Cheltenham (A) match thread - 17th Feb

[THE DAD]

He's put it way better than I could and that's how a lot of older true Vale fans are feeling at the moment including not just myself but the group I associate with season ticket holders and apart from this season because of the points mentioned quite regular away fans .

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[Doha]

1 hour ago, Spunk Trumpet said:

When we lost to Cheltenham back in October, on the way out I looked at my old man who’s 65 and said why do we bother coming? The football is that dreadful that I asked him how many times are we getting out of our seat and roaring the lads on or even celebrating a goal or a tackle or a corner or pressure or a fist bump. Very little. This absolutely dreadful footballing philosophy of a bunch of nice guys and kids is so <ovf censored> boring. I want a connection again. A manager in the dugout who isn’t a yes man full of rhetoric. I don’t go to watch Vale because we have nice training facilities and showers. I don’t go Vale for us to put kids from the academy in for the sake of it to tell other clubs “look at what we do”. I don’t go the Vale to sit in the Prawn sandwich brigade whilst they can’t be arsed to fix a set of toilets for the faithful. I go because I love the club. But. And here’s the but……. There comes a time where logic has to take over rather than sheer stupidity. Stupidity on my part in parting with 50 quid every matchday and knowing I’m gonna watch a club that has neglected the football environment, after doing so <ovf censored> well in getting out of league 2. And that is all on David Flitcroft.

 

This.

I genuinely forget we were playing a few weeks ago. Remembered about 30 mins into the game. Just forgot, as it has become such a soul destroying chore in every sense of the word to watch. And that's from someone who as well as going to daft lengths of effort during the B&G days, I years before had spent time on my knees in the railway (badly) painting the steps so we could get a safety certificate off the council when in admin. The same stand and the same knees I fell to when that Swindon pen went over the bar and we were going to Wembley, I literally just fell to the floor with my fists and eyes clenched having a proper mental. I'm struggling to give a <ovf censored> now. The gutless, cowardly decline on the pitch in recent times has completely evaporated the enthusiasm and soul out of me for Vale. Existentially things were horrendous under V2001 and NS and the football was <ovf censored> horrific under Glover, Brown etc but I was 100% committed because of visceral anger at what was being done to the club. Now I just simply can't be arsed because all there is to do is watch CS enthralled by Flitcroft's patter as the ball gets played back to Ripley for the 73rd time and we send out a kid still in year 11 to warm up to replace our one fit forward. I'm sick of either reading or concluding myself every week about how none of this group of donkeys ever demonstrate any emotion. Penalty shouts, nothing. Teammate hacked down, nothing. Lopata pushed face first into the advertising boards yesterday, nothing. And I mean face first, I don't know how he didn't end up with a fracture or concussion. None of them ever remotely demonstrate that they care.

6 years in and the Railway's somehow gotten even worse, while money is thrown at mach 3 at the prawn sandwich crowd and four million different sets of changing rooms. Oh and a new office overlooking the training pitch, sound. I didn't want any strikers in the squad anyway. 3 horrific windows in a row has left us having won 3 games in 5 months. Literally 5 months, yesterday was the 22nd week. Imagine saying that during the V2001 and NS eras, imagine what the reaction would have been? 3 wins in 5 months. It's utterly mental.

Instead of acknowledging why the fans are annoyed the salt in the wound is she then completely ignores those reasons despite releasing an 1800 word tome, the less said about which the better.

Responsible for everything, accountable for nothing.

 

[Packmoor_vale]

I can’t argue with anything that’s been said really 

 

[Vtid]

2 minutes ago, Packmoor_vale said:

I can’t argue with anything that’s been said really 

 

And I know how much to you try to stay positive mate 😃

[Packmoor_vale]

5 minutes ago, Vtid said:

And I know how much to you try to stay positive mate 😃

Let’s just hope DM is not what is starting to look like and becomes his own man in charge 

[Hoppers]

18 minutes ago, Doha said:

This.

