Could you recommend Port Vale to a friend?

[Regal Beagle]

Decent players we targeted in January refused to come to the club. After the way Smurf treated Page, and has treated players (offering 50% wage deductions instead of simply not renewing their contracts), his infantile actions have seriously affected the club's reputation. He simply isn't clever enough to predict the consequences of his actions, and has damaged the club in the process. While he has anything to do with the club, that simply won't change.

 

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The only way that point stands up is if you say Smurf is at fault for our relegation and players were reluctant to sign in January because they didn't want to sign for a sinking ship.

 

But that isn't what this thread is saying. My point is that players do not care who the owner of the club is, they care about money, playing football and winning games first and foremost.

 

How did we manage to sign ANY players under valiant 2001?

 

It's all very convenient to say that our reputation is in the gutter, but I absolutely believe that it isn't true. I don't think many teams outside of the immediate area know anything about our situation.

[Santa]

Good, we should stand up to agents.

 

Was he throwing his weight around when we signed players of that quality? (My guess is yes)

We're competing in a market to sign players.

 

From last summer onwards we failed to compete. Miserably. You have to play the game. It's naïve to think otherwise.

[Family Stand Terrier]

The only way that point stands up is if you say Smurf is at fault for our relegation and players were reluctant to sign in January because they didn't want to sign for a sinking ship.

 

But that isn't what this thread is saying. My point is that players do not care who the owner of the club is, they care about money, playing football and winning games first and foremost.

 

How did we manage to sign ANY players under valiant 2001?

 

It's all very convenient to say that our reputation is in the gutter, but I absolutely believe that it isn't true. I don't think many teams outside of the immediate area know anything about our situation.

 

You're missing the point. When people refer to the reputation of the club, you're taking that to mean the decline, the uncertainty, attendances etc etc. It's not. What has been suggested, based on conversations people have had with players, Managers, agents etc throughout football, is that the way that Smurf has treated players, Page and Agents, has had a negative impact on the clubs reputation in the professional game. It has already (allegedly) affected players decisions whether or not to sign for Vale in January.

 

Given the way Smurf treated people so appallingly, are you naive enough to think that those he treated so badly, haven't told others?

[Regal Beagle]

We're competing in a market to sign players.

 

From last summer onwards we failed to compete. Miserably. You have to play the game. It's naïve to think otherwise.

 

I agree, but that doesn't mean we should give players and agents what they want.

 

We'd be a hell of a lot more than £3m in debt if we did.

[Regal Beagle]

You're missing the point. When people refer to the reputation of the club, you're taking that to mean the decline, the uncertainty, attendances etc etc. It's not. What has been suggested, based on conversations people have had with players, Managers, agents etc throughout football, is that the way that Smurf has treated players, Page and Agents, has had a negative impact on the clubs reputation in the professional game. It has already (allegedly) affected players decisions whether or not to sign for Vale in January.

 

Given the way Smurf treated people so appallingly, are you naive enough to think that those he treated so badly, haven't told others?

 

I'm not missing anything actually.

 

It's that time again, show me evidence that players didn't sign because of our 'reputation'

 

Who has spoken to these amazing players and managers and agents that would have signed for the money we offered but for Smurthwaite? What players are they?

[davidatpreston]

I agree, but that doesn't mean we should give players and agents what they want.

 

We'd be a hell of a lot more than £3m in debt if we did.

 

 

I disagree, If the money spent on about 11 of the players we signed last summer plus agents fees, signing on fees and all the expenses, Bruno and his team and all the rest had been used on 5 or 6 decent ability players then perhaps the debt would actually be far less than £3 million+.

 

Last summer almost certainly was a case of giving agents JUST what they wanted.

 

FULL SUPPORT TO VALE, BROWN and THE PLAYERS - NEW OWNER THOUGH PLEASE !

[davidatpreston]

The only way that point stands up is if you say Smurf is at fault for our relegation and players were reluctant to sign in January because they didn't want to sign for a sinking ship.

 

Not the reason at all. Poor wages and derisory offers, but much more so the reputation as a deceitful manipulator Smurf has got in the game for what he did to Page, and the cardinal and unforgivable sin of bragging about the compensation afterwards. THAT is why some did not sign.

 

But that isn't what this thread is saying. My point is that players do not care who the owner of the club is, they care about money, playing football and winning games first and foremost.

 

They care about being sure the club will not go bust or be run down and they get no wages like at Leyton orient too.

 

How did we manage to sign ANY players under valiant 2001?

 

 

V2001 dumped on the fans and the club finances, not the players. Many players and indeed Micky Adams - a good successful manager - were quite happy under V2001 and in some ways they were less emotional and more stable than Smurf, who dumps on everyone and everything when the mood takes him.

 

Players considering signing under V2001 had no idea Deakin and Miller were coming or even on the scene, but I bet everyone now knows all about Smurf, Rob Page and the deceit and lies there followed by bragging and the budget cut last summer before Page went. Players and agents are not idiots, they do talk to each other.

