Match Thread - Port Vale v Lincoln City

[onestepatatime]

I wonder if the players sitting in the dressing room before the game thought to themselves this team selection and tactics are rubbish and we dont stand a chance.

 

Thats how it came over during the game.

Exactly what I believe. Aspin has completely destroyed any confidence or belief in the squad with his mental changes and negativity. We have lost most games before we kick a ball.

[Erniemossrules]

I'm reaching the point where I don't think Smith is ever going to be good enough on a consistent basis.

 

He's had his excuses in prior seasons, but this year he has Scott Brown behind him and Leon Legge next to him, and he was bullied in both the MK and Lincoln games.

I think the players bought in are better than last year but aren’t being motivated or used properly by poor team selection and tactics.

 

People point to him marking the more 'physical' of the forwards, but thats what strikers are like at our level. Look at Popey. If he can't hack it, then there isn't really a place for him in the side.

 

His loss of his man for the 5th (I think) is borderline criminal.

 

He's played 103 league games for Port Vale, and we've won 26 of them. Its obviously not his fault, but I don't know how much longer we can justify a place to a lad who is routinely getting dominated, and part of a very, very unsuccessful Port Vale team.

 

What I can’t understand is that Smith was bullied by Rhead in the previous game so the obvious choice is that Legge should mark him.But no Aspin wants to prove everyone wrong praying that it doesn’t happen again.Same with Rawlinson playing at right back.Everyone except Aspin can see that Rawlinson is not a full back but should be playing at centre back instead of Smith.

Vassell and Clark should be playing at full back but no Aspin uses them as extra defenders to cover the back four.Why Pugh is picked to play is seriously wrong.

Then when we are losing and need more attacking threat he brings on Kay.Whether it was damage limitation to keep the score respectable who knows but he must think Vale were playing Real Madrid.I don’t expect any drastic changes against Oldham but the same team and same result on Saturday.Aspin is still hoping for a miracle so that he can say he was right and we were wrong.

But how long can we wait?

[The_godfather]

Just a small thing for me, but telling - something Scott Brown said in his interview after - “But it is difficult when you are 1-0 down after 90 seconds, your game plan goes out of the window…"

 

That might just be a turn of phrase, but it does suggest a mindset of negativity (not of Brown personally, but overall); that the intent was always to score a maximum of 1 goal.

 

To my mind, you just just take a deep breath, and say - ok, that was unexpected, now how do we execute on the plan for the next 87 mins, and that will see us through. If you are thinking, Oh crap, the plan is shot that early, we need to change it, how bad must that plan be??

 

No-one, and I mean no-one, should be conceding 6 goals at home in this league. But saying that, we're not the first to do so this season...!

[darren1810]

Just a small thing for me, but telling - something Scott Brown said in his interview after - “But it is difficult when you are 1-0 down after 90 seconds, your game plan goes out of the window…"

 

That might just be a turn of phrase, but it does suggest a mindset of negativity (not of Brown personally, but overall); that the intent was always to score a maximum of 1 goal.

 

To my mind, you just just take a deep breath, and say - ok, that was unexpected, now how do we execute on the plan for the next 87 mins, and that will see us through. If you are thinking, Oh crap, the plan is shot that early, we need to change it, how bad must that plan be??

 

No-one, and I mean no-one, should be conceding 6 goals at home in this league. But saying that, we're not the first to do so this season...!

 

He also said, we wanted to slow the game down and stay in the game. Signs again of a negative mindset.

 

Funny how when i paid my 22 quid i wanted to see us go at Lincoln and let them be shocked at our attacking intent, instead we paid yet another opposition far too much respect.

 

Is it co-incidence that two of the best performances have been Crewe 2nd half and Exeter 90 minutes when we actually went on the front foot.

 

Had we not got the last gasp goal against Exeter we would still of applauded the team because they gave it a right go.

[PV1973]

What I can’t understand is that Smith was bullied by Rhead in the previous game so the obvious choice is that Legge should mark him.But no Aspin wants to prove everyone wrong praying that it doesn’t happen again.

Rhead automatically drops on to our left hand side to go with Smith and the left back, because they aren't as strong as Legge is in the air. If Legge swapped sides to mark him then Rhead would just move over to Smith again on the right. But the centre halves will not swap what side they play on though.

