Ale and the Vale Podcast

[PV1973]

1 hour ago, stupers said:

For Mills, I felt (and still feel) he had a decent game yesterday. He wasn't at fault for any of the goals, I can't really remember a dangerous attack coming down his side either. For a lad that got absolutely rinsed in the reverse fixture, he looked relatively solid. I don't think he's good enough to be starting regularly, and it's a shame he's been forced in to this because the abuse he's got when we haven't really got any other options is a bit wrong. Jonny giving him a 0 annoyed me, because it's just based on previous performances and a dislike for the player than anything else (although Jonny nudged up his mark on reflection as well). His ball retention wasn't great, but he was at least attempting to help going forward. I didn't think he got caught out of position yesterday. 

I certainly wasn't advocating for Mills to start if Gibbo is fit. I like Gibbo, he's got great potential and if he's fit, it's a no-brainer to start him. He offers more, as you say going forward. The full backs have to be able to join the attack when the ball is coming down their side when you play 4-3-3, otherwise you lose a player. That's why for me (and certainly based on Fitzpatrick's performance yesterday) Monty and Gibbo are clearly our best two full-backs. But Mills was unfairly targeted yesterday in my opinion. He ain't good enough usually, but yesterday wasn't an example of that.

Anyway, I've had a fair old bit of stick for my comments on Mills. Some support too on social media so maybe some people thought he was decent as well. I was probably trying to even out Jonny's 0/10. I wasn't feeling great when we started the pod, tough week and watching that performance made it worse. 

We do cover Gibbo on the preview, but found a couple of other issues to discuss as well. Good points from you, all well received!

FWIW I didn’t agree with Jonnys score of 0. I’m not sure where he pulled that one from, but at the same time he wasn’t as high as a 7 which would have put him on a par with Conlon. Maybe it was based on him giving the ball away occasionally, but show me a player who doesn’t do that. 

I do believe that the full back areas haven’t been as productive as previous seasons in terms of assists and link up play, but I must add that I  didn’t like to see the abuse that was going Mills’ way on social media from fans as well. I think that’s uncalled for but it’s becoming the norm in this day and age. But it’s a also a sign of the discontent amongst fans and that scapegoat culture we seem to have here. 

Keep up the good work mate. 

Edited January 25, 2021 by PV1973

[vale victory]

I totally agree with Johnny I don’t want to see mills in a vale shirt again . His defending , positioning and passing are all terrible

[geoff1]

1 minute ago, vale victory said:

I totally agree with Johnny I don’t want to see mills in a vale shirt again . His defending , positioning and passing are all terrible

so are the skills of most of them

[Joe B]

The disparity in quality between Gibbons + Monty/Clark and Mills + Fitzpatrick is stark.

[dishydave]

Another great pod gents in reference to what Vale means to us fans I always tell people it's my inheritance coming from a piss poor family with little to no money Vale has been the only thing past down from father to son for generations.

[vale victory]

The disparity in quality between Gibbons + Monty/Clark and Mills + Fitzpatrick is stark.

Spot on joe

[toyahw]

3 hours ago, dishydave said:

 I always tell people it's my inheritance .... has been the only thing past down from father to son for generations.

Very true. It's hardly a life style choice is it? Although in my case, thanks a lot Mum.

[stupers]

On 25/01/2021 at 05:17, dishydave said:

Another great pod gents in reference to what Vale means to us fans I always tell people it's my inheritance coming from a piss poor family with little to no money Vale has been the only thing past down from father to son for generations.

I haven't even got that excuse mate. My dad was a Coventry fan, and gave me many options before Vale (Coventry, Liverpool, Crewe) before he took me to Vale. Just something about that first trip was intoxicating, I'll never forget it and how all the others just felt wrong afterwards. Even from 4,500 miles away, Vale still give me the same feelings they did when I was 10 miles away. The euphoria of a last minute winner, the fury of watching us play dreadful (An all too frequent occurrence this year). Like many of the rest of you, it's now in my DNA and it rightly or wrongly affects my mood and general outlook on life. Sometimes I wish it didn't and could just step away from it, but I can't and won't. I signed up for this, and I'll see it through!

