Thetownend.com

This looks to be a tough game, with Vale looking good on their travels lately with a draw at Stevenage and a 2-0 win at FGR.

0-2 Att: 8,843 (487 away)

6 points from 6 games leaves them firmly in the lower half of the table. They seem to score more away than they do at home atm.

I'm always surprised how many they bring down, coming from the smallest place to have a league club.

(For Reg)

Port Vale haven't won at Swindon since 2005 when they beat us 2-1, in home games we have suffered 1 defeat and 3 draws in the last 12 meetings. In those 12 games Town have scored 28 times with just 7 in reply.

In that run we have scored 6 goals once and 5 goals twice.

Currently Port Vale sit in 17th place with just 1 victory in the first 6 league games scoring 5 and conceding 5 goals with 3 games drawn and 2 defeats. They suffered 2 defeast in their 2 cup games so far too making it 1 win and 4 defeats from their first 9 in total.

Their only win came at high flying FGR 2 weeks ago with a 2-0 win at

Their leading scorer so far is the lanky Jamie Proctor on 4 goals, all his goals came in 2 games.

They don't normally travel in any large numbers with their average over the last 6 visits being well under 300, so I expect them to bring probably around their average of around 250 fans.

Swindon to suffer a single goal defeat in front of 8,345 fans with 275 Vale fans there.

That was the case until FGR entered the league with a town population of under 6,000 while Burslem is a huge 24,000 by comparison.

1-0 home win

Att: 7,978

Ooh, shall we do this? FGR isn't the club based in the town with the smallest population, and Burslem wasn't before that. You know who is of course...

Go for it, I read that FGR is the lowest town population to support an EFL club currently and before that Burslem for Port Vale held the title.

Please enlighten me....

Brighton play in Falmer, population 284, if we are getting that silly.

edit:  I googled to check the population,  but remembered their move was very out of Town.

Clue: this club sits in the heart of a community of 284 souls, and (sponsors apart) the stadium bears the name of the charming little village.  :sherlock:

Interestingly, FGR's proposed new stadium would see them move to a smaller Village, but not beat Brighton.  Eastington had a population of 1,567.

I discounted Falmer mainly for this reason "While the stadium lies completely within Brighton and Hove, part of the north-east of the site is in Lewes.".

Boo! If it was good enough to beat Reg in an argument, I'm having it.

And if we're talking technicalities, how is it worse than considering a borough of Stoke as if it was an entirely independent town?

Of course, Reg then revised his argument to say that Burslem was the smallest town when BPV joined the league, and he was wrong again.

*sigh* it's almost like having him back.

So you see the folly of starting an argument based on the minimum administrative entity, rather than borough or district etc. It was the one time I like to think I bested Reg. Though he continues to beg to differ.

Which is why they had such problems getting permission to build as Lewes kept saying no

Matchday thread  :sherlock:

It's not matchday

Topic, not date

Must be the time of the month.

Very quiet thread this week. Optimistic for a good win in Clem's last game prior to him heading off home, 3-1.

We’re a bit of a bogey team for them - at home anyway. Almost Mansfield proportions!

Personally, I quite like Vale. Seem a proper club somehow. They do blow hot and cold, though. Dissected FGR easily in their last away game, then don’t perform at home.

About time Joniesta started, KKH back, Gilbert must start. Nice problem for Garner to have - not sure if he’s ‘hard’ enough to make difficult decisions, though.

Like to see Odimayo CM. We’ll miss Grant’s majestic shithousing - it’s almost an art form. Perfected over time!

I keep thinking it’s only a matter of time before we really nail an opponent, but our finishing worries me.

1-0 with 9430.

Williams has been involved in all 3 Wales games (yes not 90 minutes granted) so I suspect might not start on Saturday.

Personally I would like to see him get 90 mins for us and see what hes capable of.

I would go with this....

                       Wollacott
         Odimayo  Conroy  Critchlow
KKH                   Reed                 Hunt
       Williams                 Payne
                        Gilbert
                      Simpson

Looks good to me, plenty of creativity in that side.

I would also, but probably not in this game given his international exertions. Don't forget he's also flown to Belarus and back in that time and played more minutes than expected. Get him back training for a week and then unleash him on *checks next fixtures* Northampton away.

Yeah in business class seats ;)

 :plane:

I thought he arrived with us not match fit. he has made a few sub appearances and gained more minutes for Wales. Surely this now means he is match fit and the opposite to needing a rest.

He's a pro footballer and we need him, get him in at the start!

Reading between the lines, I think he might well do.

"Kaine Kesler-Hayden really enjoyed the experience playing for England and he was back in with us Wednesday and is ready to play this weekend.

We have Jonny Williams' data from his training and matches he played and it was very pleasing for us with the amount of game time he got. He is great and is looking forward to the weekend as well.

Anthony Grant will have to do a period of isolation after coming from a red list country. I have asked for clarification on his isolation but we will have to follow the guidelines."

That's very positive. Perhaps Mr Williams will indeed start! Just goes to show that STFC staff know a lot more about our players than I do! :)

I'd like a repeat of Calderwood's goal  :)

https://youtu.be/s2yTfnqWe7k

We had such a great side that season Digby, Bodin, Kerslake, Gittens, Calderwood, Jones, MacLaren, McLoughlin, Shearer, White, Simpson, Summerbee.

That is one of THE best goals ever scored at the CG and definately one of the best goals I have ever witnessed us score in person.

Some more games of note between the 2 sides.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RsS8GXo_e8&t=1148s
When we clinched the title under PdC in 2012 with a 5-0 win.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcdUrICdoqo
The 5-2 win in 2013/14.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx51nIMlzyA
The 6-0 win in 2008.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcpH4UGi0w4
The 4-2 win in 97 with Chris Hay scoring a hattrick.

That just your 20 Swindon goals in just the 4 games at the CG :D

2008 and 2012 - batch jr and batch jr jr first games respectively.

I can't help feeling expectations may have been raised a bit

For a period in the mid 90's we seemed to always play them in the first couple of games each season, hence it tended to be one of the few games I saw before I went back to Uni.

I had to wait 5 years for my first "more than 4 goal" Swindon performance, a 6-0 win vs Lincoln in 78 and then we had an 8-0 win vs Bury the season later.

Its been downhill since then!

I have been to Port Vale about as many times as I have Rovers, Pox and Shitty as my dad lived in Runcorn and as we played them so often I would take him to games as its only half an hour drive from where he lived to Vale Park, we went to 10 games between 97 and 2014 and only saw us lose there once, a 0-1 in 2004 (we lost in a few that we never attended) have fond memories of Burslem and grabbing a pre match oatcake.

I'd like to see this too, but reckon it'll be Gladwin instead of Gilbert.

I've a feeling we'll start to really click tomorrow, winning 2 or 3 nil.

Yeah I feel he rested Gladwin on Tuesday ready for Saturday, I think Gibert showed enough for me to be in ahead of Gladwin who has been fairly poor by his standards lately.

