4 hours ago, valefan16 said:

Same for me, doesn't have to be one who is pulling off worldies now and then but can't come for crosses, or can play football like he is Roberto Carlos but spills everything, just a very plain, solid keeper would do, when we've played teams like Barrow or Harrogate and they've just been a solid keeper in goal for them who's done what it says on the tin. Its why in some aspects Aidan Stone worked in the Play Off season after Covolan for instance. Solid not spectacular. 

 

 

See I thought Amos was exactly what we need. He wasn't the greatest keeper but was generally pretty solid and a calming influence on the back line. 

The only times he was a bit ropey seemed to be when he had to prove himself worthy of the number 1 spot. He made big mistakes at Barrow away in the league cup 1st season and Wrexham in the trophy this. Both times he was the number 2 needing to prove himself worthy of starting. 

Some keepers seem to need the risk of being dropped to excel whilst others need the knowledge that they are first choice regardless. I think Amos falls into the latter category. Put faith in Amos and he does well. Scott Brown was the opposite, the second he didn't have a 2nd keeper pushing him for that number 1 spot his form fell off a cliff. 

I may be on my own but that's my perspective on the keeping situation last season. 

Edited May 15May 15 by wotsyobeef

39 minutes ago, Dol Boy said:

That'll be a panendrone. 

Is he an Italian player?!

On 14/05/2026 at 17:01, valeparklife said:

Of course!

I was highlighting Abdul Abdulmalik and Zak Brunt in January, but given their form since then, I doubt we have a chance now.

Players I'd be interested in would be:

Cian Hayes (transfer listed) - left footed right winger that has always looked bright. Only 22. Maybe L1 is a step too far right now, but I'm sure he'd be decent in L2 and can develop.

Olly Sanderson - 16 goals and 3 assists for Woking in the National League on loan from Fulham. Only 22. Out of contract. Had a number of loans and probably just needs a permanent home now. Real hardworking striker.

Mark Helm - been rumoured already but a quality midfielder. Would cost a fee.

Harrison Neal - Defensive midfielder, 25, goes under the radar but does a lot of defensive work, out of contract this summer.

Joshua Popoola - right footed left winger. 22 years old. 10 goals, 13 assists in NLS. Reminds me a lot of Kyrell Lisbie at Peterborough.

Frankie Maguire - 22 year old centre midfield. 7 goals and 9 assists in the National League. Out of contract. Diminutive but aggressive and dynamic.

Keep the older pros like Hall/Croasdale/Stockley etc but have a younger core, with potential to develop.

Move away from the 29 old year journeymen looking for a payday, and more towards younger players with a point to prove. 

Nice list that. I do think looking at players that have done it one level lower than the level you’re at is the way forward: not too much of a step up, players that can make the club some money.

I haven’t watched much NL but what do you know of Halifax? They’ve got a couple of goalscorers in Harris and Hmami but I don’t know too much on them apart from some stats

3 hours ago, PVFC2001 said:

Realistic free transfers i’d like to see us sign;

CB -

Will Wright (Swindon) 

Cameron McJannet (Grimsby)

 

Wingers - 

Bobby Kamwa (Newport)

Omari Patrick (Tranmere)

 

Striker-

Martin Sherif (Everton) 

 

Wright, Kamwa and Patrick all out of contract at their clubs. 

Kamwa and Patrick both electric on their day, both lacked consistency week to week but in a better side at the top of the table, perhaps they’d be able to find that. I think they’d both be very good and mostly realistic signings for us. That’s the kind of pond we’ll be fishing in. But then again it costs nothing to make a call to Jeremy Doku or Jarrod Bowen just in case;)

I believe McJannet expires too this summer but obviously will be dependent on whether Grimsby go up or not. Came through Stoke’s academy, good left foot. Will Wright a player i’ve loved for a couple of years now. Wanted us to sign him 2 years ago before he went to Swindon, scores goals and creates goals too as a defender. Something Brady said he needs more of from his defenders. 

Sherif, we all know about him. Very raw but the exact kind of player with the athletic and physical profile that could be very valuable in the future if developed properly. Some people won’t like it if we signed him, but in a league lower, and if he’s our player to develop instead of Everton’s, I’d really like to see him back. Side note, I don’t want him to be and wouldn’t expect him to be our number 1 striker. We NEED to sign someone with more pedigree and experience for that.

