2 minutes ago, Quebec_Valiant said:

I'm not sure that I would necessarily consider wingbacks as being part of a back 5.  You can be more attacking by pushing your wingbacks further forward and maintaining a back 3.  Playing a back 3 should allow a level of flexibility so that you can adapt as the game progresses.  Credit to Wigan, they didn't drop off in the way that Mansfield did when they went down to 10 men, so the 2 games were quite different.

We didnt play a back 5. Garrity and Johnson both pushed forward as much as they could. They are not wingers but certainly not full backs today either.

1 minute ago, Sandyford_Lion said:

Curtis done his best the last couple of games. Playing where he is not happy to play i would imagine and not done too bad

Heneghan at fault as well and was last week too. Without Humphries we’re really in an exposed position.

A poor afternoon, but I really do think the headloss at the end of the game and on here is very over the top.

It was our poorest performance of the season where we never really looked like scoring. I think Wigan are in a false position as they looked quite impressive for the opening half-hour, particularly the blond lad in the middle who was excellent.

Darren Moore is good at a few things but breaking down teams who sit deep is definitely not one of them. His solution is usually 'throw as many strikers on as possible and swing crosses in', which is tediously predictable and very easy to defend. We looked out of ideas in the second half today, with zero midfield presence and a very disjointed forward line. Devante Cole should never be on the left-wing, and I'm not sure what Paton's role was supposed to be. I'd genuinely have rather it stayed 11 v 11 as they would have opened up in the second half.

Again, defensively we look fine, and again a moment's concentration lapse has cost us. The wing-back injury armageddon is seriously bad luck. Curtis can't defend and shouldn't be there. John is very spirited but offers very little going forward. We sorely missed Gabriel today and Clark can't get fit soon enough. To be missing Gabriel, Clark, Gordon, Headley, and Humphreys is a real body blow and the result has to be caveated agains that - we had 2 of our first-choice back 5 available.

The midfield balance was all wrong. Garrity's head isn't right. He's either very committed to a bad impersonation of Roy Keane, or he's very disenchanted. He just doesn't engage with the fans at all and his performances lack all the things that have made him a modern legend. Did that Bradford spat rattle him? I can't see him extending his contract as things stand. Croasdale isn't our best player but always makes the team better. Byers reverted to his disappearing act and I can't help but think it's time Walters is giving a run in the 'dictating' role. 

We are a promoted side who are going to have growing pains and bad days. Today was one of them. For all the hooting and hollering when things went well in April, we have to be measured when things are trickier at a higher level. We are still a side trying to find it's feet at this level with a bottom-half budget. We're only a quarter of the way through the season. Doncaster are collapsing and, whilst Dons and Bradford look to be making a mockery of us, we'll see where they end up after 50 games.

There was a 'gent' next to me on the verge of mental breakdown over Ronan Curtis. Some of the stick levelled at the player's at the end, after a 5-game unbeaten run, was a bit daft. The emotional volatility of the PVFC fanbase is a bit worrying. Today was an off day in which you trudge off and move on. It wasn't a day to level hellfire at the team. Alas, some grown men really struggle to process disappointment and have to tell PVFC players how much they utterly despise them.

A bad day with too many off performances and half a defence out injured. Bar a balls up from a player playing out of position to cover those injuries, we give away nothing. If we give away nothing, do we go into the last 10 with a semblance of structure and not panic-crossing to Mo Faal? I don't know, but the goal was a killer and we never break teams down.

Let's just please keep our heads. If things are bad after game 46, then I'll join in with the meltdown. Things are about get worse before they get better - we've got a very tricky run of games and our wingbacks will continue to be absent. We've got to stick with these players as there's enough quality to achieve our goals this season, which is survival. It won't be pretty or very fun, with more days like today than Barnsley, but we can't throw temper tantrums after every poor performance as there will be a few more to come.

A big following and it shows the potential of the club. We just have to hold the line during this bumpy transition to a new level.

That was by far the worst performance we've put in this season. We couldn’t get a grip on the game, even with the extra man. The first half was sluggish, with Smith in midfield for Wigan completely running the show, and Saydee causing all sorts of problems for Hall and Heneghan. We are a man up, and what do we do? Concede another sloppy goal, gifted to them just like last week.

Then, Moore completely messed up the changes. I get bringing Johnson on, but what have Faal and Paton done to deserve a spot ahead of Stockley? Ripping up the midfield like that was the beginning of the end. At one point, we had Faal, Cole, Paton, and Stockley all on the pitch, with Paton and Cole dropping deep. It was a shambles. I'm all for going for it, but we needed control of the game, and that could’ve come from keeping the midfield intact. Instead, we had four forwards running around with no clue what they were supposed to be doing.