I genuinely forget we were playing a few weeks ago. Remembered about 30 mins into the game. Just forgot, as it has become such a soul destroying chore in every sense of the word to watch. And that's from someone who as well as going to daft lengths of effort during the B&G days, I years before had spent time on my knees in the railway (badly) painting the steps so we could get a safety certificate off the council when in admin. The same stand and the same knees I fell to when that Swindon pen went over the bar and we were going to Wembley, I literally just fell to the floor with my fists and eyes clenched having a proper mental. I'm struggling to give a <ovf censored> now. The gutless, cowardly decline on the pitch in recent times has completely evaporated the enthusiasm and soul out of me for Vale. Existentially things were horrendous under V2001 and NS and the football was <ovf censored> horrific under Glover, Brown etc but I was 100% committed because of visceral anger at what was being done to the club. Now I just simply can't be arsed because all there is to do is watch CS enthralled by Flitcroft's patter as the ball gets played back to Ripley for the 73rd time and we send out a kid still in year 11 to warm up to replace our one fit forward. I'm sick of either reading or concluding myself every week about how none of this group of donkeys ever demonstrate any emotion. Penalty shouts, nothing. Teammate hacked down, nothing. Lopata pushed face first into the advertising boards yesterday, nothing. And I mean face first, I don't know how he didn't end up with a fracture or concussion. None of them ever remotely demonstrate that they care.

6 years in and the Railway's somehow gotten even worse, while money in thrown at mach 3 at the prawn sandwich crowd and four million different sets of changing rooms. Oh and a new office overlooking the training pitch, sound. I didn't want any strikers in the squad anyway. 3 horrific windows in a row has left us having won 3 games in 5 months. Literally 5 months, yesterday was the 22nd week. Imagine saying that during the V2001 and NS eras, imagine what the reaction would have been? 3 wins in 5 months. It's utterly mental.

Instead of acknowledging why the fans are annoyed the salt in the wound is she then completely ignores those reasons despite releasing an 1800 word tome, the less said about which the better.

Responsible for everything, accountable for nothing.

 

Ouch

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

There are a few eliquent posts (of which this is one) that in an ideal world would find their way onto auntie carols desktop as counterpoint arguments to the bollocking open letter we received a few days ago 👏👏👏

It absolutely galls me as a fully paid up member of the HCC that I have to agree with much of the frustration being vented by all you beautiful bouncing valiants 

1 nil Away win on Tuesday with lofty to score - you read it here first 🥇

[Spunk Trumpet]

3 minutes ago, Packmoor_vale said:

Let’s just hope DM is not what is starting to look like and becomes his own man in charge 

This is my whole entire point in a nutshell, Packmoor.

Nothing changes other than different faces.

The rhetoric is nauseating. The footballing “philosophy” is all about bringing in premier league kids and building a reputation. When I’m reality they’ve been playing non contact under 23 dogshit. Remember we couldn’t even beat Newcastles under 23s in the tinpot because we are effectively and under 23 mentality team ourselves.

Darren Moore doesn’t know what he’s walked into. He won’t realise the anger of the fans until he stands up for himself and stamps his mark on the club as a manager.

If we do go down I’ll state now that he is not to blame. To walk into a football season with limited striking options is criminal. That’s where fans frustrations lie. But……. What I’m watching…… Every week….. is becoming abundantly clear that David Flitcroft has too much influence on tactics and players on a matchday.

And ultimately, I think we are all in agreement that that must stop and must stop starting tomorrow morning if we are to have ANY chance of staying up. 
 

Let the players play. Let the manager manager. Let the owner own. And put Flitcroft on a <ovf censored> plane to whichever foreign country he’s been banging on about getting the next set of players from.

[eh up nah]

4 hours ago, 1 said:

I’d really like to know the truth behind letting Crosby play through an awful transfer window, gave him one (?) game post-window then sacked him, only to recruit an exciting high-profile manager to dig us out of the mire we created ourselves with no opportunity to change the personnel. It just seems so disjointed and totally illogical. Either sack him in time for the new gaffer to change the team around, or stick with the same guy. To twist after the transfer window, it’s baffling. Obviously like most people I want Moore over Crosby but we’ve voluntarily disarmed his rebuild. It simply makes no sense. 

