Is there a future for Port Vale under the present ownership

[old sage]

After the opening day victory when in the second half we looked like a team that could take us forward and optimism was in the air. Since then the performances have been dire and the signs are that we are facing another struggle to maintain our league status.

With all of this in mind I do wonder if we have any positive future under the current ownership?

 

Please don't get me wrong as a lifelong fan of nearly 60 years I have seen many lean years but the present state of the club has me totally depressed with our current situation.

 

The debate over whether Neil Aspin is a capable manager or not is in my opinion a another matter. I say this because Neil has done a good job and been largely successful wherever he has previously managed albeit at non league levels.

 

All we ever hear from the owner before each season is that the budget that he has given to the manager is a competitive one. If that was or is the case then why have all of the managers since Micky Adams departure mostly filled the squad with chancers? Most of these lads are then simply farmed out to lower level clubs with very few returning back to the club to ever claim a starting place. In fact Smith apart I can't think of another one who has. The truth is I believe that our owner fails to recognise how much you must pay in wages to sign decent quality players.

 

Tom Pope was a shining example of this fact when he chose to let our main goalscorer leave because he wanted to slash his wage he basically condemned us to relegation from League 1.

 

Will our owner ever learn I personally very much doubt it because leopards don't change their spots and while he lauds it as the 'big boss' his empire will continue to shrink alarmingly. This season should have been in the light of our neighbour's relegation our opportunity to push on and gain a few of the floating supporters but the Club's owner cannot grasp this fact. Yes the dyed in the wool valiants will stick with the club but few of the younger generation will!

 

Depressing times that are testing even the most ardent vale supporters.

[Rampant Zebra]

Sadly I think you are right.

[Arthur]

Won't be long until it's done. Congrats Smurf.

[valeparklife]

We have an owner that isn't interested in making us competitive. As he has said numerous times, he is "numb" and Vale is causing him health problems... Yet he won't sell to Synetics?

 

Something underhand must be going on to keep him here.

[Hagrid]

Things are going quite well for Norm right now.

 

With the transfer fees we've had rolling in (including money for several youth players in recent years), and there being a seemingly unshakable number of season ticket holders, the clubs probably in its most stable financial position in years. A token level of 'interest' in Dennis and Morais (which we were probably never close to getting), a bit of cash on Miller, and a few standard signings, and suddenly fans are back on his side, despite us making 600k every 6 months from Hugill (no one can reasonably argue that money is being seen at the club, via signings, stadium upgrades/refurbishment, matchday experience, youth academy investment). This is lucrative money to most League 2 clubs, and yet we've still lost 4 of out opening 6 and operate on a tinpot, non-league level.

 

As a result, he's free to buy up property as he's done all his life, now owning two football grounds. This is exactly what he wanted. He's absolutely obsessed with the acquisition of football property, as shown by his forays onto the Torquay forum enquiring about Plainmoor's freehold.

 

If anyone thinks that we've simply been unlucky that our last 4 managers have not been successful needs a good luck at themselves. There's one constant in that time, amidst vast player overhaul, managerial changes, new coaching staff, new CEO/secretaries, different chairmen.

 

The only man who's been a constant in these last 3 ***** years in Norm. The only logical conclusion is that he's the cause.

[Hagrid]

On a separate note, there's little point in us pointing this out, as many will apportion blame to Aspo (which he does have to share), and will trust Sweetie Jar Uncle Norm to appoint another manager when Aspo inevitably gets the chop. The cycle will begin again, and fans will either be unwilling or unable to see the true reason a club which should be comfortably top half of League 1 is bottom half League 2.

[butt lane vale fan]

Is it true we only have the Physio 3 days a week??

[Howjy04]

Here we go again.One day it’s sunny ,today it’s pi55ing down.

[ELDERBEZZA]

Sick of the idiot destroying our club.THE SOONER A NEW OWNER WITH BETTER DUE DILEGANCE , THE BETTER!

[Hagrid]

Here we go again.One day it’s sunny ,today it’s pi55ing down.

 

Its been pi55ing down for 3 years. We've had tiny breaks in the cloud but the weather has been overwhelmingly miserable for too long.

[Rampant Zebra]

If he is the Nantwich Town physio who is helping out, probably.

[Conrad]

If he is the Nantwich Town physio who is helping out, probably.

 

Wouldn’t have thought he was the Nantwich Town physio because that would leave either Nantwich or us without a physio on a Saturday matchday.

[Iron Curtain]

I said this yesterday... with the money we have brought in through transfers, smurf had the option to make us competitive.

 

Everything about the club stinks of being cheap.

 

The manager was in none league and says he didn’t come from the money because it’s rubbish... it’s just embarrassing.

 

People will name the signings of Brown, Joyce, Legge and Miller as demonstrating investment... but Norman himself said that he wouldn’t be investing in wages more than the club would earn. That’s why the rest of the signings have been of the quality of Quigley, and Daniels. As in rubbish.

 

Transfer inflows - ~£2.2m

Transfer outflows - undisclosed for miller (I’m guessing £50k) and a rumour £100k bid for a forward that never happened.

 

Under the stewardship of Norman the trend is only one way... and those that won’t accept it will blame everyone around him but never the root cause.

[Howjy04]

I said this yesterday... with the money we have brought in through transfers, smurf had the option to make us competitive.

 

Everything about the club stinks of being cheap.

 

The manager was in none league and says he didn’t come from the money because it’s rubbish... it’s just embarrassing.

 

People will name the signings of Brown, Joyce, Legge and Miller as demonstrating investment... but Norman himself said that he wouldn’t be investing in wages more than the club would earn. That’s why the rest of the signings have been of the quality of Quigley, and Daniels. As in rubbish.

 

Transfer inflows - ~£2.2m

Transfer outflows - undisclosed for miller (I’m guessing £50k) and a rumour £100k bid for a forward that never happened.

 

Under the stewardship of Norman the trend is only one way... and those that won’t accept it will blame everyone around him but never the root cause.

 

When did we get 2.2m?

[Hagrid]

When did we get 2.2m?

 

1.9m for Hugill (600k installments every 6 months I think), and then 6 figures for both Alnwick and Grant.

 

We've also just sold 3 youth team players to big clubs, and received compensation for it.

 

Vale hasn't seen this sort of income since the turn of the millennium and we're still scrambling around in the wrong end of League 2, after 2 seasons of abject rubbish. What do you think the cause of this is?