4 hours ago, Brian Johnson said:

The near two years that Dwight Gayle was at Stoke, Newcastle were still paying half of his wages.

His wages were £40k a week

Still think we have a chance. We signed ex Newcastle player Ryan Taylor who was on 20k per week at one stage. Once upon a time the likes of James Wilson, Michael Brown and Lee Hughes were Prem Stars on mega wages, but they were in reach. Personally think the biggest problem is, Dwight Gayle would hate the obvious grief off Stoke fans for the switch. 
 

Having said all that,  it seems our owners spent less in the January window than the £9,000 Reading fans did for the Rudge statue. 
 

Sobering stuff. 

32 minutes ago, Walka003 said:

So your saying you think we announced signing him, then purposefully didn't get all the documents together so he wouldn't sign? Highly doubtful.

More likely the recruitment wizards stuffing up again.

I’m not saying that I didn’t even know he had been announced 

Im saying we didn’t want him surely 

I don’t know either way 

2 minutes ago, TJHValiant said:

Still think we have a chance. We signed ex Newcastle player Ryan Taylor who was on 20k per week at one stage. Once upon a time the likes of James Wilson, Michael Brown and Lee Hughes were Prem Stars on mega wages, but they were in reach. Personally think the biggest problem is, Dwight Gayle would hate the obvious grief off Stoke fans for the switch. 
 

Having said all that,  it seems our owners spent less in the January window than the £9,000 Reading fans did for the Rudge statue. 
 

Sobering stuff. 

I know. I was just pointing out how much he was earning.

He lives in Stone apparently too

1 hour ago, Doha said:

Maybe sacking the very experienced club secretary while refusing to publicly explain why wasn't the most well thought out or well executed master plan.

Jess Frost has been listed as the club secretary on the official site since at least July 2023. She's also on there as an "executive assistant" under the boardroom section. i.e., presumably, Carol's PA.

Why would you sack Colin and replace him with, again this is presumebly, your PA? He held a critically important role.

Thinking back to that . What a shameful day that was when he waved his goodbyes ( Garlick ) after being sacked. Embarrassing, cringeworthy and disgusting way to treat the bloke. He should of stuck two fingers up to the offer. During the season too. Not even letting him continue to see the season out. 😒. 

1 hour ago, Doha said:

Maybe sacking the very experienced club secretary while refusing to publicly explain why wasn't the most well thought out or well executed master plan.

Jess Frost has been listed as the club secretary on the official site since at least July 2023. She's also on there as an "executive assistant" under the boardroom section. i.e., presumably, Carol's PA.

Why would you sack Colin and replace him with, again this is presumably, your PA? He held a critically important role.

Carol herself when she first took over said Colin was an expert on all the rules and regulations etc and was a massive help on that. Maybe I’m just being crazy but it certainly seems someone with that expertise and respect in the industry would be a useful thing to want to have but what do I know.

1 minute ago, Guppys left peg said:

Carol herself when she first took over said Colin was an expert on all the rules and regulations etc and was a massive help on that. Maybe I’m just being crazy but it certainly seems someone with that expertise and respect in the industry would be a useful thing to want to have but what do I know.

Perhaps Patrick is like Samson. 

Lost all his brains and vigour when he had his haircut at Wembley. 

1 hour ago, Doha said:

Maybe sacking the very experienced club secretary while refusing to publicly explain why wasn't the most well thought out or well executed master plan.

Jess Frost has been listed as the club secretary on the official site since at least July 2023. She's also on there as an "executive assistant" under the boardroom section. i.e., presumably, Carol's PA.

Why would you sack Colin and replace him with, again this is presumably, your PA? He held a critically important role.

Colin was BD so he had to go.

BD - Before Dave (Flitcroft)

It appears to be an absolute circus up there.

Saw someone post on Twitter that the big shiny new scoreboard, covering up the crumbling and decrepit family stand, is a sad yet accurate metaphor for the club.

Load of nice stuff on the surface - scoreboard, Robbie, campus, t-zone, recruitment model, shiny hospitality

Behind that - registration fiascos, bungled recruitment, 11 wins in 49, fans crapping in portaloos in a car park, stands that belong in the 70s.

We've run before we could walk. Tried to implement a very difficult, complicated, and expensive idea into a club which was only just blinking into the sunlight after 2 decades in the dark. We've tried to do it with zero institutional knowledge, over the course of about 12 months, as the budgets been cut. Rookies at every level of the club. A DoF who was recently part-time and has never held anything close to a recruitment position before. A managers 20 years into a coaching career having never held a managerial position before. A club secretary who has never been a club secretary before.

I've no doubt it's all been attempted with good intentions (at least I hope), but the reality is the primary focus should have been assembling a competitive, mid-table League 1 team, sorting out the proper fan experience, and then thinking about very slowly progressing to a modernised club - whilst retaining a degree of the PVFC, working-class, underdog, up and at em identity.