If i was a sceptic (and i am a sceptic), I'd say we were really hoping Crosby would see us limp over the line without spending anything in January. 

However, losing to the bottom side for the fourth time this season was the final straw for the fan base and serious unrest began to surface.

The fans were gunning for flitcroft after that.  

I'm not sure the sacking of Crosby was particularly planned.  Something came to a head that Monday after Fleetwood.

I think Crosby may have kicked off, said a few home truths about the hand he'd been dealt in the January window and that kicking off led to his sacking.

Flitcroft, and possibly Carol, realised the look this had and we have gone and thrown a lot of money at Darren Moore to get him to be our manager, probably to save face.  They were probably all set to appoint Mark Kennedy, he wasn't at the orient game for nothing.  However, they caught wind fans would be even more unhappy and so went to Darren Moore with a 5 year deal.

I have absolutely no evidence, no source that any of that is how it worked.  Just a feeling that's all.

I do genuinely believe we thought we'd see the season out with Crosby but the hand was forced by yet another dire performance and fan unrest.

It's panic, basically.

Could be way off.

[onestepatatime]

50 minutes ago, Spunk Trumpet said:

Let me tell you where I am.

I’ve no interests int sort of protest and quite frankly I’m pretty certain nobody else is either. Certainly not the old brigade who told you Smurthwaite was a bad egg years before you opened your eyes.

What I do think is that it’s fair that fans, can raise their concerns on a forum, on social media and ask why we have allowed ourselves to be in such a position.

On a personal level I’ve been going since 1983. I’ve seen good times and bad times. But even in bad times we could mix it up and put a tackle in.

When we lost to Cheltenham back in October, on the way out I looked at my old man who’s 65 and said why do we bother coming? The football is that dreadful that I asked him how many times are we getting out of our seat and roaring the lads on or even celebrating a goal or a tackle or a corner or pressure or a fist bump. Very little. This absolutely dreadful footballing philosophy of a bunch of nice guys and kids is so <ovf censored> boring. I want a connection again. A manager in the dugout who isn’t a yes man full of rhetoric. I don’t go to watch Vale because we have nice training facilities and showers. I don’t go Vale for us to put kids from the academy in for the sake of it to tell other clubs “look at what we do”. I don’t go the Vale to sit in the Prawn sandwich brigade whilst they can’t be arsed to fix a set of toilets for the faithful. I go because I love the club. But. And here’s the but……. There comes a time where logic has to take over rather than sheer stupidity. Stupidity on my part in parting with 50 quid every matchday and knowing I’m gonna watch a club that has neglected the football environment, after doing so <ovf censored> well in getting out of league 2. And that is all on David Flitcroft. 
 

And I ain’t the only one. We go for the football. The average fan doesn’t really care that some academy kid has been sold for 150k or whatever when they can’t even a piss in the paddock!

The average fan only cares about 3-5 on a Saturday or 7.45-9.45 on a Tuesday. And so I made the decision that I’ll just watch the shower of <ovf censored> on ifollow. In the comfort of my own home. And if Carol and David can’t be arsed to fix toilets, sell players, release players and apart from the odd one or two bring in an absolute load of guff on the pitch, then I ain’t parting with my money.

8000 became 7000 became under 5000 very very quick.

That’s some drop.

BUT once you question it, you get a ridiculous open letter telling us how great Flitcroft is. And she lies in it as well!! She even goes as far to say he brought a cup run to the club. <ovf censored> me sidewards……. Fleetwood, Crewe, Sutton and Mansfield and then tippy tapped our way around Middlesbrough in the most pathetic quarter final effort I’ve ever seen from any club. Flitcroft has done this and that with the academy. We weren’t doing it before he came. WRONG. We were selling players from the academy for good money before he came! And as for him not applying for the managers job annd not wanting to come back into football.  Utter bull. And she’s been found out in a previous interview.

So yeah. Like it or lump it pal but she’s losing the average fan. And lose the fans and you’ll lose the club. 