[Port Vale Paul]

The worrying thing is that you wouldn't even make that amount of player change of positions in a Sunday league team. Call it stupid / stubborn / down right crazy but should never be done at professional level. Reached an all time low for me on Saturday.

[smithie]

I know it's a small thing and probably not worth mentioning....but if you watch the highlights from Saturday, Ben Whitfield jogs away from his penalty laughing and joking with the opposition.

 

Can you honestly imagine Pope ever doing that having conceded 6 goals at home?

 

I just thought it was a pretty poor thing to see from a professional footballer.

[hamilboy]

My team for oldham.

 

3-5-2 formation.

 

Brown

 

Rawlingson Legge Vassell

 

Clarke Hardcastle Joyce Conlon Hannant

 

Kanu Pope

 

if Pope not fit as a last resort play dodds until Worrell and Smith get there act together they should be knowhere near the first team sort it out

aspin we all want you to succeed.

[darren1810]

I know it's a small thing and probably not worth mentioning....but if you watch the highlights from Saturday, Ben Whitfield jogs away from his penalty laughing and joking with the opposition.

 

Can you honestly imagine Pope ever doing that having conceded 6 goals at home?

 

I just thought it was a pretty poor thing to see from a professional footballer.

 

I agree Smithie, in Whitfields' defence he was his ex mate from Bournemouth, probably just a bit of banter between mates.

It didn't look great though

[Doha]

I haven't properly watched the highlights, I just fast forwarded through to watch Conlon's free kick and that only.

 

Wharton's header was shown straight after and played before I could turn it off. Nathan Smith should be embarrassed. I'm embarrassed for him. I've not said this before about a Vale player but what a genuinely useless w@nker. I've never seen 'defending' so utterly cowardly. It would have made zero difference had he not even been on the pitch.

[Trampilot]

For only the 2nd time ever I left before the final whistle. At half time I thought I'll give it to 70mins and see if they pick up a bit.

 

As I was walking through the car park at around 5.15 there was another cheer and then boos. I guessed 1-5. By they time I got back to Surrey I'd heard the final score.

 

For me it was the manner of the goals scored. Lincoln's corners were dreadful, yet they scored off them 3 times (from the goals I saw). I was hoping after a previous 0-4 defeat they'd at least say, right, let's have a go at them.

 

Seemingly Lincoln are the next Barcelona and should be feared as such.

 

Dreadful.

[PV1973]

if Pope not fit as a last resort play dodds until Worrell and Smith get there act together they should be knowhere near the first team

How is Worrall going to get his act together without playing?

 

Wharton's header was shown straight after and played before I could turn it off. Nathan Smith should be embarrassed. I'm embarrassed for him.

The first goal was very similar, their player got the run on Pugh across the front post and got a free shot on target. Poor defending.

 

I don't go along with the theory they were poor corners like someone said earlier, they were good deliveries and found players making the right runs in to the right areas.

[jamiepvfc109]

is scott brown the only one whos going to say sorry we've just got battered at home worst home defeat since 1987 the manager comes out and blames the players and doesn't even apologise the chairman hasn't said nothing and no other player has said anything, am I being a bit harsh or would you expect a few more players like legge kay to say something

[jamiepvfc109]

Rhead automatically drops on to our left hand side to go with Smith and the left back, because they aren't as strong as Legge is in the air. If Legge swapped sides to mark him then Rhead would just move over to Smith again on the right. But the centre halves will not swap what side they play on though.

 

tbh I didn't think rhead was as physical as last season and smith was brilliant aganst him last season, lincolns front 6 kept swapping positions at 1 point rhead was playing centre mid. that was the difference we palyed against a team full of confidence believing in everything the management tell them vale looked a complete shambles with all the swapping and changing done and we got what we deserved. Aspin can say its the players we trained on this all week, we trained on how to try to keep the score down not on how to break the Lincoln defence down and score more than them, if wed have gone for it and took them on more we might have got a result we created some ok chances but whatever he worked on didn't work at all

[pjg1876]

How is Worrall going to get his act together without playing?

 

As the players were shooting in at the Bycars End before the game, Worrall looked completely dis-interested, just side footing his shots to the goalie. Whether that was just because he wasn’t playing or whether it was a mixture of that plus the fact that a young loanee full back was playing in his position, I’m not sure. What I am sure about is that he looked totally peed off.