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[Conrad]

Theo Vassell was at Vale on Monday... maybe coming in as back up, maybe there's a buyer for Davis?

 

Hasn’t Davis already gone?

[PV1973]

Theo Vassell was at Vale on Monday... maybe coming in as back up, maybe there's a buyer for Davis?

Yes he was. Aspo had him at Gateshead before. Cover for centre half / right back probably. Still a young lad though so plenty of time to develop.

[JRC]

Yes he was. Aspo had him at Gateshead before. Cover for centre half / right back probably. Still a young lad though so plenty of time to develop.

 

Like the majority of us I guess I have no idea what he is like. He's a local lad and was with Aspin at the start of last season, so quite likely as rumours go. I've looked at What Aspin said when he first signed him, two footed, quick, good in the air and can play in a number of positions. Whether he's good enough for league football I've no idea. Would probably be cover for both fullback positions and cheap.

[TylerB]

Yes he was. Aspo had him at Gateshead before. Cover for centre half / right back probably. Still a young lad though so plenty of time to develop.

 

Let's hope he's more useful than Darius!

[Hagrid]

Clearly Miller divides opinions among Mansfield supporters, as he does here. Here's the other side of the coin, also taken from the Stagsnet Forum:

 

Alan Swann from the Peterborough Today newspaper gives his verdict on Ricky Miller:

Posh apps: 5 (8) Posh goals: 0 Contract expires: 2020 Swanny says: A dreadful disappointment on and off the field. A local man who arrived with so much goodwill, but hampered by a six-game ban at the start of the season and then by off-field discretions. Can’t see him changing his ways. Verdict: Release

 

Wish Miller could be the missing goal poacher, but where is the evidence that it could happen? There isn't any, either at Mansfield, Luton or Peterborough, just non-league.

 

A huge gamble for me. He may have not been tge flavour of the month at Peterborough but even so , there is no excuse for a player not keeping fit . We were crying out for a goal scorer and Flitcroft still didn't play him. They tells it's own story. If we can get him on free , his wages aren't too high , he gets and keeps fit and he sort his issues out then maybe he's worth a punt.

But it's a big If .

 

Sorry guys, if we sign Miller the only thing it says to me is we will fail again.

 

From his time here alone I’ve heard a few undesirable stories of his off the field activities. I don’t think we ought to sign him.

 

I heard the same things about his friend too just hope that hasn't rubbed off on the likes of the younger players who will remain at this great football club

 

Rumours about knocking off training early, devides in the changing room, boozing until 1am before a crucial game, all very unprofessional, all very unnerving IMO.

 

Flitcroft has spoken several times about squad cohesion and getting rid of divisions. I can't imagine he'll want a potentially divisive player such as Miller, no matter how good he may or may not be. We don't need him to go up anyway. 4 teams got promoted last season without Ricky Miller.

 

Time will tell...wouldn’t bet against him being top L2 scorer for Vale (if he keeps on the straight and narrow)

 

And therein lies the rub. Do you pay money for a 29 year old, with 1 league goal to his name, who come September 1st could implode, do something stupid and get sent down?

 

I saw absolutely nothing that would make me want to sign him I'm afraid.

 

I can see why Ricky Miller is on Neil Aspin's radar. As manager of Gateshead, he would have seen Ricky scoring loads of goals for Dover Athletic.

 

He's played 30 games in the Football League split between Luton Peterborough and Mansfield. In that time hes scored 2 goals so what makes anybody think he'll score 20 next season?

 

Ricky miller is 28 years old ,hes had his chance ,failed to impress managers enough to be worth a risk better players out there i would wager he wont even start 20 games in league 2 next season if he does and manages more than 10 goals i would be surprised ,sometimes you have to accept its not everybody else,s fault

 

And so it goes on for pages and pages - some for and some against. The lad clearly has ability but the thing that worried me most were the comments about his off-field activities and the impact on the dressing room. It could, of course, all be baseless rumour but it would seem an unnecessary risk to me. We'll just have to wait and see.

 

"Yeah but a few vale fans who have never seen him play know more surely?"