She’s insistent on a “future”. That’s all well and good. But when there’s no “present” on the pitch there’s certainly not going to be a successful “future” going forward. 

With you all the way. I've been accused previously as being "a happy clapper" even though I've attempted to be realistic and reasoned in my posts. However, as I've said in this post somewhere in the past pages, like ST I feel we fans have been disregarded when we can so clearly see what absolute dross is being served up on the pitch. My 2 season tickets, my cash on shirts, food, drink and other Vale associated bits and bobs will now remain firmly in my wallet. As it's abundantly clear that we are an ever growing number of totally disgruntled fans of a similar attitude then its fast approaching the time when the powers that be MUST finally see sense. Shouldn't they?

[Rory]

Either I'm going mad or everyone else is. 

I'm worried it's me.

Am I mad?

[Hoppers]

8 minutes ago, Rory said:

Either I'm going mad or everyone else is. 

I'm worried it's me.

Am I mad?

Yes, most definitely

 

 

 

Along with the rest of us 🤣🤣🤣

[JoeB2]

So, when are the season tickets out?

[Brian Johnson]

22 minutes ago, JoeB2 said:

So, when are the season tickets out?

10th March last year

Port Vale FC Announce Details for 2023/24 Season Tickets | News | Port Vale

WWW.PORT-VALE.CO.UK

 

[Birches Head Fred]

Firstly, great to meet Osh on Saturday, a real 'gentleman', glad you had a good breakfast this morning mate and yes bud, not the result we hoped for. 

Osh asked us what we expected of the game result wise and we all pretty much said the same, it could be a hammering one way or the other, a high-scoring draw or Lord knows what, but I don't think any of us expected to witness what we did.

It's time we got dirty, time we started getting in the ref's face, time we started diving every time an opposition player dares to touch us, time to do what almost every other team does to us. 

I've waited to post, gathering my thoughts and wondering just what the hell to write. Obviously most things have already been said and it's hard to argue against any of the posts regarding the effort, tactics, etc. etc. etc. regarding yesterdays game.

For me, there's just NO leaders, NO passion, NO-ONE who wants to take command on the pitch and sadly VERY LITTLE of the things any fan would expect from players who take to the pitch.

Port Vale were made to look like a non-league outfit in the ONE GAME we all expected each and every player to give their all to show the new manager they wanted a their name on the starting line-up for the next game.

An absolute shambles, played like strangers, no fight, no heart, no leadership, no plan. 

It's downright gut-wrenching to watch and even worse is fans keep going back for more but  as many on here are already alluding to, that's changing and what's worse is that they won't come back.

It's great being a Happy Clapper, what I wouldn't give now for a Bob Hazell or an Andy Porter! 

Good Luck Darren, you've now seen exactly what you've inherited, 16 games to go, 48 points on offer, 79 points should see us easily in the play-offs. 

[Connolly]

I thought the bar of expectation had already dropped... 

Look  Flitcroft ain't going nowhere. As much as some of yer kick yer feet about it.. It may get worse and his time may run out, but it ain't now.. and nor is Carols. 

Honestly we've all heard the arguments a plenty now, I've no intent of boring you all with my reasons of supporting 'the plan'. Persides it seems it's getting tried and tested for at least another few years whether I like it or not....

I understand why a lot of you are upset, given it's been a bit of a whimper of a season. I only hope you you can get behind the boys for the rest of the season... I think only 'spirit' can keep us up now. You helped lift the boys up the league after the barnsley game. The boys punched above their weight because of your support. We still have time to regroup this season, and to make our own luck. As fans we can still have a laugh and sink a beer or two. 

However... If it gets too frustrating then look after yourself and spend your saturday doing something more relaxing. God knows I've dodged a few this year. There can surely? be under no illusions! That this is a concrete relagation battle now...

It's gonna be tense, it's gonna be frustrating,  but if you still have the heart for it please get  behind our club...

Who's to blame for how bad we are can be figured out later.... After we've hopefully not been relegated...

It's not all bad

Have a good week Valiants