Would not take McJannet after watching him tonight, looked to be a slow useless lump tbh

On 14/05/2026 at 05:36, valeparklife said:

(Delusional) Expectations: Josh Maja and Nathan Lowe in L2

Reality: Sherif and Waine

Some of our fans are living on another planet  😅😅

On 14/05/2026 at 12:01, valeparklife said:

Of course!

I was highlighting Abdul Abdulmalik and Zak Brunt in January, but given their form since then, I doubt we have a chance now.

Players I'd be interested in would be:

Cian Hayes (transfer listed) - left footed right winger that has always looked bright. Only 22. Maybe L1 is a step too far right now, but I'm sure he'd be decent in L2 and can develop.

Olly Sanderson - 16 goals and 3 assists for Woking in the National League on loan from Fulham. Only 22. Out of contract. Had a number of loans and probably just needs a permanent home now. Real hardworking striker.

Mark Helm - been rumoured already but a quality midfielder. Would cost a fee.

Harrison Neal - Defensive midfielder, 25, goes under the radar but does a lot of defensive work, out of contract this summer.

Joshua Popoola - right footed left winger. 22 years old. 10 goals, 13 assists in NLS. Reminds me a lot of Kyrell Lisbie at Peterborough.

Frankie Maguire - 22 year old centre midfield. 7 goals and 9 assists in the National League. Out of contract. Diminutive but aggressive and dynamic.

Keep the older pros like Hall/Croasdale/Stockley etc but have a younger core, with potential to develop.

Move away from the 29 old year journeymen looking for a payday, and more towards younger players with a point to prove. 

At the moment, Vale have Waine and Stockley contracted as strikers for next season, it looks like Paton is on his way with Sherif being touted by some as a possible signing.

Your list only includes one striker, Olly Sanderson, who is a good shout but his goal scoring record in Lge 2 doesn't match that in the NL.

So Vale could start the 2026/27 season with a strike force of Stockley, Waine, Sherif, Sanderson and one other "Realistic" Lge 1/2/NL striker (Realistic = weak/patchy goal scoring record), together with a winger(s) like Popoola. IMHO there doesn't appear to be enough goals in that strike force for a mid-table finish let alone mount and maintain a promotion push.  Of course Vale could always get lucky with a signing.

So Vale could sign Helm and re-sign Garrity etc to potentially provide goals. Other areas of the team could more than chip in with goals but would this still be enough to provide the goals for a promotion from Lge 2, I doubt it.

Strikers with good goal scoring records, particularly in Lges 1/2/NL, will be in high demand and may be considered unrealistic but it's a pool in which Vale have to compete and be successful in or face a tough season in Lge 2.

IMHO in terms of transfer targets, outcome is the first thing to think about not realism. Realism can be made to happen, money and/or length of contract talk, as well as first refusal and sell on clauses. 

4 minutes ago, Paul6754 said:

re-sign Garrity etc to potentially provide goals

I hope he reaches his form of previous seasons if he does but I worry a bit injuries he’s had etc might mean he’s unable to reach those heights again. 
 

Like you though I have question marks on whether what we have/get will be good enough. Hard to say yet! 🙂 

1 hour ago, Paul6754 said:

At the moment, Vale have Waine and Stockley contracted as strikers for next season, it looks like Paton is on his way with Sherif being touted by some as a possible signing.

Your list only includes one striker, Olly Sanderson, who is a good shout but his goal scoring record in Lge 2 doesn't match that in the NL.

So Vale could start the 2026/27 season with a strike force of Stockley, Waine, Sherif, Sanderson and one other "Realistic" Lge 1/2/NL striker (Realistic = weak/patchy goal scoring record), together with a winger(s) like Popoola. IMHO there doesn't appear to be enough goals in that strike force for a mid-table finish let alone mount and maintain a promotion push.  Of course Vale could always get lucky with a signing.

So Vale could sign Helm and re-sign Garrity etc to potentially provide goals. Other areas of the team could more than chip in with goals but would this still be enough to provide the goals for a promotion from Lge 2, I doubt it.