At least when Gilbert gets the ball he always goes forwards with it, often dribbing at speed trying to create.

I also think McKirdy will be chomping at the bit to try and get one over the team that released him in the Summer.

Garner did say in his presser that a couple of players would be ‘missing’ - by that, I take it he means regular starters who may miss out this time. I’d Micky Hazard a guess at Gilbert for Gladwin and Joniesta for McKirdy (who, I reckon, is just the sort of player to get wound up playing against a former club).

I keep thinking of McKirdy as a Jimmy Bullard type of player.

I put a little bet on McKirdy to score against Carlisle for that very reason. The useless bastard  ;D

He seems to do all the hard work and gets in great positions then is inches away from finishing.

Exciting and frustrating...equally.

I see we have handed out 500 free tickets to schools for tomorrows game, I wonder if they are officially counted on the attendance? I guess they will be which could allow us to break the 9,000 figure again.

https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/sport/19570647.swindon-town-hand-500-free-tickets-schools/

Hopefully the game is entertaining enough to get them and their families to come back for more. Another great incentive by the club.

https://thewashbag.com/2015/07/08/the-best-ive-ever-seen-8-donkey-heads-a-football/

 :toocool:

To what do we owe the resurfacing of this 8-year-old event? I know it was the greatest moment of your life but is it an anniversary or something?

I assume that it was done in the 5-2 win over Port Vale in November 2013?

Grant is in hotel quarentine

I think everyone knew he wouldn’t be available tomorrow - with or without quarantine.

Oh man, what happened to the Washbag? Used to be my 2nd favourite STFC based website.

I'm assuming that the Jamaica Football Federation will be covering the cost.
Read somewhere that this was now down to a 5 day stay as opposed to 10.
Could be wrong though.

Cowley ?

Has to be a home win 2-0 Simpson and the new chap from Brentford Nylons.

I must say it’s very quiet in here for a match day

Not really matchday mornings, especially for a home game when fans are out doing what they need to prior to going to the game. We are still 4 pages into a matchday thread on a Saturday morning which aint bad.

A few thoughts from Vale fans about today.

I've no idea how people can make such assumptions so soon in the season and without us having played each other.

I thought that too.

Absolutely, who the fuck knows who has bought better than anyone else, it all depends on style, a good player at Port Vale may not be so good at Swindon due to our far more possession and passing based style than they have, a huge slow good in the air target man will not suit the ball being played to feet as we tend to play etc etc.

Hopefully they will be in for a bit of a shock.

Tbh, I still can’t work out if we’ve just been lucky with the chances missed by our opponents or unlucky that we haven’t hammered most of them.

I would like a nice, steady 2-0.

Yeah we are creating loads of chances and TBF hitting the target with a fair few so far.

As you know I like a got stat even if you can often not read much into them.

If you add it all up (in all 8 1st team games played, thats 6 league, 1LC and 1 JPT), so far we have amassed

108 shots (13.5 per game)
40 on target (5 per game)
9 goals scored (1.1 per game)
an average of 60% possession per game.

Opposition sides against us have had

90 shots (11 per game)
26 on target (3 per game)
5 goals conceded (0.6 per game)
an average of 40% possession per game

By comparison Port Vale so far have had

93 shots (11.5 per game)
26 on target (3 per game)
8 goals (1 per game)
an average of 42% possession per game.

Opposition sides against them have had

75 shots (9 per game)
27 on target (3 per game)
10 goals conceded (1.2 per game)
an average of 60% possession per game

Very impressive PV. Not so much the team ,more your research!

I especially like this comment.

thank you :) unfortuntely games are not settled by stats or we would win at a canter having way more shots and on targets than them so far almost double on target by comparison.

I do like stats but they rarely get bore out in games.

There'd been a few old Vale games put up, so I thought I'd add this one as it was against Vale. Nothing more.  :)

Wollacott, Conroy (C), Crichlow, Gladwin, Simpson, Payne, Gilbert, Williams, Kesler-Hayden, Hunt, Reed.

SUBS | Ward, Odimayo, Iandolo, Mitchell-Lawson, East, Parsons, Dabre.

Odimayo dropped otherwise as I hoped line up wise.

Probably this line up.

                       Wollacott
KKH        Conroy        Critchlow   Hunt
                          Reed                
       Williams          Gladwin       Payne
                        Gilbert
                      Simpson

Yowzer! That’s some good looking team. I’d always have Odimayo in my team, though.

Where’s McKirdy?

I love how people talk with such confidence and authority when they know absolutely fuck all...

Brilliant that Gilbert and Williams are both starting....

Where would Odimayo fit in?

I don't think that so far Odimay has been at the same level that he was at last season so fa,r his distribution at times has been woeful.

Thats a very attacking line up though.

In place of Gladwin.

Fuck knows what happens when Grant comes back and Lyden is fit. What a dilemma!

Would have thought he'd of been well up for playing against the club that released him.

That's an exciting line up

Perhaps Garner doesn't trust that attitude? only guessing but maybe he was too fired up?

Their keeper could be a threat if they send him up for corners.  :)

Looks decent, dunno if Gladwin will slow us down on the middle.

Like a few others I’d have preferred him out of there and Odimayo in at FB & KKH further up but we shall see...

But not even on the bench?

Probably our most attacking line up so far, we played quite well vs Arsenal with 4 at the back rather than the recently prefered 3 CB's.

Read the Vale fans comments, thought to myself "they must be doing well." Then I checked the league table. Not sure why they are so confident. May the best team win.

Getting into the ground is becoming a major issue, this is what the 4th or 5th home match yet there’s queues all down the road to get in the DRS. How have the club made such a mess out of something so simple as getting ticket holders into the ground?! It wasn’t like this before even for matches with big crowds.

They are very confident aren't they! especially with their form at the CG!

Hopefully we will get a hatfull against them again.

I have zero idea what odimayo has shown to suggest he’d work in midfield

At 2.30 it was deserted- walked straight in. The Tannoy is fixed though

On Tuesday on comms Spud Herring said when he took Odimayo on loan to Hungerford when he was boss there before he signed for us and was asked by Reading to play him as a holding midfield as they thought he could do a job there. Wellens also said he had pondered playing him as a holding midfielder too.

I walked straight in against Mansfield.
I’d suggest the issue is more about the time rather than what the club are / are not doing.

That's good. Must be nearly a decade it's been broken.

KKH looks like he has got slippery boots on.

Port Vale playing the Flitcroft way so far, they have a player with a huge throw on him and play to that strength.

I've just got to the CGH and tried to book an online ticket but can't  :( Can I pay at the gate?

Vale hit us on the break and Wollacott is down quickly with a good save.

Wow! Critchlow wrong side of striker. Good save from Wollacott

Simpson pulled down 40 yards out.

Vale starting as quick as they did at FGR. We need to weather this.

KKH is playing like the guy we had from Brentford last year!

Awesome start, but hasn't put a foot right today

Gilbert to Hunt to Williams down the left but Williams cross a bit too deep for Simpson.

I was thinking something similar.

