2 hours ago, philpvfc said:

Simple……find a number one and have Amos as the back up. 

Very simple😂

For me I think we are better investing budget elsewhere. 

1 hour ago, boslemportvale91 said:

gotta disagree with your first point sorry. I think competition is needed for the starting place. Especially if a goalkeeper gets complacent or gets a bad injury , then you're throwing in someone who's nowhere near that level and is gonna cost goals and lose confidence. 

I'm not expecting vale to break the budget for a keeper but I'd rather much have two solid keepers in place wanting that number one jersey. 

We've had some shocking back up keepers over the years and I'm sure a few years back we started the season with just one keeper with no zero back up to come on incase of injury 

 No need to apologise, I’m than happy to disagree without the nonsense you see on here.

No, I’m not saying we don’t need competition, I agree with that, I think a younger keeper to try and force himself into the team and takes his chance when given it at some point is the way forward rather than another established nb.1 which usually causes unrest at the position.
 

I feel the team needs bigger investment in other areas. I’m sure I read somewhere ( I can’t remember where) we are believed to looking at x2 CB’s 1x Midfielder and 1x Striker with pace. That shopping list makes sense to me and probably means either Hart or Heneghan will leave.

Edited June 10, 2025Jun 10 by MBE

3 hours ago, Brian Johnson said:

Just a weeks better then.

Not sure why it needs to close down for some crap tournament anyway

The two weeks would have been better to give us more time to get the L and XXL new shirts in for Cole Palmer and Erling Haaland to parade around in for their post-signing photo shoots 😉

18 minutes ago, Trumpingtonvale said:

The two weeks would have been better to give us more time to get the L and XXL new shirts in for Cole Palmer and Erling Haaland to parade around in for their post-signing photo shoots 😉

Not Kevin De Bruyne?

Does anyone else agree that we should seriously consider signing Rico Richards now he is available?  I, for one think that we definitely should talk to him.  For me, he showed enough in his 27 appearances last season to suggest that he could be a real asset for us. Not only did he pick up a handful of goals, but had assists to his credit.  Sure, as a relative youngster, he'd be a gamble, but I am of the opinion that it would definitely be worth the punt.  However, I suspect that we may not be the only club interested in Rico.

I’m not sure he’s got more than an hour in him, and I think there are times when he’s in certain situations where he needs to be stronger mentally and physically. The last minute one v one at home to a Harrogate is one example, I think there were similar ones.

If he could work on these bits of his game then yes. 

2 minutes ago, Santa said:

I’m not sure he’s got more than an hour in him, and I think there are times when he’s in certain situations where he needs to be stronger mentally and physically. The last minute one v one at home to a Harrogate is one example, I think there were similar ones.

If he could work on these bits of his game then yes. 

Do we need an entire squad of "90 minute" players? Not all the squad can play from the start and for me, Richards has generally looked good when coming on for the last 15-20 minutes. There's a few times he's changed a game by doing that. 

He's also only 21 with limited experience so a good player to have on the bench now with possibly the potential we could develop him further so in the future he does become a "90 minute" player.

On 04/05/2025 at 21:54, Doha said:

I wouldn't mind signing Rico, his driving forward is genuinely great, not least as his ball control and technique can be fantastic - at times he's looked better than Wilson, who was the tidiest player on the ball for Vale I can remember in a very, very long time. But, he needs to strengthen up. Maybe not as much as he absolutely would in L2, but to get to that next level he needs to get stronger when jostling. I want to see him ratting a lot more too, sometimes after turning over possession he gives the impression he's not bothered, as in it's just a training match or something; He just kind of comes to a halt, while the ball is still live within a few yards of him. That can be frustrating.

Said this last month, opinion hasn't changed.

Interesting interview from Matt about budget and signings approach.

Quotes on BBC football website.

 

17 hours ago, Diego Maradona said:

Not sure about Rico. I'd like us to get someone who is proven at a higher level. At the moment, Rico is about 'potential', which I understand BUT I wouldn't take that risk.

At least 50% if not more of the current squad fall into the "not proven at a high level" category. I for 1 would certainly take the small risk of taking Rico on a perm.

11 minutes ago, MBE said:

Interesting interview from Matt about budget and signings approach.

Quotes on BBC football website.

 

Darren Moore: Port Vale boss will have competitive budget - Matt Hancock

WWW.BBC.CO.UK

 

9 minutes ago, Port Vale Paul said:

At least 50% if not more of the current squad fall into the "not proven at a high level" category. I for 1 would certainly take the small risk of taking Rico on a perm.

I understand that about the squad but for me, I would go for a player who is proven and has experience in League 1 and (at a push) may be the Championship. It would also help players like Byers, Headley, Gabriel to have quality to play off. Football is about opinions. I would (if affordable) try to minimise the risk.

On 31/05/2025 at 10:08, philpvfc said:

He’s described as a right back, hopefully he’s an upgrade on Debrah and not a replacement for Clarke. My concern would be his fitness, Meniscus, ACL, MCL or LCL injuries are always the worst for a footballer, I know, it was a meniscus, MCL tear that stopped me playing, permanently. 

And in another post later in the thread you stated that you think gabriel has been brought in to challenge debrah for a first team place.

So no! Im not stupid so leave off the pathetic attempt to gaslight me I know exactly what you wrote and if you get confused again refer yourself to the direct quote from you at the top of this post.

We used sang and john at rcb last season when the need arose so yes Gabriel could possibly be utilised there if needed but I really doubt he chose to sign with us to play in a completely different position than he is is used to playing in.

My objection to your post all along has been that a rwb who has never played as a cb is not an upgrade on debrah and unlike you my position hasn't changed.

 

 

35 minutes ago, robf said:

Do we need an entire squad of "90 minute" players? Not all the squad can play from the start and for me, Richards has generally looked good when coming on for the last 15-20 minutes. There's a few times he's changed a game by doing that. 

He's also only 21 with limited experience so a good player to have on the bench now with possibly the potential we could develop him further so in the future he does become a "90 minute" player.

I agree with tall of that and personally I would love us to sign Rico he would definitely be an asset.

5 hours ago, Brian Johnson said:

Transfer deadline day today and that’s that for 2 weeks

Probably wrong here but i still think players will be announced(maybe not by us) but when you think the window opened on the 1st yet players were getting announced by clubs before then? 

100% agree about it stopping for a pointless tournament and then how long into the season before Premier teams say there are too many games and their players are suffering burnout