Stevenage (H) FAC2R Match thread 12th Dec

[Warren]

58 minutes ago, Devine intervention said:

How quick there side was compared to ours last 25 mins in 90  was like they had took drugs they were so quick and so fit and motivated .

They totally deserved win in the end because we gave them impetus .

Can see why they third .

They want to be successful a little club like them and Evans is a brilliant manager if he can get that out of his squad with 10 mins go 2 goals and non stop high energy then don't be surprised if they don't knock a championship club out in later rounds. 

Thought they were excellent .

Well done to them 

Crosby never even used Uche he didn't stop the non stop avalanche of pressure so for that and me having work all night pissed off he can go ply his trade elsewhere .

Positives for Vale have been overshadowed by ineptness of manager and on field captain as surely with 30 seconds left you shouldn't be deep that's down to the on field captain who once again has shown his leadership skills are non existent .

 

 

 

Yes there is an important point here. Crosby can see the fitness and strength meter. I'm not saying we are unfit, but particularly against Derby I thought we were way below them in strength terms. They regarded even Uch as there to be knocked over. 

Crosby is in charge of fitness like all the other dimensions. 

Edited December 13, 2023 by Warren

[Guest]

My marks shame I couldn't give them for 63 mins as they be all high after well I'm going give my honest what I saw with my own eyes opinion .

Ripley 5 saved nothing  all night .From.crosses needs be out catching everything and tell players in front get out .

Debrah 7he did well .

Lowe 6 he would have a 7 but once moved into midfield was bypassed as Stevenage had one way of playing and Crosby let them do it .

Smith 6 first 63 very good to the left of Lowe remainder of game showed lack of leadership and has a soft underbelly .

Sang 6 

Arblaster 8 outmanoeuvred them was superb a delight 

Devine 8 same as Arblaster these kids were fighting winning balls and moving the ball well 

Massey 7 best game in Vale shirt and we take him off for Grant who looked ill at ease throughout 

Set up first goal a lovely goal to be honest after Ollie and Devine opened them up .

Ojo 5 I've no idea what he was doing once ollie and Alfie went off he is the other captain ain't he well there was no leadership at back and midfield from 63 minute so yes I'm pointing the finger at you what we're you doing.

Garrity 8 involved in everything good at Vale needs be made Captain pronto 2 lovely finishes and all night at it 

Chislett 7 never stopped working linked well with everyone I thought .

Subs 

Loft 7 a goal for the lad in fact he should have had 2 what was the disallowed goal chalked off for .

Worked well put himself about the lad did OK 

The rest of the subs bar lomax I sint going give marks for ,let's just say I wasn't happy with there efforts 

Crosby 0 no game management do the right thing

 

RESIGN 

 

 

[blackdog]

21 minutes ago, Warren said:

Yes there is an important point here. Crosby can see the fitness and strength meter. I'm not saying we are unfit, but particularly against Derby I thought we were way below them in strength terms. They regarded even Uch as there to be knocked over. 

Crosby is in charge of fitness like all the other dimensions. 

 

Is Crosby in charge of fitness  or is that the responsibility of the fitness and conditioning staff ?

[rayzer]

To add to everything that has been said before, why when there is only a couple of minutes left, why didn't Crosby use a substitute to help break up play as the club could use an extra substitute in extra time. This was as baffling to me as his other decisions. Or am I wrong?

[Mellor!]

1 minute ago, rayzer said:

To add to everything that has been said before, why when there is only a couple of minutes left, why didn't Crosby use a substitute to help break up play as the club could use an extra substitute in extra time. This was as baffling to me as his other decisions. Or am I wrong?

He even had Uche stripped and ready to come on when we had the ball in the corner for a couple of minutes just before they scored. He then sat him back down for some reason. Baffling.

[Sandyford_Lion]

14 hours ago, jeffers said:

It’s not so much taking Ollie and Alfie off, it’s what he did to replace them. The back three were comfortable with Lowe in full control, he hardly touched the ball in midfield. Why did we need to bring the Yak on, surely we could have brought Loft or Uche on and dropped Ben into midfield alongside Rhys.

In hindsight, he had no midfield cover on the bench, even knowing that Ollie and Alfie were not likely to last 90 minutes. Unless he was injured, why was Conlon not on the bench to give that experienced option.

He is a coach, game management is beyond him. 

Jeffers

              Best post on the topic.

The two subs should not have come off after 60 mins. D C would have told sports science what to do. 10 more mins even may have been enough but why bring both off together.

What was the plan to replace them. Who was on the bench to cover their roles.

Lowe had the best game a center back has played all season. Him and Smith are chalk and cheese. He may not be the biggest center back but last night it worked well for us. His football brain at the back was brilliant to watch. So we go and move him. Looked a poor player from then on

Ojo was playing very well too so why move him. He sat back and protected the defence andlet Ollie and Alfie do the running. So we then move him further upfield. Looked a poor player from then on.

