Match Thread - Port Vale v Swindon Town

[PV1973]

. So from the opposite side of the pitch the faithful were suspicious of the injury. However, the clapping when he approached the tunnel was a mark of respect. It was not taking the p...

Couldn’t you tell by the players reaction how bad it was? Plus the amount of medical staff that were running round in the technical area, even our physio had to go on. He got abuse from some of the fans right by the tunnel as he walked off.

 

I struggle to understand why he can walk off the pitch and yet can't walk to the touchline for treatment so the the game can resume.

With an injury that bad they won’t do that. He was struggling to walk as he was in that much pain and they can’t lie him down because of the shoulder.

[smithie]

The constant abuse that lad got as he was clearly in a great deal of pain, and had to be literally dragged off the pitch, was a great indicator of the class of some of our fans.

 

There were around 4 medical staff and oxygen being given to him, yet all the Vale fans could bellow was 'get on with it', 'get him off'.

 

The lad couldn't walk. He stopped about 3 times on the way off. You can't make him walk the edge of the VP pitch if he needs treatment. He took the most direct route down the tunnel, and got abuse for that.

 

Strong memories of Alex Nicholls being booed at Sixfields after McCombe broke his leg in two places, leaving Akinfenwa in tears and blood on the pitch. The ambulance was literally reversed onto the pitch, the lad was on oxygen, and yet as the stretcher was lifted, some of the crowd behind the goal decided they'd boo a lad who was probably barely conscious.

 

Anyone with half a brain could see McCourt (who once played for us) was in a lot of trouble today; shame our fans lack that cognitive function. I'm absolutely ******* sick and tired of some of our fans tarnishing Port Vale with the 'backwards, scummy club' with incidents like today and at Crewe (and with incidents in basically every season).

 

Sorry to rant. Really wound me up.

 

It's football, not county cricket.

 

Swindon didn't endear themselves with the constant whinging and time-wasting. Reap what you sow and all that.

[leedsvaliant]

I have sympathy for the lad with the injury but unfortunately the actions of the rest of their team meant that there was suspicion over every 'injury'. 10 minutes injury time is quite frankly disgusting.

[Santa]

Usual turgid moribund ***k.

 

The club needs a revolution on and off the pitch. An uprising. Perhaps someone can sponsor a military coup.

[Hagrid]

It's football, not county cricket.

 

Swindon didn't endear themselves with the constant whinging and time-wasting. Reap what you sow and all that.

 

Aye, too right the dislocated lad was booed, let that be a lesson to away teams protecting a 1-0 lead daring to timewaste. Not like the Vale do it on the rare occasion we score away from home.

 

I do know you love a raucous atmosphere but you seem to think that atmosphere has to entail some degree of disagreeable behaviour. Thats where we differ, having had this argument a dozen times.

[fraggle]

I’ve heard that Aspin does not believe in having teams watched... therefore sets up regardless of how they ‘might’ play, there have been a number of games this season, where I’ve thought what the f.... is he doing...

[Hagrid]

I struggle to understand why he can walk off the pitch and yet can't walk to the touchline for treatment so the the game can resume.

 

He was effectively dragged off the pitch in the most direct manner.

 

Did it really matter that the game was delayed for 7/8 minutes whilst a lad in a lot of pain was treated?

 

Its not like the momentum was with us. In fact, it served as a nice break from the utterly turgid fare on show. I was just baffled that Vale fans could express such rage at a dislocated shoulder interrupting their fortnightly 90 minutes of torture but can't find it within themselves to express rage at the man in the boardroom killing the club.

[Hagrid]

I’ve heard that Aspin does not believe in having teams watched... therefore sets up regardless of how they ‘might’ play, there have been a number of games this season, where I’ve thought what the f.... is he doing...

 

Didn't Aspin get rid of the GPS trackers the players were using, and the data/video analyst?

 

Its all a bit 'football was better in my day, phooey to this new-fangled lark", as the rest of the league leaves us behind.

 

A vast majority of the teams we've played (who are in the top half) seem to be intent of ball possession. Aspo is managing like its 1994. The subs do keepy uppies at half time, whilst Swindon had a coach out leading their players through a warm up.

 

I'm sure there's a place for tradition and the old ways, but he's got to accept football has changed/is more complicated than he's treating it.

 

Remember when he banned gloves in the winter, something to do with the players 'manning up'?

[Hagrid]

Would be great if Vale fans showed the same level of passion for achieving real change at the club as they do for a game of League 2 football being interrupted due to injury.

