Match Thread - Port Vale v Bury

[Fosse69]

2 clean sheets away after the Lincoln fiasco even against lesser opposition should settle some of our nerves, but the need of shooting boots and a more dynamic mid field is still there. Bury will know what Pope is about, time for a rest prior to Sunderland to recuperate? With a settled defence, and concentration tightened up, now for more adventure?

[PV1993]

Stick with the formation. May be unorthodox but it's resulted in 2 wins and a draw out of 3. That being sai, we need to attack more so same formation but players in preferred positions please Neil.

 

I would go with:

 

3-4-3: Brown; Rawlinson, Legge, Vassell; Gibbons, Hannant, Conlon, Clarke; Miller, Pope, Whitfield

 

Brown is spoken for. Vassell into the back three because he's been playing well so deserves a go in his natural position. He adds height, pace, and the ability to play out from the back (something Rawlinson and Smith are uncomfortable with). Playing out from the back has been a major issue as it means we have to go long all the time. Plus, Vassell seems to be very good at playing diagonal balls from left to right - I've seen him do it quite a few times and he always finds the opposite wing back in plenty of space. I think this is something we need to take advantage of.

 

In midfield you could also go with Hannant on the left with Joyce in the middle, but I'd like to see Gibbo back in the side. His crossing is quality if we can get him into those positions enough. Plus whilst Hannant deserves his place I don't think he's creative enough as part of a front three.

 

Whitfield and Miller (rather than one or the other!) for goal threat and pace. Hopefully Pope is fit. I do agree with other posters though that I'd rather him be given a rest in order to get back to full fitness. We need Pope, but a non-fit Pope is no alternative. Perhaps Kanu up there will give Bury's defence a tough time.

 

Not sure if it has been explained why Worrall wasn't on the bench against Stevenage but, even out of form, he needs to be there to give us an attacking option.

[Houston Valiant]

I gave a spare return train ticket from Euston to Stoke on Saturday. PM if interested.

[geosname]

I think it will be a 7 2 1 or an 8 1 1 formation

[darren1810]

Why rest Pope with a view to Sunderland?

The league is our bread and butter, as glamorous as the tie is if you offer me 3 points against Bury or beating Sunderland it's a no brainer

[PV1973]

Stick with the formation. May be unorthodox but it's resulted in 2 wins and a draw out of 3. That being sai, we need to attack more so same formation but players in preferred positions please Neil.

 

I would go with:

 

3-4-3: Brown; Rawlinson, Legge, Vassell; Gibbons, Hannant, Conlon, Clarke; Miller, Pope, Whitfield

 

Brown is spoken for. Vassell into the back three because he's been playing well so deserves a go in his natural position. He adds height, pace, and the ability to play out from the back (something Rawlinson and Smith are uncomfortable with). Playing out from the back has been a major issue as it means we have to go long all the time. Plus, Vassell seems to be very good at playing diagonal balls from left to right - I've seen him do it quite a few times and he always finds the opposite wing back in plenty of space. I think this is something we need to take advantage of.

 

In midfield you could also go with Hannant on the left with Joyce in the middle, but I'd like to see Gibbo back in the side. His crossing is quality if we can get him into those positions enough. Plus whilst Hannant deserves his place I don't think he's creative enough as part of a front three.

 

Whitfield and Miller (rather than one or the other!) for goal threat and pace. Hopefully Pope is fit. I do agree with other posters though that I'd rather him be given a rest in order to get back to full fitness. We need Pope, but a non-fit Pope is no alternative. Perhaps Kanu up there will give Bury's defence a tough time.

 

Not sure if it has been explained why Worrall wasn't on the bench against Stevenage but, even out of form, he needs to be there to give us an attacking option.

After the last 2 results I wouldn’t be surprised to see the same formation and maybe even the same team start. Although if it changes I think Miller could replace Whitfield who was a bit ineffectual.

 

Listening to Aspin this week he’s convinced it’s an attacking formation too. I just don’t see it myself. I agree on the wingbacks, I still believe Clark and Gibbons are the best 2 for that role. But I think the one issue we have is that as we saw with Clark in the last 2 games is that in the main they have to try and do it themselves. It’s not like theyre linking with a winger and playing little 1-2s to get behind. Those are the best type of areas to get into and whip a cross in after a 1 2 or latching on to a threaded through ball. One of my criticisms of Hannant is that for all his energy his final delivery isn’t great and it’s always the same ball, on to his left and hang one up, they’re easy to defend against. Think back to some of the goals we scored last season with full backs and wingers whipping a ball in at pace. We really need to find a way of being more creative down the wings.

 

Worrall was an odd one, you’d have thought he’d make the bench. I think we’re not seeing the best of players like Worrall, Whitfield, Miller, Gibbons, Kanu with them just coming in and going out again. No ones getting a real chance of forming any kind of partnership or for us to get a pattern going because of formations changing or some players playing out of position even.

[Fosse69]

Why rest Pope with a view to Sunderland?

The league is our bread and butter, as glamorous as the tie is if you offer me 3 points against Bury or beating Sunderland it's a no brainer

He needs a rest due to the injury he is carrying, whether we beat Bury or not is not crucial at this stage of the season, let us try other attacking options. The FA Cup is a money spinner so not to be treated lightly.

[Upfromnowhere]

Apparently Tom is fully fit!

[Upfromnowhere]

Aspo is trying to say that simply because we have 'Three' forwards in the line up then its not a defensive line up. Am sorry that's nothing more than kidology, we are much nearer a side playing 5-4-1 than we are 3-43.

In the first half, Whits and Hanno (as Miller did in the second half) spent as much time in our half as they did the oppositions, even Pope, certainly in open play, was dropped deeper and deeper to receive the ball, that's not offensive at all.

We have even started to pull everyone back for corners which personally I hate, especially as we're not exactly a team that plays out from the back are we?

When clearing corners, we lump it, and unfortunately with no one in their half, guess what, it comes straight back!

Yes it obviously helps defensively but does absolutely nothing to improve our poor scoring record. Vassell and Clarke both tried to get forward, especially in the second half, but for the majority of the game, as they were Saturday, they were more like full backs in what looked like a back five.

Now if some one can explain to me how that is not defensive, i'm all ears.

[PV1973]

Popeys 100% fit and our formation isn’t defensive. Yeah right.

[onestepatatime]

Apparently Tom is fully fit!

Aspin can't kid us Valiants. We have seen Tom when fully fit, half fit and recently about one third of his full self. Aspin has already stated he would pick Pope every game but those of us who attend matches know full well he just ain't firing on full cylinders.

[Rampant Zebra]

As long as we have a penny pinching owner who thinks strikers like AJ Leitch Smith aren't worth the money we are always going to struggle as a club regardless of the manager. Another one we let slip for a few quid. He may not be Harry Kane but he has still scored 4 goals in league 2 for Morecambe this season.

[philmpv]

He may not be Harry Kane but he has still scored 4 goals in league 2 for Morecambe this season.

 

Definitely worth breaking the bank for then

[geosname]

Definitely worth breaking the bank for then

They didn't need to break the bank to get him

[Rampant Zebra]

Definitely worth breaking the bank for then

 

Remind me, how many have our strikers scored this season? I bet he would have cost less than the signing on fee plus wages for Miller.