HOOLIGANS ( GTFC ) V PITCH INVADERS (PVFC )

[valefan16]

Not sure if it's true but apparently we've scored five goals from open play all season (that is not from Pens, Corners, Fks etc).

If true, very worrying indeed.

I know certainly on Tuesday we were ranked as the best team in the league at scoring set pieces so possibly!

Off the top of my head excluding for example the Crewe goal which was a second phase from a set piece...

Cambridge 3rd goal
Crawley goal
Both goals against Northampton


That’s four so if including the Crewe goal that’s five.

 

[Andy Proctor]

We lost cos i went we lose and dont score in every away game i go so we got no chance against oldham or mansfield either.
Also im pretty sure the bottom 5 in this divison will be in no particular order vale grimsby cheltenham Morecambe and macclesfield.

 

[Andy Proctor]

I know certainly on Tuesday we were ranked as the best team in the league at scoring set pieces so possibly!

Off the top of my head excluding for example the Crewe goal which was a second phase from a set piece...

Cambridge 3rd goal
Crawley goal
Both goals against Northampton


That’s four so if including the Crewe goal that’s five.

If you count the crewe goal as from a set piece then the 3 goals we have scored away this season are all from set pieces. Hannant free kick at carlise pope penalty at forest green and legge header from free kick at crewe.

 

[valefan16]

We lost cos i went we lose and dont score in every away game i go so we got no chance against oldham or mansfield either.
Also im pretty sure the bottom 5 in this divison will be in no particular order vale grimsby cheltenham Morecambe and macclesfield.

Cambridge will struggle. We pasted them and can’t buy a win, think Crewe will be down there too.

 

[mozzavale]

Some embarrassing posts from so called Vale fans on this thread. A few of you should hang your heads in shame blaming Aspin for the state our club is in. Fickle is an under statement. As I posted after Crewe, we'll have spells like this as we're a work in progress. Given the fact he has that blue faced **** as a Chairman, Aspin is working fucking wonders.

Don't forget the fact we've had this now for the last 3 seasons since he got rid of Page. Start the season with new Manager, sack them before xmas, make the best of someone elses squad in attempt to avoid relegation, rebuild in summer, get sacked before xmas, make the best of someone elses squad in attempt to avoid relegation, rebuild in summer....and repeat. One man has instigated that situation over and over and fucking over again, and some of you want to go through it again. Thick, seriously, thick.

 

[valefan16]

Its not a case of wanting Aspin out, of course most Valiants want him to succeed he is a legend of the club and we've had enough of that great 90's side tainted by trying to manage us already and agree we need stability, but he will rightly get slaughtered as would any other manager with tactical faux pas like Saturday for instance.

Smurf is rightly at fault for us being in this mess when he pulled apart a top half league one squad over a cup tie defeat but on the flip side the budget isn't that bad compared to a lot of teams in this league either so whilst he is to blame for us being down here, the manager has to take some flack for the fact we are where we are position wise with a far better squad than last year?

 

[mozzavale]

Its not a case of wanting Aspin out, of course most Valiants want him to succeed he is a legend of the club and we've had enough of that great 90's side tainted by trying to manage us already and agree we need stability, but he will rightly get slaughtered as would any other manager with tactical faux pas like Saturday for instance.

Smurf is rightly at fault for us being in this mess when he pulled apart a top half league one squad over a cup tie defeat but on the flip side the budget isn't that bad compared to a lot of teams in this league either so whilst he is to blame for us being down here, the manager has to take some flack for the fact we are where we are position wise with a far better squad than last year?

But the budget has been the same now for years, and yet our last 4 managers have all been slated for having too many players and not enough quality. Can we keep blaming Managers for that recurring issue, or is there another reason it keeps happening over and over again? The one consistent through each manager is Smurthwaite. He refuses to pay the going rate for quality, and we constantly hear the phrase "wage structure". The budget could be doubled, but whilst Smurf remains in charge of the club, that structure will prevent us from bringing in the quality we so need.

If I've got all of that wrong and the structure isn't to blame, then what can no longer be denied is that the club's reputation is affecting player recruitment, a reputation that Smurf has created after he treated Page so appallingly and threatened all of the players with huge pay cuts.

We'll go through this season in phases. From month to month, week to week, we'll go from top to rock bottom...and come the end of the season we'll probably end up middle of the road.

Compare where we are now under Aspin, to this time last season. After 12 games we're now on 14 points. Last season we were on 5 points. People need to get their heads around that fact.

 

[valefan16]

But the budget has been the same now for years, and yet our last 4 managers have all been slated for having too many players and not enough quality. Can we keep blaming Managers for that recurring issue, or is there another reason it keeps happening over and over again? The one consistent through each manager is Smurthwaite. He refuses to pay the going rate for quality, and we constantly hear the phrase "wage structure". The budget could be doubled, but whilst Smurf remains in charge of the club, that structure will prevent us from bringing in the quality we so need.

If I've got all of that wrong and the structure isn't to blame, then what can no longer be denied is that the club's reputation is affecting player recruitment, a reputation that Smurf has created after he treated Page so appallingly and threatened all of the players with huge pay cuts.

