it well.

 

Sent from my D6603 using the onevalefan mobile app

[smithie]

I get the "darker times" point but that's not the issue as far as I'm concerned. The club feels soulless at the moment and extremely far removed from what it once was. I've seen plenty of struggle in my 27 + years watching the Vale but at least frustration and fear of relegation are better than total apathy

 

I feel a lot of that comes from the dismal atmosphere at home games. We're reaping what was sown by football becoming too expensive for many people to attend. I looked around the Vale following at Scunny and the average age must have been 45 at least.

 

The days of home and away support have gone for good for many people.

[paulmogan]

The main reason for the slump in attendances is due to too much televised football on TV. Sky will ruin football for the lower leagues and local supporters.

[Rampant Zebra]

I know it is not a representative sample necessarily but I know 2 former long term season ticket holders who don't go any more and I don't think either of them have sky sports.

 

Sent from my XT1072 using the onevalefan mobile app