An Open Letter from Carol

[wrightonline]

46 minutes ago, AndyGeorge said:

Yes, I can see the league table. Is that the sole basis for judging competence in your opinion?

Given that my current matchday experience is peeing in a portaloo, drinking in the rain & 90 minutes of dross I'm struggling to see Flitcroft's vision for the club.

Maybe if I was sat in the posh seats I'd have a different opinion.

So yes, for me what happens on the pitch is by far the most important measure of competence - on that basis I can only say he's a snake oil salesman who needs to go.

Edited February 8 by wrightonline
Poor typing!

[Shent]

No mention of Colin garlick leaving either. I still find it strange how he was left on his own at HT on the pitch to say goodbye to the fans. Why wasn’t flitcroft or carol with him ? 
only mentions Colin introduced carol to DF 

[Warren]

I am looking forward to the new manager being appointed. The hiatus is usually filled with disappointment and recrimination at the many clubs like Port Vale who have reached these circumstances. Everyone is frustrated and the Director of Football is made a scapegoat. I am onboard with some of the criticisms but now is 100% not the time for him to go. I am hoping he can turn this around. 

The new manager is going to have to find a good way of playing with the players we've got. I don't think they are all bad players. Some need to have a proper journey as youth players coming through. We are struggling in midfield but have too many defensive orientated players. Our top goal scorer is out. Our centre forward is out. So the balance in the players available is wrong.

For me the new manager first of all needs to make the team very defensively resilient down the middle of the pitch. Let the opposition have the ball wide but be in position to defend. In other words stop the situations where the opposition get behind the wingbacks and effectively dribble towards goal unchallenged. Also, how did we make the mistake that finally led to the Orient goal when they had 3 players behind our central defence in open ground? Organise better. 

Then we need to get our best players Wilson and Chislett on the ball in good areas and playing together. Wilson ran round the whole of Tuesday night making space and not receiving a pass. He was useless because of that - we were playing with 10 men effectively. Chislett dropped deep to get the ball and had too far to run when he finally got on it. The wing backs were, as common most of this season, ineffective in forward play. 

I know we were overloading, but towards the end of Tuesday's game we created some good chances. What were we doing right then and who was doing it? Build on that. 

So bitter as I am with the unattractiveness of the football throughout 2023, the ineffectiveness of the tactics this season to date, the vast number of mistakes made by the manager just sacked that led to the opposition scoring after his subs and his end of game approach, the likely failure to strengthen properly this window now closed ..... That's a long sentence isn't it!? We now need to dig ourselves out of this situation. A very good manager is needed and our support from the terraces will be important.

Edited February 8 by Warren

[Vtid]

42 minutes ago, Aguar61 said:

Along with poor recruitment, awful playing style,flat atmosphere ...what else can you judge a football club on. Where have you come from all of a sudden?

It’s floor cloth with his 3rd new account 😂

[Vtid]

34 minutes ago, Packmoor_vale said:

In all fairness we have just had a supporters open meeting and a statement from the owner 

 

How many times that letter hasn’t told us anything we don’t already know. Just a little dig at the fans, a reminder of Carol saving the club & her community work & appraisal for Flickers. Leaves us all asking the same questions that we are unhappy about in the first place unfortunately & by the reaction it’s done more harm than good 

Edited February 8 by Vtid

[MBE]

11 minutes ago, Packmoor_vale said:

In all fairness we have just had a supporters open meeting and a statement from the owner 

 

True. The forum meeting has contradicted actions and the letter is not a communication about those contradictions which is why we have a problem.

Edited February 8 by MBE

[Dr Delgado]

I can only imagine that the first meeting between Carol and Flitcroft was something akin to Mowgli meeting the snake in “Jungle Book”

It would appear he has given her the “trust in me” lines, Carol went all swivel eyed and the rest, as they say, is history. 
 

It concerns me that with the exception of Rudgie, who is nearly 80  and somewhat out of touch, there is no other permanent fixture within in the club who could offer Carol a different perspective. 
 

I believe for us to progress as a proper football club someone will have to break the Svengali spell that DF has cast over Carol. 
 

Could we perhaps arrange some form of exorcism, does anyone know a willing priest?

[The Kalamazoo Kid]

13 minutes ago, Dr Delgado said:

Could we perhaps arrange some form of exorcism, does anyone know a willing priest?

No, just a Pope! 🤣

[Vtid]

1 minute ago, The Kalamazoo Kid said:

No, just a Pope! 🤣

End of thread! Smashed it 😭

[valerule4ever]

Perhaps people from the club (Carol, Flitcroft etc) should venture out into the stands on Saturday and connect back with the fan base and actually LISTEN to what the fans issues / concerns are etc and get some supporter feedback from what the hardcore fans who are still bothering to turn up would like from the club going forward, they don’t have to agree with people but if nothing else it would offer some better PR from the club’s perspective and May just give them some more understanding of what the fan base are unhappy with and the best way forward, at the moment it very much comes across  like they have there fingers in ears and believe everything they are doing is right and the fans are just a lot of ungrateful moaning old so and so’s with no knowledge of football who should just turn up & jump onboard with the PROCESS, personally I thought this approach had vanished since Carol arrived but unfortunately somewhere in the last 12 months I get the feeling the club is losing the connection a little with the everyday supporters,

we are Port Vale FC not Dave Flitcroft FC

[valiant_593]

1 hour ago, AndyGeorge said:

Yes, I can see the league table. Is that the sole basis for judging competence in your opinion?

Isn’t the league table the whole point? 

[Guitar Ray]

1 hour ago, Killersrevenge44 said:

Where's the money? January window...nothing. Players leaving left right and centre. Something isn't working

Basically what’s not working is player recruitment and first team management, the rest of it is pretty solid barring the odd blip with our old stadium. 👍🏻

[Vtid]

20 minutes ago, Guitar Ray said:

Basically what’s not working is player recruitment and first team management, the rest of it is pretty solid barring the odd blip with our old stadium. 👍🏻

Basically the most important factors don’t you think? Can’t fault the other parts as you’ve said 👍🏻 

[Rampant Zebra]

3 hours ago, AndyGeorge said:

Carol, an experienced and a successful business person, who has put significant funds and an enormous amount of time into DF's approach still believes that he is good for the club.

What is the basis for your evaluation?

We are in the relegation positions in the league table and have an unbalanced and threadbare squad plus no manager. Football is a results led business and we are not achieving them. Flitcroft is supposed to be responsible for all football related matters.

[Killersrevenge44]

42 minutes ago, Guitar Ray said:

Basically what’s not working is player recruitment and first team management, the rest of it is pretty solid barring the odd blip with our old stadium. 👍🏻

I think you will agree there is no point of the rest if there is no desire or effort towards improving the football side of the club. Ultimately that's what the club is for.