[dantheman]

Another p poor pertmance from our p pot squad led by ou p poo manager. “I want a team that fans can be proud of!” Aspin words. Well I think we can all say we ar embarrassed not proud! Sham team sham performance again. 180 minutes of football and 1 shot on goal and tgat came from a dead ball. Bye,bye aspin. You need to go sooner rather than later. Worse football than brown and tgat takes some doing!! Sadly, nowhere near a league manger

[Bycars Ender]

Another p poor pertmance from our p pot squad led by ou p poo manager. “I want a team that fans can be proud of!” Aspin words. Well I think we can all say we ar embarrassed not proud! Sham team sham performance again. 180 minutes of football and 1 shot on goal and tgat came from a dead ball. Bye,bye aspin. You need to go sooner rather than later. Worse football than brown and tgat takes some doing!! Sadly, nowhere near a league manger

 

Aspin out, absolute disgrace again. You don't know what you're doing, and before anyone says who will we get in the answer is anyone. Disgrace.

[toyahw]

Say what you want about Aspin, fact is we struggle because we have mostly a team of cheapo non-league players. Who are no good. Sadly.

 

 

The fact that we have an owner who is a crook, trousering the cash from two clubs and being generally a **** hole is totally irrelevant.

 

He is such a good guy.

 

Saved our club. What a man......

[Inny]

Say what you want about Aspin, fact is we struggle because we have mostly a team of cheapo non-league players. Who are no good. Sadly.

 

 

The fact that we have an owner who is a crook, trousering the cash from two clubs and being generally a **** hole is totally irrelevant.

 

He is such a good guy.

 

Saved our club. What a man......

Don't confuse the two. We have both an awful chairman and an awful manager. I can't defend either of them. The manager would be awful irrespective of the chairman. His tactics would still be shocking, his lack or preparation woukd still be useless.

 

The feedback from within the club is that the players think the preparation is not good enough. They've known he is technically inept for some time now!!

[PV1973]

Didn't Aspin get rid of the GPS trackers the players were using, and the data/video analyst?

Yes. They used to use the trackers in games and training. There’s no hiding if you’re not putting a shift in because the trackers don’t lie. You can see it with some players in the side, they’re not putting enough in to it.

 

Say what you want about Aspin, fact is we struggle because we have mostly a team of cheapo non-league players. Who are no good. Sadly.

I don’t fully agree with that. I don’t think that he’s getting the best out of the players. Constant formation changes. No tactics to speak of. Players out of position. Those factors all add to the confusion and it looks like the players either don’t completely understand their roles in the side or don’t believe in what he’s trying to do.

 

I’ve heard that Aspin does not believe in having teams watched... therefore sets up regardless of how they ‘might’ play, there have been a number of games this season, where I’ve thought what the f.... is he doing...

I think this is a big factor in why we start game slowly. We don’t know what they’re going to do and we don’t know how our own side is going to combat them. Each player should know what the opposition do at setpieces or what players on the opposition tend to do in their game and then we have specific roles for our players. If we don’t then we’re trying to learn that as the game goes on.

[Biddulph_PV]

Yes. They used to use the trackers in games and training. There’s no hiding if you’re not putting a shift in because the trackers don’t lie. You can see it with some players in the side, they’re not putting enough in to it.

 

 

I don’t fully agree with that. I don’t think that he’s getting the best out of the players. Constant formation changes. No tactics to speak of. Players out of position. Those factors all add to the confusion and it looks like the players either don’t completely understand their roles in the side or don’t believe in what he’s trying to do.

 

 

I think this is a big factor in why we start game slowly. We don’t know what they’re going to do and we don’t know how our own side is going to combat them. Each player should know what the opposition do at setpieces or what players on the opposition tend to do in their game and then we have specific roles for our players. If we don’t then we’re trying to learn that as the game goes on.

 

The irony being that we must be THE Most predictable team to play against, so arguably it’s the opposition who don’t need to scout us!

 

We know we will start with 7 - yes SEVEN - defensive players for the first 25-30 minutes along the edge of the penalty area, that two of the centre halves (Smith & Rawlinson who with Hannant is undroppabld) regard the ball as hot potato so get rid at the first opportunity, one aging centre forward battling gamely up front for scraps, two talented midfielders (Conlon and Whitfield) getting totally by-passed by a swamped midfield and ultimately, after all this, still conceding first. Every home game feels like Groundhog Day at the moment.

 

That said, we have in fact we have added a new dimension to our play in the last few weeks...the more prevalent use of Legge’s long throw. Great. Yet this is clearly we something we don’t practice as the number of times it sailed aimlessly into the goalies hands after we won the first header was, shall we say, frustrating to say the least.

 

The club is an absolute shambles all the way through, from top to bottom, with the possible exception of the youth set-up by some miracle. When Smurthwaite came in, we were averaging 5-5,500 home games which was unbelieable itself considering V2001 / Sinnott / Glover. Incredibly he’s managed to lose almost a third of his customer base through his great commercial nous. That number will only grow if things don’t change, drastically.