Moore usually gets it right away from home, but today he got it horribly wrong. He can’t be blamed for Curtis’ stupidity, but he is for what happened after that. We just have to take this one on the chin and move on. I still believe we'll be fine this season, but with some tough games coming up before Christmas, there’s little room for error. Sort it out Darren. 

3 minutes ago, MBE said:

Byers is 100% not the problem.

Correct. Byers playing his role and doing well. In front of him are two midfield players and two wing backs. They are there to create forward play.

Byers is always where he needs to be, tidies a lot defensively, yes he has had a few wayward shots but he does move the team forward. Garrity is the first MUST to change.

1 hour ago, werstayinup said:

I thought Garrity actually played really well when he switched positions

Yes he did I agree. He was excellent actually and one of the only players pushing forward with urgency and quality.

2 minutes ago, 1 said:

Heneghan at fault as well and was last week too. Without Humphries we’re really in an exposed position.

Curtis involved in both goals conceded but he is not a defender. If he was then he would deserve to be dropped and left in the dressing room

Johnson will grow in fitness and he looked fine today, so hopefully that’s sorted that side. Then John will have to play on the other side - not Clark or Gabriel but at least comfortable in the position. We can cope with that as long as they stay fit, but without Humphreys we’ll continue to give silly goals away.

Rare poor performance and result combined today. Only positives for me were John, Debrah and G Hall. The rest were poor to middling.
I'm beginning to really dislike the C Hall special lump down the left to either the fans behind the goal or the oppo GK. Humhpreys to replace him for me once fit.
Byers is not the all singing and all dancing L1 Pirlo that he was lauded as. I get what he does, but theres no creativity in that CM.
Garrity is being ruined by playing so deep and being expected to play passes. It's not his game. It showed when he had licence to maraud forward in the RB role that he actually looked much better.
Without proper WBs, we will always struggle as there's no creativity or play in that CM to create through the middle. G Hall looks a find, that said, and I think DM needs to choose between him and BG, and play either Walters or Croasdale with either Byers or Ojo.
Moores approach looks great when it comes off, away from home. But we're reliant on their being no cock up in defence, which we always have in us.
At home, we struggle generally against the more defensive approach of away teams.
I'm not worried, at all, given our performances so far in general this season, but I am down after today.

For anyone criticising fans for getting angry, it's because we care about the Vale and we invest time and money in following and supporting the team, and everyone there today could see that the manager was clueless from start to finish. Poor team selection, no reaction to in-game events and (when the changes finally did come) baffling substitutions! 

Three wins from 13 games is not good, not good at all! That's on the manager. 

Even when we do win, it's normally boring as... This is supposed to be an entertaining game, the beautiful game! Moore-ball is dull, turgid, predictable, boring! 

DMs record at L1 level over a long period of time (with two clubs) is very, very poor. Just saying... 

Why we have links with this scum of a club, I will never know 

 

We were due to lose a game at some point but I think this one is a particular hard one to take given the fact that they hadn't won in 6 games, they only had 10 men and that we hardly created anything for the whole 90 minutes. 

 

 

 

Also judging by how Ryan Lowe celebrated like Jurgen Klopp at the end I think he knows that if he had drawn or lost that game he would have 100% been sacked. 

Tricky one shouldn’t be a head loss as it’s the first loss in 6 and first time this season I’ve thought we were really poor and not deserving of anything, even then I don’t feel we should of lost it but for one error to gift them the points.

If it becomes a habit of that level of performance then I get it but felt we were complacent today and didn’t show the same energy and enthusiasm to win it as we have been, almost like once down to ten we just thought it will happen regardless that we’d score.

Stockport and Bolton will be tough but probably games which suit us better as we struggle most against sides sat in and expect both will have a go at us so no reason we can’t hit the levels we did against Barnsley, Cardiff and Wimbledon in those games.

Relegation zone is uncomfortably close though but need to bounce back but not time for over the top reactions.

12 minutes ago, valiant steve said:

For anyone criticising fans for getting angry, it's because we care about the Vale and we invest time and money in following and supporting the team, and everyone there today could see that the manager was clueless from start to finish. Poor team selection, no reaction to in-game events and (when the changes finally did come) baffling substitutions! 

Three wins from 13 games is not good, not good at all! That's on the manager. 

Even when we do win, it's normally boring as... This is supposed to be an entertaining game, the beautiful game! Moore-ball is dull, turgid, predictable, boring! 

DMs record at L1 level over a long period of time (with two clubs) is very, very poor. Just saying... 

Was commensurate positive intensity thrown at Moore for promotion 6 months ago and the 5 game unbeaten run we had till this afternoon?

Today was bad, but the emotional immaturity of the lads who can't handle their ale and/or disappointment was embarrassing at the end. Proper toys out the pram.

As soon as there's a loss, any goodwill banked up evaporates and the usual suspect explode like a bottle of pop. Moore could win 20 games in a row, but if we lost 1 poorly there would still be eruptions from lads with poor regulation.