Thanks for all the feedback we've had about the pod we released on Monday that included a section of mental health. There's been a few people reach out after the episode to talk about things and how it resonated with them. If we got one person talking, it was all worth it. 

[stupers]

On 24/01/2021 at 21:20, PV1973 said:

FWIW I didn’t agree with Jonnys score of 0. I’m not sure where he pulled that one from, but at the same time he wasn’t as high as a 7 which would have put him on a par with Conlon. Maybe it was based on him giving the ball away occasionally, but show me a player who doesn’t do that. 

I do believe that the full back areas haven’t been as productive as previous seasons in terms of assists and link up play, but I must add that I  didn’t like to see the abuse that was going Mills’ way on social media from fans as well. I think that’s uncalled for but it’s becoming the norm in this day and age. But it’s a also a sign of the discontent amongst fans and that scapegoat culture we seem to have here. 

Keep up the good work mate. 

Yeah he was ok. I like my 6 now I've thought about it and I'm sticking to it! The scapegoat culture you speak of is a shame, I don't understand it. I try and give every player a blank slate before the start of every game, and judge them on the 90 mins they play. I'm looking forward to Gibbo being back soon (I see he isn't starting tonight), but the main thing Gibbo also needs to work on is his distribution. Monty and Gibbo back at full-back will be a welcome sight for me when it happens.

[Andyregs]

47 minutes ago, stupers said:

 

Thanks for all the feedback we've had about the pod we released on Monday that included a section of mental health. There's been a few people reach out after the episode to talk about things and how it resonated with them. If we got one person talking, it was all worth it. 

I haven’t listened to this one yet, but I did mention a while back how good it was that one you lads was so open about his mental health when chatting, and you all spoke about it with no stigma, like you would about any illness. The perfect platform for this kind of conversation to happen. Keep up the great work. 

[PV1973]

3 hours ago, stupers said:

Yeah he was ok. I like my 6 now I've thought about it and I'm sticking to it! The scapegoat culture you speak of is a shame, I don't understand it. I try and give every player a blank slate before the start of every game, and judge them on the 90 mins they play. I'm looking forward to Gibbo being back soon (I see he isn't starting tonight), but the main thing Gibbo also needs to work on is his distribution. Monty and Gibbo back at full-back will be a welcome sight for me when it happens.

There have actually been some worse performers  than Mills IMO, smith tonight springs to mind. Gibbo lifted us in tenacity and tempo tonight but we shouldn’t be just relying on full backs to get the team going. But unfortunately that’s how we’re set up to play and without the Gibbo / Clark / Monty link up play I think we’ve struggled. 

[stupers]

It's the Scunthorpe review.

Another dismal away performance leads to another 2-0 defeat. We went 4-4-2 from the start but it didn't jolt the team into life. Very few clear cut chances created and soft goals conceded. Where do we go from here? Have we overestimated the squad quality? No Stu tonight but Jonny and Bez dissect the game and the give their thoughts. 

Available on Apple, Google and Spotify podcasts. And here! https://aleandthevale.podbean.com

[toyahw]

Appreciate the efforts Stu, but we are such a bloody shambles I can't bare to listen. I'd rather try to forget it,

[Wrex]

47 minutes ago, stupers said:

Have we overestimated the squad quality?

Yeah I think so.

Rodney, Conlon, Taylor, Gibbons, Smith have all been touted as superb players who'll go on to better things. Add Hurst to that list too if you want.

Perhaps 1 or even 2 might make it to the Championship. Perhaps 0.

Worrall and Montano are quality League Two players still in their prime. But other than the young lads the rest are either past it (injury or age) or never had it to begin with.

The squad is in need of a rebuild but we haven't even got a manager in place to do the building. And we don't seem any closer to appointing one than when Askey left.

[toyahw]

2 hours ago, stupers said:

Have we overestimated the squad quality?

Probably, a bit. But no way should we be this crap with the players at hand. A bit of organization. A bit of motivation. A bit of getting the basics right.  A bit of leadership. Is it too much to ask?