Strikers with good goal scoring records, particularly in Lges 1/2/NL, will be in high demand and may be considered unrealistic but it's a pool in which Vale have to compete and be successful in or face a tough season in Lge 2.

IMHO in terms of transfer targets, outcome is the first thing to think about not realism. Realism can be made to happen, money and/or length of contract talk, as well as first refusal and sell on clauses. 

Would not be shocked at all if we went in for Archer. I know he split opinion on here and all his goals were cracking free kicks. We need contribution from midfield and wide players. I felt he's a bit weak physically but I wouldn't be shocked if he's back. 

I can see us paying fees for a couple of players.

Callum Stead is realistic if he's prepared to move North.  Though he's available on a free. 

And though he's been mentioned as potentially going to League one I feel Isaac Hutchinson fits the bill. Again a fee required, maybe circa 150k. 

Edited May 15May 15 by darren1810

8 hours ago, darren1810 said:

Would not be shocked at all if we went in for Archer. I know he split opinion on here and all his goals were cracking free kicks. We need contribution from midfield and wide players. I felt he's a bit weak physically but I wouldn't be shocked if he's back. 

I can see us paying fees for a couple of players.

Callum Stead is realistic if he's prepared to move North.  Though he's available on a free. 

And though he's been mentioned as potentially going to League one I feel Isaac Hutchinson fits the bill. Again a fee required, maybe circa 150k. 

I would 100% take Hutchinson or Helm both are the goal scoring midfielder type we need to bring in and i do agree that we will pay for some players,Brady himself has said you need to pay out to get the good players.

As you say Archer divided opinion on here but he is another who at 23 i feel would be a good investment but whether he would come is another matter,i think a couple of league one clubs will show an interest if he is available.

Watching the league two playoffs! It will be very interesting to see how any of the teams fare in league one! 

I know it was mentioned yesterday but defensively i would also make a move for Offord and Tomlinson from MK Dons

Importantly this summer we have got to bring in players that we know will be comfortable playing in league one just in case we do actually manage to go up at the first attempt again,we have 100% got to be ready this time

Would not take McJannet after watching him tonight, looked to be a slow useless lump tbh

That's that then

Not an awful lot of interest in most of the last 136 pages.

The most interesting list of released players is MK Dons. Alongside Bradford they are an example of a club hitting the lower tier, backing manager after manager with a raft of relatively expensive players, sacking the manager then repeating the process. Not really surprising they have released good player as they ended up with a massive squad. A lot of good players have been there, been average whilst there and then become good players after leaving. There are 5 on their released list who certainly when playing as they have at previous clubs would have got into our matchday squad last season.

A bit of chat about Josh Thomas. Looking at his career post his loan with us he really has done very little. Perhaps not quite as good overall as some remember, or thought at the time. His better performances were in EFL Trophy and League Cup games, a little similar to Paton. Maybe one of those players who looks like Maradona a step below the EFL but struggles at the next level up to make a meaningful impact. He's also had injury issues. Ultimately he's struggled to get into Derry City's team regularly for whatever reason this season, so I would doubt he will be on the radar of any EFL club for anything other than a preseason trial. 

Sheriff isn't what we need at the moment. Size and pace but he needs a lot of work to get him to EFL level. We have Waine who has been a bit in and out, Stockley who is past his prime and struggled with injuries this season. We really need a couple of strikers who are ready to play. He reminded me a bit of Thierry Small when he was at the club. All the physical attributes to be a good player but a couple of seasons away from being at that level. Would be a very much a project player and there is no guarantee he would make it. If we had 2 strikers already you could be confident in 35 plus good games a season it would be different.

Feel that as much as this squad was criticised, justly so in some cases, put 2 goalscoring strikers into that same side and we stayed up. It wasn't a terrible goals against column that took us down but a terrible goals for column. We didn't seem to have learnt that strikers with records like Lofty and Uche wont keep you up. 

So yes look to improve us all over the pitch but please take my main point on board and focus on bringing in 2 genuine goalscoring strikers. Use Stockley and Waine as backup.

Edited May 16May 16 by man in the pub

 

Forgot to add Bobby Kamwa must be one hell of an inconsistent player - he always seems to play well against us! If he could play 40 games a season consistently at the level he has played against us he'd be at a much higher level than Newport or Burton.