Nice physical battle with the CB

Not seen Crichlow so dominated as he has been by Rodney so far.

Fucking iFollow replays still missing chunks of the match.

Just as PV and I say that, KKH clears off the boot of the striker from a cross along the 6 yard line......The Critchlow gets a bit testy with a Vale player

Definately a game of 2 conflicting styles of play today.

Anyone? I thought you could buy online before 4.45pm?

Payne booked for a niggly foul.

Save by Wollacott.

This is a shambles at the minute, defence second to everything and no midfield! Chrichlow especially is miles off the pace. The playing from the back is even more suicidal than usual.

Payne going to ground to quickly trying too often to win free kicks.

Great claim by Jojo from the corner.

All Port Vale atm. Hopefully Swindon will come back into this.

Great claim from corner by Wollacott

Gilbert deep cross well over Simpsons head in the box.

Strong play by Simpson who cuts inside but tries a shot from a sharp angle and its cleared.

Think the back 4 are missing the extra defender with 3 at the back. We are also missing link up with 2 X DMs.

You can tell Simpson's gained confidence from Tuesday. He's really bullying his defender today.

Gilbert shoots which is deflected to Williams but his shot is a cross and goes wide, great chance.

We are definately missing Grant at DMC.

0-1.

0-1

Great goal to be fair.

Deserved lead for Vale.

0-1 absolute shambles today. Deserved to concede from absolutely no one moving for a throw in!

Great move you have to say. We weren't close to one of those passes.

Yeah great finish. Been coming unfortunately. Hopefully we can bring it back.

Unstoppable finish TBF.

But it was our throw in that gave them the ball…

Don't we always seem to put on a below par performance when free tickets/ schoolkids are involved? Or am I imagining that?

We have no shape

They've pressed us very effectively.

Gilbert, Williams, Simpson and Wollacott the only players looking up for the challenge  at the moment.

All over the place is a shape!

But only one of our players even bothered to move. There’s no shape and no energy at the minute and no one that can tackle in the middle of the park.

We seem to be scared of their press, and are consequently kicking long and missing out our midfield. So no control and no possession.

Probably the poorest first 25 mins we have played this season so far.

Not as if it’s the first time we’ve looked a shambles at home. Up til now we’ve gotten away with it.

Very poor.

You have to give Vale some credit. They've been as good as anything we've seen this season so far.

Stopping us playing and we have no counter to that.

They have come with a gameplan and so far its working for sure, high press and hit us on the break.

Interesting to see Garner coaching rather than just screaming obscenities. Remember that?

Ball given away again almost a second for them. This really isn’t working, too Williams like for my liking in that we keep persisting with messing about at the back when it’s not working today.

All our players seem to be wearing their 50p boots.

Which is exactly what we do every game.
Sounds similar to Mansfield - just we’ve been punished this week.

Should be 2-0

Luckily the PV player fucks up after rounding Jojo.

Jesus!

We're being murdered all over the pitch at the moment.

Gilbert shoots from 20 yards but the keeper fumbles his save but we have no striker following up.

Gilbert shot after a bit of passing around the box.

Teams have quickly learnt that if they press us high they will get a lot of joy against us. Down to Garner to have a rethink now.

Definately need a plan B when plan A isn't working, which it isn't.

Our midfield are getting us murdered

Reed, Gladwin and Payne not at the races so far at all.

PV defender heads over his keeper but KKH can't get to the ball first 6 yards out.

Yes and Williams, Gilbert and Gladwin look to be 3 'luxury' players when we can only afford 1.

Sorry, Port Vale scored as I got in the ground. Worst I've seen us.

Critchlow is all over the place.

Only positive is it’s 1-0, only the keeper comes out with any credit. Everyone else from centre back to Simpson have been beyond poor.

Quality wise this is almost as bad as last season, as T2K put at least its only 0-1.

Timewasting wanker of a keeper.

this is fucking poor.

crichlow struggling all half but far deeper than that. Hunt struggling against winger and not much attacking intent.

HT 0-1

Poor to say the least.

And fittingly, the half ends with us tippy-tappying around with zero threat. Time for a rethink at half-time.

Poor. Changes needed.

But those twats booing can fuck right off.

This is as bad if not worst than anything last season. We basically have no one on the pitch capable of tackling and I include the centre backs in that. It’s all ball players and no one capable of doing the hard work to win the ball back.

What a mess of a half that was.  Reed has been OK, Simpson looked OK for about 20 mins.  Other than that very few can take much credit.

KKH - all over the shop
Conroy - meh
Critchlow - keeps losing his player
Hunt - awful, just awful
Gladwin - cannot play in a two man midfield if he can only stroll around
Payne & Williams - both want to play the same role and as a result we have a threat but no shape
Gilbert - would be where the other two are but at least is holding a position, but as a result he's not as effective as it is wide

I'd have Hunt off and move Critchlow to the left back role and someone on for Gladwin if we insist on playing two there.  It needs someone with more ability to be busy.

Can't be as bad in the second half I suppose.  We do look quite vulnerable to up and at em teams.

Once the players’ confidence in their passing goes we’ve got nothing.

Garner hasn’t got - or probably doesn’t want - a Plan B. This anal obsession with pass, pass, pass isn’t working.

Worst we have played as others have said. The lack of any sense of desire to attack and the constant passing around the back at walking pace is doing my head in. Considering the attacking players we have on the pitch we seem clueless.  

Vale deservedly winning, they'll be annoyed it's only 0 - 1.

Need to change it at half time.

Think I'd like to see East come on to help Reed protect the back 4. Think that could be for one of Gladwin, Williams,  Gilbert or possibly Payne.

But, Garner is just as likely to bring on Iandolo for Hunt.

There wasn't that much, it was aimed at the referee.

neither does 1 up front when you are well marked and pressed in midfield/defence.

the result is a longer ball which the value defence are very easily dealing with

In which case I take it back.

The problem with Hunt and Iandolo is they keep showing themselves to not be very good at left back, the other one looks better for a few minutes and it all seems better.  Until that player also shows they are a bit naff at the role.  I'd get Odimayo on and see if we can refocus on marking their front two, with Critchlow having a bit more pace at left back for their penchant of playing down that channel.

Port Vale have a gameplan that is very much working so far, we are making a very average side look good because they all know their roles and how to pressure us into mistakes.

We don't have a lot on the bench to change things but changes are definately needed.

Without Wollacott we would probably be 3 down already.

You can pass the ball around all day long but without a killer edge you won't threaten the opposition goal, but 1st and foremost stop pissing around at the back and playing into their hands, get East on in defensive midfield for Gladwin and maybe Odimayo to get a bit more height at the back as Vale have 2 huge strikers who Conroy and Critchlow are struggling against.

I suppose you have to trust the plan

Gladwin pulls out of every challenge. No wonder they’re walking through us.

Another uninspisring game so far. Possession football is not working for us as we don't seem to be able to string passes together unless it is across the back or backwards. A rocket up the arse and instructions to do the basics. We're making Vale look a decent side as we are woeful, however some decisions have gone against us.
Surely the 2nd half can't be any worse, can it?

