Worst Vale XI - nominate the manager

[robf]

I'm guessing there will two or three prominent names in this.

Who should be the manager of the worst Vale XI and why?

 

[Jacko51]

The obvious choice is Gannon but he was like Delgado - decent elsewhere but complete rubbish at Vale.  I would also like to nominate Denis Butler who was the football management what Boris Johnson is to the concept of celibacy.

[pete vale]

Gannon!!!!

 

No further comment required.

[The Kalamazoo Kid]

Couldn't stand Glover as manager. By all accounts, he wormed, schemed and back-stabbed his way to the job (....has Porter spoken to him since?!), all with the help of briefcase-man Jackson. He'd already had a couple of caretaker stints with no sign of success, and had been part of Foyle's ultimately failed reign (along with numerous other roles at the club) - creating this ridiculous notion among some that he somehow "deserved" the job. And then when he got it he crowbarred his son into the side at every opportunity. Shame, as he should just have been remembered as one of our greatest players.

But then, along came Gannon!!

.......choices choices!

[RailwayRowdy]

Yes, Butler has to be there along with his mate Bobby Smith. An honourable mention must also go to Sir Stan.

But the one who drove me to the edge of insanity was Brian Horton. His constant habit of playing players out of position (who remembers Sagi Burton at centre forward at Northampton & Liam Burns in the same position at Oldham) drove me ‘round the twist. Steve McPhee, who would later become the league’s top scorer, being shoved out to the right wing for a season. Allan Tankard, who played his whole career at left back (Rudge very occasionally played him in midfield) being deployed as a centre back. The list is endless. 

Plus his insistence on re-writing history at some distant away mid week match when a poor performance became a good one several weeks later when he thought the few who were there would have forgotten. We didn’t. 

I realise this will not be a popular view, but to me he was completely bonkers. Absolutely nuts. 

[Howjy04]

Dennis Butler.I came close to being ashamed to be a Vale fan under his tenure.Absolute garbage.

[robf]

Maybe not the worst but I'd like to bring Bruno Ribeiro into the mix.

It's perhaps not his fault entirely but a promising Rob Page squad was thrown out to replaced by a bunch of overpriced and overhyped agent signings. 

For me he also just seemed to have little determination to succeed. He was fine at the start when we did well but as the form fell away he just had awful body language like he really didn't want to be there and there was a spell of some weeks where he simply didn't speak to the media. 

I'd have admired him more if (like Horton mentioned earlier in this thread) he had railed against things, got angry with the media and ranted but he simply seemed disinterested, not that bothered, bored even...It's perhaps borne out in his drifting from club to club for a few months here and there since leaving the Vale.

[Conrad]

1 Gannon

2 Glover

3 Sinott

[TJHValiant]

Gannon. End of debate. 
 
He managed to turn a team which was certain for promotion, into a chaotic mess in the shape of mere weeks. Yes, he brought in Pope, but that was pure luck he was available as he always wanted to play for Vale. The drop off in performance level was staggering. 

Glover and Sinnott get honourable mentions but I respect they tried their best. Gannon was completely nihilistic.

He is basically Norman Smurfwaite with an FA coaching licence. 
 

 

 

[TJHValiant]

On Bruno. I actually believe him getting us to 4th early on and that win against Millwall at home were excellent. 
 

What he did to take a team of players, largely with no English league experience and organise them was a minor miracle. Many were not good enough and he was a victim of a Smurf bi-polar medication relapse. 
 

Yes the wheels fell off when the weather got chilly, but I still believe had he stayed and Smurfwaite had given him the requested encouragement of further funds, we would have stayed up. 
 

After all, even with Brown we were only relegated by 1 point.

[Tim vlf]

Stanley Mathew's as the worst for nearly getting us kick out of the league 

Going back to the worst striker that has to be Scott quigley who was crap!! Good for barrow now but awful for us

[boslemportvale91]

Jim Gannon.

[geoff1]

stan mathews (he did get us kicked out of the league) but jim gannon must be favourite.

[rayzer]

It has to be Glover. Back stabber and woefully short of any management skills and then his nepotism to play a very poor son in Danny. Peter Jackson has a lot to answer for in making sure that Lee Sinnott failed to enable his mate to get the job so he would not be in my failed list because of this. Gannon must also be in the frame for the way he took a coherent team going for automatic promotion to one with no direction and also the signing of Geoghaghan. Also a mention for Butler, again a man out of his depth with woeful signings and Bobby Smith who relegated us with an insistence on attacking teams away from home when were not good enough at the time to play on the front foot, which meant, if my memory is right losing the last ten games or so on the bounce which proved fatal in staying in the third division.

[The man in the pub]

Gannon and Sinnott in a class of their own from my time in supporting the Vale.  Bruno had the considerable handicap of Smurf as Chairman. Whilst it doesnt excuse all his actions it certainly must have made life incredibly difficult for him.