 

It's all very convenient to say that our reputation is in the gutter, but I absolutely believe that it isn't true. I don't think many teams outside of the immediate area know anything about our situation.

 

Although it may come as quite a shock to your system, what you believe matters very little - and the same is true for me, that is not a personal slur.

It is what the people that are in a position to affect the destiny of this club believe that metters - and there is absolutely no doubt that Smurf's name is not held in any high regard (to put it as mildly and understated as possible). Only respect for Michael Brown might persuade some players to come.

 

I don't really care if you believe me, but I worked for many years on the Sports Desk each weekend of the football season (most Saturdays and some sundays as well as odd midweek evenings) as a football sub-editor and as a freelance football writer for different national newspapers, and have had over 500 original columns printed plus literally thousands of match reports and sub-edited pieces.

 

I tell you this not to boast, but because it meant that I got to know people in the game - it would be impossible not to, and I am still in contact with some of them.

 

The ones with any lower division contacts all say the same - that agents and players they speak to know about recent past events at Port Vale, particularly the Page episode, and all have the same opinion of it. Let's just say that it differs from yours.

 

To say knowledge of that sort of event and opinion is confined to the local area shows a lack of understanding of the modern world, let alone football - agents and clubs (as we have sadly seen with Smurf) sign players from far and wide and those who wish to prosper keep abreast of events a little further than just locally.

 

 

FULL SUPPORT TO VALE, BROWN and THE PLAYERS - NEW OWNER THOUGH PLEASE !

[Family Stand Terrier]

I'm not missing anything actually.

 

It's that time again, show me evidence that players didn't sign because of our 'reputation'

 

Who has spoken to these amazing players and managers and agents that would have signed for the money we offered but for Smurthwaite? What players are they?

Several examples have already been provided RB. Without video footage, recordings, or published quotes it obviously remains alleged. You have to choose whether you believe it to be possible or not.

 

Do you agree that Smurf treated players and Page appallingly?

 

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[Doha]

Good, we should stand up to agents.

 

Was he throwing his weight around when we signed players of that quality? (My guess is yes)

 

I half agree.

 

Agents are scumbags.

 

But what we must do is play the game and be professional in all we do. Gorm went mental a few months ago on Twitter and posted "football is a village." amongst some other cryptic insights.

 

He was right. It is like a village. Everyone knows each other. A loud-mouthed idiot like Gorm causes undesirable waves in a very small lake. Everyone knows what he did to Page. That will cause recruitment and business problems until he's gone.

[mbycars]

Whilst sitting thinking about the current situation that exists at Port Vale, the club that I have supported through thick, thin and thinner for nigh on 60 years. I couldn't help but wonder what the future holds for the team that all Valiants hold so dear. I can remember as a young lad the tingle that I used to get sitting on the bus from Newcastle to Burslem and I sat there thinking how lucky the people of Porthill were to live so close to Vale Park. As I walked up the Hamil my excitement was immense and as I stood on the Hamil End looking down onto the deserted pitch I was in heaven at the prospect of seeing Ken Hancock and my own favourite John Nicholson 'weave their magic'.

 

After that little daydream my good lady brought me out of it with a bump by saying ''Here's your tea, don't spill it!''. My thoughts came back to the present time and I thought what has the Port Vale of 2017-18 got to offer at this present time that will attract fans other than the most ardent 'dyed in the wool' supporters who like me will probably attend regardless of our circumstances?

 

The truth is absolutely nothing, we have just been relegated after enduring a rotten season. We are owned by a man that very few of the fans want. Is that really any surprise after the disastrous way he has managed the club since the day Micky Adams left the club. Norman Smuthwaite arrived with promises of Championship football and he has 'deserted' us but seems intent on not selling the Club, in the bottom tier. When he purchased the Club we were definitely on 'the up' but as things stand today we are most certainly in a frightening decline.

 

In the past after a relegation season I and most others have still had the faith that we were well capable of bouncing back at the first attempt. This time around most lifelong fans are apprehensively looking how far down the pyramid we must slide before our 'madcap' owner lets another new owner into the Club to halt the decline and take us on with the realistic hope of both improving our image and a brighter future.

 

For me the most galling fact is that in Synetics we have a genuine Vale fan and her husband willing to take on the task of resurrecting our wonderful but battered Club's fortunes. It is only because our deluded owner seems to value the Club at a totally unrealistic price coupled with his apparent dislike of Synetics the company who live right next door. It is all so frustrating as we have a real lifeline so close but a stubborn and destructive man refusing to allow Port Vale to grasp hold of it!

 

Synetics may or may not be capable of taking us up to the Premiership but I'm confident that they will at least run us properly in an eager and professional manner and to once again make fans feel proud to wear the Club's colours.

 

At this moment Port Vale's reputation has been ripped to shreds to a level where many players wouldn't touch us with the proverbial barge pole. I heard the Crewe boss Artell talk on radio Stoke and he said '' We at Crewe can't offer big salaries but we will be able to offer them the opportunity to work for a well run club''. I wish that I could say that these comments equally applied to my Club.

