Match Thread: Port Vale v Bristol Rovers

[osprey]

2 hours ago, Phil500 said:

Wrong. Ran himself into the ground pressing. My man of the match.

1 swallow doesn’t make a summer 

[valefan16]

One thing that does seem to be missed is that could well be the last time we see Wilson or Worrall in a Vale shirt if both are out for the last two weeks.

[Warren]

4 hours ago, Playa Amodores said:

Five out of seven subs used today, strangely the two not used are the two Oxford Utd loanees. Is this because we can’t trust them, with Oxford being involved in the relegation battle. Operation Sabotage 

Proctor was essential when Harrison went off to provide height defensively. In the second half Bristol threw many balls in the box and he was there to help out. Harrison is always very good defensively and a big loss when he went off. 

Matty Taylor is an accomplished striker. He's scored over 150 career goals. 3 in 12 with 1 assist in a losing side for us. But today, he was the wrong player to bring on because we needed a similar player to Harrison who can hold up well in attack and defend well in the air. But Stevens is not good enough to play for us and I consider it a bad mistake to have taken him on loan. Agree with you there. 

[Valiiant]

3 hours ago, Conrad said:

To be fair to Proctor he’s hardly played this season.

I'm fine for him to stay as 3rd or 4th choice. He will never score many goals at this level though, his record shows that. But staying fit and available for a long period would definitely help him.

[ValeForever.]

17 minutes ago, valefan16 said:

One thing that does seem to be missed is that could well be the last time we see Wilson or Worrall in a Vale shirt if both are out for the last two weeks.

I don't think we'll see Wils in a Vale shirt again. I'll be really surprised if he's with us next season. 

[leedsvaliant]

I think Wilson is the best footballer at the club and possibly one of the best in the league when on his game. But he's injured AGAIN...his body just isn't up to it. He can't be relied upon and we need value for money.

[mr1876]

Why are people still harping on about Clarke let's look at the facts first 8 games no wins worse football than under askey after every loss it was askeys team not his to many players always injured only got players for one system blah blah .then he brings mr  Crosby in and results instantly improve we get to safety.following season going no where then the tragic events with Clarke's daughter means Crosby has to take charge and we start to climb the table resulting in promotion so who really got us promoted.this season some very lucky wins when we deserved nothing scraped us to 9th /10th  in Jan then 2 wins in 20 results in Mr Clarkes P45  requiring Mr Crosby to take over yet again to get us to safety in league one and after a very credible performance at Ipswich where most myself included expected a cricket score and probably the best home performance this season against Bristol to pretty much keep us up so let's give AC the job and backing now because apart from bore us with his negative 352 formation and even more negative football so what did Clarke actually do for vale without Andy Crosby in my opinion and that's all it is the answer is NOTHING !

 

 

[Rudgiesflatcap]

10 hours ago, smithie said:

Exactly...can you imagine Smith or Wozza or Harrison "downing tools"? Donnelly trying to make his way in the game but not trying? Captain Conlon not giving it all? 

"Downing tools" is just nonsense in my opinion.

I agree. We became a rudderless ship under Clarke. He either lost interest or had mental problems which is totally understandable under the circumstances. Imagine being a manager of a team with all those personal problems. I don’t think I’d have coped either. I really hope Dazzer takes a year out and to have time with his family. 

[Warren]

7 hours ago, leedsvaliant said:

I think Wilson is the best footballer at the club and possibly one of the best in the league when on his game. But he's injured AGAIN...his body just isn't up to it. He can't be relied upon and we need value for money.

According to WiKi, and likely a bit inaccurate, he has played in 65 games for us scoring 13 goals. Over just under 2 seasons that is not bad. 

In his earlier career, after going out on loan from Man Utd to Derby, he got a bad knee injury and was out for about a whole season. His total of career games aged 27 is a bit lower than expected. In the season before joining us he played 29 games for Salford scoring 9 goals according to WiKi. Again not bad. 

All our forwards have got crocked this season and, on some occasions, of 4 main ones none have been available. 

The overall perspective is that Wilson played 15 games for Man Utd scoring 3 goals. He is the only player on our books who is good enough to play at Premier League level (presently). However, he is with clubs like Port Vale and Salford who have steadied his 'injury ship' because at previous higher level clubs he had several seasons with very few appearances. It maybe that he can be retained and prosper further at Port Vale. 

[DazFred]

I wish we played like that more regularly. Fancy leaving our first 2 goal margin at home this late!

[maccapvfc]

13 hours ago, CambridgeDon said:

Well done, Crosser and the lads. Giant step forward but, after supporting the Vale for so long, I still want that mathematical point! Few sherbets tonight and a lot lower blood pressure 😊.

Assuming we're safe, it would be nice to see the last of FGR, Franchise Utd, Morecambe and Accrington; and in the other direction to  welcome Orient, Bradford and Carlisle - not bothered who else as long as it's not Stevenage!

C'mon the Vale, after today let's finish as high as we can!

On going down I dislike Morecambe and Accrington (mainly just Coleman for his comments about us). I don’t care who else it is. 
 

