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OVF feature: Not much honesty or loyalty – Tom Pope on Port Vale exit and Congleton switch


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Port Vale striker Tom Pope

Former Port Vale striker Tom Pope has broken his recent silence on being released by the club describing his final two years as having “not much honesty or loyalty anymore.” Pope, the club’s post-war record goalscorer was one of fifteen players to be released by the club at the end of the season. Following his […]

The post Not much honesty or loyalty – Tom Pope on Port Vale exit and Congleton switch appeared first on onevalefan.co.uk.

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Hmmm, I have a feeling that these comments to the Non League newspaper will divide opinion.

Searing honesty or a moaner blaming everyone but himself?

Whichever way you feel, please try to keep it respectful to both other posters and the player himself.

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Not loyal? He'd have been shown the door much earlier at other clubs after his persistent foolish tweeting. Also, respect is something that is confered upon you by other people,not something you can just demand. Whatever he was as a player he has no class as an individual.

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I think he’s aiming it mostly at Askey as he was only available for a few games under DC if I remember rightly as he said similar in an interview on Radio Stoke at one point last season.

Rather self-serving from him to be honest. Fact is he hasn’t produced consistently for a long time and his availability has been patchy (the suspension at least was completely his own fault too). He was a great player for the club and good luck to him but based on the last couple of years he has not been hard done to at all.

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54 minutes ago, Aguar61 said:

Forget a testimonial

I personally still think he deserves a testimonial and thanking for his long service. I think these comments are unfortunate (and in my opinion they deserve to be criticised) but they shouldn't overshadow the years playing for the club.

I just hope he realises that sometimes it's better to be diplomatic and that ahead of any testimonial activities he comes back with some more positive and thankful comments about the club and the fans.

After all, it's a two-way thing - his goals helped the club but the fans and the club helped him too. 

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43 minutes ago, robf said:

I personally still think he deserves a testimonial and thanking for his long service. I think these comments are unfortunate (and in my opinion they deserve to be criticised) but they shouldn't overshadow the years playing for the club.

I just hope he realises that sometimes it's better to be diplomatic and that ahead of any testimonial activities he comes back with some more positive and thankful comments about the club and the fans.

After all, it's a two-way thing - his goals helped the club but the fans and the club helped him too. 

Great post Rob… couldn’t agree more! 

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Will preface this by saying I consider Pope a legend, and the only one of my lifetime.

Poor words, not that I'm surprised. 

He seems unable to comprehend that he went from captain to not playing at all as he just wasn't doing much on the pitch anymore (pre-injury). He would play and have negligible positive impact, being completely immobile and having lost the spring and aggression that characterised his prime. His goal return was average-poor, with him scoring in two league matches last season and four the season prior. He scored in six league games out of fifty one, and has given an interview absolutely BAFFLED that he wasn't playing anymore, ascribing it to a lack of loyalty from his employers forking out good money for a poor return on investment.

He seems to think that he was delivering but, due to a lack of 'loyalty', was dropped. No, Tom. You didn't really do enough to out-compete the likes of Cullen, Bennett, or Rodney over the last two seasons. Nine league goals in two seasons isn't good enough. Scoring in five out of fifty one games isn't good enough.

For him to completely brush over bringing the club into international disrepute by spending his nights on alt-right conspiracy theory videos and then, with a huge platform, decide to regurgitate them onto social media at 1am, and not think that maybe he has to look at himself for his decline, is a really poor look for him. Did he really think that was the actions of a captain? And that maybe that had a role to play in him not being captain anymore, as he'd been warned several times by Carol and the FA prior to his ban?

Does he feel owed something? He played well and earned good money, as football works. We didn't owe him anything. He was well remunerated for his services and chose to leave, of his own accord, to be even better remunerated at Bury. We didn't start kicking off in the press, lambasting a lack of loyalty. Tom Pope didn't owe us anything and  Port Vale FC didn't owe him anything. He wasn't an EFL standard player anymore, hence being barely used then released. That's how it works. Nothing to do with loyalty or honesty

I'm sure I'll get stick for this as his contributions on the pitch will be remembered for a long time, but Tom has managed to absolve himself of any responsibility for his diminishing minutes and eventual release, despite an FA ban, several warnings from the club for his awful use of social media, and being, at best, an average League 2 striker at this stage of his career. None of this is his fault - it's somehow the club's fault for not being 'loyal'. He's absolutely deluded in this 'I can still do a job' mentality, as he outright failed to do so for 12 months.

Obviously, this has wound me up. He's presented the club in a poor, unrepresentative light.

A sour end to a great Port Vale career. He seems to think that it's everyone else's fault he got released. Hope he gets his testimonial and the sendoff he warrants, and maybe is more careful with his words in future and looks a bit closer to home when ascribing blame, not that he's shown any aptitude for that to this point in his career. 

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1 hour ago, robf said:

I personally still think he deserves a testimonial and thanking for his long service. I think these comments are unfortunate (and in my opinion they deserve to be criticised) but they shouldn't overshadow the years playing for the club.

I just hope he realises that sometimes it's better to be diplomatic and that ahead of any testimonial activities he comes back with some more positive and thankful comments about the club and the fans.

After all, it's a two-way thing - his goals helped the club but the fans and the club helped him too. 

If he hasn't learned diplomacy by now then he never will. I personally feel that he's an ungracious fellow and his goals shouldn't give him carte blanche to act without impunity. As for a testimonial,well count me out.

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Oh dear those comments from Tom come across rather bitter, which is a real shame. I'm sure he's hurt by the club he supports releasing him and I know he had a tough time under JA accepting he was no longer needed but he would have been better off not saying anything.  I'm sorry to say he's shown a lack of class with those comments and has clearly not learnt anything from his Twitter exploits when the club stood by him.

A real sad way to say goodbye from a club legend.

 

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44 minutes ago, Playa Amodores said:

Do we know if TP has actually said this or is it the journalists take on things. If TP has said this does he want to return to the club for a testimonial.This will leave a bad taste in fans mouths.

He's directly quoted in the Non-League paper in an interview with him published online and in their paper. I cannot imagine a newspaper would interview him and manufacture quotes. It's possible but it's highly unlikely in my opinion.

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