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


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I remember when Pope was banned and fined and publicly castigated (rightly) by the FA.

The first thing Carol and the club said was that they back him and would appeal the decision.

Lack of loyalty, I'm sure Tom.

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9 minutes ago, WV said:

Probably written after leaving someone's kitchen at 7am. At least he isn't doing it the night before a game anymore, well not for us anyway. 

From what I can gather, the Non League paper covered Congleton Town's latest friendly (vs Crewe yesterday) and the interview appears to have done while they were there. 

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6 hours ago, robf said:

Searing honesty or a moaner blaming everyone but himself?

I mean even his biggest fans would have to admit he loved a good moan. So from that perspective it's not surprising to him end his time here with a few undignified remarks. Doesn't make him less of a legend though.

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And to think some actually thought he would be a good character in the dressing room as 3rd/4th choice striker!

Would have done wonders for team morale/bonding (not) with his poisoned/distorted reality that everything should still be ‘All about Tom Pope’ when his contribution has been negligible at best, and woefully inadequate in reality if it wasn’t been delivered by Tom Pope, but by another striker.  What ‘job’ did he think he was delivering?

Fancy being expected to train all week as a professional footballer? Fancy squad players being expected to stay fit to keep the tempo in training up / influence matches when called upon / put pressure on others to perform to their best, but support and pass on knowledge for the greater good of the club? What does he think all his teammates have done for all these years? And to think they are expected to do this for a miserly £100k per annum! Over his 9 years at the Vale alone I assume he has taken away well in excess of £1m, as the Wilde’s contract was far more remunerative.

On this occasion he cannot even put it down to a heat of the moment tweet, as this has no doubt been simmering for a long time.  If it was that bad under Askey then you could have moved on.  
 

Tremendous parting shot Tom - really shown your true class there, unlike Monty / Brown / Joyce and Cullen, who have less of a tie to the club but parting statements were quality.  Hit yourself in the pocket there pal - testimonial numbers will be down, and rightly so as you still haven’t thanked the fans for their support (and in turn paying your sizeable wages).


 

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Yikes....presumed the deafening silence was leading up to something like this!

Unfortunately, it lacks any kind of class at all. He would have been better not saying owt rather than this. As has been pointed out by a few he wasn't exactly pulling up any trees over the last two seasons. 

A sad ending.

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Not sure who the 'loyalty' refers to?The majority of fans appreciate & know what Tom as done for his beloved club, most of whom have been calling for Tom to either start games or come on as a sub (not last 10mins either!!) watching Vale over the last 2yrs. JA seemed to 'phase' Popey out for whateva reason. He has been the best striker at the club & wasn't being played!!!!

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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. 

Brilliant post Joe
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