Match Thread - Port Vale v Stevenage

[Valiant62]

I thought Pope got it right in his interview. We kept shooting ourselves in the foot and their antics you’d just want to retire rather than play that way. We really don’t want to finish the season like we did last season and I really fear that. What ever the future off field I genuinely think petering out this season would set the tone for August.

[onestepatatime]

I think most clubs would agree stevenage at home is the worst fixture of the season. It's been agony everytime I've seen it.

 

The whole ethos of the club is a disgrace quite frankly. To go 4.1 up and continue the time wasting they'd started from the first minute said it all.

 

They're where they are because they can beat anyone on the day playing like that.

 

How their fans watch that all the time I don't know.

 

99 says it all mate. Their "fans" cannot want to sit and watch even their own team.

[Erniemossrules]

Disappointing performance today. The high press is on a sandy beach somewhere. Smith and Legge taken to the cleaners today. Worrall was our best player. Enjoyed Elliott’s little cameo. Pope ineffectual. We need a Miller type player but just not him.

 

Two mistakes by Joyce and Montano losing the ball cost us two goals.

Howkins would have dealt with their two forwards better than Legge and has done nothing wrong to be dropped.

Again Pope marked out of it by two big Centre halves.

The pressing tactics never materialised and we were always chasing the game.

They took their chances well and despite us huffing and puffing couldn’t get back in the game.

Poor team selection for an home game by Askey playing one up front.

Should have played Miller instead of Whitfield who was non existent.

[smithie]

It was a disappointing performance in front of a respectable 4000 gate. There's probably 15 teams in this league who wouldn't pull that many in for a dead rubber yet here we are down among the dross.

 

Get me out of this dreadful league ASAP.

[smithie]

Two mistakes by Joyce and Montano losing the ball cost us two goals.

Howkins would have dealt with their two forwards better than Legge and has done nothing wrong to be dropped.

Again Pope marked out of it by two big Centre halves.

The pressing tactics never materialised and we were always chasing the game.

They took their chances well and despite us huffing and puffing couldn’t get back in the game.

Poor team selection for an home game by Askey playing one up front.

Should have played Miller instead of Whitfield who was non existent.

 

I'd be interested to see how many touches Whitfield had yesterday. He was invisible.

[Jacko51]

Pope missed two header sitters.

.

 

I take it you mean the good save by the keeper and the one cleared from under the bar by a defender? Pope was anonymous in the first half but could have had a couple with those chances. The score did not reflect the game.

[Howjy04]

Everyone knows how Stevenage ‘play’.We decided,far too late,to stop giving them the ball back when their players were feigning injury.I would use that tactic every time we play them.

[Howjy04]

.

 

I take it you mean the good save by the keeper and the one cleared from under the bar by a defender? Pope was anonymous in the first half but could have had a couple with those chances. The score did not reflect the game.

The Pope was fed.

[Rampant Zebra]

Monty had an absolute stinker, goal aside. A luxury player if ever there was one. I agree Conlon had a reasonable game. But Elliot has to start vs McDons, Pope benched in favour of Miller, Gibbons for Crookes and Howkins for Smith (who was dreadful).

 

Try and watch Elliot for their fourth goal on the highlights. He was wandering around by the centre circle while Worrall, who had been on the pitch for the whole game raced after their man from the other side of the pitch to try and prevent the goal. Elliot may be able to kick the ball nicely but he needs to up his fitness and work rate massively to become an effective squad player.

[Class personified]

I love Pope. He is a true Vale legend. Yesterday he was poor. Why? I think there are a number of reasons. The high pressing game was clearly not there. We dropped back so the midfield was shaking hands with our porous defence. Because of that Pope was isolated. The personnel was not right partly due to injury partly due to team selection. Whitfield has an attitude problem and is wasting his talent. Monty is a frustrating player. We clearly missed Oyeleke and Hannant should have played. Legge is past it and Smith bullied yet again by a good forward line. Joyce slipped back into bad habits. Therefore this contributed to Pope’s isolation. With the high pressing game and the right personnel Pope is a better fit than Miller who has been a massive disappointment.

[smithie]

Pope didn't look bothered yesterday. There, I've said it.

[Inny]

Two mistakes by Joyce and Montano losing the ball cost us two goals.

Howkins would have dealt with their two forwards better than Legge and has done nothing wrong to be dropped.

Again Pope marked out of it by two big Centre halves.

The pressing tactics never materialised and we were always chasing the game.

They took their chances well and despite us huffing and puffing couldn’t get back in the game.

Poor team selection for an home game by Askey playing one up front.

Should have played Miller instead of Whitfield who was non existent.

I wouldn't blame Joyce for the first goal. It was a shocking pass by Whitfield. Joyce could have put the ball in the box sooner rather than pass it to Whitfield in the first place but it was Whitfields awful pass that was the issue.

 

Whitfield looked lost yesterday. He kept coming over to the right and taking up Worrals space. He looked like someone who hadn't played with that team for a long time.

 

I thought all 4 defenders were poor at times. We didn't look solid and we missed the running of Hannant. Joyce and Conlon struggled to find space and a pass in midfield. Conlon is way to slow to make a pass and has too many touches or want to do a little flick.

 

Monty is more dangerous up front and actually could have scored 3 yesterday. Liability elsewhere. He couldn't do anything right.

 

Askey needs his contract sorting asap. We need to build for next season with a tight and industrious squad who will play the pressing game and attack.

 

The nonsense about playing one up front is ridiculous. He was playing more like 3 up front and whitfield in the hole hence why the midfield could never find a pass. We had enough shots on goal to win that match by 15 minutes. Compare that to the dross of Aspin when we went a whole game without a single shot.

[valiantastic]

that was not a 4-1 game, the score line majorly flattered them. we need a LB for next season majorly! crooked constantly out of position and Smith constantly having to run the channels because stevenage could see that. sloppy goals but i wouldn’t say our defence were as bad as everyone was saying. Smith won majority of his battle with Guthrie in the air. Chair didn’t do much til he got a goal Courtesy of Crookes being way behind everyonelse this keepin chair onside. Crookes too quiet as a defender. has anyone heard him shout or speak? young players need to learn that communication is key in this game. we should’ve scored more and i hope askey finds a goal scorer for next season and more creativity in midfield especiallly if Manny is injured. i think you can see from the games we’ve won, how Askey wants to play and i can see a clearout of players in the summer. personally i feel we have a decent core we just need to build around that. who knows we might cause a shock on monday, remember this is the vale

[TylerB]

We've played worse at home this season and won. On that evidence Stevenage are not three goals better than us in a million years, and on another day we would have got something out of this game. Fair play to them though, they countered well. 1-4 looks shocking but it was one of them days most teams have now and again. If we played them again next weekend I'd be relatively confident of getting something from the game, though we would certainly have to defend better on the day.

 

We need someone like that Guthrie bloke they had up front. Big, strong and mobile.

[Mario]

Pope didn't look bothered yesterday. There, I've said it.

Cheap shot