Get Dabre on. At least he’s full of effort.

Missing Grant big time

I think that was aimed at the Ref and lino. Although thee have been some grumbling along the DRS

No changes… shocking but not surprising.

I think it's disrespectful to call PV very average. They've played a very effective high press, have moved the ball forward quickly and accurately and offer a big physical threat. Their passing for the goal was very sharp. They haven't done a lot wrong and we're lucky not to be further behind. I think sometimes you have to give the other side a bit of credit.

We still have to come up with a way to play it, and this side looks to have too much flair and not enough grit at the moment. A spine of Reed, Payne, Williams and Gilbert isn't going to bully anyone, and Gladwin is surprisingly lightweight in the challenge.

1-1

1-1 Simpson.

Some proper forward passing and we score. Get in.

They have played very effectively but I will say now they will be mid table at the end of the season, they have a gameplan that they obviously know and most sides in this league will not be bullied by them as we have been.

Great play

That was surprisingly simple.

The plan worked

Left the room for a piss
We scored.

Necking a shit ton of water now

1-1 Great move. Gladwin put Gilbert in on the right. Gilbert put it across the 6 yard line where Simpson came steaming in from the back post and side footed it into the net unchallenged.

Decent move between Williams and Gilbert but his cross is too close to the keeper.

Yet against Mansfield Grant was doing nothing and having him and Reed was over kill and we didn’t get going till Williams came on for Grant.

Now it’s the reverse.

Gilbert drops shoulder and pops in a good cross from the left.

I was thinking that too.

All Swindon.

Simpson strong again.

Gilbert shot saved by the keeper.

Amazing what a bit of confidence does for a side.

Simpson bullying the number 6

Williams cross goes out for another corner.

Great feet Gilbert.

Gilbert breezes past 2 and sees a rocket pushed over by the keeper

Williams nice run into the box squares it to Gilbert who dummies it for Payne but the defender gets to it.

Gilbert has been a revelation this half...and is now booked!

He crosses with his left but shot that with his right, 2 decent feet and a great close touch.

They are poor at the back if you attack them just like us. Could be anything at the end.

Ideally (!!) you’d have a midfielder in there who could do both (at the same time) or the ability to do either (one at a time) but then having that ability would probably see them above L2.

Another great claim by Wollacott.

Exactly, thats why they are playing for a L2 side!

Crowd looks like its pushing 9k again IMO.

Another good save by Wollacott.

Att:8,734 with 233 Port Vale fans.

I was pretty close :)

Not much in these Port Vale fouls, they are definately playing for them.

Vale are pinning us back again.

Good clearance from Conroy from that FK.

This ref has lost control of the game, creating issues out of nothing.

Critchlow clears that one.

Port Vale are professionally winning the free kicks, is putting it politely.

Why did we pass back to Wollacott there when he had a player already on him? sometimes just clear the ball.

Great chance, Long ball into Gilbert but he crosses and we just cant get to it.

Another reason why we are missing the General.

Gladwin diagonal to Gilbert who puts it across the face of goal. Payne couldn't get there

Williams off for JML.

He is king of that!

JML for Williams

Rodney off (which is good)

Good chasing down by Simpson there.

Good idea by JML to Gilbert but its hit a bit long.

JML too heavy a pass for Gilbert

I’m relying on a Town win here for my treble. Other 2 look nailed on already.

Close to being 2-1

Good save again by Wollacott even though the striker was offside.

Simpson nearly scores, hits the angle of bar and post from 20 yards.

Both these sides better going forward than back.

Simpson!!!! What a strike.

Gladwin off for Iandolo.

Iando links with JML. Cross ricochets back off him.

Vale here for the taking

Gilbert lovely ball into Simpson but he falls as he turns in the box, good chance, nice play.

They are indeed, we have come back into it and look most likely to score this half IMO.

I'd whack Dabre on for 10mins. Could cause havoc.

Need to fire in some shots. Keeper looks poor. Think Vale are hanging on

Payne is certainly not having his best game for us.

Parsons on for Gilbert.

Shame as Gilbert looked quite good this half.

Parsons for Gilbert

1-2

Bollox

fucks sake

Fucking Conroy, just clear it you prick!

1-2 well I was wrong.

Cock.

Wank defending.

Fuck

Mess in defence there.

Awful defending

Parsons booked.

FFS 1-2

Conroy slips
Critchlow and Iandolo collide

Shot hits post

Iandolo can't get to rebound which is blasted into the other corner

Think most of us were there, to be honest bud.

How has that keeper not had a booking?

KKH heads over from 1 yard hits the defender for a corner.

JML soft shot easy save.

Still think we 'could' get something from this. Two shots on target and we're there!

Conroy really off the pace today, his passing has been terrible.

Wollacott and Conroy distribution have been poor.

5mins added. Plenty of time yet.

Iandolo bloody awful cross!

Too many big players off the pace today, Conroy, Critchlow and Payne as well as Gladwin for most of the game.

Simpson easily my MotM today.

Awful substitution IMO

Iandolo indecisive in the box.

Frustrating we’ve conspired to lose this after getting back into it!

Free Kick to Town on the corner of the box last few seconds.

Cross too heavy too

Simpson still fighting.

Shit free kick by Reed.

FT 1-2.

Shit.

Disappointing conclusion to the match

FT 1-2

Bleh, didn't deserve to win today but were given a chance and came to life...only to fade again. Poor show lads.

I think that's a pretty good summary.

1-2 full time. On balance of play Port Vale deserved the win. Swindon started the second half strong and after equalising looked like potentially scoring a second goal. Port Vale scored the second though and that was that.

Well that was dreadful other than 20 minutes when we got back into it. Create our own problems and personally I’m a bit worried what we will do when conditions deteriorate as we don’t seem to have players capable of doing the dirty work.

Ok, so only listened to the game today but sounded very similar to Mansfield but this week the opposition punished us - where as Mansfield were wasteful.

Opposition pressing us but we still stick to our passing game and play ourselves into trouble.

Had our chance to get back into it, but blew it. Our defence was surprisingly fragile today. Not sure any of the subs improved us tbh.

Credit to Simpson

Simpson the only real good point for me today.

Wollacott made some decent saves but his distribution not quite up to its normal standard, Gilbert made some good moves too. JML looked quite eager when he came on. Williams ran around a lot but kept occupying the same space as Payne wanted to be in.

The rest need a fucking good bollocking.

Lack of service to him.

missed everything today except the odd peak on here. he seem to be setup this season to win by a goal. if we concede we have issues. I can't see us ever being smashed but can't see us giving one out. we need our midfield to step up with some goals otherwise this season will fizzle

A deserved win for Port Vale. We were poor today.

A poor day at the office? We've defended well until today. I know the rest was shit as well, but I was surprised to see us defending so poorly.

Another pre-season game ticked off the list. I just hope we learned from it.

