Match Thread - Crawley Town v Port Vale

[Fosse69]

I open this thread with a heavy heart, at least we are playing away so less likely to lose than when playing at home, at least recently. Can changes be expected? Looks likely that Pope will have time to recover a little from his long term injury, so who goes up front? Angus before he goes out on loan again, is he up to L2 standard? Only one way to find out. Can the hope return that we witnessed in Miller against Cambridge that August afternoon so long ago?

[darren1810]

Not sure what changes he can make apart from someone for Pope.

 

We were all moaning about proper full backs including me and Gibbons had an absolute mare and was lucky not to be red carded .

 

The fact Pugh was on the bench ahead of Worrall probably means we have to accept he won't play .

 

Nobody on the bench jumps out for a starting place.

 

Snap hand off for a point

[valefan16]

See who comes in and hope this left back is decent and that Pope can play or I can’t see how we can win.

 

Our away form is decent enough if we can put the performance level required it’s winnable and a ground we usually do win at with three wins in a row there.

 

Angus plays he can’t go on loan to anyone other than Nuneaton I believe?

[darren1810]

According to Sentinel Angus is going to the Conference , Aspin hoping that anyway

https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/port-vale-danny-elliott-transfer-2423786

[ELDERBEZZA]

Worrall was ill yesterday and stayed at home .Maybe he'll be in squad next week.

[Santa]

According to Sentinel Angus is going to the Conference

Give it a few months and we all will be.

[darren1810]

Just a loan, so I presume he will.

Bizarre signing.

 

As for Worrall I can understand him being sick, I felt a bit queasy myself after 5 minutes !!

[Conrad]

If popes injured, it seems silly to me to send Angus out on loan unless Aspo is certain another striker will be here this week.

As others have said Angus can only go back to Nuneaton as a player can’t play for more than two clubs in a season.

[darren1810]

Most strange then because if you read the article Aspin definitely says he is going out on loan to a Conference club , higher up the chain he is quoted

[Conrad]

Most strange then because if you read the article Aspin definitely says he is going out on loan to a Conference club , higher up the chain he is quoted

 

Unless the “two club “ rule doesn’t apply to non league clubs, I don’t know.

[darren1810]

Either way, a very strange signing.

I was at FGR last January where he had a brief cameo. Then loaned out , came back, scored one at home , played at Cambridge.

Deemed not good enough again and went back to the level he came from.

Scored goals again at that level.

Recalled again, yet deemed not good enough once more.

 

So pretty much the first year of his contract has been pointless. Not like he is 18 either.

 

Another one for the strange signing list

[Fosse69]

Either way, a very strange signing.

I was at FGR last January where he had a brief cameo. Then loaned out , came back, scored one at home , played at Cambridge.

Deemed not good enough again and went back to the level he came from.

Scored goals again at that level.

Recalled again, yet deemed not good enough once more.

 

So pretty much the first year of his contract has been pointless. Not like he is 18 either.

 

Another one for the strange signing list

Gamble list? Most players are gambles that they will fit into the club, obviously the odds increase with the size of the step-up, financial inducement etc. Our problem is that our signings are long odds and/or long in adjusting to the level required. Only money can change the odds , that seems like long odds too.

[Danish Valiant]

Either way, a very strange signing.

I was at FGR last January where he had a brief cameo. Then loaned out , came back, scored one at home , played at Cambridge.

Deemed not good enough again and went back to the level he came from.

Scored goals again at that level.

Recalled again, yet deemed not good enough once more.

 

So pretty much the first year of his contract has been pointless. Not like he is 18 either.

 

Another one for the strange signing list

It's not easy to know, what Aspin looks for in a signing... He signs loads of players, loans half of them out, while keeping some real screamers...

His favorite word when it comes to players, is "consistency". Does he have any himself? He seems to be firing wild, left right and center, hoping to hit anything along the way.

Just look at the loan signings we had this season. Why the f... loan so many players, just to put them in the stands and have them play in the reserves? It beggars belief!

These things spread, so why would clubs loan us players, when they know they have a 90% chance of not playing at all?

And while on the subject of loans, could he PLEASE send Dodds back as well??? The only reason he haven't gone back, is because Chesterfield cares f... all about him!

[Upfromnowhere]

Everything hinges on Popes availability I guess, and before people say otherwise, no,I not having a go out our skipper at all.

 

However if he is fit, then one has to assume Neil will continue with his playing status quo, and because he knows no other way, we will go into the game with one up front and repeatedly pump it up in the skippers direction. It may work, we may score the first goal, we may pick up a point or three, but on all known evidence that is very unlikely.

 

It's what happens if Pope isn't fit that I find intriguing. In considering Neils obvious tactical failings, I suppose it's possible, that he may stick a CH up top just so he can continue with his customary aerial bombardment, but surely even he wouldn't be that stupid?

 

The only other alternative is to play Whitfield and Miller (or Dodds) in a front two. Something I would actually be quite comfortable with, or more accurately if we had any other manager I would be quite comfortable with. But armed with all known evidence, the question I throw out there is can Neil change his spots?

 

Do we think, that out of the blue, and bucking every , defend at all costs instinct (which includes hoofing at will) that somehow he can out of the blue, persuade these players to get the ball down and play, and if he can, the follow up question that has to be asked is why the hell he hasn't done so before?

 

If Pope is missing and because of which we are forced into at least trying to play football, and that means into feet, on the floor and pushing numbers on in support, does that mean we dispense with Kay and Joyce, and bring back Monty (If fit) and Conlon the pair of whom, like Clarke,Hanno and Gibbo would be forced to be far more offensive.

Does it mean Brown can roll it out instead of his customary wallop, does it mean if we hit in long we do so down the channels and put their FB's under pressure instead of their CH's?

 

As I said quite intriguing really, and if we lose playing that way, we lose, most feel we will regardless so what the hell

[valefan16]

The next game strikeforce is a good question if Pope is out.

 

We all feared when Pope left and then Uche and Andoh didn’t last due to injury.

 

Page got it working with AJLS and Dodds as a pairing which seemed ridiculous at the time as neither were prolific and didn’t seem to have any presence physically. It struggled when we went 1-0 down at home and we couldn’t break teams down but it also did work enough that we won a decent about of games.