We'll go through this season in phases. From month to month, week to week, we'll go from top to rock bottom...and come the end of the season we'll probably end up middle of the road.

Compare where we are now under Aspin, to this time last season. After 12 games we're now on 14 points. Last season we were on 5 points. People need to get their heads around that fact.

Then surely the management teams need to go for quality over quantity like we keep getting promised? Players like Quigley, Vassell, Pugh, Dodds who are not getting a look in could of financed a good creative midfielder? or a winger?

I'm not saying Smurf is blameless... he is massively to blame as of course in losing to a league two side and losing the plot he essentially then turned us into one so we can lose to league two sides each week!

At the weekend we face a team that we were 2 leagues above 18 months ago and now we go into that game expecting to get beaten by Lincoln... its a disgrace what has happened at the club BUT....

Smurf can't be blamed for Aspin's tactics at Grimsby/Carlisle/Tranmere or his strange selections. There are multiple factors at fault here and Aspin is one of those, however I desperately wan't him to succeed as he is a legend and a genuinely nice honest bloke.

The worry is if we lose as expected Saturday then our usually away losses at Oldham and Stevenage then we will have the same points as after the same games last season! We need to learn lessons and we just are not away from home with the same selections. Everyone knew and said on here we'd lose at 2PM when we saw the line up and panned out exactly as predicted. He has to take some blame for that as Smurf doesn't pick the XI.

 

[darren gregory]

Eventually the buck has to stop with the manager. Totally different planet to us, but because Moyes, Van Gaal and now Mourinho are struggling is that all the fault of the Glazers?

We have no divine right to do anything Mozza and i agree about the continual sacking of managers, it is a disaster.
But as VF16 rightly said, the tactics are baffling in the least and why are folk happy to accept mediocrity as progress ?

Grimsby fans on here seem a decent enough bunch and die hards like ourselves, they will tell you that they are no Manchester City . Indeed had not won at home and prior to Carlisle i think had lost 5 in a row ?
It is not disrespecting them to say, attack them , get the first goal and see how brittle their confidence is.

Aspin could certainly not legislate for what happened after 30 odd seconds, but 90% of people called it once the side was named. Port Vale NIL .
Our ambition is to hold on for 0-0 till half time against a team shy on confidence and hope we can nick one off a corner maybe.

I honestly don't know our budget , who actually does, it is all speculation. But what i do know is Aspin signed Joyce as his main man in midfield, he is suddenly behind Kay in the pecking order and a sideways crab from Blackburn.
Let that sink in....Antony Kay was in his starting 11 . Absolutely staggering.

Football is a very strange game and luckily isn't played on paper or probability.
However the most ardent Vale fan will be hard pressed to find more than 3 points from the next 9 , given that 2 are away and the other is Lincoln at home.

When i go to the game i want to see something tangible, even to be 6 or 7 points off the play offs with 8 games to go offers some hope. At the moment with the abysmal continual dropping of players and not knowing his best team , the best we can hope is to be 6 or 7 points clear of non-league football.

Woopy fucking doo. Dreadful .

 

[mozzavale]

Then surely the management teams need to go for quality over quantity like we keep getting promised? Players like Quigley, Vassell, Pugh, Dodds who are not getting a look in could of financed a good creative midfielder? or .

But that's my point, Page, Bruno, Brown and now Aspin, have all been criticised for quantity over quality. Did they all come in on day one and think, I'm going to follow the same methods that got the last bloke the sack? Of course they didn't. Except for Bruno, they all said their desire was for quantity over quality, but they couldn't attract the players they wanted. I think the quantity we keep ending up with is because Managers become frustrated and find themselves having to feed from the scraps with their hands tied.

Why does it keep happening, it's clearly not through choice, which leaves me with only 2 possible options. 1. The wage structure set by Smurf is to blame, or 2. The club's reputation has been damaged to an extent that players won't touch us.

Either option is Smurf's doing, and he refuses to do anything about it.

Under those circumstances, I refuse to blame any Manager. No Manager could be successful whilst that clown is in charge.

 

[mozzavale]

Totally different planet to us, but because Moyes, Van Gaal and now Mourinho are struggling is that all the fault of the Glazers?

If you listen to Gary Neville's rant on Sky Friday night, yes!! As I was listening to that interview, I literally thought about the situation at Vale.

 

[les.gtfc]

Grimsby fans on here seem a decent enough bunch and die hards like ourselves, they will tell you that they are no Manchester City . Indeed had not won at home and prior to Carlisle i think had lost 5 in a row ?

It was 6 in a row we'd lost, scoring a total of 1 goal!

 

[valefan16]

But that's my point, Page, Bruno, Brown and now Aspin, have all been criticised for quantity over quality. Did they all come in on day one and think, I'm going to follow the same methods that got the last bloke the sack? Of course they didn't. Except for Bruno, they all said their desire was for quantity over quality, but they couldn't attract the players they wanted. I think the quantity we keep ending up with is because Managers become frustrated and find themselves having to feed from the scraps with their hands tied.