Oh, and while I think Gladwin's a good player, he needs to have a word with himself. I reckon it would do him well if he was dropped for a while.

We need to get the balance right in midfield. We have a lot of midfielders but a lot of similar midfielders.

We appear to have similar players who like to occupy the same space who just end up getting in each other’s space.

I think that Gladwin was needed for his height, but midfield was shapeless.

Not sure we can use the "pre season" as an excuse any more, last season we had 9 pre season games this season we had 5 so maybe after the first 4 or 5 we could say that, not so much now we are 9 games in.

It was just a bad day at the office with too many experienced players having off days, we did however miss "The General" in midfield.

I agree on Gladwin, hes just not been at the races the last few weeks.

This, in a nutshell.

Honest opinion is I don’t think you get the quality of players at this level to play how Garner wants so going to be interesting to see if he’s able to adjust his setup.

Lucky to be still in it at H.T,  The manager got the wrong mix and Port Vale proved that the win at Forest Green wasn't a fluke.

I don't think we can count our pre season, pre season games considering it was mostly youths playing in them. I started the count at 0 on our first league game.

Regardless, I said I'll give it 10 before the season kicked off and I'm sticking to it.

I do think today might have a silver lining. We've been riding our luck a bit and today should hopefully give them a much needed kick up the ass. The manager included.

I’m not sure that’s the issue. I think we are capable of playing that way to a certain extent / standard.

The issues arise when the opposition counter that by pressing us hard. We stubbornly stick to our play and seemingly have no plan / room for manoeuvre.

In this league you are probably better off being 65% good on the ball and 35% good at the more agricultural style of play than being 100% & 0% respectively

Just like Carlisle the best team won. PV were well organised, worked hard and didn't let the Town settle on the ball.
A simple plan and it works. We don't win the 50 50s and when Simpson hit the upright who was waiting to knock in the rebound? PV second goal was just that. A rebound fired back in.
The moral of this story work hard and attack with intent

That’s what I mean though, we’ve got a team that that are almost 100% focused on playing the ball and we seem to have forgotten about the fact we also need players that can break up play and win the ball back. I would argue that even our centre backs aren’t great actual defenders, their main attributes are being relatively comfortable with the ball and defending comes second.

Garner:
- Fair scoreline
- They did what they do very well
- We didn't compete well enough
- We had 3 opportunities to clear the second goal
- Passing only had fluency in spells.
- We were a little flat for the first time this season
- Didn't have the normal zip. There were spells but they werent long enough
- No signs of flatness in training
- Everyone got what they needed in mid week
- Will assess his selection and review as a team
- Gladwin: Thought there were spaces in their shape we could exploit
- Expected us to dominate more
- Will review with staff first and then with the players after
- Simpson's was a brilliant goal
- Even in first half we created chances
- Did really well at the beginning of the second half
- Didnt win first or second balls giving away throw ins which lost momentum and put pressure on us
- Should have come away with a point and not lost
- Execution and decision making wasn't always there. We were often a little cautious
- Not a bad performance, just a below par one
- Aguiar and McKirdy: Both injured. McKirdy has a problem with a quad. Has had a week's rest. Aguiar turned his ankle.
- Grant: Quarantine will mean he misses Northampton next week. Frustrating that he will miss 4 games

can't argue with the result. They were better than us. We were sloppy and off the pace.

We have to work on what to do when being pressed, starting from goal kicks. Teams realise we try to walk it out from the back.

Gilbert:
- One of those days. You have days like that as a player
- Hoped to push on and get a second goal. Felt like it was coming
- Loved it here so far
- Style: Attraction in coming here. Want to try to play football.
- Sees himself as a 10 but can be an out and out striker, but different to Simpson
- Aware of Garner from WBA, but didn't come into contact with him
- Went into pre-season with the first team, but thought a loan was best to get regular games.
- Showed glimpses of what he can do today. Hopefully more to come.

That's what Woolery gave us under Wellens. We could pass through teams or counter by hitting him direct depending on how sides matched up against us. We don't have that double threat currently.

Would prefer to see us play 3412 with an extra centre back to solidify it at the back to allow KKH to play further forward to maximise his attacking threat, then Gilbert closer to Simpson as he is pretty isolated at times. That said, if Grant was there today we may have had a different result.

Lots to like about our style of play and recruitment though, even if it has its flaws at the minute.

When we attacked with intent we scored. We are a good side just wished we'd be more aggressive up front. Simpson was MOM easily. Getting better each game.

Out thought, out fought and for the first half out classed, thought we were up against a Prem side the way we looked so slow and pedestrian with no urgency at all.

Let’s hope we can somehow get some support up front with Simpson who is busting a gut on his own up there.

Just back, and read through the post mortem. Agree PV deserved to win, they won far more headers and 2nd balls and pressed us really well. 1st half we were miles off; lucky to be only 1-0 down. Problem was in midfield; they pressed us really well, we resorted to longer game and they had the beating of us in Midfield. Think Gladwin was playing the Grant role, just not as good at it. Didn't think Gladwin was as bad as some are saying; he did fight for the ball but the rest of the midfield was overwhelmed. The biggest problem with our shape was the 2 full backs, they were on the touchline and we didn't use them; so they were out of the game. 2nd half much better, if Simpson scored with that great curling shot I think we go on to win. I actually quite enjoyed the 2nd half, better quality football in general than I remember from League 2 last time. All 3 goals were well taken. Simpson deserved MoM for me.

I didn't see what happened to Critchlow at the time but I hope the guy doesn't get away with it....

https://twitter.com/jiff1967/status/1436699042730455043?s=20

It seems Garner’s game plan is to do fuck all in the first half - we’ve scored 1 goal in the first half of games so far - hoping the opposition will tire themselves so in the second half we can try and get somewhere with the fanny football.

For huge swathes of games it’s turgid shit to watch - alleviated by a couple of fine, silky passing moves.

Those Carlisle commentators might have been twats but they were right about one thing. A team will struggle to get out of L2 playing a style that we are attempting.

I’m losing patience with it already.

I'll tell you what then - let's have Power and Sheridan back!

That’s ridiculous. The football Wellens got us playing was far superior to what we’ve witnessed so far. Just because we’ve been brought back from the brink doesn’t mean Garner should get carte blanche. He’s been given a free rein over recruitment and style and, personally, it’s watching behind the sofa stuff. Waiting for the cock ups. Just like Luke Williams.

Others may like it but it’s just not for me.

We are 7th in the league? You’re talking like we are bottom. Jesus Christ.

That’s not the point he’s making, you can’t just keep using the Sheridan & Power argument anytime someone criticises the current set-up, they can’t be immune to criticism just because they are an ‘improvement’. For years we’ve been critical of Luke Williams when he was in charge and at the moment the way we play is almost a carbon copy, hopefully Garner has more about him and can adjust where necessary.

233 away fans. Embarrassing. I expect Harrogate will beat that. Mind you Vale don't get many at home either.

Let’s bring Wellens back - doing great a job at Doncaster!


