Why is Tom Pope undroppable?

[Robbie Earle's Perm]

I think that the last three replies have answered your question quite well. As Ray Williams said on RS last night when the question regarding lack of goals and Popey was raised when he said repeating the song 'Feed the Pope and he will score'. Then he added when will they start supplying him with some food!!! So don't blame Popey for the famine look at the lack of a food chain!

 

Good players also create their own chances as he did in the 12/13 season.

 

He's clearly not fit and clearly not suited to whatever game plan we have.

 

Must be dropped.

[Boslem's Brazil]

I'm sorry but you really can't drop the one player in our team who has scored more league goals than anyone else. We're shot shy as it is. You can't then drop the one player who conceivably might get us a goal.

Granted he hasn't been as good as we'd have liked but he's had little or no service whatsoever. He's nearly scored on a couple of occasions but for a bit of bad luck. But he's had nothing to work on. There's no-one running past him from midfield. often no-one within 15 yards of him. How often do our players get to the byline and deliver a good cross? Never!

 

The real problem is the service to him. Our midfield is woeful and as bad as it was last season. Little creativity. No goals. No-one supporting the striker. No-one running past an opponent with the ball or shooting accurately from the edge of the box. No Dodds. No Eagles. Nothing.

 

In our understandable desperation to pin the blame on our poor start on someone we've gone from Brown to Smurf and now from Kay to Montano to Wilson to Pope. Ronaldo wouldn't score in our team. We've probably had only about 7-8 shots on target in the past 5-6 games. We create nothing, zilch, not a sausage.

 

Pope will score at this level if we give him enough chances and put the ball in the box in front of him. He won't score with long diagonal 60 yards passes and he won't score from 35 yards out. He's largely isolated and feeding off crumbs, if he's lucky.

 

We don't have much choice in attack do we? Barnett & Pyke coming back from injury and both Pyke and Turner are young lads learning their trade. There's no-one there who will guarantee us more goals than Pope, sadly.

 

Good strikers create their own chances, and that extends to league two strikers as well. It makes us so one dimentional that we are hoping for a pinpoint cross to an unmarked Tom Pope as our only goal threat. Generally centre halfs in league two are taller than him, and he often tries to foul the opposition to get an advantage and hope the ref doesn't notice. He has no leap and for most centre half's it is an easy afternoon's work to defend against him.

 

I will always respect Pope for his golden season and a solid season after, however at it stands now, we will never be prolific with him leading the line. The problem is, Brown has had a nightmare with his striker recruitment, and Pope has been the only option for most of the season. We have Barnett, who has just come back into the fold- jury is still out. Pyke - young lad who has shown glimpses of ability- but yet to find the net in professional football. Turner- again a young lad, who despite netting two goals, isn't ready to be a first choice striker. And that leaves Forrester, which will might as well write off completely with his injury record.

 

And for me, here lies the problem. We have put all our eggs in one basket with Pope and it has backfired ( I imagine he is on decent money as well)

 

I'm happy to put my neck on the line, and say the next time we play a game without Pope, we will score.

 

This is not an attack on Tom Pope, as he fired us to promotion and is a loyal fan of the club. I also think he would be a good option to bring off the bench for the last 20 mins.

 

In summary, even in league two, modern day football dictates that we need multiple options to score. Simply lumping it in to a 'big man' will not see us scoring goals or winning games.

[SuperValiant1876]

Maybe if he cared about his own fitness as much as he says he cares about the Vale then he would stop smoking and get himself to the fitness level of a professional footballer and not one who plays Sunday league.

[smithie]

Yet another who didn't attend the Crewe game.

 

 

Wrong...I've attended every home game and went to Luton last night. I base my opinion on those games and the statistics from the games I've not seen.

 

No goals 7 league games in tells its own story.

[TheSage]

Pope has never created much on his own. He's never been a dribbler or blessed with pace or trickery and seldom run from the half way line or scored from 25-30 yards. I'd guess that 95% of his goals have been scored inside the area, most of them from inside the six box.

 

He scored a lot a few years ago because - yes - he was younger and quicker but also because he was getting the service. He had the likes of Myrie-Williams and Vincent on the wings, Hughes alongside and Dodds in the hole. We used to create sometimes 8-10-15 chances a game. We're now fortunate if we get one shot on target after 45 minutes.

 

I'm not averse to trying say Barnett/Turner and having Pope/Pyke on the bench or vice-versa. Shuffle the pack a bit for a change, yes. But I still feel it's very unfair heavily criticising Pope because the service to him all season has been truly awful and he's played most of the games up front on his own.

 

I agree to an extent with Boslem's Brazil. We needed another good, quick striker in the window and Brown blew it. Consequently we're down to two lumbering target men and two young lads with very little choice.

