Chris Birchall: Vale paying for 'risk' last summer

[Aussie Rules]

I don't think Chris Birchall knows the meaning of the word honest.

 

I disagree. Sadly it's nearly always the same with 'divorce' - the focus on the recent past blocks out all that had gone before.

[Emile]

Birchall, like many of last season's squad, should have been released a season before hand.

 

Is this the same Birchall that tried to come back to the club after refusing his contract, only to have his trial terminated and he moved on to the mighty Kidsgrove?

 

Mistakes were made last summer, letting Birchall, Duffy, McGivern, Dicko, O'Connor, Daniel, Moore, Robinson and Campion go wasnt one of them.

 

Trying to be as realistic as possible the squad I would have gone for;

 

Goalkeepers

 

Alnwick

Neal (if Neal wouldn't have signed I would have signed Santos / Fasan)

Boot - on loan

 

Released - Johnson

 

Defenders

 

Purkiss

Street

Smith

 

Released - Mcgivern, Duffy, Yates, Dickinson

 

Signed - Knopps, Kiko, A centre back, Right back.

 

Midfielders

 

Grant

Foley

Dodds

 

Signed - Tavares, Amaros, Pugh

 

Released - Birchall, O-Connor, Daniel

 

Strikers

 

AJ

JJ Hooper

 

Signed - Jones/Walker , Forrester, +1

 

Wingers

 

Signed - Thomas, need 1 more

 

Released - Andoh, Moore, Kelly

 

Waste of signing;

 

Hart, Tanser, Peirea, Shalaj, Mbamba, Cecilia, Ferguson, Haughton, Mac-Intosh,

 

For anyone who didnt accept a contract (dodds / aj) we would look to sign a like for like replacement.

 

Clear alot of dead wood but don't sign a huge ammount of usless players.

[darren1810]

Not interested in your views Birchall .

[Tomo]

I take it Alnwick and grant didnt start this season with us?

 

I know that, but they've left part way through, so can't really put them in (& they're not an option for Saturday). I'm asking you (based on what's available right now) if you think last season's main starting 11 are better than what is currently our starting 11, & which you'd trust more to keep us up.

 

Even if you take those 2 players out of the equation, the remaining 9 around them look far better last season than the ones this season to me (barring Smith maybe).

 

I'd also be interested to see if you think you can construct a better starting 11 from our squad this season than the one I've provided for last.

[smithie]

Trying to be as realistic as possible the squad I would have gone for;

 

Goalkeepers

 

Alnwick

Neal (if Neal wouldn't have signed I would have signed Santos / Fasan)

Boot - on loan

 

Released - Johnson

 

Defenders

 

Purkiss

Street

Smith

 

Released - Mcgivern, Duffy, Yates, Dickinson

 

Signed - Knopps, Kiko, A centre back, Right back.

 

Midfielders

 

Grant

Foley

Dodds

 

Signed - Tavares, Amaros, Pugh

 

Released - Birchall, O-Connor, Daniel

 

Strikers

 

AJ

JJ Hooper

 

Signed - Jones/Walker , Forrester, +1

 

Wingers

 

Signed - Thomas, need 1 more

 

Released - Andoh, Moore, Kelly

 

Waste of signing;

 

Hart, Tanser, Peirea, Shalaj, Mbamba, Cecilia, Ferguson, Haughton, Mac-Intosh,

 

For anyone who didnt accept a contract (dodds / aj) we would look to sign a like for like replacement.

 

Clear alot of dead wood but don't sign a huge ammount of usless players.

 

Not forgetting the highly-successful Mr Martin Paterson, our non-striking striker.

[Emile]

Look where we are now then. Sometimes we should be careful what we wish for. If you're so critical of all those players in that list then I can't believe you are so quiet in regards to this years squad, because some of the individual performances we've seen have been disgusting, much worse than some of those players you mentioned. I don't disagree that we should have cut a few and gradually added, but its a real pity that the chairman was as like minded as fans like you, because wholesale changes and cuts to the degree we saw are never a good thing to do and now we are in a right mess. Anyone with any ounce of football knowledge or common sense would realise this. But hey at least fans like you can be happy that the players you disliked for some reason are gone.

