Match Thread: Port Vale v Walsall

[Joe B]

Into these.

[1]

32 minutes ago, philmpv said:

There will be at least 1 sending off tonight judging by this refs season stats. Gonna be a bit tasty I think!

let's not have any injuries

[Doha]

1 hour ago, 1 said:

Well today is going to be tackles flying in left right and centre, so I'd rather have Garrity running himself into the ground, putting his body on the line than Taylor this evening.

Spot on. Need some prime shithousing from Nathan Smith tonight, if our two main forwards are both out injured then it’s only fair they go down to 10 early on. 

 

[Joe B]

1 hour ago, Doha said:

Spot on. Need some prime shithousing from Nathan Smith tonight, if our two main forwards are both out injured then it’s only fair they go down to 10 early on. 

 

Right into Labadie. He is a calamity when it comes to discipline. Prime Gazprom antics with some Smithy shirt pulls please. Give Gibbons some vallium pre-game so he doesn't kill anyone. 

[Guppys left peg]

I’m pretty hopeful we’ll bounce back tonight. Nothing have seen of us under DC tells me we will retreat into our shells after a minor setback like Saturday. Would also note that we are just better than Walsall player for player.

Someone needs to get a grip on Labadie though. Seen enough of what he’s like down the years to know what he will be up to all game. Hopefully someone can feign getting elbowed in the face off him or something like that and get him sent off. I’ve seen it mentioned about Garrity or Taylor, for me I’d be looking at Brad Walker instead to add some size just with tonight in mind.

[Joe B]

The one thing I don't want is for us to sub our attacking players if winning narrowly at 70. Keep them on. Maintain control. 

We surrendered control on Saturday after the subs and it led to a barrage of crosses.

[connor hackett]

A bland Tuesday night fixture seems to be getting a bit spicy. Some of the Twitter threads from walsall fans, sound like they want to hang Clarke. Which is peculiar, because they were saying at the time, they were over the moon he'd left. I can see it trouble coming on and off the pitch. Just hope our Knuckle dragging element don't drag the clubs name through the mud again. They seem to be treating this as their biggest game of the season, hope were up for it tonight.

[Joe B]

7 minutes ago, connor hackett said:

A bland Tuesday night fixture seems to be getting a bit spicy. Some of the Twitter threads from walsall fans, sound like they want to hang Clarke. Which is peculiar, because they were saying at the time, they were over the moon he'd left. I can see it trouble coming on and off the pitch. Just hope our Knuckle dragging element don't drag the clubs name through the mud again. They seem to be treating this as their biggest game of the season, hope were up for it tonight.

Genuinely grateful they have handled the whole affair so poorly. This was a forgettable, cold game otherwise. Should be an entertaining game.

[valefan16]

Its a bit of a circus we could do without to be honest with you, I don't really get the anger Walsall have had about it that's so much they've doubled their standard away following to us for it, they moaned he was crap then hate him for ditching them to come Vale! Guess the bigger following pays off some of the compo money mind.

It didn't work out there, he's come to us and is so far doing an exceptional job so surely good for both parties.

We just need to not get caught up in it, play our own game and just defend better than Saturday, its Walsall's gripe not ours so no reason for us to go over the top on it and just do our job on the night.

[Joe B]

25 minutes ago, valefan16 said:

Its a bit of a circus we could do without to be honest with you, I don't really get the anger Walsall have had about it that's so much they've doubled their standard away following to us for it, they moaned he was crap then hate him for ditching them to come Vale! Guess the bigger following pays off some of the compo money mind.

It didn't work out there, he's come to us and is so far doing an exceptional job so surely good for both parties.

We just need to not get caught up in it, play our own game and just defend better than Saturday, its Walsall's gripe not ours so no reason for us to go over the top on it and just do our job on the night.

That's my view. Will be a fun atmosphere but we have a job to do - dispatching a mid-table team at home with minimal fuss.

Their manager is banging on about 'the players will know how much this game means to the club' (😂), and on their forums one lad claims he has 'never hated anyone, ever, as much as Clarke'. Not Bin Laden. Not a serial killer. Not James Corden. A manager who left for another football club. He is genuinely sat at home on a Monday night, Corrie on the telly, seething; filled with deep hatred (unmatched before in his life) for a manager who left over 6 months ago and has barely given Walsall a second thought. He doesn't want Walsall to win for the 3 points, or to beat us; he wants to win so he can beat Clarke specifically.

Someone has said their players will 'become heroes' if they win. Heroes! Build the statue! If we win they'll get clapped off and we'll have moved on to the Hartlepool game before we reach our cars.

They've well and truly lost their heads, falling deep into a rabbit hole of DC-hatred. Their season is probably finished already and this is all they've got; contrived anger at a manager who was working in a set up that wasn't great, and left for a better one. A manager they didn't want anyway, and were grateful we took him off their hands. 'Cheers for the Compo!', they declared. 

They hate their owner but also hate DC's assertion that he's come to a better-run club. Pick one, lads. Either your owner is bad and DC is right, or DC is wrong and your owner is good.

I've never before been so baffled at a collective group losing sanity as violently as they have, but if it gives their season a bit of meaning, good luck to them. DC's approach is spot on in that it's another game, a good opportunity to put Saturday right, and no more. I am truly astounded at their head loss, and hope their players take a similar 'do or die' mentality tonight. 

We've had managers leave before - Rob Page went to a divisional rival for the exact same reason Clarke did; he was working in a poor set-up. We didn't react like this, and we all view him pretty positively/would never give him stick. Micky left mid-season and derailed a title charge and was welcomed back as a hero. Something seriously wrong down in Walsall. They've whipped this up into something that has genuinely given their fans sleepless nights. Mad.

[Guppys left peg]

Just looking at Walsall from afar I think that owner of theirs has definite Smurthwaite type tendencies. They are still at the stage where some of them are still buying whatever comes out of his mouth though. So good luck with that.

DC was actually pretty good there overall in any case so it’s just bitterness from some of them. He had them in playoff contention before leaving and even going back to the season before that was cut short when we played them at the Bescot they were on a good run then and looked a very decent team against us.

[Joe B]

56 minutes ago, Joe B said:

Right into Labadie. He is a calamity when it comes to discipline. Prime Gazprom antics with some Smithy shirt pulls please.

 😇

[Santa]

Sounds like it’s the Yam Yams’ cup final tonight

[IanW]

Walsall lot are very excited aren't they? Fan, players, manager, they're all making a big deal out of it 🤨

[1]

How will they like Taylor if he gets thrashed by their ex-manager?

Doesn't sit with the huge upgrade / no.1 choice lines.