[jeffers]

If this was Tom Pope's first season we would all be calling for his head, as it is we know that Tom is Vale through & through but that does not mean he is above criticism. I agree with SV1876, Tom looks way short of fitness. A good striker gets in the right place at the right time, Tom needs a bus to get him there at the moment. I also agree the service to him is appalling but he has had chances that he has not put away. As our only striker, he has got to do better, which is not going to happen if Notts County is anything to go by. For those raising the Crewe match, I thought Tom did have a cracking game, supplemented because he had Pyke or Turner alongside him running the channels. If the Clown insists on one man up top, it makes it easy for defenders if Tom is not mobile. Is it a lack of fitness or just not the Tom we want to remember.

[Robbie Earle's Perm]

Is it in his contract that he plays if fit

 

If that's the case he clearly isn't fit so shouldn't be playing.

[whotobeakiller]

I think that the last three replies have answered your question quite well. As Ray Williams said on RS last night when the question regarding lack of goals and Popey was raised when he said repeating the song 'Feed the Pope and he will score'. Then he added when will they start supplying him with some food!!! So don't blame Popey for the famine look at the lack of a food chain!

 

Yes we all know to be a good striker you need the ball to land on your plate and not make any luck yourself. We never had quality strikers in Vale's history whom could make things happen themselves such as Ron Futcher, Martin Foyle Tony Naylor

 

Do you feel Popey is compared to these strikers?

[whotobeakiller]

If that's the case he clearly isn't fit so shouldn't be playing.

 

Popey has been seen in a local bookmakers and even the girl in there said he looked rough. Why is he looking rough he should be looking after himself

 

I despair...Vale shouldn't have signed Pope...they did it to merely sell ST's now they have been found out

[PV1973]

Popey has been seen in a local bookmakers and even the girl in there said he looked rough.

Must be true then if she says so.

 

I know he likes a few beers but if hes drinking on a weekend after a game is that a big problem? The smoking is what would concern me most in a professional footballers fitness regime.

[Robbie Earle's Perm]

Popey has been seen in a local bookmakers and even the girl in there said he looked rough. Why is he looking rough he should be looking after himself

 

I despair...Vale shouldn't have signed Pope...they did it to merely sell ST's now they have been found out

 

To be fair I don't care what he looks like, he's always been an ugly bugger.

 

But I do care about his physical fitness as he represents my club and no-one can deny he's way short of where a pro footballer should be currently in that respect.

[Alkie]

There were some decent crosses in last night but Tom was nowhere near them. Our best efforts were from ADF and Worrall.

 

Excuses for Tom aside, all strikers are judged on goals scored. He is/was cut some slack for his overall contribution to the team, but that has been missing all season.

Appreciate what you are saying, but from what you say it could also be read that it's not so much a case of Popey not getting near the cross but could also be that the crosses were nowhere near him.

It's clear we are not doubting Popeys desire or commitment and I'm sure if he can get his head on one then he isn't afraid to get in there.

[carpetman123]

Pope should never have come back but everyone of his 'groupies' thought we should have never let him go..but the harsh reality is that he is now past it and would struggle to get in a conference side

i've seen nothing in all the friendlies and the league games to suggest he is the same player we let go and he has struggled against ordinary centre halves who have marked him, granted, he has been playing up top on his own from the start which isn't his game he needs a partner

 

the chance he had against Notts County showed him up embarrassingly, in our promotion season he had a similar chance away on boxing day at Rotherham which he put away he has lost his pace that he had which wasn't much to start with!!

 

Last 20 minutes sub at best when we throw the kitchen sink in the box!!

[alwaysvaleme]

If this was Tom Pope's first season we would all be calling for his head, as it is we know that Tom is Vale through & through but that does not mean he is above criticism. I agree with SV1876, Tom looks way short of fitness. A good striker gets in the right place at the right time, Tom needs a bus to get him there at the moment. I also agree the service to him is appalling but he has had chances that he has not put away. As our only striker, he has got to do better, which is not going to happen if Notts County is anything to go by. For those raising the Crewe match, I thought Tom did have a cracking game, supplemented because he had Pyke or Turner alongside him running the channels. If the Clown insists on one man up top, it makes it easy for defenders if Tom is not mobile. Is it a lack of fitness or just not the Tom we want to remember.

 

Correction , he had one good half of a game I remember first half he was very average

 

 

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[Mario]

Pope should never have come back but everyone of his 'groupies' thought we should have never let him go..but the harsh reality is that he is now past it and would struggle to get in a conference side

i've seen nothing in all the friendlies and the league games to suggest he is the same player we let go and he has struggled against ordinary centre halves who have marked him, granted, he has been playing up top on his own from the start which isn't his game he needs a partner

 

the chance he had against Notts County showed him up embarrassingly, in our promotion season he had a similar chance away on boxing day at Rotherham which he put away he has lost his pace that he had which wasn't much to start with!!

 

Last 20 minutes sub at best when we throw the kitchen sink in the box!!

 

Talking of groupies hows your mate Norman baring up ?