Match Thread: Port Vale v Cambridge United

[Santa]

I know DC hates words like identity and philosophy but we have none of either. We don't look like a team, just a 3-5-2 formation with a load of not quite round enough pegs shoehorned in there

We don’t press, we don’t move off the ball well enough and we don’t have any quality on it. What are we? We have been in relegation form since Christmas and a poor summer will leave us in serious danger of taking this bad run into next season.

[darren1810]

The formation is what's really irritating me now.

A stubborn refusal to contemplate anything different,  results in madness such as Robinson and Worrall rocking up as left wing back. Again today subs used and reshuffle of the pack with square pegs in round holes. I'd go with this team 4-4-2 

Stone 

Robinson Smith Forrester Benning 

Worrall Ojo Pett Butterworth 

Harrison Wilson 

 

[CambridgeDon]

26 minutes ago, southport vale said:

Let's face it 1 experienced defender. Conlon who has been pretty poor since his injury. Ending with Robinson, Massey and Butterwort on the field at the end enough said. Smacks of putting useless players in the shop window hoping somebody will take them off our hands. Have we spent too much money on backroom staff?

Well there's one less after today and I guess a pretty expensive one at that!

[MBE]

8 minutes ago, JoeB2 said:

I wonder why we suddenly became rubbish in January?

Never mind. Down with the conspiracy theories and suchlike!

Oh I don’t know Joe take your pick…

DC doesn’t want to be here.

DC didn’t get the Pompey job

AC didn’t get the Newport job.

We are skint.

Speedie left.

Garlick leaving

OR maybe the team isn’t as good as they think and the players have been found out after overachieving in the 1st half of the season.

[Santa]

P&G cut short tonight because they’re putting a Stoke podcast on the radio. WTF? It’s a podcast. You literally listen to it on demand. No wonder local radio is on its àrse

[ValeForever.]

Worst performance of the season. Cambridge looked way better than us & they hadn't won an away game in 2023. They'd also only scored once away from home this year. They could've & probably should've won by 3 or 4.

Atrocious.

This squad goes down next season without some serious surgery in the summer. We're in freefall, especially at home. We'd be bang in trouble had we not had such a good first half of the season. The contrast since New Year has been phenomenal.

Want to just highlight one player today...

Taylor, probably the most whimsical display from a forward I've seen in a long time. Physically weak. Just doesn't look sharp at all. Offered absolutely nothing.

What worries me the most is our tactical nouse. We are overplaying at stupid times, once it's out wide put it in the box!! Instead we play another 4 or 5 passes & end up losing the ball or back with Stone, it's absolutely shocking to watch. 

Simple passes, just play them. Wozza 2nd half stood on his own about 10 yards away from Butterworth, we go back to Donnelly... why!?

There's just a massive lack of umph & desire to get forward & create, it's really poor to watch.

Finally, our set plays. Dithering, no confidence, no plan. It's almost like they've been coached to not play the ball into the danger zone. All players look caught in limbo... do I put it where I should be putting it & where the fans are wanting it to go... or do I play the ball to the guy stood 2 foot away from me, so he can play it back to me & I can shank a ball down the line under pressure from the opposition...

It's not rocket science Vale. Absolute shambles.

[MBE]

Nice to hear DC say it how it is rather than the dribble he’s come out with before.

Sounds like decisions have already been made. 

[Boslem's Brazil]

3 minutes ago, MBE said:

Oh I don’t know Joe take your pick…

DC doesn’t want to be here.

DC didn’t get the Pompey job

AC didn’t get the Newport job.

We are skint.

Speedie left.

Garlick leaving

OR maybe the team isn’t as good as they think and the players have been found out after overachieving in the 1st half of the season.

Sick of this ‘experience’d’ staff leaving being played as a negative. The reason Vale have been <ovf censored> for as long as I’ve supported them is because we never changed anything and it was a job for the boys mentally. I’m glad we are at least trying to make positive steps and drag us out of the dark ages.

I’m fuming like everyone else today, but surely we are going to get a better squad and pitch for next season. I’m backing you Carol, please vindicate that and get us a more entertaining team for next season. 

[Hoppers]

Interesting interview with DC 

[PV1973]

1 hour ago, grand prix pants said:

We’re better than that. As poor as he’s been this season he definitely doesn’t deserve that.

I feel the same. Our fans really are dreadful at times. Embarrassing. It serves no purpose other than deflate our own players and give theirs a lift. It just shows the fine margins of football, had Ojo taken the chance we’d have been waxing lyrical about the ball Conlon played in that move with the outside of his boot. As it happens Ojo missed and they scored seconds later and Conlon gets a different reception when he goes off.

 

[Santa]

7 minutes ago, ValeForever. said:

Worst performance of the season. Cambridge looked way better than us & they hadn't won an away game in 2023. They'd also only scored once away from home this year. They could've & probably should've won by 3 or 4.

Atrocious.

This squad goes down next season without some serious surgery in the summer. We're in freefall, especially at home. We'd be bang in trouble had we not had such a good first half of the season. The contrast since New Year has been phenomenal.

Want to just highlight one player today...

Taylor, probably the most whimsical display from a forward I've seen in a long time. Physically weak. Just doesn't look sharp at all. Offered absolutely nothing.

What worries me the most is our tactical nouse. We are overplaying at stupid times, once it's out wide put it in the box!! Instead we play another 4 or 5 passes & end up losing the ball or back with Stone, it's absolutely shocking to watch. 

Simple passes, just play them. Wozza 2nd half stood on his own about 10 yards away from Butterworth, we go back to Donnelly... why!?

There's just a massive lack of umph & desire to get forward & create, it's really poor to watch.

Finally, our set plays. Dithering, no confidence, no plan. It's almost like they've been coached to not play the ball into the danger zone. All players look caught in limbo... do I put it where I should be putting it & where the fans are wanting it to go... or do I play the ball to the guy stood 2 foot away from me, so he can play it back to me & I can shank a ball down the line under pressure from the opposition...

It's not rocket science Vale. Absolute shambles.

Good post. Although I didn’t detect much whimsy on Taylor’s part. 

[Santa]

1 minute ago, Hoppers said:

Interesting interview with DC 

Not heard it because Radio Stoke binned it off for a podcast

[valiant_593]

Much better interview from DC 

[Biddulph_PV]

13 minutes ago, darren1810 said:

The formation is what's really irritating me now.

A stubborn refusal to contemplate anything different,  results in madness such as Robinson and Worrall rocking up as left wing back. Again today subs used and reshuffle of the pack with square pegs in round holes. I'd go with this team 4-4-2 

Stone 

Robinson Smith Forrester Benning 

Worrall Ojo Pett Butterworth 

Harrison Wilson 

 

The Harrison substitution was utterly bewildering.

Think I’d agree with that line up tbf. Alternatively 4-5-1 away with Garrity/Butterworth in for Wilson and either Massey or Politic wide.

[Guppys left peg]

2 minutes ago, Santa said:

Not heard it because Radio Stoke binned it off for a podcast