the lucks run out.

[Biddulph_PV]

Whether the OP is a WUM or not, I think it’s a fair question.

Reading game was very similar to yesterday, terrible first half and indebted to a penalty save, then went at them more 2nd half and scored with a heavily deflected shot from Garrity before they hit the bar in the last seconds. So the Gods were smiling on us there.

Charlton then miss an absolute sitter of a free header 6 yards out to make it 3-3 after horrific defending from us. 

We concede a last minute equaliser at Oxford then get an even later penalty, again after a really poor first half display.

Cambridge was a point earned after a last minute penalty save from Ripley.

So yes, it feels like we’ve had a bit of luck I’d say. We kept 3/4 clean sheets but somehow still feel defensively suspect. If we’d have gone in 0-3 at HT yesterday no-one could have complained and it could then have 4,5 or 6 etc.

That said, we are plenty better football and look a better team with better players but there are still gaping holes i.e. Sang and Plant at WB, the forward positions etc. 

We’ve got a testing run of fixtures and I feel we’ve been sussed out tactically. I suspect come the end of October we’ll be more concerned about the teams below us that above. The Mansfield game, for me, if incredibly important.

[Guitar Ray]

If anything we were a little unlucky with the manner of the Bolton goal, albeit the finish itself was excellent.

[DazFred]

We had a bloke moaning all game yesterday sat behind us. Screaming at the players to pass it forwards over and over.

Admittedly we played too deep at times but as for saying the lucks run out from the OP? We peppered Burtons goal for the equaliser,were camped in Boltons half all for most of the second half but the ball wouldn't drop. It was a foul on Ojo right under the refs nose and Cass fell over for the goal. Iredale(number 3) and Charles (10) should have been sent off for cheating/diving/kicking out at players/shoving players...they got away with it all game.

Luck? We've not got to where are by pure luck...just hard work and much better footie. Fans need to be patient and we have a chance to get to the last 8 of a competition we regularly go out in Round 1.

[JoeB2]

We're 6th after 10 games and with an excellent chance of reaching the quarter finals of a major competition.

We had seven players under the age of 24 feature yesterday. There's a clear playing identity based on proper passing football. I don't think we've been found out as in both the recent losses we should have got something - a crumb of pace and Bolton were in defcon 1.

The club and team are going in the right direction and Cass slipping over isn't going to change my mind. We might not finish where we are now, but I'm thoroughly enjoying being a Vale fan at present - a very rare position for me to be in.

[valefan16]

Wouldn't say the luck has run out, we deserved more than we've got over the 3 league games and on another day get 7 points from them but whilst we've had a great start it clouds the fact this is:

A newly assembled squad

A lot of young players

A new manager

So if anything the club is in a transition period and it will take time to get us gelled and this new system of playing set, we've done remarkable considering those points and should only improve with time, its one to be patient with and the long term outcome should leave us in a far better place.

The fact we are grumbling over losing a tight game to Bolton with all their budget shows the progress.

 

[tommytunstall]

On 30/09/2023 at 19:22, RayWalkers40yarder said:

and we still are 2 strikers short. now we are seeing the real Port Vale again which is a continuation of the end of last season.

 

am i wrong?

This post got hammered last week. Think some of you need to apologise to RW, he doesn’t seem far off the mark to me.

[NorthwoodValiant]

8 minutes ago, tommytunstall said:

This post got hammered last week. Think some of you need to apologise to RW, he doesn’t seem far off the mark to me.

Which positions are you cutting to pay for 2 more strikers aka the most expensive players?

[Emile]

Squad is smaller than last season. Might be paying more per player but from a bodies perspective,  we have less players.

Were missing a striker and a left back. Plant RWB cover, Sang into midfield as cover and Lowe as a covering centre back. 

[andy jones]

RW were you the poster that predicted 0 points from the first 5 games!

[tommytunstall]

1 hour ago, NorthwoodValiant said:

Which positions are you cutting to pay for 2 more strikers aka the most expensive players?

Get real man.

[NorthwoodValiant]

9 hours ago, tommytunstall said:

Get real man.

I am being real, if you think money is no object it's you that needs to get real

[RayWalkers40yarder]

10 hours ago, tommytunstall said:

This post got hammered last week. Think some of you need to apologise to RW, he doesn’t seem far off the mark to me.

thank you. as much as people think im a WUM. im not. and i hate posting negative stuff. but im just very cynical in my advancing years. ive seen all this before. its all talk and no action.

 

what ive seen the last couple of games is no different to the end of last season albeit a bit of nice tippy tappy football.  the issues are still there.

 

and yes i hate being right.

[Warren]

I decided to watch Champions League football last night. But I was surprised at the team selection particularly in defence. To be fair we have a lot of games to play in October. 

This is a tough league with no easy games. To finish in the top half we need to stop shipping goals. I think we have enough going forward. 

[valiant_593]

57 minutes ago, Warren said:

I decided to watch Champions League football last night. But I was surprised at the team selection particularly in defence. To be fair we have a lot of games to play in October. 

This is a tough league with no easy games. To finish in the top half we need to stop shipping goals. I think we have enough going forward. 

Enough going forward?

[Warren]

23 minutes ago, valiant_593 said:

Enough going forward?

If we keep conceding the first goal or allow teams to take the lead it can make our attack seem worse than it actually is. That's because the opposition simply go into a low block. That's what happened to Arsenal last night at Lens. 

The key here is not to concede goals first of all. For the reason above. But also, our attack is often good enough for 1-2 goals per game. Rarely good enough for 3. 

But it is also fair to say it would have helped if the striker we signed before the window shut was fit and injury free. Thar doesn't seem to be the case.