Will They Ever?

[alwaysvaleme]

Unfortunately it is impossible while Smurfthwaite is still around. The smaller teams mentioned above have got "success" by running a sound business first, something that can never happen while Smurf is still here. Vale achieved success in spite of Bell, not because of him. Only one man can claim the success which we had during the 90's and it wasn't the one handcuffed to the radiator. Don't try to re-write history by claiming Bell was a good chairman. He wasn't. Bell couldn't lie straight in bed.

 

Vales most successful time in English football.....bell chairman....coincidence??

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using the onevalefan mobile app

[Trampilot]

It will take 3 things to coincide:

 

1. An owner with a vision and the wherewithall to finance and organise the club. The latter being more important.

2. The owner employing the right manager.

3. The right manager signing the right players.

[PVTony]

Teams like : Southampton, Swansea, Brighton, Bournmouth, Ipswich, QPR, Reading, Barnsley and Norwich spent decades in the third division, waiting for the right owner to invest.

After very many decades in the lower divisions the Vale are still waiting.

Please hurry up and come forward Mr, Right Owner. I've waited 7 decades for you and my time is running out.

[scVale]

Teams like : Southampton, Swansea, Brighton, Bournmouth, Ipswich, QPR, Reading, Barnsley and Norwich spent decades in the third division, waiting for the right owner to invest.

After very many decades in the lower divisions the Vale are still waiting.

Please hurry up and come forward Mr, Right Owner. I've waited 7 decades for you and my time is running out.

 

Haha this is exactly my point PVTony it just never seems to happen here... is it the area, Stoke shadow, the Potteries weather. It's just never our day. Even Carlisle spent a few seasons in the top flight in the 70's and Burton are lording it in the Championship as the county's second club now. People say that every lower league fan has it rough but I bet those fans have got one up on us or nicked players off us at some point.

[bycars rob]

I remember watching us at northampton when we went bottom of div4. John McGrath and Rudgey were in charge and I reckon this squad has much more ability, within 10 years we were back in the old 2nd division before going on to have a(relatively) great decade so you never know. What I do remember is that the fans did much less moaning and got behind the team more.

[RailwayRowdy]

But that team had Rudge, not Brown. And it had Rudge for nigh on 20 years. Rudge was old school whereby he would actually go and watch matches and apparently his knowledge of players was second to none. He didn't need to be offered players by agents (as is the norm today) as he already knew about them. It's a shame that today's younger supporters never experienced Rudge. When he spoke you listened, not laughed.

[Aussie Rules]

But that team had Rudge, not Brown. And it had Rudge for nigh on 20 years. Rudge was old school whereby he would actually go and watch matches and apparently his knowledge of players was second to none. He didn't need to be offered players by agents (as is the norm today) as he already knew about them. It's a shame that today's younger supporters never experienced Rudge. When he spoke you listened, not laughed.

 

Just curios RR, and given we had social media back then as we do now, do you think JR would have been subject to similar criticism as MB?

[RailwayRowdy]

Don't forget Rudge was only a late Kevin Finney goal against Macc in the cup from being sacked. In his first season or so he was critiiscised, but we didn't struggle to the same extent as we are now. Rudge earned his stars from a humble start. But the majority of fans appreciated his honesty. He NEVER lied. He never berated individuals but he would say that performances weren't good enough, something sadly missing in today's game. As a general sweep, experience tells me that honest managers make the best managers. Maybe they just see the game better. So yes he was criticised by certain quarters. There's an old saying that goes " you can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time. But not all of the people all of the time." As a manager you need to be honest. Do we hear honesty at Vale nowadays ?

[alwaysvaleme]

Don't forget Rudge was only a late Kevin Finney goal against Macc in the cup from being sacked. In his first season or so he was critiiscised, but we didn't struggle to the same extent as we are now. Rudge earned his stars from a humble start. But the majority of fans appreciated his honesty. He NEVER lied. He never berated individuals but he would say that performances weren't good enough, something sadly missing in today's game. As a general sweep, experience tells me that honest managers make the best managers. Maybe they just see the game better. So yes he was criticised by certain quarters. There's an old saying that goes " you can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time. But not all of the people all of the time." As a manager you need to be honest. Do we hear honesty at Vale nowadays ?

 

We don't hear honesty anywhere near as much as we do because the truth hurts and today's society can't take it , also you can't tell the sweetheart little footballers today they played s@it so pick up your ideas! Because they get upset and throw tantrums and turn on their managers

 

Rant over sorry

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using the onevalefan mobile app

[Aussie Rules]

Don't forget Rudge was only a late Kevin Finney goal against Macc in the cup from being sacked. In his first season or so he was critiiscised, but we didn't struggle to the same extent as we are now. Rudge earned his stars from a humble start. But the majority of fans appreciated his honesty. He NEVER lied. He never berated individuals but he would say that performances weren't good enough, something sadly missing in today's game. As a general sweep, experience tells me that honest managers make the best managers. Maybe they just see the game better. So yes he was criticised by certain quarters. There's an old saying that goes " you can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time. But not all of the people all of the time." As a manager you need to be honest. Do we hear honesty at Vale nowadays ?

 

Cheers RR.

 

Whilst it is true comparing managers over time is, for the most part, subject to one's memory of all things Port Vale, JR's managerial career was and still remains 'Simply the Best'

[beasty77]

Arent Vale the oldest football league club to have never played in the top tier of english football??

[Lornelounger]

Very possibly - I think Notts County are the oldest club, and they have been up there. They also confound the "2 clubs one city" argument that is sometimes put forward as to why teams like Vale can't prosper because there is a bigger club across the city.

[RailwayRowdy]

Hmm, don't know without looking it up. But Vale are the team to have played more seasons in the 2nd tier under its various guises without playing at the top level.

[Lornelounger]

Also, our spell in the 2nd division came in an era when a good manager like Rudge could work the transfer market in his favour. It is difficult to do that now, because not many Premiership or Championship reserves will drop to our level with a view to a move (Ray Walker) because they are feather bedded against the real world by their clubs. Bosman made life tricky. Bell put in some money, Rudge weaved his magic, and thanks to a bit of luck and some wonderful football, we got up in to the 2nd tier to embarrass a lot of clubs who had delusions of grandeur. With our present situation, we are not going to challenge for a Championship place until we sort out the money, and acquire a manager who can attract decent players. The second point is clearly linked to the first. I had high hopes that Brown's Premiership contacts might bring some decent players to Vale Park, but Eagles and Taylor apart, (and we can quibble about the latter) I can honestly say I had never heard of any of our signings or loans until they came to the club. That didn't used to be the case - we used to be capable of attracting players who we knew were quality. It's sad really to see how football is these days - I long for a squad I recognise on the team photos from one season to the next, and who have a bit of something about them. These days, I wouldn't recognise most of our team if I fell over them.

[TheSage]

It is possible if unlikely.

In the mid sixties we were at a similar low ebb but avoided dropping out of the league quite narrowly on two occasions and managed to find ourselves in the Championship under Sir John Rudge.

I agree about it being a different ball game now and harder than ever to find an unpolished gem, but they are still out there.

In recent years both Burton and Yeovil have got to the Championship so why not us again?