Why does it keep happening, it's clearly not through choice, which leaves me with only 2 possible options. 1. The wage structure set by Smurf is to blame, or 2. The club's reputation has been damaged to an extent that players won't touch us.

Either option is Smurf's doing, and he refuses to do anything about it.

Under those circumstances, I refuse to blame any Manager. No Manager could be successful whilst that clown is in charge.

Couldn't they? Micky Adams was relatively successful in the first season in League One and Rob Page had us knocking on the play off door all be it as outsiders in league one in his last season (sure we went to Scunny in the last but one game with a chance).

Blackpool, Coventry, Bolton for example have turned things around with poor off field issues on the pitch. Smurf is a problem but its not been a terminal problem on the field. Aspin has been able to bring in 11 players, some I imagine not cheap replacements, Legge, Miller for instance.

We seem to play safe and hide behind the owner on a lot of the problems without facing the point that we are still likely one of the bigger budgets in the division. We are still likely double Accrington's budget who won last years title. The manager has to take some responsibility...

The squad Aspin has should not struggle in league two... hopefully that proves to be the case but if he isn't utilising it correctly as we can see he isn't away from home then questions will be asked by the long suffering fans.

 

[mozzavale]

Micky Adams' squad were on contracts Smurf inherited when he took over in May 2013. From then on every Manager has been undermined and restricted by him.

Page should never have been forced out.

 

[valefan16]

Micky Adams' squad were on contracts Smurf inherited when he took over in May 2013. From then on every Manager has been undermined and restricted by him.

Page should never have been forced out.

Nope and maybe a lesson to the ones actually wanting Aspin sacked in that most were non fussed when he was forced out as we had been poor away from home...

The issue and what we certainly can blame Smurf for was then being star struck by Jose's phone call and employing Bruno and assuming by signing half of Monaco's kids and Portuguese players that he would get Mbappe and co!

Mind you Big Reg was pinging them in for Suduva in the Europa League and Champions League since!

 

[GTFCfish]

Grimsby fans on here seem a decent enough bunch and die hards like ourselves, they will tell you that they are no Manchester City .

Yep this is very true, Man City could only draw at Anfield yesterday whereas we won there on our last visit, so we are much better than them.

 

[valefan16]

Yep this is very true, Man City could only draw at Anfield yesterday whereas we won there on our last visit, so we are much better than them.

We actually won a game to save ourselves which sent Man City down to League One instead (along with Stoke) once... how times have changed!

 

[les.gtfc]

Yep this is very true, Man City could only draw at Anfield yesterday whereas we won there on our last visit, so we are much better than them.

We drew actually (90 minutes)

Will never tire of seeing that goal though!

 

[GTFCfish]

We drew actually (90 minutes)

Will never tire of seeing that goal though!

Damn it, ok we’re only AS good as Man City then.

 

[darren gregory]

What a goal.

They say you learn something new every day and i'm a bit of a football nerd but Lennie Lawrence managing Grimsby totally escaped me.

 

[GTFCfish]

What a goal.

They say you learn something new every day and i'm a bit of a football nerd but Lennie Lawrence managing Grimsby totally escaped me.

We had loads of different nationalities under Lawrence, some were great, others....... not so.

 

[Andy Proctor]

The issue i have with aspin is the football is boring to watch hoof ball to pope when were capable of playing decent football with the players we have. He is negative with some of his decisons playing 451 against a team who dont win many at home. He makes too many changes to the side even if we win. We beat crawley earlier in the season next match smith is back in defence despite us keeping a clean sheet. He only needed make 1 change from the mk dons game for the grimsby game and that was oyeleke out for joyce but he made 3 changes and brought kay and worrall in who werent even in the last squad and worrall hadnt been playing well either. Also he wont give kanu a chance despite his late goal against exeter. His record at vale is only 30 % win rate worst he has done at any of the other sides he has managed.

 

[northstandexile]

Going to say! Last season at New Year he’d actually got us 11 points clear I believe!! We stayed up by 1 point so was rightly slaughtered for a really poor second half of the season when he had shown we were capable of getting results.

Does this mean Flickers is Sir David around Burslem by getting Vale that point at Mansfield last season with that last minute equaliser

 

[les.gtfc]

We had loads of different nationalities under Lawrence, some were great, others....... not so.

Do you realise that THAT goal was 17 years ago TODAY!

Where does the time go eh?

 

[darren gregory]

Does this mean Flickers is Sir David around Burslem by getting Vale that point at Mansfield last season with that last minute equaliser

No as we would of stayed up by goal difference so in effect Barnet were 2 points short.
Good call though, arise Sir Flitters

 

[valefan16]

No as we would of stayed up by goal difference so in effect Barnet were 2 points short.
Good call though, arise Sir Flitters

And to be fair we gifted Mansfield as much the lead as we pinched the equaliser with that crazy OG! That battle back against Chesterfield or had we not upset the odds against Lincoln was how close it came mind! Or you could even say the Barnet keeper error against us.

Mind you had we still needed something i dare say we would have put more into Carlisle at home and Cambridge away.