Match Thread - Port Vale v Carlisle United

[wwindsor]

Are you being serious!!!

[mr.hobblesworth]

Regarding attracting players, I do wonder if the issue isn't the money we offer but that we're just a really poorly regarded club. Either way it's down to Norman. The moment he bragged about getting rid of Page and some players by lying about the budget (and then decided to buy players from a soft drink importer) was so pivotal in our fortunes. I spoke with someone who worked on the community side at FCUM and he started laughing about Smurthwaite when I said I was a Vale fan. Can you remember when it was ace being a Vale fan, opposition fans complimenting us on our manager and style of play? Now we have youth workers at Conference North teams laughing at us.

[mr.hobblesworth]

:laugh::laugh:

 

He's right though. Why can't we get any players to join us? It's because our stock has never ever been lower and that's undeniably down to Smurthwaite.

[Alkie]

The majority opinion of those who sit around me say that

A. The current team is an improvement on last year, without exception.

B. We rarely look like we are going to score, with the exception of a few late flurry’s when chasing a game.

The method of play is way too negative.

 

Today for most of the first half we had Joyce and Kay sitting pretty much alongside Smith and Rawlinson.

Seemed like we were trying to play it out from the back but with everyone sitting so deep, the ball just kept going sideways with the inevitable lump it up when someone got closed down. Manny was trying to hold the ball up but Kay and Joyce were rarely high enough to help.

Set pieces are still dire, Including throw ins. Try going forward lads.

[TylerB]

Brown - By far the best player at the club. He deserved much better and I feel sorry for the bloke.

 

Gibbons - Bang average but by no means an issue. Needs to improve his distribution though if he has ambitions of ever playing at a higher level.

 

Vassell - Has a bit of power and pace but his distribution is awful. Needs to improve obviously.

 

Smith - Not a big fan myself but never hides and I don't have an issue with him other than he can't pass the ball for toffee. But as long as he defends proper he can be forgiven for that at League Two level.

 

Legge - He is what he looks. Every League 2 team has a Leon Legge in their side. He's done alright without pulling up trees.

 

Clark - Started off really well but has become average and allowed himself to drop to the standards of those around him I feel.

 

Kay - Experienced but slow and cumbersome. Should never be anything more than a back up player for any side with a bit of ambition.

 

Rawlinson - Bang average in every sense of the word. And that's being generous. I appreciate his fist pumping though at least.

 

Joyce - For me he's been shocking. Far too slow and never does anything with the ball. He might look a bit better in a better footballing side than us but he's been one of the worst signings from last summer.

 

Oyeleke - Has the odd moment of quality but they are few and far between. Goes missing a lot and you can easily see that he was playing Conference football not so long ago. Could become a decent player with better coaching.

 

Conlon - Not sure what he offers? Can't tackle or win the ball back but offers little to no creativity going forward.

 

Hannant - More graft than quality, but he's been one of the few players this season that could come out with a bit of credit.

 

Worrall - Suddenly gone from one of our better performers to someone that offers absolutely nothing. Could the manager be to blame?

 

Montano - Another I expected big things from this season but for one reason or another he's never able to put anything together consecutively.

 

Whitfield - He's another Louis Dodds for me, but with better work-rate. Often goes missing a lot but is perhaps the only player we have than can do something that isn't predictable. Aspin doesn't seem to fancy him but that's not through any fault of Ben himself.

 

Miller - Had big expectations for him going into the season and other than his debut, he's been gash. Doesn't seem to have a footballing brain or much of a brain at all for that matter. Still, would a different manager than Neil Aspin be able to get a bit more out of him if he installed a bit of confidence and faith in him? Perhaps.

 

Pope - Not the player he was but doesn't get the service he needs anything like as much as he would like. Still has a goal in him but if we're relying on him to survive then we're in deep ****.

 

Aspin - As I've said before, no other football league club would take him on in a million years. In fact I think he would no struggle to get a job with any club in the Conference with any ambition. Superb defender, a true club legend, but an absolute dog **** manager.

[CambridgeDon]

I don't think that 37% is low. Foyle is ancient history but my failing memory seems to recall that things were ok until that final season where he was given some money to spend, which he did badly.

 

Perhaps that's just memory doing what it does though.

 

It is if you have any ambition. To win promotion, have good cup runs and enjoy winning seasons, you need managers who can exceed that. We've hardly ever done that as a club, which is why we have won so little in our long history.

 

At the moment though it's academic - with 17 games left, we need a win ratio of just over 35%, which I think is asking just a bit too much from Aspin, given his record. THAT's why he needs to go.

[Valist]

At the moment we would loose to a team who only fielded 5 players against us. Our defence would turn the ball into our own net somehow. Our 1 up front striker would miss everything.

 

They have no confidence and this was evident today with us passing the ball around in our own half and then in their half, quickly getting rid of it when challenged.

'Lose' even.

[pjg1876]

In the last three seasons since Page left, under three different managers (four if you count Morgan) we have played 61 home games and won 21. And Smurthwaite wonders why crowds are dwindling.

15 points from 15 home league games plus two home cup defeats in this season to date.

 

4 wins in 17 home games is a bit of a disaster really.

[Quebec_Valiant]

It is if you have any ambition. To win promotion, have good cup runs and enjoy winning seasons, you need managers who can exceed that. We've hardly ever done that as a club, which is why we have won so little in our long history.

 

At the moment though it's academic - with 17 games left, we need a win ratio of just over 35%, which I think is asking just a bit too much from Aspin, given his record. THAT's why he needs to go.

 

We need 17-18 points from 17 games. You can do that with a 30% win ratio provided you pick up some points here and there from draws. Actually if we draw every game then we could probably be safe with 0% win ratio.

 

I'm not saying that things are not bleak, just that they are not quite as bleak as that just yet. Give it a few more weeks and I'll publish "the run in" and we will all be on the fishy boards relegation calculator. Something I was hoping to avoid up until our run in December-January.

[paulvaliant]

with 17 games left, we need a win ratio of just over 35%, which I think is asking just a bit too much from Aspin, given his record. THAT's why he needs to go.

 

And if we got 17 draws?

[CAVALIER]

Can someone please show on here the simple stat of how many league games we have played under Aspo, the number of wins and that win percentage.

[Quebec_Valiant]

Can someone please show on here the simple stat of how many league games we have played under Aspo, the number of wins and that win percentage.

 

Why not do it yourself? You seem to have all the facts.

[Class personified]

We played well. Miller should have buried his chance in the first half and then cost us the game with his reckless challenge. He’s had his chance now it is time to say goodbye. Despite his sending off we continued to be in the game. Carlisle were poor and we made them look poor. I was pleased with the contributions of Elliott and Morris when they came on. They should both start on Tuesday. Kay was man of the match for me. He was fighting to the end, was prepared to play a forward pass and was constantly trying to galvanise his teammates. In Aspo I still trust.

[smithie]

I was pleased with the contributions of Elliott and Morris when they came on.

 

I thought Harris was even better 😂

[Mario]

We are well and truly stuck between a rock and a hard place.

 

Aspin should have gone in December to give whoever the new manager was a chance to assess the squad then he could have gone into this difficult transfer window with a bit of knowledge.

 

Now even if Aspin did go which I dont think he will, either sacked or he walks, the new bloke will have no chance to strengthen the side and he will be stuck with Aspins misfits.

 

This all boils down to Smurthwaites poor running of the club.