We have forgotten about winning games of league football. Carol was banging on about being 'Championship Ready' before we'd properly sorted ourselves out as a League 1 club. The foundations weren't even close to being built and we were chucking up stained-glass windows and solar panels. This big, bold vision might work with some proper funding chucked at it, alongside a competitive League 1 budget.

Just so disappointed. Wanted all this to work. Hopefully tomorrow we see an admission that it's gone wrong, a removal of those responsible, and a humble acceptance that the focus needs to be on the 5,000-6,000 who want to see us win some games at a semi-frequent rate. The rest will come after that's in hand.

Edited February 4, 20242 yr by JoeB2

I think it's beyond dispute that the owner doesn't identify with Vale fan culture. Our crowd's strength (not always, but sometimes) was to be vociferous and hostile, and making things unpleasant and uncomfortable for visiting teams and fans. Most right-in-the-head people would say that's the essence of home advantage, and some of our best atmospheres have been with a large and noisy away support.

So what do we do? Of course, we kill all that off with the Hamil move and now we're left with an eerie quiet around the ground that is actually embarrassing to be amongst.  Ironically, in pursuit of this cuddly family-football crowd they've made it just about as unexciting as it could be for any kids who would probably love the noise and occasional bad language.

I'm not just saying this because of current results but gosh it's dull going to the games these days.

Colin was BD so he had to go.
BD - Before Dave (Flitcroft)

Scary thing is, is that the more I think about that. The more probable it seems to be.

Also the guy had stuck with the job and guided us all through the Smurthwaite years. With very little thanks or appreciation.

It was probably one of the biggest mistakes the club had made in recent years. As now plainly evidenced.

Sent from my SM-A528B using onevalefan mobile app

9 hours ago, Packmoor_vale said:

Surely if we wanted him we would of applied for whatever it is 

Thing is did those in control of the club know.  Colin G. would have done.

7 hours ago, smithie said:

I think it's beyond dispute that the owner doesn't identify with Vale fan culture. Our crowd's strength (not always, but sometimes) was to be vociferous and hostile, and making things unpleasant and uncomfortable for visiting teams and fans. Most right-in-the-head people would say that's the essence of home advantage, and some of our best atmospheres have been with a large and noisy away support.

So what do we do? Of course, we kill all that off with the Hamil move and now we're left with an eerie quiet around the ground that is actually embarrassing to be amongst.  Ironically, in pursuit of this cuddly family-football crowd they've made it just about as unexciting as it could be for any kids who would probably love the noise and occasional bad language.

I'm not just saying this because of current results but gosh it's dull going to the games these days.

As much as I agree with a lot of what u say I disagree with the atmosphere side of it 

Only when the Hamil was full of away fans would vales atmosphere turn up and generally for the first 20 mins of the match then it would soon die off 

As a one off I was a box against Portsmouth u could hear the Hamil and the railway stand quite loud problem was it was only now and again  they made the effort to sing the Portsmouth fans on the other hand were constantly loud all game 

The ground is to big for 5/6000 home fans with at a guess 2/300 who want to create a atmosphere 

13 hours ago, smithie said:

I think it's beyond dispute that the owner doesn't identify with Vale fan culture. Our crowd's strength (not always, but sometimes) was to be vociferous and hostile, and making things unpleasant and uncomfortable for visiting teams and fans. Most right-in-the-head people would say that's the essence of home advantage, and some of our best atmospheres have been with a large and noisy away support.

So what do we do? Of course, we kill all that off with the Hamil move and now we're left with an eerie quiet around the ground that is actually embarrassing to be amongst.  Ironically, in pursuit of this cuddly family-football crowd they've made it just about as unexciting as it could be for any kids who would probably love the noise and occasional bad language.

I'm not just saying this because of current results but gosh it's dull going to the games these days.

I agree with you Smithie.

I would also add it’s beyond dispute Flitcroft doesn’t relate either. 

14 hours ago, Wrex said:

Colin was BD so he had to go.

BD - Before Dave (Flitcroft)

Wrex, I had it on very very good authority at the time Colin was leaving anyway at the end of the season . It was the agreement as part of the club purchase he would stay on to help a smooth transition and pass on his knowledge and experience over a period of time.. It was just was bought forward to facilitate the management restructuring made in the January. 

Edited February 5, 20242 yr by MBE

16 hours ago, Doha said:

Maybe sacking the very experienced club secretary while refusing to publicly explain why wasn't the most well thought out or well executed master plan.

Jess Frost has been listed as the club secretary on the official site since at least July 2023. She's also on there as an "executive assistant" under the boardroom section. i.e., presumably, Carol's PA.

Why would you sack Colin and replace him with, again this is presumably, your PA? He held a critically important role.

That’s a crazy statement.  Why would or should they put the details of a sacking, if that’s what it was, out into the public domain?  That information is private and the only way that would change would be if there was criminal activity resulting in a court case, which clearly there wasn’t.