Worse still later in the game we do as you said, bring Loft on up front and drop Garrity back in midfield, which we have done before. Despite the comments Loft doesnt do the work we need up front, Uche does and would have fought better for us in last 15 mins. Garrity was excellent up front and showed far more than the pair of them.

One further point. The many people saying its no worry if Ollie goes back in Jan, we have a ready replacement. Think again. Sorry but Walters is no where near a player yet who we could play regularly in midfield.

Yes Crosby's management skills and game management are poor, very poor. We DO need a new manager. It cost us dearly, possibly £200k plus

[Sandyford_Lion]

7 hours ago, Alfie1962 said:

Changing the back three murdered us. The goals came from Lackevetti's inept performance. Blame the manager for the changes, but you always point the finger at the same player.

Waiting to see the highlights but if you are correct about Iacovetti then i am not surprised. As a defender he is poor and has cost us a few goals this season at the far post. Have to admit during the game i was only saying that Debra and Lowe deserve a place and it is Smith or Iacovetti for the left side. Iacovetti is a much better footballer and is more mobile than Smith. He would give us better options to get forward but then what about his defending. Will wait for the highlights !!

[Sandyford_Lion]

5 hours ago, Brian Johnson said:

And then you look in the opposite dug out who is an experienced manager and knows what he's doing with game management to get a result.

All 3 x Stevenage goals were scored by their subs

Now thats some game management.

To be fair, Stevenage have a decent squad, possible pay decent money and yes have a decent experienced manager. 

Dont think we had a player anywhere near their wide left wing back for the last 25 mins

[Smallthorne clampet]

4 hours ago, Hitcher said:

I'll probably get pelters for this but I feel like fan culture nowadays only allows people to be 'overjoyed with happiness' or in 'the depths of despair'.

Quite often recently I've felt that we've all been overreacting, but losing from 2-0 up and then from 3-2 is very very poor.

I do buy into the idea of trying to play possession based football and the reasons for it:

- Teams playing possession football more likely to be promoted

- Allows us to develop technical youth players with higher sale value

- Enabled us to attract Premier league youth players on loan.

However it has kind have been sold to us that Andy Crosby is required to run that. I have no doubt that he is a good coach, but I think we are seeing he doesn't yet have the 'in game' management that comes with more experience. How often when we had DC in his pomp would you see him flip a game on its head (often preemptively). In fairness to AC the injury crisis hasn't given him much to play with on the bench.

If we are stuck to our model are we not better off hiring high potential 'flowing football' managers with a bit more experience. If they succeed and get poached it means we have had a good season. I know we'd draw from a pool of lower league managers but the type of thing Swansea used to do where each manager fitted and developed on a consistent style of play.

A final point in defence of AC, but subs last night did feel very much in line with the number of games we have this month. I am gutted about losing out on the cup money but if it helps us get a win against Wigan is it wrong?

Too bleeding right its wrong !!!!

[Warren]

1 hour ago, blackdog said:

 

Is Crosby in charge of fitness  or is that the responsibility of the fitness and conditioning staff ?

Manager is in charge of all aspects of playing. If that's not the case it is another weakness. Authority can be delegated but responsibility can never be delegated. 

[Black N White]

2 hours ago, Howjy04 said:

And never been in the bottom 4.But that doesn’t matter.

That’s why the club wont do anything with fans like you happy just to settle for at least we aren’t in the bottom four! 
 

Unbelievable! 
 

 

[Jeffporthill]

I don't think I have ever felt so, not depressed but genuinely angry at a result in my life. It was there for the taking. I`ll give it a miss on Saturday, I`ve already got tickets for Middlesbrough and Barnsley. What a Christmas this is going to be.  

[Brian]

2 minutes ago, Jeffporthill said:

I don't think I have ever felt so, not depressed but genuinely angry at a result in my life. It was there for the taking. I`ll give it a miss on Saturday, I`ve already got tickets for Middlesbrough and Barnsley. What a Christmas this is going to be.  

Exactly what I said. It beggars belief that in-game management can be important enough to destroy what was a good performance.

The team was well set up, with everyone knowing their jobs. He then blows it up by changing Lowe, Ojo and Garrity’s jobs. The result was chaos, and it amazed me that it took Stevenage so long to equalize.

i understand that you have to manage fitness levels, but I firmly believe we have an inept manager, who is hiding behind ‘the science’. 

[Jeffporthill]

It reminds me of Boris Johnson during covid times, we're going to follow the science.

[Howjy04]

49 minutes ago, Black N White said:

That’s why the club wont do anything with fans like you happy just to settle for at least we aren’t in the bottom four! 
 

Unbelievable! 
 

 

The unbelievable bit is your lack of patience and the mistake you mum and dad made.Get your money out if you want change ,then we can all slag you off.Watching Vale for over 60 years tells you battling for promotion is very rarely on the agenda.Dont forget to do your homework .