It’s still early days to be getting anything other than mildly annoyed with our style of play.
However, I fully understand concern / apathy growing if it continues to be our ONLY style of play.

We lack a plan b. We need one - I’d go as far as to say all our league games have proved this point.

I’ve said before, I don’t give a shit what Wellens had done/is doing at other clubs. At Swindon it was great to watch.

Quite rightly, the club has had a honeymoon period. That won’t, and shouldn’t, last forever.

Exactly this! As fans we will always conduct a post mortem after the game, it's what we do. But we are much better off position-wise so far than most predicted and these kind of performances were always going to be expected after the lack of preseason followed by
 high load training once Garner walked in to make up for lost time.

RE the slow tempo, this will probably speed up as our chemistry improves and the team has gelled further.

Garner was appointed because this was the style of play and football Clem wanted at the club - so if it wasn’t him it would only be someone else playing a similar way.

There’s a real danger of the present feelgood factor premium being wasted.

I’m generally an optimistic guy, but I genuinely believe this style will get us nowhere.

Others will no doubt disagree. That’s fine. I’m just stating it as I see it.

Hopefully I’m wrong and we become a lower League Barcelona.

I agree with you Aud.

And like you I hope I'm proven very wrong

Less downbeat as still very early days with a squad that hasn’t been together for that long.
I actually get what we are trying to do and definitely believe we will get it right.
Port vale second half were there for the taking but we failed to convert that one chance.
Once we started to turn the ball quicker we looked much better.
Confidence in Garner as he will see the shortcomings. Pity the Ref and officials missed the blatant red card, the off ball elbow on Crithlow but the way it goes.
Credit to Vale though.
Shithousery excecuted to plan. First half looked decent and we were second best.
Another excellent crowd and only positives from me. Getting home by 6pm next Saturday will make a change.

Garner was appointed because he is excellent coaching young players.
In addition we don’t have a massive budget and a debt that needs reducing.
Garner was in place 4 weeks before the official announcement by the way.

Vale were there in the second half for the taking but when we failed to score a second in the 15 minute spell when we were playing well, we reverted to type and started going sideways backwards and pissing about with the ball. Which unfortunately were not good enough at.

I am OK with the style of play, not the execution.  The high press could have been countered by bringing on Odimayo and switching to 5:3:2.  Both fullbacks could have been more involved.  Grant was sorely missed, along with Payne and Williams playing too much in a similar manner.  It's not as if Wellens or Di Canio got it right at the start, either.  Williams' problem was that Power replaced good players with inferior players.  Garner is correct in analyzing the game with his coaches ahead of dealing with the players, as the coaching staff got it wrong, unlike the opposition.  Only once since Jonny Williams has arrived has he not provided a great cross to nobody (H., Mansfield).  Superior skill is being wasted.  

Just got home. Frustrating game. The first half was a non event but we got better in the second. However, at times you just have to clear it. The second goal was a giveaway. Just boot it! I love watching football played on the ground and at speed but we are a nearly team at the moment so a plan b tweak is essential. Loved our goal and think Simpson will be a big favourite. Would be great to see a formation that could give him more support. I would have left Gladders on and was surprised Williams started. Think he may have wreaked havoc in the last 30 minutes. However, happy to watch a team and be able to offer an opinion. Thought that might have gone a few months ago. That said, today showed deficiencies that need to be worked on with improvement evident as games go. Do worry that on a heavy pitch we will leak soft goals. Good start to the season overall so happy but I hope the manager can adjust. Have a good evening all.

I thought PV were effective at what they did - get long throws and other set pieces in the box. They were physically bigger and stronger than us which creates problems.
I prefer a back 3 - it helps us compete in the air against this type of team, and I thought Conroy and Critchlow looked more comfortable in that system than today.
We could have drawn today - we had chances we didn’t take and ought to have prevented their second goal.
I also think the wind affected today’s game - the flag behind the Town End was fluttering strongly, as were the trees behind the DRS, and in the first half several of Woollacott’s kicks were held up in the wind (he struggled to reach half way a couple of times, whereas second half a number were over hit.
I think we will get the style right, I can see what they are trying to do, and whilst I won’t talk about last season (JS and LP) but I found Flitcroft’s brutalist hoof ball absolutely dreadful  to watch and would hate a return to that.
I thought Simpson and Reed were our best players today, we missed Grant who would have played PV at their own game.
Gilbert looks promising.
Finally, the referee was atrocious- and their players were more streetwise in taking advantage of that incompetence.

Wellens last year:  P7 W2 D0 L5 F9 A13 Pts  6   21st place
Garner this year:   P7 W3 D2 L2 F8 A6   Pts 13   7th place

Wellens title* season - P7 W4 D2 L1 F14 A8 Pts 14   4th Place

So we are 3 points and 3 positions worse off than someone who had a full pre season…..

Really want Garner to succeed thou do worry about him being luke williams mk2.  Playing from the back going nowhere. Very slow tempo and feels our play has no aim to me at times.  Balance feels wrong to me and feel it was a mistake not getting a decent left back in.  Ellis isnt a left back, awful crosser. And Hunt is a right back.

Simpson often isolated and we lack pace to support him.  Would like to see us look to get it wide and get more crosses in. Not after long ball football at all, but certainly want a tempo  to our play.

A work in progress, and alot of work needed.

Wellens' 1st 7 games:

W3 D2 L2 F8 A10 Pts 11

Bang average tidae and way too tame.

Definitely need broads in all corners at half time and plenty of toot whilst they're at it

Hang on chaps.

It was a crap result and we didn't play that well.

Garner, after the game, said he would review his part first. He mentioned the fact that he might have got selection wrong.

Personally, I think that was the case. We had too many luxury players on the pitch and noone breaking. Up play or linking defence to attack.

On the few occasions we got into their half and set up properly, we looked threatening.

When Wallacott had the ball and they pressed, we had no way of passing through or around them.

Simple fix, bring in another DM for one of the flair players.

Could think about playing a back 4 of KKH (RB) Conroy Odimayo and Critchlow (LB) with Reed and East (until Grant is back) in front of them.

Agree with most of that, but if you are passing it out from the back, a back three with wing-backs should work better.  Like to see two up top as well.

We were poor today.  Very Luke Williamsesque.  They press, we don't - they wait for inevitable cock up - we deliver.

Too deep, too slow, then the inevitable happens

Playing 'the right way' is not an excuse for always passing sideways and backwards.  Especially a goal down in the 90th minute.

We shouldn't hoof it all the time either-  but there is a balance

Yes, he may not have got the selection wrong but to me that’s a bit irrelevant imo
Last home game against Mansfield we had two DMs in Grant and Reed and it it didn’t help or alter the passing it sideways tactics, if anything having an extra DM only encouraged it. We didn’t get going till Grant went off and we bought a more attacking midfielder on in Williams who ran forward with the ball.

Today we started with one DM and an extra AM and we are all blaming the tactics on the lack of a second DM.

Just my opinion but we could put out any XI in any formation and we’d have the same problems as it’s the style of play rather than selection.