 

 

Whats this got to do with anything? That changes nothing about the facts hes discussing. Take the blinkers off mate and forget these strange vendettas against players and look at whats happening.

 

Ive posted my potential squad above.

 

Firstly, I dont have a vendetta against Birchall. Can't be bothered to look through my retained list posts but I was thankful for the service of Birchall (he did offer to play for nothing) but it was time to move on a year ago. He wasn't good enough for this seasons squad, hence why he didnt get offered a contract after his trial with Bruno.

 

Our squad last season was too big, this season is even worse. We needed a clearout and it to be replaced with a smaller number of quality additions.

[Emile]

Not forgetting the highly-successful Mr Martin Paterson, our non-striking striker.

 

Yep, he could well be that plus 1 we needed on the striker front, but he was awful, nobody wanted him here and Im glad he's gone. Usless.

[robf]

Not interested in your views Birchall .

 

Why not? If fans can discuss the summer signings/releases and their effect from the outside why can't a player who arguably knows more about the released players than pretty much all of us fans do?

 

His views may be "biased" in that he's talking about former team mates but I can't see why the views of someone who was actually a participant in the summer ins and outs (and says he is a Vale fan as well) are not interesting.

[darren1810]

Why not? If fans can discuss the summer signings/releases and their effect from the outside why can't a player who arguably knows more about the released players than pretty much all of us fans do?

 

His views may be "biased" in that he's talking about former team mates but I can't see why the views of someone who was actually a participant in the summer ins and outs (and says he is a Vale fan as well) are not interesting.

 

For the same reason Pope waxes lyrical about the likes of Yates. Birchall was not good enough despite the tripe we have now, the fact he ended up at Kidsgrove speaks volumes.

 

He isn,t telling us anything we don't know. Where was the voice of reason at the end of September when we had won 5 in a row.

Showed no loyalty by joining Coventry and incredibly playing at a World Cup cos his grandmother bought a Trinadadian poodle once.

He then bemoans Vales' lack of loyalty to him with poor wage offers, hardly a clamour of clubs banging his door down in the summer.

Bog off Birchall, wise after the event springs to mind.

[Andyregs]

There are two different issues here. Getting rid of most of those players wasn't the issue. Pages retained list for two seasons was ridiculous, and he deserved the criticism thrown at him for it. The problem was how we replaced them with unscouted players from an agents catalogue.

[Aussie Rules]

Not interested in your views Birchall .

 

That's a shame. If 'Me Mum', Tom Pope, or other ex Vale players pen articles for the media then I will always read them wether or not I agree with their views. It is what it is - views and opinions.

[Emile]

There are two different issues here. Getting rid of most of those players wasn't the issue. Pages retained list for two seasons was ridiculous, and he deserved the criticism thrown at him for it. The problem was how we replaced them with unscouted players from an agents catalogue.

 

Completly agree, and I would argue that some of those gambles have been OK but the majority were a mistake.

[Robbie Earle's Perm]

There are two different issues here. Getting rid of most of those players wasn't the issue. Pages retained list for two seasons was ridiculous, and he deserved the criticism thrown at him for it. The problem was how we replaced them with unscouted players from an agents catalogue.

 

Agreed.

[Hagrid]

Some fairly disgusting comments on here from the Smurf faithful towards a decent player who offered to play for nothing when we were at our lowest ebb. I believe he took a paycut in his final season here as well.

 

It's becoming a police state on here. Toe the party line, or face being accused of 'sour grapes' and 'stealing a living from football'. It looks like the recent surge in sales of 1984 isn't just applicable to the current situation in the US.

 

Birchall's spot on. We were uninspiringly mid-table last year; what I'd give for the same to be occurring now.

[Jacko51]

I suggest those who think last season's team was worse than the current one should look at the league table.