Mansfield (A) EFL Cup R4 match thread Oct 31st

[darren1810]

First Chance to post .

Excellent night. First I won 80 quid and a Moorcroft Rudgie mug on the card ran on the Crown buses. 

Followed by an absolute treat of a performance. We made them look so mediocre. 

The quartet of Ojo Arblaster Garrity and Devine were outstanding. Levels above anything they had to offer .

A top quality performance which has given us a real boost as things were slipping somewhat and culminating in the Cheltenham debacle.

I've never minded a defeat. We're Port Vale after all. Portsmouth away I saw a good effort undone by sloppy play but we did well. Cheltenham defeat was on a different level. Simply dreadful with not one redeeming feature. 

Last night was the reason I go. For nights like that. And even had they sneaked one at the death and won on pens we'd still restored pride with that performance. 

Fair play to Crosby and the team. Who have had bundles of criticism including by myself. One Swallow doesn't make a summer but let's hope this is the start of a consistent run of form . I really enjoyed the performance and made them look blunt and toothless. 

[JRC]

Looking at the personnel changes last night I think we did sacrifice Saturday for a quarter final. Personally not sure the 3 points wasn't more valuable.  Hopefully this will mark an upturn in form. 

Crosby has probably saved his job. We've had a wretched run of injuries; which most clubs face at some point in a campaign.  History also often equates a long injury list and a manager losing his job. Hopefully one or two will be back over the next couple of weeks. 

Positives over recent weeks have been the improvement in Sang and Devine.  Lowe seems to be showing he's a pretty good centrehalf; indeed on current form our best defender.  Uche and Loft are gaining some fitness. Loft seems to have become a bit of a boo boy for fans but I think he's held the ball up quite well and worked the defenders a little better than some have credited him. Uche will be a handful for any defence at this level when fully fit. 

Could be a blessing to lose on Saturday.  Quarter final of the League Cup and 2 more trophy games is quite a heavy workload.  Be interesting to see what team he puts out. Hopefully Debrah will be fit as he's growing into his role well. Be interesting to see who Crosby goes with when Lacovitti is fit again. 

[Davo666]

Well done Vale a top performance by all !!...UTV.

[Osh]

4 hours ago, ClntonBoulton said:

Woah, Woah, woah, there Osher Lad! We can't be admitting anybody, you know! There are processes and protocols to go through before admittance into this exclusive club can happen. Just because the rest of us were "sherried up" doesn't mean decorum goes out of the window!

We need to examine his form, for instance, after a run of 8 games without a win.....did he clap? Was he optimistic? Did he demand AC go? Did he boo? There is so much to review.

VTID, your application is on hold until full references have been taken, I'm afraid.

Sorry Vtid - I tried but, clearly, the sherry has worn off on this one.  You can still buy me that beer in Tommy's though, m8... 😉

[Vtid]

5 minutes ago, Osh said:

Sorry Vtid - I tried but, clearly, the sherry has worn off on this one.  You can still buy me that beer in Tommy's though, m8... 😉

it's ok pal i've invited my self. Let's get clapping 👏🏻 😃💙

[Brian Johnson]

3 hours ago, mbycars said:

You should have gone to Specsavers 🙄

why did you want someone to come with you to hold your hand?

[valefan79]

Not read what others have posted but really enjoyable performance and result, as well as I have seen us play for a very long time.  Ojo, Arblaster and Devine ran the show in midfield, probably going over the top but best midfield 3 performance I have seen from a Vale trio since Brammer, Bridge-Wilkinson and Brisco ran the show in the LDV Final.  They were so good last night and special mention to Debrah who did not put a foot wrong and Garrity who I think in that forward role is so much better than in a restricted role in midfield.  

I am one of the biggest moaners of Crosby but last night he got his tactics spot on, I had a go after Saturday but happy to be proved wrong.  The difference last night was that we played with a purpose, played forward at most opportunities, did not look backwards and sideways like we have been doing, it was exciting to watch and really hope that we get a big team away.

[mbycars]

56 minutes ago, Brian Johnson said:

why did you want someone to come with you to hold your hand?

You could if you can get out of your armchair 😂

[Doha]

2 hours ago, JRC said:

 History also often equates a long injury list and a manager losing his job.

Bad luck too. I did view that Thomas penalty shout at the end against Cheltenham at the time as uncomfortably similar to the ballsed up Conlon red card against Lincoln.

[rayzer]

There was a poll recently asking which game was more important, the Cheltenham league game or either of the cup games. I agree with an earlier poster and believe Crosby sacrificed the league game and rested a couple of players, which then transferred his thoughts to the team which resulted in such a poor display. If he did I think he made the right decision as we should hold our own in the league, especially when we start getting the injured players back.

Mansfield picked Aden Flint as their man of the match and he is a player I would have loved at the Vale ,but he went down in my estimation when he was interviewed in the hospitality lounge after the game. He complained about our players conning the ref all night by going down with fake head injuries and said the referee was terrible. I have to say that although there was a mistake on an offside by the assistant ref when Smith was on the deck behind the ball, they performed vey well. Sour grapes by Flint.

[LancyTony]

11 hours ago, Brian said:

Garrity is so essential to the way we play. The work he does makes every player around him look a little bit better. 
 

Also, he’s a lot more skilful than some on here give him credit for

Totally agree...and he's still improving! Noticeable that a lot of last season's poor run coincided with Garrity's absence...as with last Saturday! 

[Port Vale Paul]

16 hours ago, rayzer said:

There was a poll recently asking which game was more important, the Cheltenham league game or either of the cup games. I agree with an earlier poster and believe Crosby sacrificed the league game and rested a couple of players, which then transferred his thoughts to the team which resulted in such a poor display. If he did I think he made the right decision as we should hold our own in the league, especially when we start getting the injured players back.

Mansfield picked Aden Flint as their man of the match and he is a player I would have loved at the Vale ,but he went down in my estimation when he was interviewed in the hospitality lounge after the game. He complained about our players conning the ref all night by going down with fake head injuries and said the referee was terrible. I have to say that although there was a mistake on an offside by the assistant ref when Smith was on the deck behind the ball, they performed vey well. Sour grapes by Flint.

The league is a marathon not a sprint, so if AC made that call credit to him. Whilst everybody including himself and the players were not happy / disgusted / angry / in melt down with Sat performance its what we do to recover. I think Tues night gave us the answer. The trick is now to repeat that formula /  or what ever they had put in the brew for a few more games and build from it.

[JoeB2]

First time I've had the chance to post since Tuesday. Cracking performance and was once again a pleasure to watch Oli Arblaster play football. Savouring the games we've got him.

[LancyTony]

On 01/11/2023 at 12:47, ClntonBoulton said:

Woah, Woah, woah, there Osher Lad! We can't be admitting anybody, you know! There are processes and protocols to go through before admittance into this exclusive club can happen. Just because the rest of us were "sherried up" doesn't mean decorum goes out of the window!

We need to examine his form, for instance, after a run of 8 games without a win.....did he clap? Was he optimistic? Did he demand AC go? Did he boo? There is so much to review.

VTID, your application is on hold until full references have been taken, I'm afraid.

And his brib...ummmm...his membership has been paid?

[ClntonBoulton]

4 hours ago, LancyTony said:

And his brib...ummmm...his membership has been paid?

How very dare you, Sir?  Are you incinerating that foul play may be afoot to allow new members in? I resemble that remark......now where did I leave that brown envelope.......?