We need a plan b. We need to mix it up and we need another striking option.

Just a bit of context. Yes today was poor (although fine margins had Town scored when having the upper hand) but Town are most definitely a WIP. Simpson is coming along nicely, Gilbert has more to come, Williams is not yet up to full speed, KKH (hopefully just a blip), the lad has talent.

I think a few deep breaths and some reflection is possibly needed. One win and Town are back sniffing those auto spots but lingering around the POs all season  (or better) would be an absolute revelation.

I understand that expectations are fluid and can change as a season develops (it certainly can and does for me), it's part of the rollercoaster of supporting a lower league club. Maybe, even if just for a few seconds, reflect and think where Town were just 2 months ago.

The point was we didn't pass the ball!

We couldn't get the ball from the defenders to the midfield to the striker.

We picked an unbalanced team and people put into certain positions didn't do their job.

I find it quite conflicting atm. Yes we were saved from the brink and yes we had no pre season and the team is gelling. However, apart from the goal the other chances we created seemed more moments of individual skill rather than Town creating chances as a team. The 3 behind Simpson seemed to be free to roam where they wanted and the shape was all over the place. I don’t think PV were even that good but  passed it around us with ease at times as there was no pressure on the ball. Will it improve over time, no idea but crowds will start to decrease if the performances stay like that. I found it pretty boring to watch yesterday, most of the game we lacked urgency or getting into dangerous positions. The team appears to be good enough so it does lie with the manager atm. Ben does tweak the tactics mid game but hopefully will start to try a different game plan if passing the opposition to death doesn’t work.

Wrong selection against a determined PV. We'll play worse and win I'm sure, but it did feel as if that's a game we might've done better in had we had a pre season with the squad.
It's not the reason we lost but that ref was honestly the worst one i've seen, topped off by his grinning at every decision he made. Had lost control of the game within 20 minutes when PV were time wasting and allowed to engage in shithousery. Of note for me were Parson's and Simpson's yellows where he didn't have a clue what was going on

I've no idea what parsons was actually booked for.

re: League position. it's bloody brilliant. I thought we'd be Oldham for the first half of the season.

re: criticism of style. if course fans Nissan more when we lose. it's always been thus. for me Luke Williams was like a football deatheater, sucking the love of the game from my soul.

this time we have a much better balance of older and younger heads. so it may well be more successful. I don't know

looking at yesterday's game in isolation, PV had clearly done their homework and largely stopped us playing out from the back and through midfield. Needed to change things somehow. but didn't really

60% possession according to sky sports. So we must have had a lot of the ball.

I haven’t read back yet - so sorry if this has already been said. I thought yesterday gave us a great insight to what to expect this year. We’ll have possession, and our game plan is to score goals like the one we scored. But for every occasion that we score a goal like that, there are many more where we have possession in the final third and there aren’t enough good runners to put us in goal scoring positions. We didn’t work the keeper, with 60% possession.

Our first choice XI lacks mobility in midfield, with Grant and Gladwin. But Grant offers physicality when he’s available. Take him out, and we were slow and horribly weak yesterday. I think each of Gladwin, Grant and Reed are good players if you surround them with mobile, physical workers. But we undermine them and weaken the whole side without those players. We’re missing a Douglas, Leitch, or fit Lyden (and we can’t bank on him being available). That exposes the defence. It took them two passes to cut through us on more than one occasion.

So the plan is there. We just don’t have the personnel to implement it. A fit Lyden or Ryan East (if he’s up to it yet?) may help. Gilbert playing as more of a second striker, rather than wide, may help. I don’t know - but we’ve had a few lucky breaks these last few weeks and with that game plan, I think we could start to get ourselves into trouble.

Garner has been successful at youth and reserve levels, and I wonder if he’s trying to set us up like a youth or reserve side, where nobody gets stuck in, and you can get away with a side like that…. We played with the urgency of a friendly. There’s no excuse for that. But Garner seems an intelligent bloke and must be able to see where we are lacking.

We had a bad Hair day in terms of the referee.
PV player goes to ground, ref shakes head, no foul, PV player then lies prostrate, ref blows whistle and gives the free kick.
The refs have been ok so far, not this one.

There should be no shame in a pure possession based passing side knocking it down the line now and then.
The whole team can then push up and the opposition have to turn and there is always the chance of winning possession higher up the pitch.
Simpson is always offering to make that run as do one or two others.
Some direct running at the opposition would also offer something different, which for me is why McKirdy should play when fit and JML looks promising in that respect as well.

And Conroy, you are wearing the No 4 shirt man, the passing needs to be much better, both long and short.

One other observation is that too many of our players seem to be guilty of thinking about where they are going to pass the ball before they’ve actually even got the ball under control. Conroy especially really needs to cut it out as it cost the second goal yesterday, gave Mansfield a massive chance in the previous home game and same happened when he got sent off against Wigan last season. I get he’s there for his distribution but it I s becoming a bit of a theme and he really needs to inject some urgency sometimes.

Urgency! That’s the word. None of our play is urgent enough.

We’ll pick up enough points away from home, but we’ll continue to struggle at the CG.

...but adding Grant (which a lot of people are claiming was what was missing) to that just adds another player to pass it between 30 odd yards from our own goals

The poor total stranger I was next to was in no doubt about my opinions when that played out. The ref was grinning whilst shaking head. It was maddening

Problem is none of the other midfield players actually tackle so unless you have Grant or a player like him teams run through the middle of us and we struggle to win the ball back. The lack of bite in our midfield was abundantly clear yesterday.

We've gone into the season without an out and out left back and with 1 out and out (young, inexperienced and raw) striker. Left becoming an issue, every single team is attacking down that side and they are doing it easily. Hunt isn't gonna find the form he had under Wellens (same thing happened to him at Oldham when RW left) and Iandolo seems better suited in more advanced positions.

The defence had no protection in the middle, the number of times they played through balls right through the middle of our defence was exactly where Grant likes to sit and play and mop them up, we missed him a lot. Gladwin was just plodding around giving the defence no protection at all.

Gladwin is shot. Has a luxury moment in him, but he's shot.

Apparently yesterday was the first time since 1994-95 (27 years) that we have started the season with 4 consecutive 8,200+ attendances.

(https://i.postimg.cc/TYMJ5ngM/241760895-6722896047736122-3113307222768561342-n.jpg)
What the actual fucking fuck?

Just after we scored.

What the fuck is wrong with people.

That depends on the opposition surely? We were bullied yesterday and lacked someone to break up play against their stronger midfielders. We missed him

Port Vale were deserved winners overall. More aggressive with and without the ball and their game plan -press high up the pitch, denying us the ability to play through the thirds- worked well. They were physically stronger and  a constant threat from set pieces. In effect you could say it was a typical league 2 side,  with some decent passing and movement thrown in.  