Coming up, I’d agree with those you’ve said but I’d add Salford to the list of the teams I don’t want to see come up through the play offs (although Wrexham have taken over from them as the BBCs lovechild and ‘underdog’ story’). I’ve been keeping an eye on Mansfield and was hoping they would overtake Salford. Mansfield have got a decent fan base. 
 

I’m absolutely buzzing still, that relief of finally getting the result and performance we desperately needed and wanted. 

[Lornelounger]

The Wilson issue is a ticklish one, both for club and player.  I'll say straight away, I'm a fan of his, for the reasons mentioned in the posts above regarding quality. He gets no protection from referees, and he starts every game knowing that the opposition are going to clatter him because he is a threat. So yes, he is injured a lot, and we can either look at that as him being "brittle", as some fans do, or "unlucky" in terms of previous serious injuries which have slowed down his career.

So yes, a big call for the club in terms of keeping him on - but if we are to entertain thoughts of Championship football, he is the only player in the current squad who we know has the quality at that level.  But it's also a big call for Willo too.  He's no spring chicken any more, and must be starting to realise that playing few games per season could be the same for him at any other club, either in this league or another. He's always going to get kicked wherever he goes, and he will be wondering how many more seasons his body can take.

The main issue people seem to have with him beyond being injured a lot is his wages, which we suspect are pretty high.  Would he settle for slightly lower wages on a longer term deal to keep him at the club?  He's a local lad, and I wonder whether he sees himself ending his career at the Vale (before some lunk ends it for him), having family nearby, and just being content to play football at this level from now on. He must be more frustrated than us at not playing so much - it's his living after all. Given his pedigree, he would be a good coach to have around after he finishes playing?  Dunno. But I'm in the camp of those who want to keep him, and see him firing again next season in a Vale shirt.

[Warren]

1 hour ago, Lornelounger said:

The Wilson issue is a ticklish one, both for club and player.  I'll say straight away, I'm a fan of his, for the reasons mentioned in the posts above regarding quality. He gets no protection from referees, and he starts every game knowing that the opposition are going to clatter him because he is a threat. So yes, he is injured a lot, and we can either look at that as him being "brittle", as some fans do, or "unlucky" in terms of previous serious injuries which have slowed down his career.

So yes, a big call for the club in terms of keeping him on - but if we are to entertain thoughts of Championship football, he is the only player in the current squad who we know has the quality at that level.  But it's also a big call for Willo too.  He's no spring chicken any more, and must be starting to realise that playing few games per season could be the same for him at any other club, either in this league or another. He's always going to get kicked wherever he goes, and he will be wondering how many more seasons his body can take.

The main issue people seem to have with him beyond being injured a lot is his wages, which we suspect are pretty high.  Would he settle for slightly lower wages on a longer term deal to keep him at the club?  He's a local lad, and I wonder whether he sees himself ending his career at the Vale (before some lunk ends it for him), having family nearby, and just being content to play football at this level from now on. He must be more frustrated than us at not playing so much - it's his living after all. Given his pedigree, he would be a good coach to have around after he finishes playing?  Dunno. But I'm in the camp of those who want to keep him, and see him firing again next season in a Vale shirt.

I agree with this. I've no idea what his wages are, but could not have been that great at Salford who under financial fair play rules have to maintain solvency with 3-4k fans. 

I think the equation is something like an equivalent player would cost at least as much but will they play more games? My guess is that their games total may not be better nor their goals scored. My expectation is Wilson is 27 and can play until he is about 34 if keeping fit. But one day he may just get injured and never come back. 

If you are a club in the Championship or a bigger club in L1 who need a proven striker then Wilson may not be the solution. The risk of breakdown stuffing your season plans for a key player in the role of striker is too great. So I'm hoping he can stay at Vale Park for an extended period. 

I also hope Proctor is now fully fit and we can get him going again. I suspect Taylor wants his last pay lunch before career's end and will be off somewhere. But if not sign him as well. And keep Harrison. Attack sorted and we can concentrate on other areas for next season. 

I doth speculate. But if our defending and goalkeeping are improved next season, with those 4 attackers staying fit, and supported by Butterfield staying as well, I think we would comfortably finish top half of L1. 

In some ways DC leaving (is he really leaving or being repurposed) is possibly good in the sense he's a player churner. That carries a risk of bringing in disappointing signings instead of improving what we have and know.

[werstayinup]

I know he gets loads of stick on here so I dont expect many to agree but i thought Donnelly had a decent game yesterday,yes he has made mistakes(like they all have) but he is a young lad in his first few months playing League football and i dont think he has been as bad as many make out tbf

[Warren]

1 minute ago, werstayinup said:

I know he gets loads of stick on here so I dont expect many to agree but i thought Donnelly had a decent game yesterday,yes he has made mistakes(like they all have) but he is a young lad in his first few months playing League football and i dont think he has been as bad as many make out tbf

I think he is a good prospect. He has been thrust in at the deep end because Jones got a season ending injury. But I would sign him long term subject to cost because we have got him up to speed now and he'll continue to improve.