 

So I finish by asking the opening question ' Could you currently recommend Port Vale to a friend?'. If the answer is yes then I fear you mustn't value your friendship too highly.

 

Why so much focus on the chairman? Iknow he is a liability but i support PVFC not Norman Smuthwaite. Do you know who the chairmen was in the days of Hancock and Nicholson, i didnt and cant remember now. You say we were on the way up when Norman bought us, SERIOUSLY we were in administration ffs. There are more clubs with bigger problems than us and we will attract players that will play for a sensible wage. We should have a competitive budget for this division and you should not expect the club to offer players inflated wages for league two.

[realfan]

Why so much focus on the chairman? Iknow he is a liability but i support PVFC not Norman Smuthwaite. Do you know who the chairmen was in the days of Hancock and Nicholson, I didn't and cant remember now. You say we were on the way up when Norman bought us, SERIOUSLY we were in administration ffs. There are more clubs with bigger problems than us and we will attract players that will play for a sensible wage. We should have a competitive budget for this division and you should not expect the club to offer players inflated wages for league two.

 

It is not 1940,50,60,70 etc we are now in a society that believes it has a right to know what is happening in every aspect of their lives.....TRANSPARENCY. Whether you agree with this or not (and I don't agree in all cases) it is about making society more responsible and answerable to its stakeholders/customers etc.

 

I agree that as I too support PVFC and not Norman(or his family) but he has to be answerable for his actions which have eventually had a seriously negative impact on PVFC and will continue to whilst he remains its owner. He (or his puppets) state we have a competitive budget but we do not know what this is and he is probably pocketing even mire money than is given to the playing budget....who knows....TRANSPARENCY

 

We all have different options but we must unite behind the club but at the same time ensure that Norman knows we will not give in lightly. If that is by staying at home, banners at home/away games, not purchasing shirts/food drink then that it is our choice.....

[Paul6754]

Of course I would recommend Port Vale to a friend 'cause as said above by mbycars I support the Vale not the owner, the owner is transient.

 

I get that last season was truly awful but there are glimmers of hope on the horizon but it is only hope at the moment. Smurf will move on as it makes absolutely no sense for him to run the club into the ground, we as fans need to work out how to hasten his departure without resorting to unpleasant stuff.

 

I don't support starve him out but given the stuff he pulled on Rob Page and the out of contract players perhaps there's enough material to "Shame him out." I'm no PC/video expert but a video describing the tricks he pulled, the sheer incompetence and the subsequent results posted on Youtube and other social media might have the desired effect. The material would be factual and the truth not intimidating or violent and hence there would be no recourse to the law and be totally independant of Synectics or any other potential buyer..

[glenpvfc]

I have tried on many occasions but they never come back :( I think lower league football is a bit like religion. Unless you are brought up with it within your family you're probably not going to be interested. There is a premier league club down the road that offers better at a better price so if you are unattached it's not going to be a hard choice for most.

[Regal Beagle]

 

I don't really care if you believe me, but I worked for many years on the Sports Desk each weekend of the football season (most Saturdays and some sundays as well as odd midweek evenings) as a football sub-editor and as a freelance football writer for different national newspapers, and have had over 500 original columns printed plus literally thousands of match reports and sub-edited pieces.

 

I tell you this not to boast, but because it meant that I got to know people in the game - it would be impossible not to, and I am still in contact with some of them.

 

The ones with any lower division contacts all say the same - that agents and players they speak to know about recent past events at Port Vale, particularly the Page episode, and all have the same opinion of it. Let's just say that it differs from yours.

 

To say knowledge of that sort of event and opinion is confined to the local area shows a lack of understanding of the modern world, let alone football - agents and clubs (as we have sadly seen with Smurf) sign players from far and wide and those who wish to prosper keep abreast of events a little further than just locally.

 

 

FULL SUPPORT TO VALE, BROWN and THE PLAYERS - NEW OWNER THOUGH PLEASE !

 

Like I say, very convenient that our reputation is in tatters now but it wasn't when there were hundreds of fans with flares outside the main entrance every game under valiant 2001.

 

Just give me one players name who didn't sign solely because of Norman.

 

Also please explain why so many players did sign for us, including Tyler Walker whose dad played for England 50 odd times. You'd think as a family they would have more access than most to the footballing grape vine?

[Regal Beagle]

I half agree.

 

Agents are scumbags.

 

But what we must do is play the game and be professional in all we do. Gorm went mental a few months ago on Twitter and posted "football is a village." amongst some other cryptic insights.

 

He was right. It is like a village. Everyone knows each other. A loud-mouthed idiot like Gorm causes undesirable waves in a very small lake. Everyone knows what he did to Page. That will cause recruitment and business problems until he's gone.

 

He hardly stabbed page in the back did he?

 

I find it very hard to believe that it would seriously hamper us signing players and managers because Norman said a few smacked arse things after Page was bought out of his contract.

 

It hasn't stopped Kirkland coaching our keepers, Morgan and Kelly joining the coaching staff, Brown signing a new contract, signing 10 players in January.