 

Your very useful posts have illuminated my concerns; he is not proven at this level, and has a bag of red flags. Its a massive gamble.

 

I want him to do well if he signs but surely I'm not alone in being a tad cautious?

 

None of us have seen him play so comments on his ability seem bizarre.

 

All we can comment on is this; off the field problems, 2 goals in 30 League appearances, a very prolific spell with Dover.

[PV1973]

"Yeah but a few vale fans who have never seen him play know more surely?"

 

Your very useful posts have illuminated my concerns; he is not proven at this level, and has a bag of red flags. Its a massive gamble.

 

I want him to do well if he signs but surely I'm not alone in being a tad cautious?

 

None of us have seen him play so comments on his ability seem bizarre.

 

All we can comment on is this; off the field problems, 2 goals in 30 League appearances, a very prolific spell with Dover.

At 28 years old he should be at his peak, but as you rightly say hes unproven at this level. He needs to come good now. This isn't someone with time on his side like say Angus or Hannant. Throw in the extra baggage and it looks less and less attractive.

[inner sanctum]

I just want us to sign somebody to stop all of this speculation. If it has to be Miller then so be it. We'll just have to trust Aspo's judgement. Whoever we sign we, as supporters, just have to get behind them

[Hagrid]

I just want us to sign somebody to stop all of this speculation. If it has to be Miller then so be it. We'll just have to trust Aspo's judgement. Whoever we sign we, as supporters, just have to get behind them

 

I don't think anyone has said they won't back Miller should we sign him. I will be 100% behind him if we do.

 

I'm just saying its a gamble of a signing. They way some go on, we all have to be unequivocally excited for every signing or we're 'negative'.

[inner sanctum]

I wasn't really trying to focus on the 'not backing Miller' part of the thread. It was the not knowing after so many rumours flying around. I just want to know who I'm supporting. In fairness there has been a lot of negativity towards Miller before he's arrived - and that's if he does

[Worcs White]

At 28 years old he should be at his peak, but as you rightly say hes unproven at this level. He needs to come good now. This isn't someone with time on his side like say Angus or Hannant. Throw in the extra baggage and it looks less and less attractive.

 

 

Completely agree. We've just got rid of one player who, because of his attitude, has picked up 6 months pay and contributed nothing to the club all bar one sub appearance at Newport. This club cannot afford to continue to take on these types of chancers and that includes players with a persistent injury record. The budget is limited and we have to make sure we maximise it by having people who contribute on the field or can come off the bench and make some kind of impact.

[Iron Curtain]

The budget is limited and we have to make sure we maximise it.

 

Your post boils down to this sentence... and I trust Aspin and Rudge to have done the thinking around Miller across three variables.

 

1. His potential On the pitch

2. His potential to disrupt the squad

3. What he would cost

 

They are both clever, they know he has the potential to be a toe rag... which means he is either cheap or they REALLY rate his potential.

 

Either way I trust them.

[valiant_593]

Completely agree. We've just got rid of one player who, because of his attitude, has picked up 6 months pay and contributed nothing to the club all bar one sub appearance at Newport. This club cannot afford to continue to take on these types of chancers and that includes players with a persistent injury record. The budget is limited and we have to make sure we maximise it by having people who contribute on the field or can come off the bench and make some kind of impact.

 

His on field stats suggest he isn’t that kind of player.

[Rampant Zebra]

Completely agree. We've just got rid of one player who, because of his attitude, has picked up 6 months pay and contributed nothing to the club all bar one sub appearance at Newport. This club cannot afford to continue to take on these types of chancers and that includes players with a persistent injury record. The budget is limited and we have to make sure we maximise it by having people who contribute on the field or can come off the bench and make some kind of impact.

We were losing one nil until Regis came on and changed the game leading to our equaliser. That point was quite useful.

[Iron Curtain]

Ricky has just posted a picture of himself after his workout... Lots of comments from Mansfield fans excited about the fact he is wearing their shorts in the photo! And lots of Lincoln fans begging him to sign for them.

[Andyregs]

Aspin did say on the radio that he was interested in players that were good team players, and would work well within the squad.