Swindon Town vs Port Vale: Match Thread

[Gnasher]

Glad we're away for the next couple of games as we're so much better when the opposition are set up to attack not defend. Luongo was immense, Smith and Branco weren't. Good 1st half, just missed the chances. Thought we were pretty poor in the last 10 minutes, in fact we weren't that great after we scored, but 3 points is all that matters.

Good crowd but no noise and a poor effort from the Town End.

Good to hear Macdonalds and PNE dropped points. So a great chance to go top next weekend, but knowing Town it won't be straightforward.

[sonicyouth]

I completely forgot we had a game today, this was a pleasant surprise!

[Summerof69]

A workmanlike win. Unfortunately Vale, like a number of away sides at the CG, put plenty of bodies behind the ball trying to get a point. Luckily enough, we got the goal and held out to get the 3 points.

And what topped the day off was Franchise getting beat 3-0 at home by Walsall, which makes our result on Friday at the Bescot look even better.

We've got a big month with no Luongo and Kasim, and a certain transfer window opening up.

And for Reg...we are now only 5 points from the safety target of 52 points !!

[singingiiiffy]

This bit is funny as fuck from the vale forum:

A Swindon fan I know has just said we played well and is probably the first team to actually push for a win.  Normally sides come and park the bus.  Said the game was good and we looked like possibly pushing for a play off slot.  Neal was brilliant for us.

I'm hoping the "swindon fan" is just trying to make his mate feel better or I watched a completely different game

[Tails]

I agree. They actually had a bit of a go but were utterly toothless.

We shouldve been out of sight really but it was a nervy ending.

[Frigby Daser]

A workmanlike win. Unfortunately Vale, like a number of away sides at the CG, put plenty of bodies behind the ball trying to get a point. Luckily enough, we got the goal and held out to get the 3 points.

And what topped the day off was Franchise getting beat 3-0 at home by Walsall, which makes our result on Friday at the Bescot look even better.

We've got a big month with no Luongo and Kasim, and a certain transfer window opening up.

And for Reg...we are now only 5 points from the safety target of 52 points !!

How does the Asia cup work? Everybody has been saying a month, but how long is the group stage? If Australia or Iraq get knocked out early, perhaps we'll be seeing our two back sooner than we think.

[singingiiiffy]

I agree. They actually had a bit of a go but were utterly toothless.

We shouldve been out of sight really but it was a nervy ending.

Rochdale have been the only team I can think that had a go from the off. We utterly dominated. Had too many free kicks to defend late on but no attempts on goal game from those nervy minutes. Is Branco the first league defender to take 2 foul throws in a matter of mins. Jesus Christ he may be a raw diamond but he is looking terribly raw at the moment. Cracking 3 points in front of a decent crowd

[Summerof69]

How does the Asia cup work? Everybody has been saying a month, but how long is the group stage? If Australia or Iraq get knocked out early, perhaps we'll be seeing our two back sooner than we think.

Group games from 9th-20th Jan

http://www.afcasiancup.com/schedule/en/

Final 31st Jan

Apparently the games are on Eurosport

[Pax Romana]

Totally dominated from start but didn't take our chances, stopped pushing forward once we got in front and consequently had a unnecessarily nervy last 15 mins.  We played well but need to grasp that if we don't keep going and finish teams off then we're going to throw away points in the run in.  Vale were useless yet in the end we were the ones shouting for the whistle.

We'll miss Luongo but hopefully Gladwin can step up in his place.  Someone earlier described him as languid which is spot on, he has the skill and vision but needs a sense of urgency.

We're a very pleasant team to watch as long as you don't care too much about the result.  

[Bogus Dave]

Massimo Luongo is the most talented footballer we've had since Simon Cox, and I can see him having a similar type of career

[ronnie21]

Quite an enjoyable game, got to ground at my usual time of about 20 mins before kick-off only to find the DRS queue back to the town end, seems about six queues trying to get into just two turnstiles - and not a steward in sight.  Got in just as we were tossing up for choice of ends, my companions missed the first minute of the game!!  Should have had a lead by half-time and gone on to win by thee clear goals, instead we started to defend too deep in the last 15 mins and nearly paid the price.  Thought Massimo had a great game as the holding midfielder, Williams put in a great shift, Smith must have been miffed to be on the bench and never really got into the game when he came on.  Where do i start with Gladwin, a much improved performance after the Donny game - he seems to have a lot of talent that needs harnessing but for a big lad he doesn't seem to be able to quicken and inject a bit of pace into his game, few nice tricks though!  Nobody played badly - although I thought at times Branco looked a bit dodgy - but a solid performance from everybody.  When we defend with eleven players we have no outlet upfield, surely somebody must realise that and leave Byrne in the centre circle for corners and set pieces around our box.  Don't know if he was told by the management to sit deep for the last 10 minutes.

[suttonred]

Massimo Luongo is the most talented footballer we've had since Simon Cox, and I can see him having a similar type of career

What about Austin and Richie?

[Bogus Dave]

Austin was a great goalscorer, but was a very raw player (who has clearly continued to improve since leaving). Ritchie is a good shout, but lacks the same je n'sais quois that luongo has IMHO.

In my (admittedly short) time watching town, I've never seen a player as good as running with the ball. He just bounces off players. Whenever he gets the ball, I feel as if something can happen. When he's one on one with a defender, I back him to run past him. His final ball is a little slack at times, but I love him nonetheless

[Tails]

I like Gladwin, he's a decent player with a lot of talent but fuck me when you have an attack with impotus and he slows it down, it is one of the most frustrating things about his game.

Branco also had a shocker today. When he lost a header to Mark Marshall on the half way I completely lost it with him! Some of the mistakes he made were embarrassing. Hopefully its out of his system now.

[Flashheart]

Port Vale coms were raving about Gladwin and were surprised he didn't get MOM