We were fortunate to only be a goal down at half time, it should have been at least 2. Our play was too passive, lacking energy and as others have said no real cohesion. It was almost men against boys and we were being bullied. At half time, I felt we needed to make changes and I would certainly have changed Iandolo for Hunt, as felt Hunt was struggling both defensively and offensively, where he rarely passes forward, constantly turning back on his preferred right foot. Also felt that we somehow needed to get Gilbert further up the pitch and maybe either Williams or Payne needed sacrificing, as they were largely ineffective - I hardly remember Payne touching the ball in the first half.

The 2nd half started off the same, until we scored a trademark Swindon goal and completely against the run of play.  Several passes, -- many backwards and sideways- before Gladwin played the killer forward pass to Gilbert, who crossed brilliantly for Simpson to score.

What followed was 10 minutes of Swindon dominance, with Gilbert and Simpson almost scoring 2 great goals from chances created entirely by themselves. At that stage I felt there was going to be only one winner and that was us. We then completely lost the momentum again and conceded a dreadful goal  with Conroy careless in the tackle and Critchlow & Iandolo challenging each other for the header which dropped for the winning goal.

The substitutions didnt help us at all.  In particular the subbing of Gilbert by Parsons seemed completely unnecessary and pointless at the time as Gilbert was our best outfield player and his directness is exactly what we needed. Cant remember us threatening after that.

Individually:-
Woolacott 7 - excellent under intense pressure at set pieces. Distribution not as good as usual, with Vale high press causing issues
KKH 5.5 - largely anonymous. Somehow need to get him on the ball more.
Conroy 6 - not his best display. Partly responsible for winning goal. Want him to speed up his delivery sometimes.
Critchlow 5 -  felt he was bullied by Proctor and distribution not the best. Maybe move to left back for next game and bring Odimayo in centrally
Hunt 5 - prefer him on the right side and need a natural left footer at left back
Reed 6.5 - our best midfielder on the day, although may have done better tracking their number 8 for the first goal
Gladwin 5.5 - largely ineffective, although great pass leading to the equaliser. If we play him it needs to be further forward
Williams 6 - one quality cross, with noone there to take advantage of it. Otherwise nothing really came off for him. Seemed to play in space normally utilised by Payne
Payne 5.5 - anonymous 1st half. Seemed to come into it more in the 2nd half.
Gilbert 7.5 - love his direct approach and willingness to shoot. Always looks forward. Needs to play closer to Simpson
Simpson 7 - always works his socks off. Good goal and excellent effort almost resulted in a spectacular 2nd.

Although before kick-off I was happy with the team selected, in hindsight it didnt work. We had one too many ball-playing, technically gifted midfield players who weren't physical enough to cope with Port Vale's game plan. Grant in particular was missed for this game.
Options for his replacement are limited however as East seems too similar to Reid, Gladwin is not defensively minded enough so that  leaves Iandolo as the only option, although he may be needed at LB or LWB, unless we use Critchlow there. I think Gladwin may need a rest, not least because I can see him becoming this seasons scapegoat for the fans. Would play next week 442:- Woolacott, KKH, Odimayo, Conroy, Critchlow, Reed, Iandolo, Payne, McKirdy, Gilbert, Simpson with Gladwin & Williams used as impact subs.

Finally absolutely no reason to panic. The pre-season objective was to still have a club, buy a season ticket, have several excellent away days and finish the season in the football league. We are on track and indeed well ahead of where most of us expected to be.

I would agree with pretty much all of that Kirky other than I rated Simpson just above Gilbert.

Still had some positives although the result was shit, the one thing that annoys me about our style of play though is that we constantly put ourselves under pressure needlessly with short tight passing around at the back, 90% of the time its no issue but sometimes a swift boot through the ball is needed to get the ball away from the danger zone, PV knew we played like that ALL the time so pressed us ALL the time and we made several mistakes.

I see we had 1000 more home supporters than the pox, and they were playing a local game too.

The piss stains are debating this very question at the moment. Most blame the stadium itself - location, absolute dump. But it’s been like that since they moved in. And even after a couple of relatively decent seasons, their support is slowly dwindling. Struggling to get above 7000 home fans in. And that after a season of no fans at all.

This is why it’s so important for us to build upon the present feelgood factor at the moment and not to let it fizzle out.

Momentum is vital.

Perhaps.
It might have made us a bit more solid without the ball but wouldn’t have given us less attacking impetus

Didn't get back until late last night and busy today so this is my first chance to put my thoughts into words!  We started so slowly - becoming a bit of a trait? - and allowed Vale to get a good foothold in the game, and it seemed we were always struggling.  Personally thought we were lucky to still be in the game at half time.  Great goal early in the second half and I felt we would go on and win the gaame from there.  Sadly it didn't work out and apart from a few odd minutes through the second half Vale strolled past us with ease.  Their right winger seemed to be given the freedom of the CG, always unmarked.  Although we did improve in the second half we were never good enough on the day.  Don't get me started on that ref either, seen some bad ones but he was right up there with them!  Need to get a bit more physicality in the team to match the sort of teams we are likely to come up against.

good summary Ronnie

Agree. It’s fantastic to have a club. But you can be grateful for that and believe at the same time that we’re missing some key ingredients and need a heavy dose of urgency in our play. We seem to focus a bit much on the way we play as the aim, not what that play achieves.

Do people still think they'd accept it if we just stayed up?

Depends what you mean. Staying up but flirting with relegation - definitely not acceptable.

Staying up but flirting with play offs, but missing out - then, yes.

This isn’t a ‘staying up’ squad. It should be a play off squad. I’m on the fence regarding the manager, though.

I'd have been perfectly happy before we started signing players.

But the players we bought were far better than  I expected.

So to answer the question, I'd feel not disappointed as such, but a missed opportunity .

As above though I'll be disappointed if we were dragged into the relegation battle

Yeah more than happy. We're miles ahead of where I thought we'd be and this squad is only going to get better...

Also I know our players are on 1 year deals but with Clem in charge I can't see the mass squad overhaul every summer. Some continuity will be welcome

I quite fancied the front four we picked, but they didn't work.  Gilbert has to be the one behind the striker because he is more direct and will commit defenders to come to him.

The problem is Payne cannot be trusted to play wide.  Williams should be able to do it.

Gladwin was the weak point for the midfield, he really cannot be in a two.

Left back is a worry unless we move Critchlow out there and bring Odimayo in to centre back.  We were targeted there all game and it's not the only time.

Overall, plenty of promise and much better than expected given the summer, but still look a little short of a challenge.  Try and hang on to the coat tails and strengthen in January and we could have a bit more about us.

Agree 100% on all of that.

Decent cup run to Bri gin some money would be a bonus too.

I would rather 1000 leass fans and beat Port Vale though

Not going to happen.  I can see it in the stars, we're playing Maidstone in the first round of the FA cup.  Curran defensive masterclass and hat trick inevitable.

True that.

Can you give me the name of your dealer, thanks. :)

My dealer?  Its Taylors Dad Venks.

Harsh. :D

Devante Rodney, who forearmed smashed Critchlow, has been given a 3 game ban.

Pity the officials didn’t see it at the time.

Yeah should have been sent off, deserved.